AUM: The Best Praise or Prayer

The Latin word Omne and the Sanskrit word Aum are both derived from the same root meaning all and both words convey the concept of omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. Another word for Aum is pranava , which is derived from the root nu meaning to praise, to which is added the prefix pra, denoting superiority. The word, therefore, means 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. A few instances of the various interpretations given to it may be mentioned here to convey its meaning.

The letter A represents the deepest sound in the body that can be made. It is a sound that comes from the throat. The U represents the sound in the middle of the palate. The M represents the sound at the furthest extent that the human voice can create, at the end of the lips. Thus A, U, M represents the sounds of creation represented by the power of speech. As it says in Genesis: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God. Aum represents the power to create through speech.

The letter A symbolizes the conscious or waking state, the letter U the dream state, and the letter M the dreamless sleep state of the mind and spirit. The entire symbol, together with the crescent and the dot, stands for the fourth state, which combines all of these states and transcends them. This is the state of Samadhi (a state in which the aspirant is one with the object of his meditation, the Supreme Spirit pervading the universe, where there is a feeling of unutterable joy and peace).

The letters A, U, M symbolize respectively speech, the mind and the breath of life, while the entire symbol stands for the living spirit, which is but a portion of the divine spirit.

The three letters also represent the dimensions of length, breadth and depth, while the entire symbol represents Divinity, which is beyond the limitation of shape and form.

The three letters A, U and M, symbolize the absence of desire, fear and anger, while the whole symbol stands for the perfect man, one whose wisdom is perfectly established in the divine.

They represent the three genders, masculine, feminine and neuter, while the entire symbol represents all creation together with the Creator.
They stand for the three gunas or qualities of sattva, rajas and tamas, while the whole symbol represents a gunatita, one who has transcended and gone beyond the pull of the gunas.

The three 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 respectively. The entire symbol represents Brahma Vidya, the knowledge of the Self, the teaching of which is imperishable.

The three letters depict the three stages of yoga discipline: asana, pranayama and pratyhara, The entre symbol represents Samadhi the goal for which the three stages are the steps.

They represent the triad of Divinity, namely Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer and Shiva the destroyer of the universe. The whole symbol is said to represent Brahman from which the universe emanates, has its growth and fruition and into which it emerges in the end. It does not grow or change. Many change and pass, but Brahman is the One that remains unchanged.

The letters A, U, M also stand for the mantra “Tat Twam Asi” (That Thou Art), the realization of man’s divinity within himself. The entire symbol stands for this realization, which liberates the human spirit from the confines of his body, mind, intellect and ego.

After realizing the importance of AUM, the yogi focuses his attention on his beloved Deity adding AUM to the name of the Lord. The word Aum being too vast and abstract, he unifies his senses, will, intellect, mind and reason by focusing on the name of the Lord and adding the word AUm with one-pointed devotion and so experiences the feeling and meaning of the mantra.

The yogi recalls the verses of the Mandukopanisad: Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanisad, one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation. Stretching it with a though directed to the essence of That, penetrate the Imperishable as the mark, my friend. The mystic symbol AUM is the bow. The arrow is the self. Brahman is the target. By the undistracted man is It penetrated. One should come to be in It, as the arrow in the mark.

Most of this is taken from Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar