Letters and words

Om

Om, or Aum, the sacred syllable of Hinduism, also used by Buddhists and Jains: what it means, how it is chanted, what its three sounds stand for and where you see the sign.

Also called Aum · Omkara · Pranava

In brief

I.Om is the most sacred syllable in Hinduism, chanted at the beginning and end of prayers and readings.
II.The Upanishads describe it as the sound of the whole of reality, of Brahman.
III.Its three sounds, A-U-M, are often read as waking, dreaming and deep sleep, or as the gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
IV.Buddhists and Jains also use it in their mantras.

Chapter I

What it means

Om is a sound before it is a sign. Hindus chant it at the start and close of prayers, readings and rituals, and it begins many mantras. The Upanishads, philosophical texts of the first millennium BCE, call it the sound of Brahman, the ultimate reality, and say that the whole world is contained in it.

The Mandukya Upanishad divides the syllable into three parts, A, U and M, and links them with the three states of waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep. The silence after the sound stands for a fourth state, pure consciousness. Later tradition also linked the three sounds with the gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Chapter II

Where it comes from

The syllable appears in the Vedas, the oldest Hindu scriptures, where priests spoke it during sacrifice. In the Upanishads it became an object of meditation in its own right. The written sign, ॐ in Devanagari script, developed as a single ligature, and other scripts of India each have their own form.

The syllable travelled with Buddhism: the best-known Tibetan mantra, Om mani padme hum, begins with it. Jains use Om as a short form of their homage to the five supreme beings.

Chapter III

Where you see it today

The Om sign is everywhere in India: over doorways, in temples, on vehicles and on wedding cards. Around the world it appears in yoga studios, on jewellery and as a tattoo. Hindus regard it with deep reverence, and printing it on shoes or other unclean places causes real offence.

Questions people ask

Is it Om or Aum?

Both. In Sanskrit the vowel o is formed from a and u together, so the syllable can be written either way. Aum makes its three parts visible.

Why is Om chanted in yoga classes?

Modern yoga grew out of Hindu traditions, where Om opens and closes practice. Many teachers keep the chant as a way to begin and end a session.

Sources and further reading

Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Om”
Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism (Cambridge University Press, 1996)
Wendy Doniger, The Hindus: An Alternative History (Penguin, 2009)
Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Religious symbolism and iconography”

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