The Vedas say:
Prajapatir VAI idam-agre asit, Tasya Vak dvitiya asit, Vak vai Paramam Brahma.
(In the beginning was Prajapati (the Creator), With Him was the Vak (Name or Word), And the Vak (Name or Word) was verily the Supreme Brahma).
Man knows thyself; then thou shalt know the Universe and God.
? Pythagoras
Name, or word and form, i.e., Naam (Name/Word) and rup (form), of kal and mahakal (Time), attain true objectives through yoga, i.e., activities.
The name or word represents the Sound and Light Current, Energy or vibrations. The major revelatory religions works, there are several references and explanations regarding the "Word, Naam or Name" which has a fundamental focus for understanding their facts. Some of them are as follows:
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
-- Saint John 1:1
In ancient Indian scriptures we read repeatedly of Aum, the sacred Word pervading the three realms of bhur, bhuva and swaha (i.e., the physical, astral and causal).
Guru Nanak says:
The earth and sky are of naught but Shabd (Name,Word), From Shabd alone the light was born, From Shabd alone creation came, Shabd is the essential core in all. Shabd is the directive agent of God, the cause of all creation. ? Prabhati, Adi Granth
The Muslim Sufis say:
Creation came into being from Saut (Sound or Word) and from Saut spread all light.
-- Shamas-i- Tabrez
The Great Name is the very essence and life of all names and forms. Its manifest form sustains creation; It is the great ocean of which we are merely the waves,
He alone can comprehend this who has mastered our discipline.
-- Abdul Razaq Kashi
In Biblical era, St. Moses heard the commandments of God amidst thunder and flame (symbolic vibrations of Sound i.e., Name/ Word, and Light). In the Zoroastrian and Taoist religions, there are references to the "Creative Verbum," the "Divine Light," and to the "Wordless Word," i.e., the silent Word.
The terms "Word" or Logos as used by the Greeks, their equivalents in other religions --nad, udgit, akash-bani, shabd, naam, saut, bang-i-Ilahi, nida-i-asmani, sraosha, tao, and jyoti, prakash, tajalli, nur-i-yazdani, etc. In the Revelation of St. John we have:
His eyes were as a flame of fire... His voice as the sound of many waters?
His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength? And I heard a Voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder:
and I heard the voice of harpers, harping with their harps.
And the Upanishads say the same:
First the murmuring sounds resembling those of the waves of the ocean,
the fall of rain and then running rivulets, after which the bhervi will be heard,
intermingled with the sounds of bell and conch.
-- Nad-Bind-Upanishad
The Prophet Mohammad heard celestial music, which gradually assumed the shape of Gabriel and formed itself into words; while Baha U'llah relates:
Myriads of mystic tongues find utterance in one speech, and myriads of His hidden mysteries are revealed in a single melody; yet alas, there is no ear to hear nor heart to understand!
Blind thine eyes, that thou mayest behold My Beauty, and stop thine ears that thou mayest hearken unto the sweet melody of My Voice.
There are continued references to Light and Sound,
This inherent or soul force, the Word, Naam, Kalma or God-in-action, is responsible for all the creation, all the physical and spiritual universes and all that is external and internal.
It is that principle of Naam/Word, i.e., "Sounding Flame or Light", that one constant principle which t links all the planes.
Saint Kabir says:
Shabd hamara tu shabd ka, suni mati jahu sarak; jo chaho nij tatv ka, to shabdahi lehu parakh. (Sakhi-2) Meaning The Shabd (Name/Word) is mine, and you are produced by Shabd; follow it and do not shun it; If you wish to realize your own Self, then realize the real Shabd (Name/Word).
Shabd harmara adi ka, shabdai paita jiw; phul rahana ki tokari, ghore khaya ghiw. (Sakhi-3)
Meaning
My Word (naam/Name) is from the beginning, and the life resides in the Word; The basket is for holding flowers, while the horse is eating up the ghee. Commentary In the beginning was the Word (Shabd, Sound), and from the Word preceded the Self and then all the material manifestations, including the human form. It is thus that Guru Kabir states that in the beginning there was the Word and the Life and Soul resides in the Word. It is the life and Soul that animates the body and give it consciousness and makes it 'beautiful'. He compares the beautiful flowers that are kept in a basket. They are fragrant and beautiful to look at. Similarly, if through right actions you are able to achieve youre life's objectives for which you have taken the birth, and realize your own soul, you will also realize the beauty of the soul, as it is an expression of the Word (naam/Name).
In India, it is common to feed ghee (clarified butter) to the horses, when it is mixed up with other grains. Ghee is a delicacy in India. The horse eats the ghee with the grains, but does not know that the ghee is a delicacy prized by humans. Similarly, the person who is not awakened to reality of his own Self, does not realize his own greatness and his Self.
The Chinese classic says:
As soon as one begins to divide things up, there are names; once there are names, one should also know when to stop; Knowing when to stop, one thereby avoids peril. "Tao Te Ching", by Victor H. Mair , NY, Bantam Books 1990.
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