Last night my partner asked me what Om actually meant. And I realized that I only learnt the significance to Om in a practice a year ago. That was about 3 solid years of practice where I didn’t even know why we chanted Om while on our mats! I think the first year I generally opted out while sitting quietly.
It was descried to me as embodying the universe, both the beginning and the end. That OM exists in everything, although we may not notice it, the sound is present in all sounds. And the story to accompany this explanation was as creation began, the original vibrations manifested as the sound “OM”.
I really have enjoyed this explanation and it has brought meaning to me for this simple chant. I find it calming as I feel for those vibrations within my own throat and for the vibrations formed in the air by my peers chanting alongside me.
Another tidbit of meaning that I found on Wikipedia was that “The syllable is taken to consist of three phonemes, a, u and m, variously symbolizing the Three Vedas or the Hindu Trimurti or three stages in life ( birth, life and death ).”
I don’t yet understand what the Three Vedas are and am unfamiliar with Hinduism, but the three stages of life rings true. Being the beginning and the end and everything else in between is what OM in fact is. This is why a practice or a mantra begins and ends with “OM”, because it is “OM” that brings its meaning.
So now if you are curious try chanting OM next time you are by yourself. Open your throat up and feel the movement of the sound as it passes through your throat. Use your lungs as bellows and push the air through and the sound will feel natural. If you are still too shy, be sure to feel the vibrations in your next class as I always do when I am in practice. And it will be then I hope that you too will find its meaning in your heart.
Namaste
