In this episode of “5 Minutes,” Dr. Robert Svoboda explores So Ham and its traditional meaning as a mantra of alignment between the individual and the Supreme Reality.

Sometimes it is not always easy to draw a distinction between what is a mantra and what is not a mantra, especially when we consider what are called the Mahavakyas, the Great Expressions. For example, “I am the Supreme Reality” is a Mahavakya, but for some people it can also serve as a mantra. Similarly, “Thou art That” can be both a Mahavakya expression of reality and a mantra.

This is particularly true of the Mahavakya that is also a mantra, So Ham. So Ham is a simple Sanskrit compound word. It is made up of Saha, which means “He” or “That,” and Aham, which means “I.” Therefore, So Ham means that the Supreme Reality and I are identical.

It is common for people to either exhale on the So and inhale on the Ham, or inhale on the So and exhale on the Ham. In this way, it becomes a method for bringing the greater reality outside, the macrocosm, into alignment with the individual reality within, the microcosm.

Vimalananda was of the opinion that although So Ham is very useful, the form Ham Saha is even more useful in certain circumstances. The difference between So Ham, “That am I,” and Ham Saha, “I am That,” lies in the direction of the energy.

In Saha, there is a visarga, the sound at the end that represents an outward movement of energy, a projection of Shakti. In this way, Saha represents a movement outward. Aham, ending with the nasal sound, represents an internalization and is connected with Shiva.

Therefore, Ham Saha represents a movement from Shakti in the direction of Shiva, which is especially useful for someone following the path of nivritti, the path of withdrawal and return inward.

However, if you are not elderly or a renunciate, and you are actively following the path of pravritti, the path of engagement with the world, Vimalananda felt that Ham Saha could be more appropriate. Aham represents the Shiva within me, while Saha represents that same reality existing outside of me.

There is an alignment, an establishment of that reality within yourself, followed by the outward expression of that reality through whatever actions and responsibilities your karma requires you to perform in the world.

So Ham and Ham Saha are, in many ways, the same words, but the direction of attention and the direction of energy are quite different.