Om: The Significance

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Om or Aum (both the sound and the symbol) is considered sacred in Hindu religion. It is the most revered and the most significant symbol in Hindu mythology and religion. It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred sound. It ought to be uttered at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas and before sounding any prayer or mantra. It is considered to be the very essence of the Vedas as most of the hymns contained in the Vedas begin and end with the enchanting of this sacred sound. In fact, the Mandukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the explanation of this syllable.

On the existential level, Om or Aum is nothing but pure consciousness. It is the sound of the universe that we can hear when we are silent. It is the sound within us when we meditate. It is the sound of life that we can feel as we breathe in and breathe out. It is sound of the hum and the din that is around us and within us. It is the first sound when we start to speak and it is the last sound as our voice reverberates ad infinitum through sound waves into the vast emptiness. When we have Om in our heart, when we are conscious of its presence within us, it is an experience of calm, peace and tranquility. When we are conscious of the unity of Om within us and without us, it is an experience of the unity of soul with the Supreme Soul, of atma with paramatma; it is the state of pure bliss and contentment.

Though commonly spelled Om, the mantra actually consists of three letters a, u, and m. Each of these three parts has numerous metaphysical connotations. For example, a represents our waking state, which is also the subjective consciousness, our outer world; u is the dreaming state, or the consciousness of our inner world of thoughts, dreams, memories, and so on; and m is the dreamless state of deep sleep and the experience of ultimate unity. By contemplating the meaning of each of these letters as we chant them, we are led through the three states of our ordinary consciousness to the mantras fourth part, the transcendent state of consciousness.

According to another school of thought, the syllable consists of three phonemes, a, u and m, symbolizing the Three Vedas or the three stages in life (birth, life and death). Though apparently in some traditions it is considered as polysyllabic and vocalized as a triphthong, the syllable Om is held to move through and contain all vowels possible in human speech. It is the first sound of the Universe, which is corroborated by the “Big Bang” theory and the Bible. The Bible says, “In the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God…” It is said to be the primordial sound that was present at the creation of the Universe and contains all other sounds, all words, all languages and all mantras.

Even other major world religions have expressions, like “Amen” in Christianity and “Amin” in Islam, that sound similar to Om. Some scholars suggest that, though there is no evidence of co-relation between these expressions, somewhere there lies a common lineage. It is also believed that Om is the first garrulous sound that primitive humans uttered, before the origin and evolution of modern languages.