Why We Chant Aum (Om)
Have you ever wondered what the sound Aum means or why it is chanted during meditation? In order to explain the why, we must first dive into the what. What does Aum mean?
Aum (also sometimes spelled Ohm, or, more commonly in the United States, as Om) is both a Sanskrit word and a sacred sound used in the yogic tradition to convey abstractly the concepts of omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience. It may also be thought of as reference to God, the Unmanifested Absolute, Cosmic Consciousness, or any higher power the practitioner may believe in.
B.K.S. Iyengar, in the popular book Light on Yoga, expanded on the significance of the all-encompassing term. In it, he explained that each letter in A-U-M is also a syllable which represents one of the three states of existence.
The A in Aum represents what he calls the “conscious state” also referred to as the “waking state” of the mind and spirit. In Sanskrit, this is called jāgrata-avasthā and is defined as the state of consciousness in which the reasoning, ego-centered mind is active and we are physically aware of what is going on around us. According to Iyengar, it also represents the faculty of speech (vak).
Interestingly enough, the sound “Ah”, according to Susanna Barkataki, a Desi yoga instructor and prominent leader in the yoga and social justice movement, is believed to travel from the base of the spinal cord up to the navel area and to correlate to the physical brain stem.* In terms of the chakra system, this area corresponds to the region between the root (muladhara) chakra and the sacral (svadhisthana) chakra.
The U represents the “dream state” svapna-avasthā, as well as the reasoning mind or manas. The dream state is defined as the state of consciousness in which the reasoning, sensing mind is unconscious yet active. It is also thought of as the state in which the mind meets the astral plane. It is a state of inner knowing.
The sound the U makes, “Uu”, is believed by Barkataki to correspond to the specific region between the naval and throat. This is also the region between the sacral and the throat (visshudda) chakras. (You can read more about the chakras in my post here). Physically, it Barkataki says it represents the limbic system which is a part of our brain that functions somewhat like our emotional control center.
Finally, the M represents the “deep sleep state” or “dreamless state” (susupta-avasthā) and the breath which is vital life force or prāna. The dreamless sleep state can be thought of as the state of consciousness in which the reasoning mind is completely empty of thought.
According to Barkataki, the “Mm” sound represents the area between the throat and the crown (sahasrara) chakras. Physically, it represents the neocortex. Spiritually, it symbolizes “that which transforms and transcends.”
The entire sound of Aum represents a fourth, transcendental state of consciousness turīya-avasthā which is made up of all three prior mentioned states combined. This fourth state is samādhi, which in my other blog post here, we discussed is the 8th limb, and goal, of yoga. It is blissful union with Source or Higher Self. The entire word also symbolizes the living spirit within each of us, which was manifested and individualized from a portion of the Divine’s spirit. Physically, the entire sound symbolizes a harmonious brain, made up of the brain stem (Ah), the limbic system (Uu), and the neocortex (Mm).
Even more so, each letter symbolizes one of the three physical dimensions (length, width, depth). Uttered together, it refers to that which transcends the earthly limitations of physical form. Each letter represents a gender (masculine, feminine, and neutral). Together, the sound speaks to the belief that all of humanity is made in the image of its Creator. Therefore, it represents an aspect of the Divine, that which transcends gender. And each letter on its own represents the trinity of Creator (Father/Mother), Maintainer (Creator in action), Śiva, destroyer of the universe or the eventual ceasing of all planes of manifested existence.
Together, these three letters and the entire sound they make when combined, symbolize the existence of that which transcends existence. The Unmanifested Consciousness that transcends all manifested consciousness. Paramahansa Yogananda, founder of the Self-Realization Fellowship, poetically expressed Aum as “the cosmic sound of all sound”. **
As you can see, the sound Aum, has a lot of historical and spiritual context behind it. In summation, the sound Aum, when chanted, is an acknowledgement of something higher than ourselves that transcends all planes of existence. Now that we have delved more deeply into what Aum represents, we can discuss why it is used in yoga.
Chanting Aum as a mantra, or sacred sound, helps the practitioner to remember the All in all. It honors the beauty and harmony of the created and the creating force. Chanting Aum allows the yogi to bring his, her, or their awareness and focus back to a higher power.
Chanting a mantra is one way that the yogi practitioner can help tame the monkey mind. By repeating a mantra, such as Aum, the yogi is able to practice pratyahara, withdrawal of the senses from the physical world and dharana (concentration), two of the 8 limbs of yoga that directly aid the yogi in his or her meditation (dhyana). Withdrawal of the senses occurs because the mind is forced to think about the mantra being spoken. This naturally requires a level of concentration by the mind, making it less likely to flit around from passing thought to passing thought.
Chanting a mantra also allows the yogi to move from the waking state mentioned above into the dream state. It may even prepare the yogi become aware of the Self that exists apart from their thoughts. The mind is still active, yet not in complete control.
So why do we chant Aum during a yoga class? Because the monkey mind is being reigned in. Because we are acknowledging an ideal that is bigger than the individual. Because we are being prepared to meditate in peace, free from thoughts that force us to live in the past or the future. Because it allows the us to enter a state of simply being in the present. This is why we chant Aum.
* Embracing Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice, Susanna Barkataki
**“The Holy Sound of Aum”, Metaphysical Meditations, Paramahansa Yogananda