Shiva

Om is the holiest sound in the Universe. It is associated with Enlightenment and therefore associated with Everything. However it is really not associated with anything in particular. So it is the sound of Everything and Nothing. That is why it is so powerful as a mantra.

 

 

 

 

Sati

To best understand the 'meaning' of OM, simply sit meditatively and repeat the sound. Focus completely on the formation and pronunciation of the sound. Be aware of how you are before you begin; be aware of how you are when you have stopped. Proper pronunciation would include a long vowel portion with relatively short 'm': oooooooom. Pronounce slowly, softly, gently - but with energy.

In meditation practice, OM can be quite useful in clearing one's awareness. Try chanting OM a few ( 3 or 7) times right before beginning to meditate. This can change the awareness field of your self and of your meditation space to assist with a clear meditation. Also you might focus on the chakra (an energy center) on the forehead between the eyebrows, and chant OM several times as a focus-on-the-chakra inspiration.

In intermediate practice, the mantra can be used to silently (or with audible sound, depending on the situation) to clear oneself of uncomfortable mental/emotional states through your day.

Even once can be helpful. OM (sometimes spelled in English as AUM) is not a word, but it is a sound (mantra) of the ancient language Sanskrit. Sanskrit was developed by highly evolved beings who created language wherein the sound invokes the awareness of the thing or state itself. OM is the sound which manifests awareness of all-that-is, the state of one's mind/self in contact with enlightened or full-knowledge awareness. Another way to say this is that it invokes awareness from-beginning-to-end, alpha-omega. Interestingly, the proper pronunciation of the sound (in English) might best be expressed by 'a-e-i-o-u-m'; that is, all the vowel sounds, generally considered the core of a language.

Enjoy the perfection of this beautiful sound!

 

 

GA

This is a good question. No one can explain what the meaning of OM is within the limitations of human reasoning, because OM is incomprehensible to the human mind. OM is Enlightenment. OM and Enlightenment cannot be explained, but I hope to shed some light on this subject for you.

OM is the primordial sound from which everything emanates. OM is God and God is OM. OM is consciousness and life. Enlightened beings from different religions and traditions have called OM as Nirvana, the Tao, Allah, etc. In the bible they have called OM as Amen. When the yogis talk about sounds, they don't talk about only the spoken sounds. Spoken sounds are only a very gross form of sounds. Spoken sounds emerge from unmanifest levels.

Mantras are vibrations. Reality is made up of nothing more than vibrations or mantras. Everything in the universe, whether it be a physical thing, you or me, a thought, an emotion, power or energy, an action, different levels of karma - all things have a certain vibration. There are countless mantras that correspond to the countless vibrations of the universe. There is a mantra for everything. When you chant OM on a subtle level, you are aligning your mind with Enlightened states of awareness.

The practice of Mantras such as OM are very powerful because they work at a very deep level beyond the intellectual mind. They have the power to restructure your conscious reality.

Throughout time, yogis have yoked their minds with very high and enlightened states of awareness. They have discovered that the higher dimensions, like everything else, vibrate with a corresponding mantra or rate of vibration, and that when one meditates with a mantra such as OM, and become OM, they become enlightened. Some people refer to mantras as lines of power or levels of awareness. When you connect with these lines of power or mantras, you raise your level of awareness to an extremely high level.

There are many mantras. There are mantras to diffuse karma, there are mantras to attract wealth, mantras for protection, and mantras for healing, but the most powerful mantra to clean up karma and make your consciousness pure is the mantra "Om". Siddha powers are also mantras. When you hear of stories of enlightened yogis healing the sick, raising the dead, flying through the air, etc., they are using mantras at a very subtle level. They become the mantra. The use of mantras among yogis is a science.