OM , AUM & YSeeker

Certainly, AUM, OM syllabus are well known by most of people around the world. The purpose of this article is to share some less known meanings of AUM/OM as syllabus, symbol and mantra.

The origin of the syllabus AUM/OM is lost in the misty past. It is not being specific to any one country or civilization is indicative of its being an universally perceptible sound for the human race. This reason for this universal perceptibility possibly lies in the fact that AH is the most natural sound that issues from the human voice. This is evident when a person cries out naturally in extreme pain, anger or fear. When emotions reach an extreme pitch the articulate sounds evolved by man are not the ones that are heard, but the syllable natural to man which is AH or OH.

AUM / OM is a mystical or sacred syllable and symbol in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions. It is considered the primordial sound, the symbol of infinity, where is not beginning and no end. It is the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, and it is said to be the first sound produced by the breath of a new-born child. This term occurs in various ancient and modern civilizations. It exists the same in Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.

The syllable AUM is first described as a mystical entity in the Upanishads. It symbolizes the three Vedas, the three states of the nature of man, the three divisions of the universe, the three Gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, which are the agents of creation, conservation, and destruction on Earth or, more properly speaking, the three attributes of the Supreme Being personified by these divinities. Mandukya Upanishad greatly explains the significance of AUM.

" All this Cosmic Universe is the Eternal word OM. Its further explanation is this: the past, the present, the future and everything is just OM. And whatever transcends the three divisions of time - that too is just OM. ... Thus the Word OM is verily the Self (Atman). He who knows this, with his self (Jiva), enters the Self (Atman)."

Mandukya Upanishad

The syllable OM is quite familiar to a Hindu. It occurs in every prayer. Invocation to most Gods begin with this syllable.

Invoking the sacred syllable, the ancient Rishes of India said, "Nothing either begins or ends; all is change, and that which we call death is transformation".

The full article can be read in the first global e-magazine, YSeeker