ॐ (Aum or Om) is the most sacred of holy words, the supreme mantra. Aum is also called the Pranava, a Sanskrit word which means both controller of life force (prana) and life-giver (infuser of prana). “That which causes all the pranas to prostrate themselves before and get merged in the Paramatman, so as to attain identity with Him, is for that reason known as the Pranava.” – Atharvashikha Upanishad 1:10a. The available literature upon the significances of the Vedic mantra is almost voluminous. Nowhere in the world can we meet with a more sacred symbol that has got such a vast amount of significance. "Mayest Thou (AUM) O God, Who art (Mitra), Friend of all, (Varuna) Holiest of all, and )Aryama) Controller of the Universe, be merciful unto us. Mayest thou (Indra) O Lord Almighty, (Brihaspati) the Lord of the Universe, the Support of all, endow us with knowledge and power. Mayest thou (Vishnu) O Omnipresent and (Urukrama) Omnipotent Being, shower Thy blessings all around us." RIG VEDA. ॐ ' is the highest name of God; it is composed of three letters, A, (a-kāra), U(u-kāra)& M (ma-kāra) This one name comprises many other names of God. Thus, briefly:- A stands for shape like Viraat, Vishwa (Earth), etc. . U stands for formless or shapeless like Hiranyagarbha, Vaayu (Air) and Tajjas, etc. M stands for I'shwara, A'ditya and Prajnaa, etc. Vedas and other true Shastraas, that whatever they treat of God; all these names stand for Him. The Katha Upanishad said: sarve vedā yat padam āmananti /tapām̐si sarvāṇi ca yad vadanti / yad icchanto brahmacaryaṃ caranti/tat te padaṃ saṃgraheṇa bravīmy / om ity-etat // KU-1.2.15 "The goal, which all Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which humans desire when they live a life of conscience, I will tell you briefly it is aum" etad dhy evākṣaraṃ brahma /etad dhy evākṣaraṃ param / etad dhy evākṣaraṃ jñātvā / yo yad icchati / tasya tat // KU-1.2.16 "The one syllable [evākṣara, viz. aum] is indeed Brahman. This one syllable is the highest. Whosoever knows this one syllable obtains all that he desires. etad ālambanaṃ śreṣṭham / etad ālambanaṃ param / etad ālambanaṃ jñātvā / brahmaloke mahīyate // KU- 1.2.17 "This is the best support; this is the highest support. Whosoever knows this support is adored in the world of Brahma." The Chāndogya Upanishad(1.1.1-1) states: om ity-etad akṣaram udgītham upāsīta / aum iti hy udgāyati / tasyopavyākhyānam "The udgi:tā ["the chanting", that is, the syllable om] is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place, the eighth." The Bhagavad Gitā(8.13) states that: Uttering the monosyllable Aum, the eternal world of Brahman, One who departs leaving the body (at death), he attains the Supereme Goal (i.e., he reaches God). In Bhagavad Gi:tā (9.17): Lord Krishna says to Arjuna - "I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable Oḿ. I am also the Ṛig, the Sāma and the Yajur Vedas." The Bhagvad Gi:tā (17.23) has: om tatsatiti nirdesho brahmanstrividhah samratah "OM, tat and sat has been declared as the triple appellation of Brahman, who is Truth, Consciousness and Bliss." OM thus represents the entire manifested world and the unmanifest, and also that which lies beyond both the manifest and the unmanifest – the Brahman, which is the changeless substratum for the changing objects of the world of experience. Source: वेद
Om is an universally chanted mantra which has its origination in the Hindu spiritual texts. We can hear it being said in almost every Hindu ritual. But what we fail to understand is why it is chanted and how it should be chanted. The sheer beauty of the Om mantra is the link it has with the universe. Interestingly, when Om is chanted, the frequency at which it vibrates is 432 Hz. It is exactly the same as the vibrational frequency of all the elements present in nature. What this basically signifies is that we are spiritually and physically in harmony with the world we live in. Another thing that we have to keep in mind is that in order to create the correct vibrational frequency, the mantra has to be enunciated in the right manner to reap the benefits. OM is pronounced as AUM and it mainly consist of 4 syllables. A,U,M and silent syllable. The first syllable A is pronounced as a prolonged 'Awe', U is pronounced as a sustained 'Oo' and M is recited as a prolonged 'Mmm'. Finally, the silent syllable is nothing but a deep silence that extends to infinity. During the chant, different parts of our vocal box is activated creating a different part of the throat to vibrate. Overall, the syllables of AUM is said to embody the divine energy which we commonly refer to as Shakti.
The Om symbol represents divinity and the unity of all the creations of God. Aum or Om presents the never ending Brahman where all kinds of life exist.
Real meaning of ‘Om’ : Some Hindu Scriptures like the Mandukya Upanishad are entirely devoted to the explanation of ‘Om’, which may give some idea about how profound this syllable is - it is considered to be the primal sound, Divine syllable. In brief, the syllable ‘Om’ or ‘Aum’ is taken to consist of three phonemes, ‘a’, ‘u’ and ‘m’, variously symbolising the 3Vedas, the Hindu trimurti(‘a’ representing Brahma, ‘u’ Vishnu and ‘m’ Shiva) or the 3 stages in life (birth, life and death). ‘Om’ is a sacred syllable representing Brahman, the impersonal Absolute of Hinduism - omnipotent, omnipresent, and the source of all manifest existence.
