Acceptance
"God is the Creator from all eternity, and he creates when He wills, in His infinite goodness, through His coessential Logos and Spirit." (The Philokalia 2, Palmer, Sherrard, & Ware, Trans. 1981, p. 100)
The Jewish tradition also describes the second translation that I associate with oscillation in the Book of Proverbs. The passage links wisdom and the creative spirit. Wisdom, is translated from the Aramaic word Hokmah. It represents a feminine, receptive principle.
The Lord created me at the beginning of His course, as the first of his works of old. In the distant past I [wisdom] was fashioned, at the beginning, at the origin of earth. There was still no deep when I was brought forth, No rich spring water. (Proverbs, 8: 22-24; Jewish Publication Society)
I was with Him as a confidant, a source of delight every day, Rejoicing before Him at all times, Rejoicing in His inhabited world, Finding delight with mankind. (Proverbs 8: 30-31)
The Jewish mystical tradition -- as revealed in the Kabballa -- further extends the role of sound in creation. I have included that material in the section of this essay on esoteric traditions.
Sufi Cosmology
The Sufi sect of Islam attaches considerable significance to sound, starting with the abstract sound called saut-e sarmad. According to Sufi Master Hazrat Inayat Khan (1983) this is the sound referred to in the Qurían with the words "Be! and all became" (Al- Qurían, 2: 117). Kahn also suggests that this is the sound heard by many spiritual figures in moments of revelation. Mohammed heard it in the cave of Ghar-e Hira when lost in the divine ideal; Moses on Mount Sinai communing with God; Christ during prayer and fasting in the wilderness; and Shiva who heard the anahad nada during samadhi in the Himalayas.
Man is not only formed of vibrations, but he lives and moves in them; they surround him as the fish is surrounded by water, and he contains them within him as the tank contains the water. His different moods, inclinations, affairs, successes and failures, and all conditions of life depend upon a certain activity of vibration, whether these be thoughts, emotions, or feelings. (Khan, 1983, p. 5)
The Sufis say the abstract sound is the source of knowledge for all masters and the ground of being from which all form manifests. However, beyond this abstract sound is the creative sound hu that is held most sacred. Muslims call it ism-e Azam, or the name of the Most High. They consider it the origin and the end of every sound and the background of each word. They say every animal, bell, and gong utter hu; thus all creation continually cries out the name of the Most High.
Hindu Cosmology
Om! --This syllable is this whole world.
Its further explanation is: --
The past, the present, the future -- everything is just the word Om.
And whatever else that transcends threefold time -- that, too, is just the word Om. (Mandukya Upanisad)
Nada Brahma -- sound, the creator God. India is rich with creation myths from its long [next page]