Om is called the pranava. As an extension of the word prana or subtle life force energy, pranava translates to the eternal cosmic sound. Many attribute Om as the sound of creation, at the point of creation, causing the Big Bang(s). Oftentimes, Om is spelled phonetically as Aum, where the A represents Bhrama and the creator God who unlocks the karmic knot at the Root Chakra, the U represents Vishnu and the preserver God who unlocks the karmic knot at the Heart Chakra, and the M represents Shiva and the destroyer God who unlocks the karmic knot at the Third Eye. The sound Om encompasses the unlocking and transcendence of three essential aspects of life in the forms of divinity as well as the considerable energetic centers in the body, where we store a lot of karmic impressions.
(Image from Prana Sutra)
From a physiological perspective, neurological and other medical studies have found significant benefits to chanting Om. From a study published in the National Library of Medicine, researchers observed the benefits of chanting Om on the brain and its ability to assist in regulating the Limbic brain's response (Kalyani, etc. 2011). Chanting has also been shown to improve Theta wave abundance in the cerebrum (the dream state brain wavelength), learning, memory, spatial cognition, and changes in temporal regulation. Compared to various sounds such as SSS, Om specifically saw greater activity in the neural imaging, identifying places in the brain that regulate empathy. Changes in autonomic nervous system were spotted, particularly a balancing of the Vagus nerve and activating the Para-Sympathetic Nervous System or relaxation response along with reduced cortisol levels (Inbaraj, etc. 2022; Pundir and Chauhan, 2023).
Before diving further into Om, firstly, grasping the concept of speech in the Vedic thought will aid in expanding a sense of gratitude for its significance of expanding levels of consciousness.
Words, vibration, and speech essentially formulate knowledge from unmanifest to manifest. In David Frawley’s Tantric Yoga and the Wisdom Goddesses, “According to Vedic and Tantric thought, the Goddess is the Divine Word which has a feminine nature…in the beginning was the word, and the word is the Goddess” (55). He goes on to discuss the four levels of speech from the transcendent (or unified field of knowledge at its origin), to the individuation of knowledge as an idea arising from will and desire, to the transformation into thought-form, and finally arriving into the spoken word at its most reduced, manifest, and unique expression of the individual. The ten Tantric knowledge Goddesses, Mahavidyas, help us to realize this process of awakening to various forms of wisdom and how vibration through the vehicle of the word gets spoken.
Diving further into the four levels of speech, its stage represents the essence of the word at different levels:
In its most expansive, the word at the transcendent is immersed in oneness. All vibrations emanate from this space. The power here is referred to as Ambhika Shakti, flowing uncontradicted from the mouth of the Goddess. This stage is often considered the nature of silence, where nothing is divisible from anything else. According to the Tantric scriptures, this stage seeds in the Root Chakra.
Out of this well-spring of the womb, Iccha Shakti as desire and will, spring forth out of this inert state to start the process of individuated expression. We can say the moment of separation from oneness starts the process of the will to perceive this knowledge through the mind and from the experience of human consciousness. For this stage, it seeds in the Solar Plexus Chakra.
Then, the will or desire to be “known” must take shape in the form of a thought, Jnana Shakti. The mind has limits in its capacity to perceive, with a tendency to separate and reduce in order to make sense of experience. The thought form becomes the box needed to contain the idea for the mind to perceive it and then express. This stage seeds in the Heart Chakra.
Finally, the word is now fully expressed through the action of speech or Kriya Shakti. In its most manifest and individuated form, the spoken word becomes the vehicle for the soul to express itself as part of the whole. This last stage seeds in the Throat Chakra.
Ambhika Shakti, flowing uncontradicted from the mouth of the Goddess
For each spoken word is a thought behind it, the will, and ultimately an origin source. The practice of Yoga assists the practitioner in attaining wisdom by retracing the thought forms and alleviating psychic impressions of the causal body. In the process, ultimate truth is realized. With that said, we now proceed with reverence, understanding more clearly the following: there is a reduction that happens when concepts like Om are spoken about or translated within a limited language framework. Through seeking definition, we start the process of learning something uniquely Vedic and breaking meaning down for the mind. It's easy to lose some of its essence yet can be rectified through chant, meditation, and experiential learning. Let’s return to the sound of Om...
Similar to the transcendent level of the word, Om is primordial. According to the Yoga Sutras (a seminal text on Yoga instruction), in 1.27, the Patanjali says, "The pranava [Om] is the sound of the divine creative source/supreme being." Unlike the void of undifferentiated primordial knowledge, Om is a piercing light of divine vibration, paving the way for the meaning of other words to be understood at their essence. We can say the divine creative source or supreme being to mean truly our inner light of awareness. In Yoga, there is the concept of the Seen and the Seer which happens as a result of living in a reality that creates separation and dualism. Hatha Yoga focuses on union or harmony, arriving at a non-dual state by overcoming the innate separation the mind generates simply in perceiving.
Om is a piercing light of divine vibration, paving the way for the meaning of other words to be understood at their essence.
Stay with me here. We're going to break it down a little bit more:
You are reading these words. Your mind is perceiving the screen in front of you. The pixels. The light. The color. You are also likely touching something, whether the computer, your clothes, a chair, or the ground. You are observing sensation...How about your breath? Are you breathing? Is it long or short? Deep or shallow? Finally, your thoughts. Maybe, take a moment and close the eyes just to notice any memories from the past or plans for the future. Once your done observing your thoughts, return to the rest of the article.
How did that feel? All of these things mentioned, from the computer to sensation to breath and thoughts, these are all "things" or objects that are being perceived. The perceivables. This may seem simple enough but perhaps still a little complex. Now, in order to be reading these words, noticing sensation and the breath, seeing your thoughts, there must be something inside of you that is perceiving these things!
We can't "see" what's here unless there are eyes to see them. Similarly, we can't perceive experiences of reality unless there is an awareness, a Witness, a Soul, a Seer, or whatever you wish to define it as, to perceive them. In fact, the name Rishi, referring to the ancient teachers of India, means a Seer. Therefore, this concept of awakened awareness is essential to grasp, recommending so far as to ponder and meditate more with this concept of perception as the perceived and the perceiver.
Om, according to the Yoga Sutras, is the frequency or vibration of the Soul, Seer, supreme being, divine light of awareness. In the Yoga Sutra 1.24, Pantajali says "The supreme being is a special form of consciousness that is unaffected by afflictions, actions, the consequences of those actions, and the impressions created by those actions along with their rewards." Therefore, by chanting Om, the yogi is able to connect with the energy of their higher self in the form of divine awareness which is untouched by the pains, joys, losses, and achievements of life. Beautifully, Pantanjali articulated in the Yoga Sutras an ancient practice rooted in the philosophy that inside each of us lies a neutral awareness untouched by life's impressions, a droplet of the ocean consciousness, only a portion yet containing all of consciousness in it. Similar to the concept of Kundalini, the light of awareness isn't something that awakens but that we awaken to by clearing the filters of the mind and working through psychic karmic impressions.
Who's to say what the most important sound or frequency for connecting to consciousness? There are many different and beautiful words we can use to feed our spiritual health. Each tradition, from Tibetan Buddhism to Daoism to Shintoism, all have their own sacred sounds and language that honor the divine vibration reciding in all of us. The knowledge of Yoga and the importance of Om have happily persisted to the modern-day. There's something to be said for the reverence and love millions of people have felt in the benefits and liberating effects in chanting the sound of Om. If you have your own powerful word or affirmation, please continue to practice with it! Just like Om, one simple sound may contain the meaning of the universe, just like that droplet of the ocean.
Citations
Inbaraj G, Rao RM, Ram A, Bayari SK, Belur S, Prathyusha PV, Sathyaprabha TN, Udupa K. Immediate Effects of OM Chanting on Heart Rate Variability Measures Compared Between Experienced and Inexperienced Yoga Practitioners. Int J Yoga. 2022 Jan-Apr;15(1):52-58. doi: 10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_141_21. Epub 2022 Mar 21. PMID: 35444369; PMCID: PMC9015091.
Kalyani BG, Venkatasubramanian G, Arasappa R, Rao NP, Kalmady SV, Behere RV, Rao H, Vasudev MK, Gangadhar BN. Neurohemodynamic correlates of 'OM' chanting: A pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Int J Yoga. 2011 Jan;4(1):3-6. doi: 10.4103/0973-6131.78171. PMID: 21654968; PMCID: PMC3099099.
Pundir A, Chauhan A. Positive Effects on "AUM" Chanting on Mental Health and Well-being. Traditional Medicine. 2023 May; https://doi.org/10.35702/Trad.10015
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