Akshara

ityetad aksharam brahma | Omityekaakshara brahma | (BG VIII. 13) aksharam brahma paramam || (BG VIII 3); aksharaanaam akaaro'smi || I am 'a' among the syllables (BG X.3) brahma akshara samudbhavam |( BG III.14). yadaksharam vedavido vadanti | (BG VIII 9).

   The Bhagavad-Gita eulogises akshara brahman and states everything is brahman, Here, akshara, (alphabet) that begins with 'a' is the Immutable Brahman. The sound 'a' is indispensable in all pronunciations of consonants such as ka, ga, ma; any consonant without a vowel is incomplete. The vowels start with 'a' and end with 'am' and 'ah'. Here, akshara means "that which does not diminish (kshara); The syllable 'a' by itslef should not be mistaken for 'brahman'. The sound of letter 'a' is called shabdha brahman since everything has its origin in sound. 
   The sound (shabdha is the tanmatra of Akasha (space) and Akasha is brahman. The sound that permeates the universe is brahman, shabda brahman. The first letter of the alphabet is 'a' and it is the source of all that manifests later as the alphabets, words, the objects referred to by the words and thereby the objective phenomenal world, the universe, is also considered brahman.
  It is only the humans who are endowed with the power of speech. All speech emanate from breath. The syllable a has its origin in the navel, the syllable u has its origin in the heart, and the syllable m has its origin in the throat. Thse syllables A U M are the primordial sounds that manifest from the seat of brahman, the navel. Incidentally the first letter of Rk Veda, samaveda and the yajurveda start with a, u, and m respectively. Hence the syllables a u and m constitute the Veda brahman. Hence AUM (Om) is called akshara brahma. 

   The term 'akshara' (samsk.) is varna, syllable, alphabet, or letter; and, a-kshara means 'that which is imperishable' (kshara means perishable and a is brahman, the Imperishable, the Immutable. 'That' (tyat) Iperishable (a-kshara) is called 'brahman', "akshara brahman". It also means the alphabets of Samskruta hasha starting from a ending with ksha energised or infused with creative power 'ra'.  Here, 'ra' meaning,  teja / energy / surya (sun).Thus akshara means both alphabet and 'brahman' the impersishable and the Absolute. Brahman is the unmanifest causeless cause of all that exist. It is karanasya karanah; being no reason, it is the cause of all that exists. Nothing is attributed to brahman. brahman is attributeless, nirguna.

  As the creative power (kriya shakti) devi sharadamba is attributed as the saguna brahman, brahma svarupini. Thus, the universe is created by this saguna brahman, the feminine aspect of parabrahman. As the creatrix, devi sharada breathes unto all vital force, life, without Her self breathing !Her breath creates the sound (naada) and it is called 'naada brahman'. Sound of breath creates the letters and letters form the word; word comes out with meaning and manifests as the object referred to by the word. This is as simple as creation of an umbrella. When a person wants some thing to cover the head in rain, an idea occurs, an image is formed, a cloth over head attached to a stick comes out as an object called the umbrella!

  The process of creation is as simple as the umbrella created by necessity to have some protection to head from rain and sun! From 'desire' comes the idea, and there emerges the image, and the creative ability with knowledge (jnyan), technology (tantra), and the object (dravya / vastu) manifests the objective world. Hence ideation, imagination, creation are all manifestation of brahman and, thus, brahman only manifest as the objective phenomenal world!

   Brahman is the underlying cause of all causes, kaaranasya kaaranah. The will, desire, resolve of brahman is said to be the cause of creation. Eko'ham bahusyam | "I am alone; i shall become many, said the Lord."(Rk Veda)."Desire is also brahman. 
Everything is brahman. sarvam khaluvidam brahma ||
 This is the fundamental principle. Creation is, thus, attributed to brahman. 

  As already stated, the universe manifests from brahman at three levels- the brahmanda (stars and galaxies / Go Loka); the pindanada (Jiva or individual level); and, the andanda (the kana, jivakosha/anu level). Expression of brahman or manifestation of brahman at different levels is visualized by a jnyani or yogin in transcendental meditative state (samadhi). Thus, it needs no proof from any external source. It is once own experience. However, expression of this experience is what is heard rather than written and published; may be it is memorized and communicated to trusted few by word of mouth. Thus the word became God. Bible also sates: "The 'Word' was with the God and 'Word' is God."  The word that has become sacred, thus, is itself called the mantra, the vidya.

   Expression of the intuitional knowledge so derived from one's meditative state of a yogi who has visualized brahman, called a brahmana, is almost impossible and, the experiences in a transcendental state (samadhi) are inexplicable. However, these have found some abstract forms in sounds, syllables, words and illegible phrases, called mantra or Rks and saman- the Veda. Thus, the Veda, mantra, and brahmana have become closely associated. The Veda is thus said to be: mantra brahmanayor vedah ||. Thus every syllable or word expressed by a siddhi purusha is very effective as a mantra. 

Evolution of akshara:

  Just as the stars, planets and satellites have appeared from one single source of Brahman, the entire language has its source in the breath and emanates as sound, syllables and letters. 

  alphabet 'a' is the first letter and all the svara from a to am and ah have their source in the first letter that qualifies itself to be brahman as the source of creation. From 'a' comes 'aa', i, e, o, ou, and am ah.   Here the short sound (hrusva) 'a' holds within its self the deergha 'aa'. This is Brahman and Bliss, respectively. the letter 'a' thus stands for sat. from sat emanates the chit, chitta, chiti, chetasa, chaitanya and chaitya- the fountain of creation. Thus, from a, the creative power of brahman 'sat' emanates consciousness, jnyan (knowledge) and the creative energy (kriya shakti) and knowledge off transformation (technology), creative intelligence (buddhi), mind, akash, time, space, prana (Life force), etc. as expressed by the above svara akshara sixteen in number. (See Table below).

   All the consonants / vyanjana akshara ( from ka to ksha- 35 in all) joined by the vowels or svara such as a, i, e, ai, o and ou or am and ah (kriya shakti) stated above produce the universe ranging from the akasha, vayu, agni, jala, and pruthvi (ka-varga), followed by their tanmatra such as shabdha, sparsha, roopa, rasa and gandha (cha-varga); to experience these tanmatras come the jnyana and karma indriyas numbering ten (Ta-varga and ta-varga); and, finally, there present manas, chitta, buddhi, ahankara and Ishvara (pa-varga) and there remain ya, ra, la, va, sha, and Sha, sa, and ha as the energy centres in the jiva (consciousness plexus) and the sound of breath an life-force in the jiva. Sha sha and sa ha have sa and ha as distinctly cleatr sound of in-breath and out breath, respectively. Thus sa is the creative force and ha is the dissolution 'ksha' remains undisturbed and finally devowers, swallows as 'ha' everything within it; it is  the dissolution power (kaala). Lord Shree Krishna says, "He is kaal"; kaalo'smi |