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What is the meaning of OM?
The whole world has evolved from Om;
The whole world is sustained by Om;
The whole world will merge into Om-
In Om resides my strength.
-Sivayave.
"OM TAT SAT OM"
Aum: Often spelled Om. The mystic syllable of Hinduism, placed at the beginning
of most sacred writings. As a mantra, it is pronounced aw (as in law), oo (as in
zoo), mm. Aum represents the Divine, and is associated with Lord Ganesha, for
its initial
sound "aa," vibrates within the muladhara, the chakra at the base of the spine
upon which this God sits. The second sound of this mantra, "oo," vibrates within
the throat and chest chakras, the realm of Lord Murugan, or Kumara, known by the
Hawaiian people as the God Ku. The third sound, "mm," vibrates within the
cranial chakras, ajna and sahasrara, where the Supreme God reigns. The dot
above, called anusvara, represents the Soundless Sound, Paranada. Aum is
explained in the Upanishads as standing for the whole world and its parts,
including past, present and future. It is from this primal vibration that all
manifestation issues forth. Aum is the primary, or mula mantra, and often
precedes other mantras. It may be safely used for chanting and japa by anyone of
any religion. Its three letters represent the three worlds and the powers of
creation, preservation and destruction. In common usage in several Indian
languages, aum means "yes, verily" or "hail."
Literally, Pranava in Sanskrit means "humming." The mantram "Aum" denotes God as
the Primal Sound. This sound can be heard as the sound of one's own nerve
system, and meditators and mystics hear it daily, like the sound made by an
electrical transformer or a swarm of bees, or a thousand vinas playing in the
distance. It is a strong, inner experience, one that yogis hold with great
reverence. The meditator is taught to inwardly transform this sound into the
inner light which lights up ones' thoughts, and to bask in this blissful
consciousness of light. Pranava is also known as the sound of the nadanadi sakti.
Hearing it one draws near to God Consciousness. When we are living in the lower
chakras, or when the world too strongly dominates our mind, this sound may, for
a time, not be heard. But it returns as awareness withdraws, as the mind becomes
perfectly quiescent, silent, still. Listen for this sound in your quietest
moments and you will learn to recognize it as a daily encounter with the Divine
that lives within all men, within all creatures, within all existence.
The meaning of "OM"
by Anil Kapoor
"Omkar" is a religious symbol of the Hindus. But it is
omnipresent in almost all the major cultures of our world.
Another way of saying Om is Aum. Aum is the sound of the
infinite. Aum is said to be the essence of all mantras and Vedas, the highest of
all mantras or divine word. By sound and form, AUM symbolizes the infinite
Brahman and the entire universe.
"A" stands for Creation.
"U" stands for Preservation.
"M" stands for Destruction or dissolution.
This represents the Trinity of God in Hindu dharma (Brahma,
Vishnu and Shiva).
The three portions of AUM relate to the states of waking, dream and deep sleep
and the three guans (rajas, satva, tamas). The three letters also indicate three
planes of existence, heaven, earth and the netherworld. AUM can represent all
the words produced by the human vocal organ. A is produced by the throat, U & M
by the lips. In the Vedas, AUM is the sound of the Sun, the sound of Light. It
is the sound of assent. It has an upward movement and uplifts the soul, as the
sound of the divine eagle or falcon.
The pronunciation of the word "Om" symbolizes the totality of all sounds as it
includes all other sounds that humans can utter. This idea of totality also
exists in the English word "Omnipresent" that includes Om as its prefix. We also
have words like Omnipotent and Omniscient, all of which have the concept of
totality in their meanings.
The ancient Greek alphabet had Omega as its last letter. Omega written in the
lower case of the Greek alphabet, if turned to its side, looks quite similar to
the Sanskrit way of writing Om. It is from the Greek alphabet "Omega" that we
have the English phrase "the alpha and Omega", which means, "to include
everything". It is said that the word Om has been used to make other words. The
Christian term "Amen" is said to have some link with "Om" as also the Islamic
term "Amin". Both of these terms are similar to Om.
Arya Samaj
The
Meaning of OM
by Jim Gilman
Hari
Aum. Aum ityetadaksharam idam
sarvam
tasyopavyakhyanam
bhutam
bhavad bhavishyaditi sarvam Omkara eva.
Yachchanyat trikalatitam tadapyomkara eva.
Hari Aum.
Aum, the word, is all this.
A clear explanation of it is the following.
All that is past, present and future is verily Aum.
That which is beyond the triple conception of time, is also truly Aum.
This is the opening mantra of the Mandukya Upanishad, the shortest, and subtlest
of all the major Upanishads, the most revered scriptures of Hinduism. In this
Upanishad, we have the classic exposition of the meaning of Aum, the most sacred
of all mantras.
For westerners, the ambiguity of spelling may be perplexing. Is it "Om," or
"Aum"? In Sanskrit, the sound "O" is a diphthong, actually spelled "AU." It is
pronounced more like the English "O" than the pure sound found in Italian or
German. The difference in spelling is merely a matter of transliteration.
The mantra begins with a salutation, Hari Aum. It goes on to state that Aumkara
(the word Aum) is all this. The term idam (this) is a technical term in the
Upanishads, which refers to the phenomenal world. So that the student is not
confused, the Upanishad goes on to define what the phenomenal world is. In this
mantra, it is described in terms of Time. Anything that exists in the past,
present, or the future, is included in Aum. It includes anything that has a
beginning and an end, that has qualities and form, that exists in Space as well
as Time, and includes subtle as well as gross phenomena, meaning thoughts and
feelings as well as physical objects.
But is this all? The mantra goes on to state that Aum includes that which is
beyond this triple conception of Time. To what is the mantra referring? What is
That which encompasses the phenomenal world, yet is also beyond the phenomenal
world? This is made clear in the next mantra.
Sarvam
hyetad Brahma
Ayam Atma Brahma
Soyam Atma chatushpat.
All this is verily Brahman.
This Self is Brahman
This Self has four quarters.
This next mantra again uses the term idam (this). It states that all this is
Brahman. Brahman is the Sanskrit word for Ultimate Reality. It is a neuter noun
(beyond gender specificity!) that is difficult to translate. It means, God,
Ultimate Sentience, Reality, Infinity, Immensity, and yet much more. Later on,
the Upanishad will call it avyapadesham, which means "un-talk-about-able." But
what is this Brahman? How do we come to know it? Where can it be found? This is
discussed in the next phrase.
The next statement in the mantra is one of the four Mahavakyas, (Great
Utterances) the most profound and concise teachings of the Upanishads, which
indicate the essence of Vedanta philosophy. It states 'This Self (Atman) is
Brahman."
What a revolutionary statement! It locates Divinity not in the heavens, not far
away from us, not as some unknowable mystery only to be worshiped from afar, but
as the very Self of every creature. This Self is not something with which we
have some relationship. We will never know the Self as an object of our
awareness. Rather, this Self shines as "I," the eternal Subject. Just as a
person cannot see his or her eyes, or cannot taste his or her own tongue, so
also, we cannot "see" the Self in any objective sense. But even though we
have not seen our eyes as objects, we KNOW that we see,. So also, this Self is
eternally known, and directly experienced all the time, as "I," the one by whom
all else is known. The Self is also swayam bhu, or Self evident. The Self knows
Itself, not as an object, but as pure Subjectivity. This eternal Subject, which
shines as the light of awareness, is infinite, spacious, without qualities or
form, beginningless and endless. It is the Eternal Essence. This is what God is.
This Self IS Brahman.
Now comes the interesting part! The mantra goes on to say that this Self, this
Brahman has four quarters (pada). This doesn't mean four quarters like a cow has
four feet. It doesn't mean that the Infinite can be divided up. It means that we
can discuss it as four topics, trying to understand its nature. Remember, the
scriptures do not define Reality, they only indicate it. They point to it using
the suggestive language of images. Swami Chinmayananda used to say that a yogi
must have the mind and heart of a poet to appreciate the suggestive quality of
the sacred mantras of scripture. The Upanishad represents these four areas of
discussion by the four matras, or letters of Aum. but wait a minute! Aum seems
to have only three! No, it has four. "A," "U," "M," and "SILENCE!"
The first quarter, "A," represents the waking state. This includes the entire
world of matter, from the smallest sub-atomic particle up to the cosmos itself.
It is the world we see in our ordinary waking state mentality.
The second quarter, "U," represents the dream state. This is a metaphor. It
stands for the subtle world of thoughts, emotions, images, memories, and the
like. It is the interior world, perceived through the mind.
The third quarter, "M," represents the deep sleep state. This is the state where
mind is folded up into complete unconsciousness. In deep sleep, the universal
experience is "I know nothing." Yet it is experienced, because upon awakening,
we can remember that we have slept.
The fourth quarter, "SILENCE," represents the Consciousness that illumines the
three prior states, and which pervades them all. During the waking state, it is
"I" who knows the phenomenal world. During the dream state, it is "I" who knows
the various thoughts, emotions, images and the like. During the deep sleep
state, it is "I" who illumines the mind submerged in the dark of deep sleep.
Though this Consciousness pervades the three states, it is independent and
beyond them too. It is the eternal Self, which was before the universe came into
being, and which will remain not only after the body dies, but even after the
dissolution of the whole creation.
The great saint, Gaudapada, in his Karika, or commentary on this Upanishad says,
"He who knows both the experiencer and the objects of experience that have been
described and associated with the three states, is not affected through
experiencing the objects." He is referring to the great benefit of Self
Realization. By contemplating and meditating on this Self, that is eternally
present throughout all of our experiences, and is ever the same, we come to see
that this Self is in fact immutable. It never changes. It cannot be improved,
and it cannot be diminished. We don't become one with God. We already are what
God is! We only need to realize this, as our own direct experience. This
realization brings us true peace, and releases the mind from the tyranny of ego.
So now we have an intellectual understanding of Aum. The next step is to
penetrate deeply into it. This takes long and continuous meditation. It also
takes renunciation. This does not mean living in some austere life style. It
means to give up our attachment to the belief that the world of objects,
emotions, and thoughts has any intrinsic reality. It is in truth, like a long
dream.... Only the Self is real. Only the Self IS. All else is but fleeting
images projected on the Screen of Consciousness. Let them go. Don't get involved
with them. Stay home in your Self Nature. Hurry home. Hari Om!
More on OM:
The Sacred Syllable OM - Georg Feuerstein
In the Himalayan Yoga tradition, the OM mantra is also used, please visit
SwamiJ's
site for more information.
Tibetan
Buddhists also use the OM "mantra" (prayer)
Tibetan
Buddhists believe that saying the mantra (prayer),
Om Mani Padme Hum,
out loud or silently to oneself, invokes the powerful benevolent attention and
blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion. Viewing the written form
of the mantra is said to have the same effect -- it is often carved into stones,
and placed where people can see them.
Spinning
the written form of the mantra around in a
Mani wheel (or prayer wheel) is
also believed to give the same benefit as saying the mantra, and
Mani
wheels, small hand wheels and large wheels with millions of copies of the mantra
inside, are found everywhere in the lands influenced by Tibetan Buddhism.
"Om Mani Padme Hum"
Click here to
listen to it
It is said that all the
teachings of the Buddha are contained in this mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum can not
really be translated into a simple phrase or sentence.
It is appropriate,
though, to say a little about the mantra, so that people who want to use it in
their meditation practice will have some sense of what they are doing, and
people who are just curious will understand a little better what the mantra is
and why it is so important to Tibetan Buddhists. We begin in the next section
with some information about the mantra itself.
The Mani mantra
is the most widely used of all Buddhist mantras, and open to anyone who feels
inspired to practice it -- it does not require prior initiation by a lama
(meditation master).
The six syllables of
the mantra, as it is often pronounced by Tibetans -- Om Mani Padme Hum --
Reading from left to
right the syllables are:
|
Om
(ohm)
|
Ma
(mah)
|
Ni
(nee)
|
Pad
(pahd)
|
Me
(may)
|
Hum
(hum)
|
The vowel in the sylable Hu
(is pronounced as in the English word 'book'. The final consonant in that
syllable is often pronounced 'ng' as in 'song' -- Om Mani Padme Hung. There is
one further complication: The syllable Pad is pronounced Pe (peh) by many
Tibetans: Om Mani Peme Hung.
The mantra originated
in India; as it moved from India into Tibet, the pronunciation changed because
some of the sounds in the Indian Sanskrit language were hard for Tibetans to
pronounce.
|
Sanskrit
form
|
Om Mani Padme Hum
mantra of
Avalokiteshvara
|
|
Tibetan
form
|
Om Mani Peme Hung
mantra of Chenrezig
|
The True Sound of Truth
An old story speaks
about a similar problem. A devoted meditator, after years concentrating on a
particular mantra, had attained enough insight to begin teaching. The student's
humility was far from perfect, but the teachers at the monastery were not
worried.
A few years of
successful teaching left the meditator with no thoughts about learning from
anyone; but upon hearing about a famous hermit living nearby, the opportunity
was too exciting to be passed up.
The hermit lived alone
on an island at the middle of a lake, so the meditator hired a man with a boat
to row across to the island. The meditator was very respectful of the old
hermit. As they shared some tea made with herbs the meditator asked him about
his spiritual practice. The old man said he had no spiritual practice, except
for a mantra which he repeated all the time to himself. The meditator was
pleased: the hermit was using the same mantra he used himself -- but when the
hermit spoke the mantra aloud, the meditator was horrified!
"What's wrong?" asked
the hermit.
"I don't know what to
say. I'm afraid you've wasted your whole life! You are pronouncing the mantra
incorrectly!"
"Oh, Dear! That
is terrible. How should I say it?"
The meditator gave the
correct pronunciation, and the old hermit was very grateful, asking to be left
alone so he could get started right away. On the way back across the lake the
meditator, now confirmed as an accomplished teacher, was pondering the sad fate
of the hermit.
"It's so fortunate that
I came along. At least he will have a little time to practice correctly before
he dies." Just then, the meditator noticed that the boatman was looking quite
shocked, and turned to see the hermit standing respectfully on the water, next
to the boat.
"Excuse me, please. I
hate to bother you, but I've forgotten the correct pronunciation again. Would
you please repeat it for me?"
"You obviously don't
need it," stammered the meditator; but the old man persisted in his polite
request until the meditator relented and told him again the way he thought the
mantra should be pronounced.
The old hermit was saying the
mantra very carefully, slowly, over and over, as he walked across the surface of
the water back to the island.
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