Aum - The Symbol

Om or Aum, written in Devanāgari as ॐ and as ओम्, in Sanskrit known as pranava प्रणव, is a sacred/mystical syllable in the Dharma or Indian religions, i.e. Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.

Aum is most commonly pronounced as a long or over-long nasalized close-mid back rounded vowel, though there are other enunciations adhered to in received traditions. It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred incantation to be intoned at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or prior to any prayer or mantra. The Māndukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the explanation of the syllable. The syllable consists of three phonemes, a Vaishvanara, u Hiranyagarbha and m Iswara, which symbolize the beginning, duration, and dissolution of the universe and the associated gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, respectively. Aum is pronounced in three sounds - A (aaa) , U (ooooo) and M (mmmmm) and signifies Right (A) and Left (U) Sympathetic Nervous Systems (SNS) and (M) Parasympathetic Nervous System. Right SNS (controlled by Left part of brain) looks after the actional aspect where as the left SNS looks after the emotional aspect of human beings.

The name Omkara is taken as a name of God in the Hindu revivalist Arya Samaj.

The syllable aum is first described as all-encompassing mystical entity in the Upanishads. Today, in all Hindu art and all over India and Nepal, 'aum' can be seen virtually everywhere, a common sign for Hinduism and its philosophy and theology. Hindus believe that as creation began, the divine, all-encompassing consciousness took the form of the first and original vibration manifesting as sound "AUM". Before creation began it was "Shunyākāsha", the emptiness or the void. Shunyākāsha, meaning literally "no sky", is more than nothingness, because everything then existed in a latent state of potentiality.

The vibration of "AUM" symbolizes the manifestation of God in form ("sāguna brahman"). "AUM" is the reflection of the absolute reality, it is said to be "Adi Anadi", without beginning or the end and embracing all that exists. The mantra "AUM" is the name of God, the vibration of the Supreme. When taken letter by letter, A-U-M represents the divine energy (Shakti) united in its three elementary aspects: Bhrahma Shakti (creation), Vishnu Shakti (preservation) and Shiva Shakti (liberation, and/or destruction).

In Jainism, Aum is regarded to be a condensed form of reference to the five parameshthis, by their initials A+A+A+U+M

In Buddhism, Aum is placed at the beginning of their Vidya-Sadaksari or mystical formulary in six syllables as well as most other mantras and dhāranis. As a seed syllable (bija mantra), it is also considered holy in Esoteric Buddhism.

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