Om — the sound of everything
Every mantra begins with it. The Mandukya Upanishad, only twelve verses long, says Om is all that was, is and will be — and that its truest part is the silence that follows. What is Om, and how do you chant it?
The verse
The syllable that holds all
Om (also written Aum) is called the praṇava — "that which is sounded forth". The Katha Upanishad says it is the word all the Vedas praise; the Bhagavad Gita (8.13) says one who leaves the body uttering Om, remembering the divine, reaches the highest goal. In the Chandogya Upanishad it is the udgītha, the essence of the Samaveda's chant.
Four parts, not three
The Mandukya Upanishad opens: "Om ity etad akṣaram idaṃ sarvam" — "Om is this whole universe." Then it divides Om into A, U and M — and adds a fourth part that has no sound at all…
The journey continues for members
- A, U, M and the fourth
- How to chant Om
- What science has and hasn't shown
Sources
- Mandukya Upanishad
- Katha Upanishad — 1.2.15
- Chandogya Upanishad — 1.1
- Bhagavad Gita — 8.13