by Richard Dance

Created on: February 22, 2007   Last Updated: May 16, 2007

The Meaning of Aum (Om)

Perhaps you've chanted the Sanskrit word Aum in meditation (often written Om), or listened to it on a CD. As we Westerners begin to assimilate more of the Eastern symbols and techniques, we should gain a deeper understanding of what they mean. Following is a summary explanation of the Aum syllable as given in the Mandukya Upanishad, a sacred Hindu text from the 7th Century BCE. Generally, the purpose of chanting the Aum is to shift one's consciousness from ordinary concerns-surviving, eating, and possessing-to ever-expanding or deeper ways of seeing and being.

To diverge for a moment, keep in mind that Hinduism is more than a religion. It is an entire system for living that in more traditional times entered into the whole of East Indian society and culture, offering advice and instruction on such varied topics as cooking, education, and lovemaking, to philosophy, humor, politics, and God. Also remember that India likes its exploration of philosophy and religion to be primarily psychological in nature and practical in application. That is to say, the big topics in life need to relate immediately to the individual mind and heart, and to every-day life. Having laid that brief foundation, we can now to move to an explanation of the syllable Aum. It can be broken down into three sounds, individually pronounced ah, ooo, and mmm. Each of these sounds is a metaphor for a specific level of consciousness.

When you chant "ah", only the back of your mouth or throat vibrates. You don't really feel any vibration in the middle or front of your mouth or in the lips. When chanting "ah" in meditation training, you are instructed to notice this limited vibration and are taught that it is a symbol for waking consciousness. This level of consciousness, perhaps the most prevalent in our lives, is only the tip of the entire iceberg of consciousness. In this state of mind or being, subject and object are separate and different: I see you, you see me-we are not the same, and we interact by relationship. At this level, rational logic and emotional tension prevail. Furthermore, in the realm of everyday waking consciousness, objects and concepts do not shine of themselves. They have to be defined and illuminated from without. Speaking on a religious level, while we are in waking consciousness, we see God as something different and separate from us, and whether on earth or in heaven, we are always in relationship with God. This is the normal worldview of the conventional

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