THE SIGNIFICANCE OF OM

By Stephen Knapp

One of the most often chanted mantras that you will hear in India is Om. It is chanted separately or quite often at the start of other mantras. It is known to have a profound effect on the body and mind of the chanter, and even on the surroundings. It is used at the start of auspicious activities, meditated on, or even used as a greeting with “Om,” or “Hari Om.”

It is also made of the letters AUM. There is a separate science in the use of it in meditation. [See my article “Meditation: A Short Course To Higher Consciousness” for a more complete explanation.] Briefly, it represents the three states of consciousness (waking, dream, and deep sleep), the Vedic trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva), the three main Vedas (Rig, Yajur, and Sama), and the three worlds (Bhuh, Bhuvah, and Svaha), as well as the beginning, middle, and end of all that exists. Om is also called the Pranava, which means that by which the Lord is praised. It is the name of God as well as the vibration that pervades the universe. By meditating on Om properly, one can enter the realm of transcendence to the highest Truth. But the proper way of meditating on Om is not as easy as one may think. Thus, the inner potency of the mantra is not so easily invoked.