Home of Rehnadee Shum, A Language For Meditation

The Primary 18 Shum Images

The Shum Images List consists of 108 Shum images which is akin to the alphabet list of a language. When I first started learning Shum in the monastery in the early 90's there were 72 Shum images. These 72 images were created in the early days of Shum when Gurudeva first discovered the language in 1969. A few years later 36 new images were added to the list.

The first 72 Shum images consists of the first 18 primary images (as shown in the intro picture above) from which 54 more are derived using conjunction and diacritical marks. Of the 36 images that were added later some have connection to the primary 18 while the others are new. The 108 Shum Images List follows. I've used English phonetics to sound the images as I had learned from Gurudeva. 

 

The 108 Shum Images List of Rehnadee Shum

Shum Images 1 to 18

Shum Images 19 to 36

Shum Images 37 to 54

Shum Images 55 to 72

Shum Images 73 to 90

Shum Images 91 to 108

 

Sound Shapes, Connection Stems, and Dimension Count

Each of these 108 Shum Images have three aspects to them. The first, every Shum image is distinct because of its sound shape, conjunction and diacritical marks. Secondly, the sound shape has a connection stem for the images to be connected to one another to form Shum Portraits. The third aspect is the dimension count relating to the 14 Dimensions of Existence that is unique to the Shum language.  
Shum Image Aspects-Sound Shape, Connection Stem and Dimension Count

The Sound Shape of Shum images are coloured in deep brown in the list below. When the Shum language was first spiritually revealed to Gurudeva he clairvoyantly saw these shapes as they were formed by a spark of light with sound of the image heard clairaudiently. After that the rules of conjuctions and diacritical marks were revealed. These sound shapes are set-in-stone and cannot be transformed except for artistic stylisation just like alphabets in other languages.

The Connection Stem of the Shum images is coloured red. The connection stem allow Shum images to be put together as Shum words, however their use is arbitrary. To form a Shum word, Shum images are put together with or without their connection stems but the images in the sequence of a word have to touch each other to be part of the word. The rules for drawing Shum words can be found in Shum Calligraphy (link to be added later). Shum words are also called Shum Portraits since drawing them in a meditation map is an artistic expression of a Shum meditator.

The Dimension Count of each Shum image is given in the blue box below the image. The dimension that the Shum Portrait or Image-Portrait exists in is known by adding together the dimension count of each image and conjunctions in the word. The rules for counting dimensions of a Shum word can be found in Shum Structure and Syntax. The dimension count is an unique aspect of the Shum language. As you study Shum words and do Shum meditations you will find the dimension count invaluable.

Shum Images List with Sound Shape, Connection Stem and Dimension Count

Shum Images List with Sound Shape, Connection Stem and Dimension Count

Shum Images List with Sound Shape, Connection Stem and Dimension Count

Shum Images List with Sound Shape, Connection Stem and Dimension Count

Shum Images List with Sound Shape, Connection Stem and Dimension Count

Shum Images List with Sound Shape, Connection Stem and Dimension Count

 

Founder and Webmaster, Shum Sanctuary
Guhanatha Swami is the Founder of Shum Sanctuary and the principal author of the site's content. His spiritual journey led him to the creation Shum Sanctuary as a means of sharing the Path of Enlightenment with the world. You can connect with him through Shum Sanctuary's contact page. His spiritual journey that led him to his guru and his subsequent introduction to the Shum language is chronicled in the the following article: How A Language Inspired My Spiritual Journey.

Meditation is time for you to be with yourself.