Since there has been a language, humans have always given each word a meaning. However, according with Hinduism and Buddhism, there are words without a specific meaning, and these words are considered sacred, because they have the power to create or destroy, depending on the emphasis we use when pronouncing them. These divine words, syllabus, sounds or phrases are known as mantras, and one of the most popular and sacred mantras is the Om. According with Hinduism, it is the sound that created the universe.
Traditionally used at the beginning and end of yoga or meditation sessions, according to yoga teacher Naylín Núñez, “this mantra is considered to have a high spiritual and creative power”, because it is both a sound and a symbol through which the physical and the spiritual world are connected.
It is also known as pranava mantra, because it is the seed to every other mantras. According with the Vedic tradition, the mantra Om is phonetically formed by the union of three letters A, U, M, which symbolically represent the divine energy in its three different forms: “Bhrahma Shakti”, meaning creation, “Vishnu Sahkti”, meaning preservation, and “Shiva Shakti”, meaning liberation, and each one of them has a meaning that is explained by Advaita Vedanta’s teacher Swami Dayananda Saraswati:
The letter or sound “a” represents the experience of our physical world as a whole, including what we know and what we don’t know. What implies a conscious perspective of three elements is: the experience, the experiencer and the experienced. Letter “u” is the world of thoughts and its experiences through dreams or imagination, in an abstract or subtle way. Letter “m” represents what hasn’t been manifested, because it belongs to our deepest dreams.
Therefore, Om is the combination of what exists and what doesn’t exist. In Sanskrit, it is called avati or raksati, which means “that who supports and protects”, and it’s seen as the name of the Almighty, who is in charge of protecting and keeping everything in perfect order.
Now that you know its meanings, we would like to invite you to fill yourself with this divine energy that lives inside this powerful mantra, reciting it and using the symbol of Om at home. As teacher Swami Dayananda Saraswati used to say, “the idea is to connect the word with its meaning”, and once we understand that, it becomes the name of the Almighty for us, so it can be used at the beginning of mantras and prayers to invoke Him, as a symbol of our union with the Supreme.
That’s why its sound and vibration doesn’t only have a physical effect. It will free your mind and bring peace and harmony to your life, increasing your spirituality and bringing you closer to the state of samadhi or continuous meditation, which is the fountain of luck.
ALFA