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Om in Yoga
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“Undoubtedly the most sacred sound or word (mantra) is the syllable
Om, symbolising the Absolute” – Georg Feurstein The Yoga Tradition,
Hohm Press, Arizona, 2001.
Used at the beginning and end of ritual pronouncements, just as Christians
use Amen. Said to be the primordial vibration from which the entire universe
has arisen. Represents the transcendental Godhead or Brahman.
Written A-U-M with a dot (bindu) under the M indicating a strongly nasalised,
hummed Mmmm sound. Whereas the syllable Om by itself is said to
represent the creative or manifest dimension of the Divine, the echo, or bindu,
of the sound M is thought to represent the Divine in its unmanifest dimension.
A – creation; U – preservation; M - transmutation
The supreme Light is Om, wherein abide the three times – past, present
and future – the three Vedas (Rig, Yajur and Sama), the three worlds, the
three intonations and the three deities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) –
Goraksha Paddhati (ancient Hatha Yoga text).
Shankara the great vedantic non-dualist described Om as “the most
appropriate name for the Divine”.
Yogis who have achieved deep states of meditation say they can hear the
sound of Om vibrating through the entire cosmos.
“While the seed word Om has the creative capacity to manifest the
entire world. The entire world evolves from that and goes back into that
again. That is why God’s name should be Om. No other name can be
more adequate to represent him” – Satchidananda pg 45.
Om appears a lot in the Upanishads. The Chandogya Upanishad considers
the importance of Om. “The essence of these beings here is the earth; the
essence of the earth is the waters; the essence of the waters is plants;
the essence of plants is man; the essence of man is speech; the
essence of speech is …..Om” (Olivelle pg 98). In the Mundaka Upanishad it
says: “The bow is Om, the arrow’s the Self. The target is Brahman, they
say. One must strike that undistracted. He will then be lodged in that.
Like the arrow, in the target” (Olivelle pg 273). The Mandukya Upanishad is
wholly concerned with Om: “Om – this whole world is that syllable! Here is
a further explanation of it. The past, the present, and the future – all that
is simply Om” (pg 289).
“The whole world is nothing but Om” – Chandogya Upanishad pg 117
In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna tell Arjuna: “I am the sacred word Om, which
designates the Divine, and I am the sound of it heard throughout the
universe” (Hawley pg 69). “The act of vocalising this sound helps focus
your thoughts single-pointedly on the One, on God” (pg 79). “The
syllable Om is what spiritually knowledgeable people utter whenever
they perform spiritual activities. This lends a sacred and blessed tone to
their acts and begins to dissolve the tinge of impurity in them”. (pg 149).
In chapter 1, Samadhi Pada, Patanjali says in sutras 27-28: “The word
expressive of Isvara is the mystic sound Om. To repeat it with reflection
on its meaning is an aid”.
Satchidananda in his commentary says that after chanting Om there is still a
vibration – the unspoken or anagata sound. Japa means repetition of a
mantra in order to commune with the Divine. Ajapa means that sound or
vibration which need not be repeated because it is always there and can be
heard or connected to in meditation.
“Om transcends all geographical, political or theological limitations. It
doesn’t belong to one country or one religion; it belongs to the entire
universe” – Satchidananda pg 45-46.
“For a special benefit a special mantram is called for, but the basis of
them all is Om, just as cotton is the basis for cloth, which is then cut in
different designs according to its purpose…Om is the basic seed” –
Satchidananda pg 48.
In some yoga traditions, like the Association of Yoga Studies (formerly
viniyoga) which flows from the teachings of Desikachar, Om is not taught.
This is because of a perceived Hindu or quasi religious connotation. Om is
omitted from the beginning and end of mantras, and the main chanting done
is of the yoga sutras.