Om Explained
Chanting Om
Some people love chanting together, others prefer not to so when we do this
students who would rather not do it at all can simply swap into another class.
Associated Sounds
The top curve represents the sound "aaahhh"
The lower curve represents the sound "ooohhh" (as in home)
The wavy line represents the sound "mmmmmm"
Aaahhh the sound comes from the back of the mouth
letting the vibrations be felt in the depths of the body
Ooohhh the sound comes from the middle of the mouth
letting the vibrations be felt in the chest and throat
Mmmm the sound is made with the lips closed, from the abdomen
letting the vibrations be felt in the whole head.
The mmmmmmmmmmmmm sound is usually twice as long as ooohhh but your intuition will guide you. Let the sound be steady and smooth. The sound is not made for others to listen to but only for you to become absorbed in, so, release the sound effortlessly, like the flowers giving their scent freely. When you relax and are totally absorbed in it you will find it becomes, as described in the Dhyanabindu Upanishad, a continuous glide “as uninterrupted as the flow of oil and as long as the sound of a bell”.
When preparing to chant om we precede this with the following sounds for their benefits:
Iiiiii (pronounced as in marine) to vitalize the whole nervous system
Aaaa (as in after) because it has a beneficial effect on the liver thus the blood
Oooo (as in home) because this benefits the heart and the solar plexus
As a result of regularly chanting Iiii, Aaaa, Oooo then Ommm:
the voice becomes crystal-clear, pleasant to listen to, firm and self-confident.
States of anxiety disappear and there is a conscious manifestation of the human spirit.
The Om Legend
A symbolises Brahma, the Creator
O symbolises Vishnu, the Preserver
M symbolises Shiva, the Destroyer*
OM, or AOM, all 3 together symbolise Brahman
The legend is that Vishnu, the Preserver, the soul and life of the Universe, 1,000 eyed and omniscient,
was reclining on his couch (the body of the great serpent Sasha or Ananta representing endless time)
on the night of being.
Brahma, the great creator of the world of being asked him who he was.
This resulted in an argument over who was greater.
Suddenly there arose before them a huge pillar of fire and light, so astonished were they that they forgot their quarrel and agreed to search for the end of so magnificent and wonderful a thing.
Brahma went up for 1,000 years but could not find the top
Vishnu went down for 1,000 years but could not find the base.
Then the pillar opened and Shiva, whose nature is joy, appeared.
Having demonstrated his superiority he explained that they were three functions of one supreme, Shiva being the chief, and that all three were to work together in a new world until it was completed.
Shiva, the Dissolver or Destroyer, can sometimes be understood by the following:
We walk to stop walking (having arrived)
We think to stop thinking (having reached the solution)
We live to stop living (why is the mystery)
or
the way sand is destroyed in the process of being made into glass.
To a Christian, Om can equally well symbolize “in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God” and the Triumvirate, God, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Whatever your beliefs, just let your mind be filled with something that for you represents all that is pure, good, compassionate and uplifting (and if that’s your favourite auntie that’s fine!).
With thanks to Ray Hills for his wonderful, sensitive, inspirational tuition,
to Uma Krishnamurthy for beautiful spiritual teachings and giving meaning to the Sanskrit and to Selvarajan Yesudian for his part in bringing it all together.
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