The Meaning of Aum

Nearly ten years ago, I was substitute teaching a yoga class at the Yosemite Bug Hostel. The class make up was three women, two from Ireland who had never practiced yoga and one local that I knew and had a regular yoga practice.At this point I had been teaching in the Yosemite area for about three years and was at a point in my teaching that I was sharing my personal practice. Generally, I would start off class with a quiet grounding moment, a chant, an intention dedication, and end with the sound om (AUM) three times.Since two of the women were new to yoga, I opted to omit the chant but to be true to my practice keep the om piece.As often can happen, I began the om and did not hear anyone join in. I continued for the second round and had to open my eyes as the sound of stifled guffaws were blurting out. The two women in front of me were in stitches…laughing. This was just too much for them. Too weird? Too cheesy? Too California? Too yoga? All I could do was join them in laughter and then try and re-group and re-direct the class.We moved into some basic poses. I ditched using any Sanskrit terms or any type of phrasing that could seem at all oovy-groovy and break us all into hysterics again.There were lost of smiles and giggles and the class was very fun.During the re-direct, I explained that I too found chanting om challenging. Sometimes it didn’t feel authentic to me. At first I didn’t even know what it meant. At this point I understood it to be the sound created at the beginning of the universe.

The root in Sanskrit is similar to the root in Latin meaning All or everything. Omnipresence. Omnipotence.

I loved this explanation and the sound and resonance I felt within my being when I chanted it. This is why it was a part of my practice. I felt connected to the natural world around me and within me as I practiced this connective sound.As my practice has grown and expanded, I have continued to honor this tradition and have learned more of what this sound and symbol mean.

• The Latin word ‘Omne’ and the Sanskrit word ‘Aum’ are both derived from same root meaning all and both words covey the concepts of omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. The word can also mean the best praise or the best prayer.
• The symbol Aum is comprised of three syllables, namely, the letters A, U, M and when written has a crescent and dot on its top.
• There is an entire Upanishad (the Mandukya Upanishad) solely devoted to elucidating the meaning of the syllable.
• The letter A symbolized the conscious or waking state (jagratha-avastha). The letter U symbolizes the dream state (svapna-avastha) The letter M symbolizes the dreamless sleep state (susupta-avastha) of the mind and spirit. The entire symbol, together with the crescent and the dot, stands for the fourth state (turiya-avastha), which combines and transcends them. This is the state of Samadhi, (a state of super-consciousness brought about by profound meditation, in which the aspirant becomes one with object of meditation and the Universal Spirit).
• The letters (or phonemes) symbolize speech (vak), the mind (manas), and the breath of life (prana), while the entire symbol stands for the living spirit, which is but a portion of the divine spirit.
• They represent the three genders, masculine, feminine and neuter, while the entire symbol stands for the Creator who transcends the limitations of time.
• They stand for the three gunas or qualities of sattva, rajas, and tamas while the entire symbol represents a gunatita, one who has transcended and gone beyond the pull of the gunas.
• The letters correspond to the three tenses -past, present and future-while the entire symbol stands for the Creator who transcends the limitations of time.
• They also stand for the teaching imparted by the Mother, Father and Guru. The entire symbol represents Brahma Vidya, the knowledge of the Self.
• They represent the three stages of yogic discipline namely asana, pranayama, and pratyahara. The entire symbol represents Samadhi.

These meanings caused my appreciation for the sound and symbol to grow, and have brought more vigor into my practice and chanting of it.I do consider my audience and often will go into more or less explanation of the practice depending on the class. For that class with the three ladies we ended the class with one om together. And though we all may have been smiling, the sound we created was very heartfelt and connected. I honor those women for being open and willing.Written by Heather Sullivan.