In Hinduism om ॐ is considered as one of the most religious symbols of all. It is considered as the beginning sound and represents the whole universe. It refers to the formless aspect of God. The Upanishads claim that Om is indeed the God in form of sound.
Om is chanted everyday basis in every Hindu household. All the Sanskrit prayers and mantras start with the word Om. Om is also chanted during meditation, yoga, and pranayama. It has its strong roots in Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism.
The Sound of Om
Om is a powerful sound that lies within us.
When saying it out aloud it encompasses the three words AA, UU, and MM. It represents the union of mind, body, and soul. The sound of is a short seed mantra that is chanted to connect with and energies chakras.
Om is also called Pranava or Akashram. Pranava means the source of life. We can sense this life force as the form of creation, maintenance, and destruction within the human body. The sound attached to these aspects is AA, UU, and MM. These sounds manifest inside the human body just below the navel, at the chest, and above the throat. One should not have gone that far to experience these sounds inside the human body. These three sounds when utter together to form a sound AUM.
Om is the source of Pranik energy/life energy.
While chanting om it represents the four stages of life.
A– Waking state (Man is awake and aware of your thoughts. Man attached to the all-worldly desire and not aware of its true nature)
U– dream state (Man is free from external affairs but caught in internal objects and losses sight of the true nature)
M– deep sleep state (Man travels in a subjective world without being conscious of it, and becomes one with that unconscious subjectivity. In this state man is free from worldly desire but not transcended itself.)
Silence– Ekatma (being one with self) or Turiya state
According to the Vedas, the silence after the “M” in Om is known as the Turiya state or the ultimate state.
It shows that only after chanting om (passing through all three states) man can reach the fourth and the ultimate state where he can be one with self and the universe.
Meaning of om symbol
The Symbol of om ॐ is a combination of अ + ऊ + म् (AA + UU + MM). The om symbol represents the sound in visual form and has a lot of meaning behind it.
Elements of the om symbol
The Om symbol is a combination of curves, a crescent, and a dot. It represents the states of consciousness.
In the symbol,
- The bottom curve reparents the waking state.
- The dream state is the middle curve.
- The upper curve reprents deep sleep state.
- The crescent shape above the curves denotes Maya, or Illusion.
- The dot at the top of the symbol represents the absolute state, which is the fourth state of consciousness and is absolute peace and bliss. In this state someone could truly connect with the Divine and be one with the self.
Maya separates the three states from the last dot O the top stage (Turiya state). It keeps us from the ultimate realization. Through the chanting of om, we have to break the state of Maya and realize the ultimate truth.
How to spell om?
You can spell Aum (actual sound of the word), om, or ohm. In Sanskrit A and U together makes O sound so, anyone from om, ohm, or aum is fine.
Threefold Meaning of Om
The three phonetic components of Aum represent the Hindu trinity Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the sustainer), and Mahesha (the destroyer). Other than that Om also represents the importance of the 3 in every aspect of life. In fact, it has several threefold meanings:
Om represents,
- Three states of time: Past, present and future.
- Three worlds(realms): The heaven, earth and underworld.
- Three main Vedas: Rig, Yajur and Sama
- Three stages of the day: Dawn, afternoon and dusk.
- Three Seasons: Spring, summer & winter
- Three Stages of existence: Birth, life & death (creation, preservation & destruction)
- Three Gunas (qualities): Rajas (energy), Sattva (purity) & Tamas (ignorance)
Why mantra and prayers in Hinduism start with om?
Before starting to play any music, every artist will keep their instrument in tune. Likewise, while you pray to God you have to keep your mind and body in tune with the divine so that you can detach yourself from worldly concerns and focus on what you are doing.
Chanting of Om makes you aware of the existence of the pure/ultimate consciousness and converts oneself to divinity. it calms the nerves, soothes the emotion, and brings the focus back to the moment or prayer you are doing.
This is like tuning/purifying your body and mind before starting the prayer.
Importance in other religions
Every religion tried to express the sound of God in its own terminology.
Like, Aameen in Islam
Amen in Christianity
Likewise, all religion has their own representation of Om.
Om In Jainism
In Jainism Om (AAAUM) is one syllable short form of the initials of the five Parmeshtis: “Arihant, Asharira, Acharya, Upajjhaya, Muni”.
The Om symbol is also used to denote the five lines of the Navkar mantra which is a very important part of the daily prayers in Jainism. Navkar mantra is dedicated to the panch Parmeshtis.
Om In Buddhism
In Tibetan Buddhism, Om is often placed at the beginning of mantras and dharanis (mantras in Buddhism consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases).
The 14th Dalai Lama described the Om as the combination of the three pure letters: A, U, and M, which shows the impure body, speech, and mind of the unenlightened common man. They also symbolize the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of an enlightened Buddha.
Om In Sikhism
Sikhism also vales the sound of Om. Ik Onkar is the first word of the Sikh holy scripture Guru Granth Sahib.
Ik Onkar means one Supreme reality without shape or form.
Etymologically, the word Onkar denotes the sacred sound, Om. Onkar is another way of spelling Om.
Benefits of chanting om
By chanting, Om creates a subtle vibration within the body at a cellular level and that helps to create a connection between oneself and the greater Nature.
Chanting of Om can,
- Cleanse, focus and harmonize one’s chakras and energetic channels (nadis).
- Calm your body and mind
- Reduces anxiety and stress
- Improve self-healing power and immune system
- Give a relief from sinus problems
- Improve your concentration
- Balance your emotions can stay calm even in stressful time
- Helps you to stay away from negative energy and emotions
- Improves sleep quality
Om represents the exitance of the god, the energy that drives us.
Om is like one life-changing sound. Chanting it the right way cannot only give health benefits but also elevate us to a spiritual level. The power of Om is accepted all over the world. Scientists also accepted the healing power of Om.