Aum
Aum (also Om, Devanagari ॐ, Chinese: 唵) is a mystical or sacred syllable in the Dharmic religions. It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred exclamation to be uttered at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or previously to any prayer or mantra. The Mandukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the explanation of the syllable.
Origin, name and written symbols
With preceding a or ā, the o of om in Sanskrit grammar in sandhi (Sanskrit: संधि, "joining") does not form vriddhi (au) but guna (o) per Pāṇini 6.1.95.
The Sanskrit name for the syllable is praṇava, from a root nu "to shout, sound, praise", verbal pra-nu- being attested as "to make a humming or droning sound" in the Brahmanas, and taking the specific meaning of "to utter the syllable om" in the Chandogya Upanishad and the Shrauta Sutras. More rarely used terms are akṣara or ekākṣara, and in later times omkāra becomes prevalent.
The Aum symbol  is a ligature of Devanagari ओ+ँ (oṃ, encoded in Unicode at U+0950 ॐ, the Tibetan script variant ༀ at U+0F00, and the Chinese 唵 at U+5535 or 吽 at U+543D).
In Hinduism
The syllable Aum is first described as all-encompassing mystical entity in the Upanishads. Today, in all Hindu art and all over India and Nepal, 'Aum' can be seen virtually everywhere, a standard sign for Hinduism and its philosophy and mythology.
Upanishads and Sutra literature
The syllable is mentioned in all the Upanishads, specially elaborated upon in the Taittiriya, Chandogya and Mundaka Upanishads. set forth as the object of profound religious meditation,
the highestspiritual efficacy being attributed not only to the whole
word but also to the three sounds a (a-kāra), u (u-kāra), m (ma-kāra), of which it consists.
The Katha Upanishad has:
- "The goal, which all Vedas declare, which all austerities aim at, and which humans desire when
they live a life of continence, I will tell you briefly it is Aum"
- "The one syllable [evākṣara, viz. Aum] is indeed Brahman. This one syllable is the highest. Whosoever knows this one syllable obtains all that he desires.
- "This is the best support; this is the highest support. Whosoever
knows this support is adored in the world of Brahma." (1.2.15-17)
The Chandogya Upanishad (1.1.1-1) states:
- om ity etad akṣaram udgītham upāsīta / om iti hy udgāyati / tasyopavyākhyānam
- "The udgitha ["the chanting", that is, the syllable om] is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place, the eighth."
The Bhagavad Gita (8.13) has:
- Uttering the monosyllable Aum, the eternal world of Brahman, One who departs leaving the body (at death), he attains the superior goal.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali states in verse (1:27):
- "tasya vacakah pranavah" which translates as, "God's voice is Aum."
In the following sutra it emphasizes, "The repetition of Om should be made with an understanding of its meaning".
Puranic Hinduism
In Puranic Hinduism, Aum is the mystic name for the Hindu Trimurti, and represents the union of the three gods, viz. a for Brahma, u for Vishnu and m for Mahadev which is another name of Shiva. The three sounds also symbolise the three Vedas (Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda).
According to Hindu philosophy(see Mandukya Upanishad), the letter A represents creation, when all existence issued forth from Brahma's golden nucleus; the letter U refers to Vishnu the god of the middle who preserves this world by balancing Brahma on a lotus above himself, and the letter M symbolizes the final part of the cycle of existence, when Vishnu falls asleep and Shiva has to breathe in so that all existing things have to disintegrate and
are reduced to their essence to him. More broadly, Aum is said to be
the primordial sound that was present at the creation of the universe.
It is said to be the original sound that contains all other sounds, all
words, all languages and all mantras.
Dvaita
Vaishnava Dvaita philosophies teach that 'Aum' is an impersonal sound representation of
Vishnu/Krishna while Hari Nama is the personal sound representation. A
represents Krishna, U Srimati Radharani and M jivas.
According to Sridhara Svami the pranava has five parts: A, U, M, the
nasal bindu and the reverberation (nada). Liberated souls meditate on
the Lord at the end of that reverberation. For both Hindus and
Buddhists this syllable is sacred and so laden with spiritual energy
that it may only be pronounced with complete concentration.
Advaita
In Advaita philosophy it is frequently used to represent three subsumed into one,
a common theme in Hinduism. It implies that our current existence is mithyā "falsehood", that in order to know the full truth we must comprehend
beyond the body and intellect the true nature of infinity. Essentially,
upon moksha (mukti, samadhi)
one is able not only to see or know existence for what it is, but to
become it. When one gains true knowledge, there is no split between
knower and known: one becomes knowledge/consciousness itself. In
essence, Aum is the signifier of the ultimate truth that all is one.
Examples of Three into One:
- Creation (Brahma)- Preservation (Vishnu)- Destruction (Shiva) into Brahman
- Waking- Dreaming- Dreamless Sleep into Turiya (transcendental fourth state of consciousness)
- Rajas (activity, heat, fire) - Tamas (dullness, ignorance, darkness) - Sattva (purity, light, serenity/shanti) into Brahman
- Body, Speech and Mind into Oneness
In proper names
When Aum is a part of a place name (for example Omkareshwar),
or is used as a man's name, it is spelled phonetically using ordinary
letters of whatever Indian alphabet is used in the area. The adherents
of Arya Samaj always use the ordinary letters अ, ऊ and म to write Aum.
In Jainism
In Jainism, Aum is regarded to be a condensed form of reference to the five parameshthis. The Dravyasamgrah quotes a Prakrit line:
- ओम एकाक्षर पञ्चपरमेष्ठिनामादिपम् तत्कथमिति चेत "अरिहंता असरीरा आयरिया तह उवज्झाया मुणियां",
- oma ekākşara pañcaparameşţhitāmādipam tatkabhamiti ceta "arihatā asarirā āyariyā taha uvajjhāyā muņiyā"
- "Aum" one akshara, is made from the initials of the five parameshthis. It has been said: "Arihanta, Ashiri (i.e. siddha), Acharya, Upadhyaya, Munis(sadhus)"
Thus ओं नमः (oṃ namaḥ) is a short form of the Navkar Mantra.
In Buddhism
Buddhists place om at the beginning of their Vidya-Sadaksari or mystical formulary in six syllables (viz., om mani padme hum) As a seed syllable, it is also considered holy in Esoteric Buddhism.
With Buddhism's evolution and breaking away from Vedic/Hindu tradition, Aum and other symbology/cosmology/philosophies are shared with the Hindu tradition. This character often appeared as "唵" in Buddhist scripts in East Asia.
In Sikhism
Ek Onkar (also ੴ, ਇਕ ਓਅੰਕਾਰ, Ik Onkar) from Sanskrit ekomkāra "one omkāra" per the special sandhi rule treated above, is a central symbol of the unity of God in Sikhism, and is commonly found on Gurdwaras. Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, used the word Onkar to state the concept of a monotheistic God.
This is further clarified by Guru Nanak in his composition (Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib, 929).:
- oua(n)kaar brehamaa outhapath
- "From Ongkaar, the One Universal Creator God, Brahma was created."
stating that Onkar is that which created Brahma and therefore preceded Brahma.
Ek Onkar is the start of the Sikh Mool Mantra - the root basis of all Sikh sacred thought, and the first phrase of the Sikh Guru embodied in scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. Ek Onkar is uttered at the break of dawn every morning in the prayer of Japji Sahib signifying the unity of God's entity.
In Zoroastrian tradition
Zoroastrians start off their prayers by chanting, On Ashem Vohu.
They like the Sikhs pronounce the sacred syllable On rather than most
believers.
See also
References
External links
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