Şafak Çatalbaş

Citizen Cosmos Om Competition

20/07/2014

This is a game that anybody who is waiting for their trains at the main station can join. It will take max. 5 minutes. It is called the “Om Competition”, played between two opponents. First competitor will breathe deeply through the nose and start saying the “Om” mantra until he/she is out of breath – and I will measure the time. Then the other one will start to say “Om” – and I will measure the time. The one who has uttered the longest lasting “Om” will be the winner, taking the title “Citizen Cosmos”. Having the “Citizen Cosmos” title provides its owner many benefits regarding travel issues.

Citizen Cosmos can travel around the world, around the universe, the space, galaxies and so on.
Citizen Cosmos is free of visa.
Citizen Cosmos is welcome everywhere – but only for the duration of one “Om”.

“Om” is said to be the primordial sound that was present at the creation of the universe. It is said to be the original sound that contains all other sounds, all words, all languages and all mantras.
“Om” is more than a sound, but the vibration of the universe. It is the frequency of energy that connects and joins all things together.
“Om” is the sound of the universe – it represents the past, present and future.

Lord Ganesha represents Pranava, the seed syllable OM, which means “Cosmic Sound.”

I, as the organizer of the Om Competition, announce the winner. I do it in the present.
I declare the promises of the winner’s title “Citizen Cosmos”, which is about the future as being a promise.
In the end, I declare that the period of the validity of the “Citizen Cosmos” title is limited with the duration of one “Om”, which has already been uttered by the winner in the recent past.

In the end, beyond the representation, Om Competition itself is the past, present and future at the same time.

This game is an attempt to be a part of the universe but only within its limitations. Keeping the possibility of a zone beyond the representation is the core of this attempt. Since the start of the civilization, measuring the unmeasurable has been our routine and we all are part of the universe as long as we are aware of this routine. How to do with this awareness is up to the person – but anyway, the universe won’t take it personally for sure.

May the cosmic sound be with you!