Om

Sarvam Omkāra eva: Everything is Om, indeed.

– The Mandukya Upanishad

Creation began with the utterance of ‘Om’, it is believed. The very utterance of the word makes your entire soundbox vibrate, as opposed to other words that pull only a few strings, figuratively speaking. The Mandukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to explaining the concept of ‘Om’ and its significance.

According to the Mandukya Upanishad, ‘Om’ is not merely a word, it is a vibration. And when you utter the word properly, it creates a vibration in you; a vibration that empties your mind of all other vibrations of desire, anger or irritation and fills it with a desire for the Universal. When you chant ‘Om’ your vibrations become in tune with the Universe’s vibrations and you experience complete harmony with the world. The chant ‘Om’ is so powerful that, when chanted correctly, can rid a person of all his sins, put an end to desire and generate a feeling of satisfaction and peacefulness. However, if you come out of it still feeling dissatisfied, it would only mean that it was chanted wrongly.

‘Om’ does not have a form. It is imperishable. It does not have a past, present or future. The immesurable, inaudible form of ‘Om’ is called amātra.

A simple procedure lies behind chanting ‘Om’ in the right way. Doubts always arise as to the duration of chanting ‘Om’. There is a particular measure that one can follow to ensure that it is chanted for the right duration. Just take your fist once around your knee and snap your fingers. That becomes one mātrā. If you perform one mātrā, it becomes a short duration, if you perform two, it becomes a midlong duration and if you perform three, it becomes a long duration. One can pick and choose whichever convenient duration and chant ‘Om’.

One also wonders what to concentrate on while chanting ‘Om’. Concentrate on being the ocean into which all the rivers mingle into. Feel the world enter into you and experience the contentment of being one with the universe. The feeling of achieving this state is something that cannot be described. It inspires you, scares you, overwhelms you and strengthens you. It gives in you, a confidence to overcome anything.

Practice chanting ‘Om’ and share your enlightening experience. It is definitely worth it.

Visit us at www.ishtadevata.com