" Om (AUM) is such
a sound , the basis of all sounds.The first letter A
is the root sound, key, pronounced without touching any part of
the toungue or palate;
M
represents the last sound in the series being produced with closed
lips, and
U
rolls from the very root to the end of the sounding-board of the
mouth . Thus Om represents the whole phenomenon of sound production", according
to Swami Vivekananda.
 As a Hindu, for me Om is not just a syllable, it is a sacred syllable.
It is everywhere in the form of Shlokas(Sanskrit versus) in Hindu Culture.
But I came to know about the real meaning and the joyous experience of chanting
the Om mantra, only when I learnt Yoga. I was always curious about life and
the role of spiritual science in our life. When I started learning Yoga,
I was not sure of what am I going to find in yoga. But within few weeks I
said to myself "Yes, this is for me".
Chanting Om makes you to feel as if you are
in another world. The vibration that it creates makes you to forget the outside
world and get deeper and deeper into the inner Jyoti (light) of your body.
It is the state where you are not happy or sad, you are just yourself, which
can not be explained, only to be experienced. In another way meditation is
nothing but controlling your mind. But at the same time it is also difficult
to control mind. So Om helps you to take into that direction. Forget everything
and concentrate only on your breathing and Om. Your outer world and inner
world becomes calm and quite, except the sound and the rhythm of your body.
At the end you are one with the nature and become infinite.
Though it may appear as only three letters,
but it is more powerful than any other word or syllable. This was also mentioned
in
Upanishads.
Here is another simple explanation. I have taken
it from a book written by Swami Vishnu Devananda.
OM covers the whole Universe. There is not a
law, a force or an object in all the world that is not comprised the syllable
Om. The literal meaning of Vedanta is the end of knowledge, the end of the
speech; and the whole of the Vedanta is represented by Om. Om consists of
A, U, M and according to the rule of
Sanskrit Grammar, A and U
when joined together become O, and thus
the sound Om. The sound Om is the most
natural sound that can be uttered; even a mute can produce this sound. Observe
boys in a playground when they are very happy; their overflowing joy finds
natural expression with a prolonged sound of O, which is simply Om shortcut.
(Even when adults are happy,) it is common to note that many people answer
Oh! or Oh! My god! When one is sick in bed or in trouble, when one is suffering
from extreme pain, this sound of oh or um, which is a corrupted expression
of Om, comes from one's lips.
Om is a natural sound. This Om is also known
as pranava, or that which pervades life or runs through the prana or breath.
Even the sound of bells, the noise of a flowing river, the whistling of the
wind, or blowing a conch shell produces the sound Om.
Let us end with,
SARVE JANAAH SUKHINO
BHAVANTU
(LET ALL
THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD BE HAPPY)
OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI !!
More
Resources:
The Sacred
Syllable Om - Article by Georg Feuerstein, Yoga Research and Education
Center
The
sacred symbol Om - Chanting Om, Ramakrishna Vivekananda Center
Om:
Symbol of the Absolute - Article from about .com
Om,
Gayatri and three vedas - From Hinduism
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