Why does the Hindu mantra begin with OM?

 

This single word (OM) can produce powerful and positive vibrations, which allow you to feel the whole universe in peace. Chanting the OM mantra is very beneficial for us in our daily lives. Hindus chant this mantra while doing worship and meditation.

Om is a sacred sound and a spiritual symbol in Hinduism that signifies the essence of the ultimate reality, consciousness, or Atman.

 ‘Om’ is believed to be the Ekaakshara Abraham, which is the creator and destroyer of the entire universe. So, ‘Om’ is the ruler or God.

The symbol OM is crafted differently by Hindus in their native languages.

Benefits of the Holy Mantra Om

Many have developed Om therapy because of its positive effects, which are further used to treat different diseases mentally and physically.

• Chanting Om gives you a sense of being different from the world, which plays an important role in releasing tension, worries, and stress.
• Chanting Om regularly gives you peace of mind and helps form a spiritual connection, further enabling you to fight anxiety and depression.
• Much research has shown that chanting Om can help strengthen the spinal cord.
• Chanting Om helps regulate blood pressure (flow).

and relieves hypertension. It helps normalize breathing, respiration, and heart function.

• The music of Om can play an important role in boosting sleep.

Unicode for OM

• The symbol is encoded at U+0950.
• The syllable is often found at the beginning and end of chapters in the Vedas, the Upanishads, and other Hindu texts.

ॐ as a letter, Sound, or Syllable

• Om, represented by its symbol (the letter ॐ), is a combination of three sounds or letters: A, U, and M (,, ).
• Om is considered the eternal sacred sound. It is the sound of creation and, as such, is extremely powerful, infinite, and limitless.
• It is also considered the bridge between the inner and outer worlds.

 Four stages of OM

• The Brahman, Om, has four stages. The jagrata stage is the awake and alert stage that connects us to various external material bodies and objects. The second is the svapna stage.

This is the stage of dreams. This is the stage where the consciousness of a living body is overcome by the unreal. In this stage of dreaming, one imagines the ‘dream’ (unreal) to be a reality, and it has real physical as well as physiological effects on the individual. The third stage is sushupta. This is the stage of deep sleep, the stage of complete unawareness and inertness. One doesn’t know what is happening around him or her. This is a stage of objectlessness. The last stage of turiya is the transcendental stage. This is the stage of total bliss, sat-chit-ananda, wherein the duality of subject and object ceases to exist. These four stages are manifested in the syllable Om (which is a symbol of Brahman).

Is Om said to be the essence of the Veda?

"Om is said to be the essence of the Sama-veda, which, being almost entirely taken from the Rig-veda, may itself be called the essence of the Rig-veda. And more than that, the Rig-veda stands for all speech and the Sama-veda for all breath of life, so that Om may be conceived again as the symbol of all speech and all life. Om thus becomes the name not only of all our physical and mental powers but especially of the living principle, the Prana, or spirit... that none of the Vedas with their sacrifices and ceremonies could ever secure the salvation of the worshipper—i.e., that sacred works performed according to the rules of the Vedas are of no avail in the end, but that meditation on Om alone, or that knowledge of what is meant by Om alone, can procure true salvation or true immortality."

Is nature related to OM?

OM allows us to separate the time of our practice from our everyday lives, signifying that our practice time is a sacred time in which we care for ourselves while also practicing mindfulness. There are several other reasons why we chant Om, such as the fact that when chanted, Om vibrates at a frequency of 432 Hz, the same vibrational frequency as all things throughout nature.

• Om is the primal sound of the universe.
• Any relationship between Om and Yoga?

The word "OM" denotes the primal sound, the essence of the cosmos, and ultimate reality when spoken. It is recited to connect with the divine and achieve a spiritual awakening through meditation, ceremonies, and spiritual practices.

The OM symbol is not just linked with Hinduism, but it may also be found in other Indian religions such as Buddhism and Jainism, where it serves a similar purpose as a sacred sound and symbol.

Positive vibrations and energy are said to be generated by OM. It is believed that chanting the sound activates and balances the chakras (energy centres) in the body, producing a sense of well-being and harmony.