Om

What it is

Om, written ॐ, is a syllable treated as a sacred sound, a seed mantra and an invocation. It appears in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh settings. The same sound is called Aum, Oṃ or Ōṁ in transliteration, and it carries several names in Sanskrit, among them Praṇava, Oṅkāra and Akṣara. Followers of Indian traditions take it as a sound that points to the divine. In Hindu thought it is linked with Brahman, ultimate reality, with Atman, the self, and with the Vedic texts. It is sounded in worship and meditation.

Where it comes from

Om first appears in the Vedic corpus. One view holds that it condenses chants of the Samaveda, and the Aitareya Brahmana reads its three sounds, a, u and m, as stages of cosmic creation. Its derivation has been argued over for a long time. The Upanishads themselves offer several Sanskrit explanations, including words for 'yes' and roots meaning to urge or to attain. Maurice Bloomfield suggested a Proto-Indo-European particle in 1889, while Asko Parpola argues for a Dravidian loan related to Tamil ām, 'yes'. The Jaffna Tamil dialect of Sri Lanka also uses aum for yes.

How it is done

Practice is vocal or silent. A worshipper may sound Om on its own, or place it before a longer mantra. It opens recitation of sacred texts and features in puja, private prayer, meditation and ceremonies of passage such as weddings. In yoga it can serve as a focus for meditation. The syllable is also written at the start or close of chapters in Hindu scriptures. Some traditions lengthen the vowel in Vedic style, and groups such as Arya Samaj favour the older au sound. The sound is commonly given as a, u and m in analysis.

Tools and materials

Writing gives Om several visible forms. In Devanagari, ओम् combines a vowel letter, a vowel sign, a consonant and a stroke that cancels an inherent vowel. The familiar ॐ is a cursive ligature. A digit 3 or an avagraha, a vowel mark, can show that the vowel is prolonged; an anusvāra, a nasal mark, can show nasalisation. Bengali and Assamese write ওঁ, Odia ଓଁ and Tamil ௐ. Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam use the letter for ō with an anusvāra, while Urdu and Sindhi can use اوم.

What it is for

Om is used for meditation, recitation and worship. Hindu texts treat it as an aid on the yogic path to liberation, and as a sound that sums up Vedic authority. It is chanted before and during readings from scripture, in puja and in private prayer. Rites of passage, weddings among them, include it. Devotees hold that it stands for Brahman and for the self, and that it is the primeval sound. The syllable is also an invocation in Buddhist, Jain and Sikh contexts.

Peoples and places

India is the home of the Vedic corpus in which Om appears. Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh communities use it. In Sri Lanka, Tamil-Brahmi writing and coins from the Anuradhapura period carry an Aum monogram, and the Jaffna Tamil dialect uses aum for yes. Khmer artefacts from Funan, Angkor Borei and later Khmer kingdoms show the symbol from the first century onward. In Cambodia and Thailand it is linked with yantra and sak yant tattoos. Chinese writing transliterates it as 唵 or 嗡.

What people believe

Behind the syllable lies a view of sound as a way to the divine. Hindu texts call Om Shabda Brahman, Brahman as sound, and treat it as the primeval sound. It is tied to Brahman, ultimate reality, to Atman, the self, and to consciousness. The Aitareya Brahmana links its three parts to stages of creation. In the Upanishads it becomes a cosmic sound, an affirmation of the divine and a symbol for abstract spiritual ideas. The Taittiriya Upanishad calls Aum the inner part of the word Brahman. Sikh tradition uses Ik Oṅkār, 'one Om-maker', as an epithet of God.

When it is done

Om is sounded at weddings and other rites of passage, in puja and in private prayer. It accompanies recitation of sacred texts and marks the opening or close of chapters in Hindu scriptures. Meditation on the syllable belongs to yoga. Some reciters give the vowel a Vedic lengthening. The sound appears in temple, monastery and retreat settings, and in domestic worship.

How scholars and sceptics see it

Scholars have long argued over the syllable's derivation. Maurice Bloomfield proposed a Proto-Indo-European particle in 1889. Asko Parpola prefers a Dravidian source, linking it to Tamil ām, 'yes'. Max Müller and others describe the Upanishads as treating Om as an aid to meditation and as giving it meanings that range widely, from a simple utterance to a cosmic principle. Writing is also debated. Deb's 1921 idea that the swastika is an Om monogram was called questionable in a 1922 note in Nature. A. B. Walawalkar and Parker made separate proposals about Brahmi and Tamil-Brahmi forms.

Compare and confuse

Om is also called Onkara, Oṅkāra, Pranava, Udgītha, Akṣara and Ekākṣara. The names point to different ideas: fore-sound, maker of Om, chant, imperishable syllable, single letter. Southeast Asian art often joins the Om sign to the unalome, a yantra tied to the Buddha's urna curl and the path to nirvana. Chinese texts render Om as 唵 or 嗡.

Today

Om remains in use across several religions. Khmer sculpture and artefacts carry it from the Funan period through Chenla and the Khmer Empire to the present. In Cambodia and Thailand it appears in sak yant tattoos and in official emblems, including the royal arms of Cambodia and the Thong Chom Klao of King Rama IV. The symbol has its own Unicode points, one for Devanagari Om and one as a generic Om sign. Sri Lankan Tamil-Brahmi coins show an early monogram.

Questions people ask about Om

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

• Om on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data