ॐ – The AUM Mantra

  

ॐ – The AUM Mantra
Om or AUM is the most important sound, syllable, symbol which has great spiritual significance not only in Hinduism but also in most religions of the world. AUM is manifesting word of God. AUM is the energy which harmonise our body, mind and soul and connects with Cosmic Consciousness.

From Aum universe projects and into Aum it is again withdrawn. Aum is the mother of all names and forms. In Aum the whole universe, from the minutest atom to the perfect man lives, moves and has its being. Aum is the central secret and the concealed essence of everything, being the background of oneness behind the passing manifoldness. It is the center on which rests the involution and evolution, owing to its omnipresent nature. It is truth eternal, knowledge divine and essence everlasting. It is the Self of everything.
AUM represents the whole sound producing system in the mouth which starts from abdomen to heart to head and ultimately connects to cosmic consciousness. Om is the single most important sound that can, by itself, configure the human body optimally for maximum resonance.

The essence and importance of AUM finds mention in various Upanishads and other religious texts of Hinduism.   It is a sacred spiritual invocation made before and during the recitation of spiritual texts, during puja, ceremonies of rites of samskara, Meditation and Yoga. It is first syllable to initiate most mantras.

The sound and structure of AUM describes four states of consciousness viz. conscious state, active unconscious state, latent unconscious state and pure conscious state which operates through seven instruments & nineteen channels. The three root syllables of AUM represent three deities, three genders, three Vedas, etc.

OM is sacred in Jainism, & Buddhism, as Omkar in Sikhism, Hum in Tibetans, Ameen in Muslims, Amen in Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians.

In a pilot functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging study, the neurohemodynamic correlates of ‘OM’ chanting indicate limbic deactivation. Similar observations have been recorded with vagus nerve stimulation treatment used in depression and epilepsy, the study findings argue for a potential role of this ‘OM’ chanting in clinical practice.

The explanations of AUM, its science, details as per various scriptures of Hinduism and its relevance in other religions are as under: -

Science of AUM
AUM is the basis of all sounds. The first letter, A, is the root sound rises from the belly, lips are parted, pronounced without touching any part of the tongue or palate; the U sound moves from the abdomen into the heart & rolls from the very root to the end of the sounding board of the mouth and the M represents the last sound in the series, being produced by the closed lips which creates a buzzing in the head. Fourth sound fades into nothing. Thus, Om represents the whole phenomena of sound-producing.
 
AUM in Hinduism
In Hinduism, AUM is cosmic sound. Various Upanishads have explained the spiritual concept and divinity of AUM.

1. The AUM is eternal word, free from the past and the future, beyond good and evil and connects with Parmatma. The syllable is expressed in every Tapas - penance, austerity, meditation. (Katho Upanishad -1.2.15-1.2.16)
2. The AUM is song, chant and syllable to meditate on. It is essence of vedas. (Chandogya Upanishad)
3. The AUM is sound of soul. Meditating on Om, is meditating on the Brahman-Atman. The three root syllable are A+U+M which represent three viz. as deities - Brahma, Vishnu & Rudra; as genders - Feminine, Masculine & Neuter; as Vedas – Rig, Sama & Yajur; as world endowed body – Bhur, Bhuvah & Svah; as mouth endowed body - Garhapatya, Dakshinagni and Ahavaniya; as time-endowed body – Past, Present and Future; as heat-endowed body – Breath, Fire and Sun; as growth-endowed body – Food, Water and Moon; as thought-endowed body – intellect, mind and psyche. (Maitrayaniya Upanishad)
4. The sound and structure of AUM describes four states of consciousness which operates through seven instruments (Consciousness, space, air, fire, water, earth and pulsing impulse) & nineteen channels (four functions of mind - manas, chitta, ahamkara, and buddhi, operate through the five pranas - prana, apana, samana, udana, and vyana, five karmendriyas - eliminating, procreating, moving, grasping, and speaking, and the five jnanendriyas of smelling, tasting, seeing, touching, and hearing).
   1. Conscious mind or gross mind (Jagrat, Vaishvanara, Avishva) (biggest curve) – This is waking state; consciousness is turned outward to external world perceived through senses. This is represented by ‘A’.
   2. Active unconscious or subtle mind (Spiritual body, Svaona, Taijasa) (second curve) – This is dreaming state; consciousness is turned towards the inner world and engage the subtle objects of mental realm. The stored-up mental impressions of the objective world produced during the awakened state is represented by ‘U.
   3. Latent unconscious or casual plane (dreamless, Susupti, Prajna) (first curve). This is deep sleep state in which there is neither the desire for any gross or subtle object nor any dream sequences. Here, one is filled with the experience of bliss, and can also find the way to clearer knowledge of the two preceding states. It is represented by ‘M’.
   4. Pure Consciousness or atma or self (Turiya) (Bindu or the dot at the top). This fourth state cannot be experienced through the senses or mind. This is the real Self. It is serene, tranquil, filled with bliss, and is one without second. This is the real or true Self that is to be realized.
5. In dreaming sleep, two kind of powers – avarna shakti and vikshepa shakti play; whereas in dreamless sleep, only avarna shakti exists. The avarna shakti is ignorance or forgetfulness of the reality (Brahman) and the vikshepa shakti is the superimposition of some disguise upon the reality. There is the ignorance of the real Self or Atman and there is the superimposition of the mental vision in the form of dreams. In suhupti only the ignorance of the real nature of one’s own Self remains, but in the state of samadhi both the functions of avidya vanish without vestige. It is ignorance that gives rise to the sleep, which envelops the discriminating power of man at the moment of meditation. It must be kept skillfully under control. When one is in ignorance, he sees the phenomenon and does not see God. When he sees God, this universe vanishes entirely for him. Ignorance of maya, as it is called, is the cause of all this phenomenon, of the absolute, the unchangeable, being taken as this manifested universe. This maya is neither absolute zero nor non-existence. It is defined as neither existence nor non-existence.
6. The Mandukya Upanishad describes the fourth state thus: “Neither inward conscious nor outward conscious, nor conscious of the intermediary state, nor ingathered, nothing else as the consciousness, total consciousness, nor unconsciousness what is invisible, unrelated, unperceivable, devoid of all connotations, unthinkable, indefinable, essentially of the nature of self-consciousness alone, negation of all existence, peaceful, of supreme bliss and unitary is called the fourth foot of the Atman. That is the Atman. He is to be realized.

Raja, Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti Yoga, as well as Kriya, Kundalini, Mantra, Nada, Siddha, and Tantra Yoga etc. finally converge into a unified force directed towards the final stage, piercing the pearl of wisdom called bindu, leading to the Absolute.

1. Uttering AUM syllable is sacred during the acts of yagna (fire ritual), dāna (charity) and tapas (austerity). (The Bhagavad Gita)
2. AUM represents the union of the three gods, viz. A for Brahma, U for Vishnu and M for Shiva. The three sounds also symbolise the three Vedas, namely (Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda) (Vayu Purana)
3. The shruti declares, “The transcendental, unitary state of supreme bliss, devoid of all phenomenal existence is the syllable-less, fourth aspect, thus, Aum is verily Atman.” Vedanta is an exposition of Aum, which covers all laws and forces in the whole universe. The sound ‘Oh’ or ‘Ah’ or ‘ee while weeping’ expressions are distorted form of Aum.
4. According to the ‘Brahma’ Upanishad, the purusha has four seats: the naval, the heart, the throat and the head. In these shines forth the Brahman with four aspects: the state of wakefulness, of dream, of dreamless sleep and the fourth, the transcendental state. In the wakeful state, He is Brahma. In the dream state, He is Vishnu. In dreamless sleep, He is Rudra. In the fourth state, He is the supreme Indestructible One.

 
AUM & other Religions

1. In Buddhism, Om represents the living being―body, speech & mind and is used in many mantras. 
2. In Jainism, Om refers to the initials of the five supreme beings. Om is made up of five letters: A, A, A, U, and M, which together form AAAUM (Arihant - vanquisher of enemies, Ashiri - one who is accomplished, Acharya - a highly learned man, Upajjhaya - an ascetic teacher and Muni - monks/nuns, who are initiated).

1. In Sikhism, Ik Onkar means One God, One Supreme Reality, and is considered a cardinal tenet of Sikh religious philosophy. 'Ik' means one or united. 'On' means ultimate or highest brahma (God) and the Atma (soul) of the entire Universe. 'Kar' means without shape or form.
2. In Islam, Judaism & Christianity, Ameen/Amin/Amen syllable is used according to Quran & Bible, when concluding a prayer to accept the prayer.

​Reference:

1. Voice of Babaji – by V T Neelakantan, S A A Ramaiah, Babaji Nagaraj

1. International Journal of Yoga, Jan-June, 2011
2. http://tripurashakti.com/mandukya-upanishad-12-verses-on-aum/
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandukya_Upanishad
4. http://www.swamij.com/mandukya-upanishad.htm
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om
6. https://spiritualray.com/meaning-of-symbol-om-in-different-religions