In
Hinduism,
Om is one of the most important spiritual sounds. which is the ultimate reality, consciousness or
Atman (Self within). It is called the
Shabda Brahman (Brahman as sound) and believed to be the primordial sound () of the universe.
Vedas Om came to be used as a standard utterance at the beginning of mantras, chants or citations taken from the
Vedas. For example, the
Gayatri mantra, which consists of a verse from the
Rigveda Samhita (
RV 3.62.10), is prefixed not just by
Om but by
Om followed by the formula
bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ. Such recitations continue to be in use in Hinduism, with many major incantations and ceremonial functions beginning and ending with
Om. It calls the syllable
Om as
udgitha (; song, chant), and asserts that the significance of the syllable is thus: the essence of all beings is earth, the essence of earth is water, the essence of water are the plants, the essence of plants is man, the essence of man is speech, the essence of speech is the
Rigveda, the essence of the Rigveda is the Samaveda, and the essence of Samaveda is the
udgitha (song,
Om). The second volume of the first chapter continues its discussion of syllable
Om, explaining its use as a struggle between
Devas (gods) and
Asuras (demons). Max Muller states that this struggle between gods and demons is considered allegorical by ancient
Indian scholars, as good and evil inclinations within man, respectively. The legend in section 1.2 of Chandogya Upanishad states that gods took the
Udgitha (song of
Om) unto themselves, thinking, "with this
song we shall overcome the demons". The syllable
Om is thus implied as that which inspires the good inclinations within each person. In the second chapter of the Chandogya Upanishad, the meaning and significance of
Om evolves into a philosophical discourse, such as in section 2.10 where
Om is linked to the Highest Self, and section 2.23 where the text asserts
Om is the essence of three forms of knowledge,
Om is
Brahman and "Om is all this [observed world]".
Katha Upanishad The
Katha Upanishad is the legendary story of a little boy,
Nachiketa, the son of sage , who meets
Yama, the Vedic deity of death. Their conversation evolves to a discussion of the nature of man, knowledge,
Atman (Self) and
moksha (liberation). In section 1.2, Katha Upanishad characterises knowledge () as the pursuit of the good, and ignorance () as the pursuit of the pleasant. It teaches that the essence of the Veda is to make man liberated and free, look past what has happened and what has not happened, free from the past and the future, beyond good and evil, and one word for this essence is the word
Om. {{poem quote| The word which all the Vedas proclaim, That which is expressed in every
Tapas (penance, austerity, meditation), That for which they live the life of a
Brahmacharin, Understand that word in its essence:
Om! that is the word. Yes, this syllable is
Brahman, This syllable is the highest. He who knows that syllable, Whatever he desires, is his.
Maitri Upanishad of
Om (), , decorated with deities:
Shiva and
Shakti (could be
Vaishnavi or
Siddhidatri);
Vishnu and
Lakshmi seated upon
Shesha;
Harihara (Vishnu-Shiva fusion deity);
Brahma; and
Dattatreya as a representation of the
Trimurti (top-to-bottom, left-to-right) The
Maitrayaniya Upanishad in sixth
Prapathakas (lesson) discusses the meaning and significance of
Om. The text asserts that
Om represents Brahman-Atman. The three roots of the syllable, states the Maitri Upanishad, are
A +
U +
M. The sound is the body of Self, and it repeatedly manifests in three: • as gender-endowed body – feminine, masculine, neuter; • as light-endowed body –
Agni,
Vayu, and
Aditya; • as deity-endowed body – Brahma, Rudra, and Vishnu; • as mouth-endowed body –
garhapatya,
dakshinagni, and
ahavaniya; • as knowledge-endowed body –
Rig,
Saman, and
Yajur; • as world-endowed body – , , and ; • as time-endowed body – past, present, and future; • as heat-endowed body –
breath,
fire, and
Sun; • as growth-endowed body – food, water, and
Moon; • as thought-endowed body –
intellect,
mind, and
psyche. Brahman exists in two forms – the material form, and the immaterial formless. The material form is changing, unreal. The immaterial formless is not changing, real. The immortal formless is truth, the truth is the Brahman, the Brahman is the light, the light is the Sun which is the syllable
Om as the Self. The world is
Om, its light is Sun, and the Sun is also the light of the syllable
Om, asserts the Upanishad. Meditating on
Om, is acknowledging and meditating on the Brahman-Atman (Self). {{poem quote| That which is flaming, which is subtler than the subtle, on which the worlds are set, and their inhabitants – That is the indestructible Brahman. It is life, it is speech, it is mind. That is the real. It is immortal. It is a mark to be penetrated. Penetrate It, my friend. Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanishad, one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation, Stretching it with a thought directed to the essence of That, Penetrate that Imperishable as the mark, my friend.
Om is the bow, the arrow is the Self, Brahman the mark, By the undistracted man is It to be penetrated, One should come to be in It, as the arrow becomes one with the mark.
Adi Shankara, in his review of the Mundaka Upanishad, states
Om as a symbolism for
Atman (Self).
Mandukya Upanishad The
Mandukya Upanishad opens by declaring, "
Om!, this syllable is this whole world". •
Om as all states of
Time. • : In verse 1, the Upanishad states that time is threefold: the past, the present and the future, that these three are
Om. The four fourth of time is that which transcends time, that too is
Om expressed. •
Om as all states of
Consciousness. • : In verses 3 to 6, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates four states of consciousness: wakeful, dream, deep sleep, and the state of
ekatma (being one with Self, the oneness of Self). The text asserts that
Om is a tool of meditation empowering one to know the God within oneself, to realize one's Atman (Self). is sometimes referred to as "" (
Omkara is his form) and used as the symbol for
Upanishadic concept of Brahman.
Ganapati Upanishad The
Ganapati Upanishad asserts that Ganesha is same as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, all deities, the universe, and
Om. {{blockquote|(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trimurti)
Brahma,
Vishnu, and
Mahesa. You are
Indra. You are fire and air . You are the sun and the moon . You are
Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and
Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).
Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana The
Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana, a Samavedic text, outlines a story where those who chant Om can achieve the same rewards as deities. However, the gods are concerned about humans ascending to their realm. To address this concern, a compromise is reached between the gods and Death. Humans can attain immortality, but it involves relinquishing their physical bodies to Death. This immortality entails an extended celestial existence after a long earthly life, where the practitioner aspires to acquire a divine self (atman) in a non-physical form, allowing them to reside eternally in the heavenly realm.
Ramayana In
Valmiki's
Ramayana,
Rama is identified with
Om, with
Brahma saying to Rama:
Bhagavad Gita manuscript, 1795, decorated with
murtis of
Surya,
Brahma, and
Vishnu to the left,
Shakti (could be
Maheshwari) on the
chandrabindu point, and
Shiva (holding a
trishula) to the right The
Bhagavad Gita, in the
Mahabharata, mentions the meaning and significance of
Om in several verses. According to Jeaneane Fowler, verse 9.17 of the Bhagavad Gita synthesizes the competing dualistic and monist streams of thought in Hinduism, by using "
Om which is the symbol for the indescribable, impersonal
Brahman". According to the
Vayu Purana,
Om is the representation of the Hindu
Trimurti, and represents the union of the three gods, viz.
A for
Brahma,
U for
Vishnu and
M for
Shiva. The
Bhagavata Purana (9.14.46-48) identifies the
Pranava as the root of all Vedic mantras, and describes the combined letters of
a-u-m as an invocation of seminal birth,
initiation, and the performance of sacrifice (
yajña). In
Śrī Vaiṣṇava tradition, sub-traditions differ on who has eligibility to say
Oṁ, but it is generally a "nonissue" as it is not necessary for salvation. The Teṉkalai division, represented by
Piḷḷailokācārya in his
Parantapaṭi, allow everyone to recite the
praṇava, arguing the syllable arises spontaneously from all. The Vaṭakalai division, represented by
Vedāntadeśika in his
Rahasyatrayasāra, disallows women and śūdras from reciting the
praṇava, citing older scriptural injunctions to support the stance.
Shaiva traditions at
Kanaka Durga Temple,
Vijayawada In
Shaiva traditions, the
Shiva Purana highlights the relation between deity
Shiva and the
Pranava or
Om. Shiva is declared to be
Om, and that
Om is Shiva. After this, an epithet of
Shiva is
Omkareshwar, the Lord,
Ishvara, of oṃkāra.
Shakta traditions In the
thealogy of
Shakta traditions,
Om connotes the female divine energy,
Adi Parashakti, represented in the
Tridevi:
A for the creative energy (the
Shakti of Brahma),
Mahasaraswati,
U for the preservative energy (the Shakti of Vishnu),
Mahalakshmi, and
M for the destructive energy (the Shakti of Shiva),
Mahakali. The 12th book of the
Devi-Bhagavata Purana describes the
Goddess as the mother of the Vedas, the
Adya Shakti (primal energy, primordial power), and the essence of the
Gayatri mantra.
Other texts and
Krishna intertwined with an
Om () and surrounded by scenes from their life
Yoga Sutra The aphoristic verse 1.27 of Pantanjali's
Yogasutra links
Om to
Yoga practice, as follows: {{poem quote| His word is
Om. This verse highlights the importance of
Om in the meditative practice of yoga, where it symbolizes the three worlds in the Self; the three times – past, present, and future eternity; the three divine powers – creation, preservation, and transformation in one Being; and three essences in one Spirit – immortality, omniscience, and joy. It is a symbol for the perfected Spiritual Man.
Tantrasāra According to the
Tantrasāra of
Kr̥ṣṇānanda Āgamavāgīśa, a śūdra may not be initiated with a mantra beginning with Oṁ aka praṇava. == Jainism ==