Om
sacred sound and spiritual symbol in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism
(Redirected from Aum)
Om, or Aum (written with the generic Devanagari symbol ॐ) is a sacred, spiritual symbol, mantra and mystical Sanskrit sound, used in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism & esoteric religions. The word signifies the essence of the ultimate reality, consciousness or Atman (soul, self within).
Sure 'nuff, he has the answer … Om mani padme hum. ~ Kate Bush
- Alphabetized by author or source:
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- AUM (OM) is the Word of Glory; it signifies the Word made flesh and the manifestation upon the plane of matter of the second aspect of divinity. This blazing forth of the sons of righteousness before the world is achieved by following the rules herein contained. When all the sons of men have demonstrated that they are also Sons of God, the cosmic Son of God will likewise shine forth with increased intensity of glory. The great initiate, Paul, had a vision of this when he said that "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain . . . waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God." (Rom. VIII.)
- The Word of Ishvara is AUM (or OM). This is the Pranava... Through the sounding of the Word and through reflection upon its meaning, the Way is found.
This is a very general paraphrase but conveys nevertheless the correct significance of the terms used in the Sanskrit. Only Vivekananda, among the many translators, gives this interpretation, putting it as follows: "The repetition of the OM and meditating upon its meaning (is the Way)."- Alice A. Bailey, The Light of the Soul... the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (1927)
- 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 oṃ.
- Bhagavad Gitā, 9.17
- OM, tat and sat has been declared as the triple appellation of Brahman, who is Truth, Consciousness and Bliss.
- Bhagavad Gitā, 17.23
- The Word Om is Brahma. OM has been split into A, OO, M and fourth word is considered as only humming, as per pronunciation. Every word here represent some spiritual power.
- Bhagavad Gita 8-13, in “Discovery of God”, p. 102
- That word which all the Vedas record, which all penances proclaim, which men desire when they live as religious disciples, that word I tell thee briefly, it is OM. (May 20)
- Om or Aum (Sk.). A mystic syllable, the most solemn of all words in India. It is “an invocation, a benediction, an affirmation and a promise and it is so sacred, as to be indeed the word at low breath of occult, primitive masonry. No one must be near when the syllable is pronounced for a purpose. This word is usually placed at the beginning of sacred Scriptures, and is prefixed to prayers. It is a compound of three letters a,u,m, which, in the popular belief, are typical of the three Vedas, also of three gods—A (Agni) V (Varuna) and M (Maruts) or Fire, Water and Air. In esoteric philosophy these are the three sacred fires, or the “triple fire”in the Universe and Man, besides many other things. Occultly, this “triple fire” represents the highest Tetraktys also, as it is typified by the Agni named Abhimânin and his transformation into his three sons, Pâvana, Pavamâna and Suchi, “who drinks up water”, i.e., destroys material desires. This monosyllable is called Udgîtta, and is sacred with both Brahmins and Buddhists.
- H.P. Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary, p. 241 (1892)
- We raise our hats to the hand a-moulding us
Sure 'nuff, he has the answer
He has the answer
He has the answer
be-duh-be-duh-be-duh-be-duh
Om mani padme
Om mani padme
Om mani padme hum.- Kate Bush, in "Strange Phenomena" on The Kick Inside (1977)
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Transmission Meditation|Transmission: A Meditation for the New Age Benjamin Creme (1983) edit
- To take part in Transmission Meditation, you only have to hold your attention at the ajna centre. In practice you will find that the attention will not stay there. It will keep dropping to its usual level somewhere around the solar plexus. As soon as the attention drops and you become aware of that, you have to bring it back to the ajna centre. This is done by thinking, inwardly, the mantram OM. As soon as you think OM, you find that your attention automatically comes back to the ajna centre. While your attention is held at the ajna centre, a connection, or alignment, is formed between the physical brain and the soul... If you say "OM" aloud, that vibrates at a certain level. If you say it under your breath (silently), at another. If you think it, that is the highest...
The energies do not come from your soul. They come from the Masters, from the Kingdom of Souls. But they proceed from the soul level. While the alignment between the physical brain and the soul is kept, you are in the Transmission. As soon as your attention drops from the ajna centre, you are no longer taking part. As you think OM, the attention rises again, you are aligned. The process is one of being aligned, for a moment not aligned, and then, once again, aligned, back and forth. p. 17
- If you sound OM aloud, you ground the energy on the physical plane. If you say it inwardly you are placing it on the upper levels of the astral plane, and if you think it, you place it on the mental plane. The planes are states of consciousness, energies vibrating at certain points that make us aware. We have physical plane consciousness; therefore the physical plane is a reality. We have astral (emotional) plane consciousness; and so the astral plane is a reality. We have, more or less, mental plane consciousness; therefore the lower levels of that are a reality to humanity. The higher plane is always more powerful than the lower. People think that the physical plane is the plane where everything happens, but actually the physical plane is the least powerful plane on which the energies operate. The OM correctly sounded inwardly is actually more powerful than correctly sounded on the physical. It does more at a higher level. At the beginning of the meeting, you may wish to sound OM aloud in unison. p. 40
- When you sound OM aloud, you are really saying A–U–M; as you say A, it is vibrating at the base of the spine; as you say U, it is vibrating in the heart centre, or between the solar plexus and the heart, depending on who you are; and when you say the M, it is vibrating in the head. If you say AUM you are bringing all three vibrations together from the base of your spine to the top of your head. That is the power of the AUM. The inward-sounding of the OM is used not to ground energy, but simply to help send the energy into the world. The OM is used to put our attention at the mental plane level where the energy can then go out. If our attention is focused down at the solar plexus, then the energy goes out into the world on the astral plane and all our astral thoughtforms will discolour these spiritual energies which we transmit. As your attention wanders off, sound OM inwardly to bring your attention back to the mental plane. p. 41
- The problem is that people in general are unaware of their point in evolution or the correct method of meditation at that point. It is safer and usually more valuable to focus attention on the ajna centre and sound OM to hold it there. This is the heart centre in the head, the directing centre, and its use shifts the focus onto the mental plane.
- It is the thought, the sound of the OM on the mental plane that you use, not seeing it as OM written. It is the sound of the OM, although you are not making a sound. But on the mental plane you are making a sound... Think OM. Just like you think any thought. Think the OM thought, not written OM, but thought OM... It should be in the mind, wherever your thought activity is, which will be your brain. You think OM. You say your name is John. Think John. Or Alice. Or Vera. It is a thought like any other thought. You do not think it differently, but the word itself is different, that is the point. The OM is the great mantram... You do not hear it, you think it. Hearing and thinking are two different things. You can do it fast or slow, but it is thought; it is not different from any other thought, except in its reverberation in the mind. That is what brings your attention to the ajna centre.... During Transmission Meditation it is best not to try to regulate or even be aware of the breathing at all. In practice, if the attention is truly held at the ajna centre, it will be found that the breathing practically stops for quite long periods and restarts with a sudden gasp. p. 163
- You simply think OM. You can think OM any time, whether you are breathing or not breathing. It is not a question of “with the outbreath” or “with the inbreath”; it is simply when you realize that your attention is no longer at the ajna centre that you think OM. The reverberation on the mental plane of the OM brings your attention back to the ajna centre... You do not send it out. You think it. It is much simpler than people imagine... You simply let the breath follow its own rhythm, and it will get slower and slower until it almost disappears. As it slows, you will find your thoughts slow down. When you are really focused, when your breath is still – just the minimum to keep the body going – there is no thought. You go beyond thought. p. 164
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- When Siddhartha listened attentively to this river, to the song of a thousand voices; when he did not listen to the sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one particular voice and absorb it in his Self, but heard them all, the whole, the unity; then the great song of a thousand voices consisted of one word: OM — perfection.
- Hermann Hesse, in Siddhartha (1922), p. 94
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- 24. I's'wara is a spirit, untouched by troubles, works, fruits of works, or desires.
25. In I's'wara becomes infinite that omniscience which in man exists but as a germ. 26. I's'wara is the preceptor of all, even of the earliest of created beings, for He is not limited by time.
27. His name is OM.
28. The repetition of this name should be made with reflection upon its signification. (Book I Concentration)- William Q. Judge, The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali — interpreted by William Q. Judge (1889) (Full text htm, pdf)
- The utterance of OM involves three sounds, those of long au, short u, and the "stoppage" or labial consonant m. To this tripartiteness is attached deep mystical symbolic meaning. It denotes, as distinct yet in union, Brahma, Vishnu, and S'iva, or Creation, Preservation, and Destruction. As a whole, it implies "the Universe." In its application to man, au refers to the spark of Divine Spirit that is in humanity; u, to the body through which the Spirit manifests itself; and m, to the death of the body, or its resolvement to its material elements. With regard to the cycles affecting any planetary system, it implies the Spirit, represented by au as the basis of the manifested worlds; the body or manifested matter, represented by u, through which the spirit works; and represented by m, "the stoppage or return of sound to its source," the Pralaya or Dissolution of the worlds. (Book I Concentration)
- William Q. Judge, The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali — interpreted by William Q. Judge (1889) (Full text htm, pdf)
- In practical occultism, through this word reference is made to Sound, or Vibration, in all its properties and effects, this being one of the greatest powers of nature. In the use of this word as a practice, by means of the lungs and throat, a distinct effect is produced upon the human body. In Aphorism 28 the name is used in its highest sense, which will necessarily include all the lower. All utterance of the word OM, as a practice, has a potential reference to the conscious separation of the soul from the body.
29. From this repetition and reflection on its significance, there come a knowledge of the Spirit and the absence of obstacles to the attainment of the end in view. (Book I Concentration)- William Q. Judge, The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali — interpreted by William Q. Judge (1889) (Full text htm, pdf)
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Nothing's gonna change my world. ~ John Lennon
- Jai Guru Deva Om.
Nothing's gonna change my world.- John Lennon, using a mantra variously translated as "glory to the shining remover of darkness", "Victory to God divine", "Hail to the divine guru", or "All Glory to Guru Dev", in "Across the Universe" (1968)
M edit
- By holiness in life, guard the precious Gem of Gems.
Aum Tat Sat Aum!
I am thou, thou art I — parts of the Divine Self.
My Warriors! Life thunders — be watchful.
- Om means Brahma. Meaning “whole world is in this word”.
- Mandukya Upanishad, in Discovery of God, quoted by Arvind Savant, p. 101
- ... Christ spoke those memorable words... He was looking on as the moonlight poured onto the sands. “We have lost the way,” I told Him. “We have to wait and find out the positions of the stars.” “Rasul Morya, why should We bother about the way, when the entire world is waiting for Us?” Then, taking His bamboo staff He traced a square around His footprint and said, “Truly, by human feet.” And having made an impression with His palm, He enclosed it in a square. “Truly, by human hands.” Between the squares He drew what looked like a pillar crowned with an arc. He said: “Oh, how Aum will penetrate the human consciousness! Here I have drawn a pistil with an arc above it, and have laid the foundation in four directions. When the Temple is built by human feet and human hands — the Temple where the pistil placed by Me will blossom — then may the builders walk My path. Why wait for a path, when the path is before Us?... When the Name of the Temple is uttered, this image shall appear. As a reminder of My constellation, a square and nine stars shall shine above the Temple. The sign of the foot and the hand shall be inscribed on the cornerstone.” That is what He Himself said on the eve of the new moon. The heat of the desert was great. (153)
- Morya, Leaves of Morya’s Garden Book Two, Illumination, 153, (1925)
- If earthly substances act so diversely on different people, then how much more varied is the reaction on them of the highest energies! Long ago people understood that for the proper reception of these rays it is needful to bring the organism into a harmonious condition. For this purpose the Wise Ones have indicated the power of sacred invocations. Aum, or phonetically Om, was such a synthesis of sonant strivings. Prayer and inward concentration are excellent attainments which render healthful the state of the spirit. Each one in his own way has contributed a manifestation useful to spiritual concentration, whether he sought the solution in music, in song, or in the dance; there have even been crude methods leading to intoxication and frenzy. There were many deviations and errors, but fundamentally man was striving to create a particularly exalted state of mind, promoting the reception of the higher energies. (4)
- The triple consonance is pronounced as “Om!” It is as if two letters merge together, but in reality the Basis and the First Cause are blended in the one Indivisible. One can observe everywhere how goal-fittingly the laws of consonance have been established. (189)
- You can eat beef on a weekly basis and become a genius intuitive if your energy is in present time. You can consume only organic food while running thirty-five miles a day and "om-ing" until dawn, but if your spirit is raging about your history and is saturated in regrets and unfinished business, you won't be able to intuit your left hand from your right.
P edit
- 27. The Word of Ishvara is AUM (or OM). This is the Pranava.
28. Through the sounding of the Word and through reflection upon its meaning, the Way is found.
29. From this comes the realisation of the Self (the soul) and the removal of all obstacles.
30. The obstacles to soul cognition are bodily disability, mental inertia, wrong questioning, carelessness, laziness, lack of dispassion, erroneous perception, inability to achieve concentration, failure to hold the meditative attitude when achieved.- Patanjali, quoted in The Light of the Soul (Yoga Sutras of Patanjali), Lucis Trust (1927)
- I swear to me that I am the Great God Om, greatest of gods!
- Terry Pratchett, in the Discworld novel Small Gods (1992)
R edit
- Soul means Brahma; and the Brhmajnan flows through soul to the intellect. That is termed Atmajnan. Thus Soul (Atma), Brahma, and Om have same meaning.
- Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, in "Discovery of God", p. 101
- Om is just not a just a sound or vibration. It is just not a symbol. It is the entire cosmos, whatever we see, we touch, hear and feel. However, it is all within our perception and all that is beyond our perception. It is core of our very existence.
- Amit Ray, in OM Chanting and Meditation, p. 9
- Om is the mysterious cosmic energy that is the substratum of all the things and all the beings of the entire universe. It is an eternal song of the Divine. It is continuously resounding in silence on the background of everything that exists.
- Amit Ray, in OM Chanting and Meditation (2010), p. 16
- Om is the Brahman, the indestructible Life force. Om is this universe. It is nameless, the Divine. It is the totality of you, I, and the whole creation. It is the totality of the past, present and future of this existence. At the same time, it is the eternal now unfolding this very moment. It is life-eternal flowing through this temporal existence.
- Amit Ray, in OM Chanting and Meditation (2010), p. 16
- Om chanting and meditation is all about getting connected with our true nature.
- Amit Ray, in “OM Chanting and Meditation”, p. 16
- Silence is the language of Om. We need silence to be able to reach our Self. Both internal and external silence is very important to feel the presence of that supreme Love.
- Amit Ray, in OM Chanting and Meditation (2010), p. 50
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- In 15th canto Ather Veda Vratyas were offered oblation. The idea of OM might have been the thinking of these scholars. After accepting OM, Aryans gave supreme respect to it. Manu directed that that OM should be uttered before all studies of Veda.
- Arvind Savant, in "Discovery of God", p. 101
- All the multiverses are trying to merge, to create a true universe such as we have only imagined previously. Maybe it will be spiritual, like Zen or telepathy, or maybe it will be physical, one great big gang-fuck, but it has to happen: the creation of a universe and the one great eye opening to see itself at last. Aum Shiva! — Oh, man, you're stoned out of your gourd. You're writing gibberish.
- Illuminatus! (1975) by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
T edit
- M is Brahma, OM is World.
- Taitriya Upansihad in 1-8-1 & 2, quoted in "Discovery of God", p, 191
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- Om — That (supreme Brahman) is infinite, and this (conditioned Brahman) is infinite. The infinite (conditioned Brahman) proceeds from infinite (supreme Brahman). Then through knowledge, taking the infinite of the infinite (conditioned Brahman), it remains as the infinite (unconditioned Brahman) alone. Om! Peace! Peace! Peace!
- Isha Upanishad, as translated by Swami Gambhirananda (1965)
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- From that is gain (the knowledge of) introspection, and the destruction of obstacles. The first manifestation of this repetition and thinking of Om will be that the introspective power will be manifested more and more, and all the mental and physical obstacles will begin to vanish.
- In the universe, Brahman or the Cosmic first manifested himself as name, and then as form, i.e. as this universe. All this expressed sensible universe is the form behind which stands… the manifesteras Logo or Word. The manifester is the Logos. The Word was with God and the Word was God – and the Word IS God, and the Word is Om.
- Vivekananda, in The Mind of Swami Vivekananda, quoted by Gautam Sen, p. 120
- Om is...the basis of all sounds. The first letter, A, is the root sound, the key pronounced without touching any part of the tongue or palate. M represents the last sound in the series, being produced by closed lips, and the U rolls from the very root to the end of the sounding board of the mouth. Thus Om represents the whole phenomena of sound production. [It is] the natural symbol, the matrix of all the various sounds. It denotes the whole range and possibility of all the words that can be made.
- Vivekananda, in "The Mind of Swami Vivekananda", quoted by Gautam Sen, p. 120
- The eight petals of the lotus are eight powers of the yogi. Inside, the stamens and pistils are renunciation. If the yogi refuses the external powers he will come to salvation. So the eight petals of the lotus are the eight powers, but the internal stamens and pistels are extreme renunciation of all these powers. Inside of that lotus think of the Golden One, the Almighty, the Intangible, He whose name is Om the Inexpressible, surrounded with effulgent light. Meditate on that.
- Vivekananda’s lectures compiled by Mahendra Kulasrestha, in Learn Rajayoga from Vivekananda: A Grand Exposition of India's Unique ..., pp.26-27
- Om has become the one symbol for the religious aspiration of the vast majority of human beings
- In "Learn Rajayoga from Vivekananda: A Grand Exposition of India's Unique ...", p. 119
- This word Om, however, has around it all the various significance. As such it should be accepted by everyone...The repetition of this (Om) and meditating on its meaning (is the way).
- In "Learn Rajayoga from Vivekananda: A Grand Exposition of India's Unique ...", p. 119
- The first manifestation of the repetition and thinking of Om is that the introspective power will manifest, more and more, all the mental and physical obstacles will begin to vanish.
- In "Learn Rajayoga from Vivekananda: A Grand Exposition of India's Unique ...", p. 120
- 27. तस्य वाचक् प्रिव् ॥ २७॥; tasya vachakah prannavah; His manifesting word is Om... The commentator says the manifesting word of God is Om. Why does he emphasise this? There are hundreds of words for God. One thought is connected with a thousand words; the idea, God, is connected with hundreds of words, and each one stands as a symbol for God... Is there any material sound of which all other sounds must be manifestations, one which is the most natural sound? Om (or Aum) is such a sound, the basis of all sounds...<LBR> It must be the natural symbol, the matrix of all the variant sounds. It denotes the whole range and possibility of all the words that can be made. Apart from these speculations we see that around this word Om are centred all the different religious ideas in India; all the various religious ideas of the Vedas have gathered themselves round this word Om.
The word has been retained at every stage of religious growth in India, and it has been manipulated to mean all the various ideas about God. Monists, Dualists, Mono-Dualists, Separatists, and even Atheists, took up this Om. Om has become the one symbol for the religious aspiration of the vast majority of human beings.
Anonymous edit
- Om mani padme hum.
- Mantra often translated as "The Jewel in the Heart of the Lotus", particularly associated with "Lord of the Six Syllables" the four-armed form of Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan Chenrezig, Chinese Guanyin [観音] , Japanese Kannon), the bodhisattva of compassion.
