Aum or Om

Aum (also Om) is a mystical or sacred syllable in the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist religions. It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred exclamation made at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or as a preface to a prayer or mantra. It is also used as a mantra for meditation.

Aum is not a word but rather an intonation that communicates a constellation of meaning and experience. It is composed of the three sounds a-u-m (in Sanskrit, the vowels a and u combine to become o) and the symbol's threefold nature is central to its meaning. It represent several important triads:

• the three worlds - earth, atmosphere, and heaven
• the three major Hindu gods - Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva
• the three sacred Vedic scriptures - Rg, Yajur, and Sama

Thus Aum mystically embodies the essence of the entire universe. This meaning is further deepened by the Indian philosophical belief that God first created sound and the universe arose from it. As the most sacred sound, Aum is the root of the universe and everything that exists and it continues to hold everything together.

Mystics believe that if it is repeated with the correct intonation, it can resonate throughout the body so that the sound penetrates to the center of one's being, the atman or soul.