अरा इव रथनाभौ संहता यत्र नाड्यः ।
स एषोऽन्तश्चरते बहुधा जायमानः ।
ओमित्येवं ध्यायथ आत्मानं स्वस्ति वः
पाराय तमसः परस्तात् ॥ ६॥
arā iva rathanābhau saṃhatā yatra nāḍyaḥ .
sa eṣo’ntaścarate bahudhā jāyamānaḥ .
omityevaṃ dhyāyatha ātmānaṃ svasti vaḥ
pārāya tamasaḥ parastāt .. 6..
He moves about, becoming manifold, within the heart, where the arteries meet, like the spokes fastened in the nave of a chariot wheel. Meditate on Atman as Om. Hail to you! May you cross beyond the sea of darkness!
All the nerve currents of the body and the divinities of the cosmos are fixed in this universal consciousness, Brahman, as spokes in a wheel are fixed in the hub of the wheel. This One, in which everything is fixed, is moving inside the heart, and it manifests itself in various forms as visualisations by the mind of a variety of conceptualisations of objects—antaś carate bahudhā jāyamānaḥ.
It was said you must meditate on Brahman. How do you meditate on Brahman? The prescription is given here. Aum ity evaṁ dhyāya: Meditate on Brahman as Om, by recitation of Om. Deeply chant Om like a vibration rising from the naval to the heart, as it were, and moving upwards through the heart and the throat until it becomes an articulated sound through the vocal organs. Inversely, when the sound formation of Om is recited through the vocal organs, it becomes subtler and subtler as the chanting becomes calmer and calmer, more and more inward, and becomes inverted into its original source until it reaches its vibratory condition where sound is absent. This ultimate vibration, which is the final shape of Om, is identical with cosmic power, the very will of God. Therefore, meditate on Brahman as Om. Om is the name of Brahman.
Tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ (Y.S. 1.27), says Patanjali. We want to call God by some name, and we cannot call Him by any other name except Om. This is because all other names—such as Rama, Krishna, Govinda, tree, stone, water, mountain—are words that we use to name particular objects. Every word in language has a particular object in front of it, located in some place, whereas Brahman is not an object located in some place. Hence, any word that can connote only a located object will not suffice in defining Brahman, which is everywhere. You require a universal name to denote Universal Being. The universal name is Om, according to universal vibrations. Therefore, through Om meditate on Brahman. Aum ity evaṁ dhyāyathātmānam: Thus, contemplate the Atman through Om.
Svasti vaḥ pārāya tamasaḥ parastāt: The Guru is blessing the disciples. “May good betide you. Godspeed to you for crossing beyond this ocean of samsara, beyond this darkness of ignorance.” Tamasaḥ parastāt: “May you be blessed.” Here is a blessing from the Guru, as the teacher of this Upanishad. Svasti vaḥ pārāya tamasaḥ parastāt: “May you succeed.” Bon voyage!