Om – The first word we use in Mantra, the sacred symbol we use to represent god; but have we ever wondered what it truly means? Have we ever wondered its purpose and significance? In this article, I shall give an overview behind this mystical syllable and its importance in understand the concept of our true self.

Before I start explaining it, please perform a small experiment – Just take a deep breath and chant ‘A'( A as in Baba). Now notice the place from where the sound comes from. Similarly, perform the same for U and M. If you notice, you can clearly find that ‘A’ produces vibrations in the lower abdomen, ‘U’ produces vibrations in the chest and ‘M’ produces vibration in the mouth. The goal of ‘Om’ is to create a sound which vibrates your body from lower abdomen to mouth. This will awaken your Muladhara – The root chakra and raise your energy to Ajna – The guru Chakra. The silence after Om is to help the energy navigate from Ajna to Sahasrara.

AUM consists of three letters and each letter carries its own significance. A – The sound which comes from lower stomach is attributed to creator Brahma, just like stomach is used for creation process. The next letter U is attributed to Vishnu, the sustainer of worlds just like the heart is present for sustenance of our physical body.Lastly, the word M is attributed to Shiva, the destroyer just like we use our mind to destroy all the problems that comes before us.

The word from Om originates from the Mandukya Upanishads. A beautiful explanation of it is given by Swami Sarvapriyananda in the video –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZVTuI-rfX4 .

To conclude, Om is such a powerful mantra and we must spend a few minutes daily to chant and reap its benefits. Finally, we must be very happy that our Rishis have researched so much on increasing the subtle energy levels, altering our state of mind to achieve focus,bliss and peace and it is our duty to use these gifts and wisdom they have left behind to become our best possible self.

Further resources to read on Om mantra-

Khurshed Batliwala’s speech on Om : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y27eovkuE0&t=1181s Sadhguru’s speech on Om : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HMgaToaEac&t=681s Acharya Shree Yogeesh speech om Om: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWICEFAHGc8&t=430s