''Soham or Sohum'' ( ') is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

mantra, meaning "I am He/She/That" in Sanskrit.Mariasusai Dhavamony (1999), Hindu Spirituality, GB Press, , page 129 In

Vedic philosophy upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

it means identifying oneself with the universe or ultimate reality. The mantra is also inverted from ' (the sandhi of ') to '. The combination of ' has also been interpreted as "I myself am the

Swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

", where the swan symbolizes the

Atman Atman or Ātman may refer to: Film * ''Ātman'' (1975 film), a Japanese experimental short film directed by Toshio Matsumoto * ''Atman'' (1997 film), a documentary film directed by Pirjo Honkasalo People * Pavel Atman (born 1987), Russian hand ...

Etymology

An etymology of ' "swan, goose" as from ' "I am that" is found in the 14th century commentary on the Vedas by Sayana (14th century). The term ' is related to , and the phrase translates to "I that very person", according to

Monier-Williams Sir Monier Monier-Williams (; né Williams; 12 November 1819 – 11 April 1899) was a British scholar who was the second Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University, England. He studied, documented and taught Asian languages, especially S ...

. Interpreted as a nominal sentence, it can also be read as "I am She/He" or "It/She/He is I". The term is found in Vedic literature, and is a phrase that identifies "oneself with the universe or ultimate reality".

History

This phrase is found in

Principal Upanishads Principal Upanishads, also known as Mukhya Upanishads, are the most ancient and widely studied Upanishads of Hinduism. Composed between 800 BCE to the start of common era, these texts are connected to the Vedic tradition. Content The Principal U ...

such as the

Isha Upanishad The ''Isha Upanishad'' (Devanagari: ईशोपनिषद् IAST ') is one of the shortest Upanishads, embedded as the final chapter (''adhyāya'') of the Shukla Yajurveda. It is a ''Mukhya'' (primary, principal) Upanishad, and is known in ...

(verse 16), which ends: : (...) तेजो यत्ते रूपं कल्याणतमं तत्ते पश्यामि योऽसावसौ पुरुषः सोऽहमस्मि ॥१६॥ : ' : "The light which is thy fairest form, I see it. I am what She/He is" (trans. Max Müller) Soham, or "I am She/He", is very common in ancient and medieval literature. Some examples include: Upanishads *

Sannyasa Upanishads Sannyasa Upanishads are a group of minor Upanishads of Hinduism related to the renunciation, monastic practice and asceticism. There are 19 Sannyasa Upanishads in the Muktika anthology of 108 Upanishads. They, along with other minor Upanishads, a ...

such as

Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad The ''Naradaparivrajaka Upanishad'' ( sa, नारदपरिव्राजक उपनिषत्, IAST: Nāradaparivrājaka Upaniṣad) is a medieval era Sanskrit text and one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. The text is attached to t ...

, Nirvana Upanishad, Ashrama Upanishad,

Maitreya Upanishad The Maitreya Upanishad (Sanskrit: मैत्रेय उपनिषत्, IAST: Maitreya Upaniṣad) is one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit, it is one of the 16 Upanishads that belongs to the Samaveda, is classified ...

and Satyayaniya Upanishad. *

Yoga Upanishads Yoga Upanishads are a group of minor Upanishads of Hinduism related to Yoga. There are twenty Yoga Upanishads in the anthology of 108 Upanishads listed in the Muktika anthology.. The Yoga Upanishads, along with other minor Upanishads, are generally ...

such as ''

Dhyanabindu Upanishad The ''Dhyanabindu Upanishad'' (Sanskrit: ध्यानबिन्दू उपनिषत्, IAST: Dhyānabindu Upaniṣad) is an ancient Sanskrit text and a minor Upanishad of Hinduism. It is one of twenty Yoga Upanishads in the four Veda ...

'' and ''

Yogashikha Upanishad The ''Yogashikha Upanishad'' (Sanskrit: योगशिखा उपनिषत्, IAST: Yogaśikhā Upaniṣad) is a Sanskrit text and one of the minor Upanishads of Hinduism. It is one of twenty Yoga Upanishads in the four Vedas. Two versi ...

'' * '' Hamsa Upanishad'' Tantras * ''Gandharva Tantra'' * ''Kali Tantra'' * ''Kularnava Tantra'' * ''Mahanirvana Tantra'' * ''Niruttara Tantra''

Stotras ''Stotra'' (Sanskrit: स्तोत्र) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise."Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'Stotra'' It is a literary genre of In ...

* ''Bhaja Gaureesam'' * ''Gowresa Ashtakam'' * ''Shakthi Mahimnah Stotram'' * ''Tripurasundari Vijaya Sthava'' Adi Shankara's ''

Vakya Vritti ''Vakya Vritti'' is a Vedantic textbook, a small treatise, that concerns itself with the detailed and elaborate explanation of two Mahāvākyas – aham brahmāsmi and tat tvam asi which great Sruti sentences are intended to give a direct per ...

'' subsequent works in the Nath tradition foundational for

Hatha yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

. * Matsyendranath's ''Yogavishaya'' * Gorakshanath's ''Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati'' * Gorakshanath's ''Yoga Bija'' * Gorakshanath's ''Goraksha Shataka'' * Jñāndev's ''Lakhota'' * Jñāndev's ''Yogapar Abhangamala'' *foundational for

Swara yoga ''Shiva Swarodaya'' is an ancient Sanskrit tantric text. A comment and translation termed as swara yoga has been made by Satyananda Saraswati in 1983. It is also termed "Phonetical astrology": the "sound of one's own breath" and is written as a ...

the original script ''Shiva Svarodaya'' as well as the classical yoga treatises ''

Gheranda Samhita ''Gheranda Samhita'' (IAST: gheraṇḍasaṁhitā, घेरंडसंहिता, meaning “Gheranda's collection”) is a Sanskrit text of Yoga in Hinduism. It is one of the three classic texts of hatha yoga (the other two being the ''Ha ...

'' and '' Shiva Samhita'' all make mention of ''soham'' and ''hamsa'' describing its significance and when teaching uniformly teaches ''So'' on inhalation and ''ham'' on exhalation. This traditional practice in its several forms and its background is described in numerous other books.

Hamsa

Swami Muktananda Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa (16 May 1908 – 2 October 1982), born Krishna Rai, was a yoga guru, the founder of Siddha Yoga. He was a disciple of Bhagavan Nityananda. He wrote books on the subjects of Kundalini Shakti, Vedanta, and Kash ...

- although teaching the traditional ''So'' on inhalation and ''ham'' on exhalation as a letter from 1968 to Franklin Jones reveals - later published a book teaching ''Ham'' on inhalation and ''sa'' on exhalation. This practice is described in several later books all referring to Muktananda. The teaching of ''Ham'' on inhalation and ''sa'' on exhalation is allegedly alluded to in a text of

Kaśmir Śaivism Kashmir Shaivism or Trika Shaivism, is a nondualist tradition of Shaiva-Shakta Tantra which originated sometime after 850 CE. Since this tradition originated in Kashmir it is often called "Kashmiri Shaivism". It later went on to become a pan ...

, the '' Vijnana Bhairava'': However, this verse 155b is not found in the ''Vijnana Bhairava'' first published in 1918 in the Kashmir Series of Text and Studies but is quoted from a commentary by the Abhinavagupta disciple Kṣemarāja in his ''Shiva Sutra Vimarshini'' (commentary on the Shiva Sutras) in later editions of ''Vijnana Bhairava''.

Yoga

When used for meditation, "Sohum" acts as a natural mantra to control one's breathing pattern, to help achieve deep breath, and to gain concentration. * ''Sooooo...'' is the sound of inhalation, and is remembered in the mind along with that inhalation. * ''Hummmm...'' is the sound of exhalation, and is remembered in the mind along with that exhalation. Soham is also considered a mantra in Tantrism and

Kriya Yoga ''Kriyā'' (Sanskrit: क्रिया, 'action, deed, effort') is a "completed action", technique or practice within a yoga discipline meant to achieve a specific result. Kriya or Kriya Yoga may also refer to: * Kriya Yoga school The K ...

, known also as ''Ajapa mantra'', ''Ajapa Gayatri'', ''Hamsa Gayatri'', ''Hamsa mantra'', ''prana mantra'', ''Shri Paraprasada mantra'', ''paramatma-mantra'', and as such used notably on its own, in the meditation practice ajapa japa and in the kriya practice shabda sanchalana.

References

Bibliography