The meaning of Aum
Aum is a Sanskrit Mantra many of us may be familiar with. It is often chanted at the beginning or end of a yoga practice but what does it mean? Well, it holds the meaning of unity both spiritually and metaphorically.
What I share below was taught to me by my wonderful yoga philosophy teacher, Sharada Devi. She shared with me that its meaning brings our entire state of consciousness into its representation of unity.
What do we mean by this?
The ‘Aum’ sound consists of three subtle parts as it is pronounced like ‘Aa-ou-mm’. It is a universal sound we can all make, no matter what age we are, what language we speak or accent we have. Even if we took away the tongue, we could still make this sound, and so it is understood that these three sounds are the source of all other sounds and the tongue is simply there to manipulate vibration into variations of these three sounds, ‘Aa’, ‘Ou’ and ‘Mm’.
Lets break it down a little more…
1. The ‘Aa’ sound is the first sound we make with our mouths open.
It represents the waking state of consciousness as our mouth, representing our consciousness, is open when we are awake. Our consciousness in this state is looking outwards and involves the use of the five senses in experiencing the world.
2. The ‘Ou’ is the sound between the ‘Aa’ and the ‘Mm’.
It represents the dream state of consciousness. Our mouth representing our consciousness is in-between, both physically between the two sounds and between the state of waking and deep unconscious sleep. The dream state is when consciousness is turned inwards and a different world is experienced.
3. The ‘Mm’ is the sound we make when our mouth is closed.
It represents the sleeping state of consciousness. Our mouth representing our consciousness is closed like when we are asleep. It holds the unconscious where the mind is shut down and not dreaming and desiring of anything.
The silence after the ‘Aum’ is the sound of source.
It is the absolute state where we are neither inward or outward but in a blissful state of unity riding on the sound of silence. It also represents that which gives foundation to everything. Every sound, every thought, every word spoken comes from silence.
Every single experience can be held in the meaning of the sound ‘Aum’. It holds the entire universe. It is all encompassing, and unifying.
Whether this meaning comes to life in you or not, next time you chant Aum in class or alone during your Mantra practice at home, see if you can feel this sense of unity physically. When chanted in a group the sound waves of all the individual voices come together uniting in one sound that in my experience feels like one voice!
And if even you don’t quite connect to the meaning shared above, trust that the vibrations help to calm the mind and nervous system, something definitely worth bringing to your practice!