By Sanjib Mukherjee,
One of the most commonly used, yet most misunderstood words in our vedic tradition is the universal sound Aum (or Om as sometimes pronounced in the west).
Aum is a sanskrit word made up of three syllables, “aaa, ooo and mmm”. The “aaa” sound in the beginning signifies the first of the three primal energy sources in the conscious trilogy and represents the creation (Brahma) of all matter, sounds and vibrations. The “ooo” sound signifies the maintenance (Vishnu) of all which has been created and symbolises the continuity and evolvement of life as we know it in any given moment. The final vibration “mmm” is related to the end of whatever has been manifested and the eventual transformation (Shiva) and return of consciousness to its original source. Together these three vibrations making up the word Aum constitute the creation, maintenance and transformation of every vibration of energy that has ever existed.
The true beauty of yoga knowledge is the way universal truths are related to each of us at a very practical level, and thus to understand the personal implications of chanting Aum, we need to delve a little further.
Our nervous system runs throughout the spinal chord and along the length of our spine lies a series of energy centres (or chakras as more commonly known). Each chakra has the ability to release a certain aspect of consciousness within our mind-body complex and when all 7 of these centres are opened in unison, we find ourselves completely connected to the universal source of energy which governs our entire existence. The first chakra is located at the base of the spine, the second just behind the genitals, third behind the navel, fourth in the heart, fifth behind the throat, sixth between the eyebrows and the final one is found just above the top of our head. The path of the energy fields released from the 1st chakra to the 7th chakra runs up the spine in a criss-cross manner, like a snake (the uncoiling movement of energy is also referred to as the rising of the kundali from the base chakra).
When chanting the sound of Aum, remember we spoke about the first “aaa” sound representing creation. I want you to try a little experiment here….close your eyes and sing out the sound “aaaaaaaaahhhhh…. observe your body closely and notice where you feel any sensations deep within. You should feel the lower part of your spine vibrating in a lively manner. Now take a deep breathe and as you exhale, chant the second sound of Aum; “ooooo”….here you should notice a tingling sensation within your heart. Finally, take another deep breath and chant the final sound “mmm”…from here you will feel your head vibrating in an easy manner. It may take a few moments of practice to realise these vibrations when initially making the sounds, but with a little bit of perseverance you will definitely notice the relevant vibrations within your body.
The three syllables consituting the word Aum, releases every energy centre within our spine from the base right through to the top of our head. Chanting Aum awakens our latent life forces and connects our individual consciousness with the higher universal consciousness. Thus this one simple word is able to elevate us our highest potential. When we speak about the higher consciousness, notice there is no reference to terminology such as “God, Krishna, Allah, Christ, Buddha etc”…. energy has always existed, the words we use to describe its power have brought about many differences and wars in the world today and somewhere down the line, mankind has forgotten the original source of where all these words came from.
As well as having an immense devotional application to a seeker’s spiritual growth, Aum also has a strong scientific approach in it’s every day use. When the ancient rishi’s uncovered the universal truths of life, the truth was simply spoken as the truth. In subsequent years, knowledge has been broken down into such categories as religion, politics, science, maths, physiology etc etc…. but every wisdom must ultimately always come back to the same place.
Aum is probably the most powerful word in the vedic language, due to the depth and nature of it’s meaning. Through chanting this one word alone, we release all our internal energy centres and connect with the supreme source of life energy (which I personally call God, but everyone is free to call whatever they wish to). For a scientist, there is a great deal of research which can be done to further study the effects of chanting Aum’s vibrations on the nervous system, but for a devotee like myself, Aum is the connection between myself and God.
Each time I chant Aum before any meditation I am seeking the divine, like a lover would call their beloved. Though fully aware of the scientific implications of this word, my only concern is to reach this universal source of energy. Faith in any practice is a strong component to what you may experience. Normally in science, proof is required before belief can occur, but for us spiritual yogi’s it’s the other way round…we start with the belief and then end up with the proof.
I could speak forever just on this one topic about Aum, but hopefully there is enough written here to give a deeper meaning to this enchanting word and why all of us true seekers hold this primal sound with such reverence and affection.
Love and blessing to you all,
Aum Shanti..:)
Sanjib
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Aum is also considered to be the nearest of the ‘Anaahat’ sound that is heard in deep samaadhi.
‘Anaahat’ sound is different from other sound forms that we hear. It is said that ‘Anaahat’ is a continuum which represents permanence of the existence. This was, is and will be for ever irrespective of whether matter exist, because this sound is not produced by striking of matter like other sounds that we hear.
Hi Vinay, thanks for your response..would you be able to speak a bit more about “Anaahat”..I’m sure many people would be interested to learn more…thanks
We are made up of matters. So long as our consciousness is restricted to material capabilities we are bound to live like any animal.We’ll be seeing what our eyes could see by the virtue of its limited number of cones and cylinders and so we won’t be seeing EXACTLY the object.
So we end up seeing this world not as it is in reality, but as our senses allow us to. But the person who is seeing this world is neither eyes, nor ears, but we are somebody who ‘uses’ eyes and ears.
Now what will happen if we just close our eyes and ears? The person inside will remain there and the consciousness will start flowing inside. When a person practices this for long, s/he starts hearing sound without help of ears.
That sound actually comes from inside which is present everywhere caled ‘Anaahat’. Now qestion may arise that if it is present everywhere all the time why we can’t hear it? We can not hear it because our consciousness was dependent and entangled to the senses which have tendency to create thought waves and thought itself is a big hindrance to realization of true picture.
For starters, you can actually feel how ‘Anahat’ would be like, if you do one experiment as follows.
Tibetans are very innovative in expressing spiritual powers. Few years back I was in mussoorie.This place is in Dehradun district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. In a shop I found a type of Bell. I do not remember the name that bell. There comes is a stick with it. When we create friction by moving stick with the outer periphery of the bell, it creates a sound. The quality of that sound is like somebody is chanting OM.
If you are playing this bell in one room, very soon that room will be filled up with that OM sound and gradually next room will also hear the same sound. Surprisingly, the quality of this sound is such that you can not tell exactly the source of this sound. People get mistaken about the location of this bell when it is rung. This shows that it is omnipresent sound. Sourcing from everywhere, surrounding you.
There is a lot of research going on in the field of acoustic and the more you go deep into it, you feel like going towards no-sound. When this happens, the stage comes when you feel extreme joy in sitting closing your eyes and ears and immersed in ‘Anaahat’.”
wow, you spoke so beautifully and eloquently Vinay..thanks for sharing such precious wisdom..:)
Sanjib, Thanks for starting such a wonderful topic! Like its (OM) attribute, there is no end to its description as well.
Amazing …listening to this word from birth…still was not aware that a little word has so much depth in it…
all powers BRAHMA,VISHNU N SHIVA ..in just a single word..
wow..i really realy liked this article yet think that have to read it again n again to understand it thoroughly…n have to practise as u told this word is so much effective….. good knowledge of chakra you have given Sanjib…
but for a person like me the most impressive was your way of depiction…it was that the chanting of AUM before meditation is like seeking divine like a lover wud call their beloved…so nice beautiful depiction and can be felt by heart..like krishna’s flute attracting his beloved …wow..thank you so much for sharing your knowledge thought and inspiration to us ..will surely try to understand it thoroughly by reading it again…
regards..rekha..
Thanks for your kind words Rekha…yah, when we study further it’s amazing how practical all this knowledge really becomes…it’s why I love vedic wisdom so much:)
Great na you do all efforts of studying urself and give the essential points to us to read…like churning of milk you do and give us the prepared butter to enjoy…
I can never go and study the big big heavy books myself..so scared of that to concentrate so much…yet we can have feel of the vedic wisdom through you…thanks a million ..
oh wow!this is so so informative and beautifully written
Thank you so much for this article…
beautifully explained
om shanti wow,its amazing
we generally use words like hari om,om shanti,etc–now i know d meaning-wow–thnx sanjib n all–
Sanjib, The Tibetan bell I was talking about is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpw53tN6h8E&feature=related
Aum…. a little but powerful word….learnt it as a child growing up… practiced it with proper posture and felt the vibrations of the chakras……
Thank you Sanjib… for sharing your wisdom….
hey thanks Vinay for the lovely music sharing–bhuddhism is great–
my wish got fulfilled.. Thank you..
Thanks for giving me a new perspective. Chanting Aum has always brought me peace and healing but I never felt the complete strength of this wonderful word until I tried your little experiment today..can’t thank you enough..
Omiti Ekaksharam Brahma,as said By Krishna in Bhagvat Geeta.
Thank you. I think about several times a day. Our connection to AUM is beyond what we can describe…
I will incorporate some of the ideas in the meditation class I teach this evening.
Great topic & article, Sanjib! Wonderful discussion too. Loved Vinay’s explanation about Anaahat.
Also, if you observe carefully while chanting AUM, you can see the focal point of vibration rising from the lower part of body all the way to the nasal region.
Om kar Pradhan Rup Ganesha che,
hey Tinihi Devanche Janmastan (1)
a..karat Brahma, U..karat Vishnu,
M..karat Mahesh jaaniyela (2)
Aise tinihi Dev Jethoni utpan… See More
Toa ha Gajanann MaiBaap (3)
Tuka Mahane Aisi ahaye VED VAANI
Pahavi Puraani VYASACHIYA
‘OM’ : OMnescient, OMnipotent, OMnipresent….
It is strange how all these words relating to the concept of God begin with the letters ‘OM’.
So beautifully explained Sanjeev….AUM is the first word we write on new born’s tongue with honey…. we are connecting with it since then. Thanks…God bless you
The true meaning of OM..it is the one point.. or called as BINDU… Omkar…
thanks sanjib…
An eye opener indeed!!thanks,so much wisdom flowing in my direction in one single day…..Thanks Sanjib,appreciate your efforts for keeping it so alive and interesting….
feel ilke to merge in the sound of OM & experiece it’s devinity
great Sanjib
Thank you Sanjib for sharing this knowledge….it brought peace to my mind after reading this article. Ohm or Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Ohm
WOW!!
Thanks for sharing it again……it’s beautiful to see the magnificent dimensions of…….”AUM”
Thank you so much Sanjib..for an excellent article on” Om..”:)