So Ham

So Ham

सः saḥ – He or That, Brahman
अहं, ahaṃ – I

So Ham is the mantra of our breath, which is constantly, continuously repeated by jiva, consciously or unconsciously (for more details, see Ajapa-gayatri). The reverse reading of this mantra gives us हंसः haṃsaḥ, which literally means "swan", and symbolically it is the principle of the Sun and the embodied soul (jiva).

Ham-kara is Shiva, samhara-bija (dissolution), and Sa-kara is Shakti and srishti-bija (creation). They are also prana and apana, in more understandable language – inhalations and exhalations. Through the natural breath "Soham" the natural union of Shiva and Shakti occurs, from which anahata-nada (natural sound and pulsation) is revealed. That is, this interaction produces prana and consciousness (chidakashaka spandana). Some texts link this anahata with the pranava "Om". In one interesting work of Jagad Guru Shankaracharya Svarupananda, "Srividya-rahasya", he says that when Sa and Ha disappear from "Soham", only "Om" remains – as anahata and the original sound of Shabda-brahman. 

Read more about the mantra "Soham" and its connection with matrika (Sanskrit alphabet) in our article.