"Fear is one of the greatest stumbling blocks on the path of remembered enlightenment. Our OM Healing Technique frees the soul to radiate from the heart outward into the physical world. Within the OM Healing Circles, one may literally transcend fear. Fear dissipates through the sound that OM generates. In the OM Healing Circles, participants become aware of dropping layers of armor piled on through fear accumulated in many lifetimes." Mahavatar Babaji
 
 

 Genesis of OM - Om, Aum, Amen, Amin, Amun

It is believed (though there is no academic support for this) that Aum became Amen in Christianity and Judaism. Amen is mentioned widely in the Bible and it is said to mean, "so be it“ or “verily”, “truly”. This may be a later interpretation of “Amen” since it was first recorded in 1230 A.D. Jesus calls himself (In Revelation 3:14„the Amen, the faithful and true witness and in Hebrew "Amen“ means truth, “to be firm” or “faithful”. Muslims use the word "’Āmīn" (Arabic: آمين‎) not only after reciting the first surah of the Koran (Qur'an), but also when concluding a prayer, with the same meaning as in Christianity. The Islamic use of the word is the same as the Jewish use of the word.

Under the rulership of pharaoh Echnaton the Egyptians worshiped Amen-Ra or Ammon (the hidden God) by using Amen to invoke Ammon. This leads us to another meaning of Amen that is “the concealed”. We could say that Amen or originally AUM is the sound of the true reality that is hidden by the world of manifest existence. This reality is pure being thus it could also be translated as “so be it” as it happened later as an expression of benediction or as a sign of gratitude.

Why chanting Om and not Amen or Ammon?

As mentioned before there is no scientific evidence until today that Amen is a derivative from the Sanskrit sound AUM, although many people believe so. Thus, to make sure that the chanting brings maximum effect it is better to chant Om than any other similar word or sound.

As mentioned before Om is the most holy sound of the Sanskrit language. Sanskrit means, “put together” and is the language of the Veda (Rig-Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda) and Vedic literature. Sanskrit is written in Devanagari which means script of the city (nagari) of the Gods (Deva).
The Veda and Vedic literature unfolds the whole creation and is considered not to be man made but cognized by the Rishis (seers) of the Himalayan mountain range thousands of years ago. Through deep meditation they cognized the Laws of Nature by which the whole universe manifested and is sustained until today.
The Veda and Vedic literature can be seen as the blueprint of creation and Sanskrit as the language with the perfect sound that corresponds to each form of manifestation. OM is the perfect sound that encompasses all sounds that bring about the manifest world. Thus, all other words that are derived from OM are already deviated from wholeness and cannot bring the same orderliness to the physiology as Om itself. Om is the vibration that perfectly corresponds with its meaning. To be healthy means to be whole or holy. Thus, it is best to chant Om to achieve the vibration of perfect wholeness in each cell.
We could say that chanting Om is one of the best ways to bring the vibration of unity into the diversity of creation. Each cell of the body should reverberate wholeness and all parts together should reverberate in wholeness. This can be enlivened through chanting Om.

Sanskrit and its relation to other languages

It is very interesting to know that Sanskrit shares a common origin with hundreds of other languages like Greek, Latin; German, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Marathi, Kashmiri, Panjabi, Nepali und Romani. Vedic Sanskrit, the pre-Classical form of the language is one of the earliest attested members of the Indo-European language family.
The oldest known text in Sanskrit, the Rigveda, is a collection of over a thousand hymns that were approximately composed during the 2nd Millennium BC. Actually it is said that Sanskrit was very likely the basis for many other languages. Thus, from the point of linguistic science we could say, that the words and sounds of Sanskrit are basic to the words and sounds of modern languages. For example, the English word sugar and the German word “Zucker” are derived from the Sanskrit word Sharkara.
Even some African languages like Kisuaheli seem to have connections to Sanskrit. For example in Kisuaheli the word for lion is “Simba” and the Sanskrit word for lion is Simha. In linguistic sciences it is recognized that more than 170 languages are derived from Sanskrit or at least very strongly influenced by it.

Reading the Veda and Vedic literature and their effects on brain physiology

Beside the fact that Sanskrit might be the origin of many other languages there is another interesting feature about it. It seems that reading Sanskrit has a different effect on brain physiology than any other language.

Dr. Travis1 asked his test subjects to read passages from the Bhagavad-Gita in Sanskrit and in modern foreign languages (Spanish, French, or German). In each case they could pronounce the sounds but did not know the meaning. He measured brain wave patterns (ERG), heart and breath rate, and galvanic skin resistance during two reading sessions and during a 15-minute session of the Transcendental Meditation technique.

He found that while they read Sanskrit their physiology was similar to those measured during the Transcendental Meditation technique, but significantly different from reading a modern language.

When reading Sanskrit, especially when reading parts of the Vedic literature, brain function seemed to change. Similar like in meditation the ERG alpha power, brain wave coherence and skin resistance improved. When reading the same texts in modern languages all the physiological parameters seemed to stay the same. This leads to the conclusion that the ancient written texts of the Veda and Vedic literature, written in Sanskrit, enliven states of higher consciousness while reading modern languages do not settle the mind but rather keep it in a fragmented outward oriented state.

The effect of reading the Vedic literature seems to support the idea that the Vedic literature is a blueprint of creation unfolding in a very orderly way the structuring dynamics of consciousness and that the functioning of brain physiology aligns with these dynamics when reading the Vedic literature in Sanskrit.

If the sound Om reverberates all these properties of the Veda and Vedic literature we were given a technique that not only enlivens wholeness but also the dynamics by which wholeness becomes structured in creation and that is nothing else than healing, meaning that fragmented functioning is brought back to holistic functioning.

1 Travis, F.T., Olsen, T., Egenes, T., & Gupta, H.K. (2001). Physiological patterns during practice of the Transcendental Meditation Technique compared with patterns while reading Sanskrit and a modern language. International Journal of Neuroscience, 109, 71-80

Kalavati, Switzerland

OM and spirituality

Ancient teachings and modern science agree: all living things, all things in existence are made up at their most essential level of vibrating, pulsing energy. For millennia, mystics have recounted their experience of this energy, which is said to manifest in our hearing awareness as a humming vibration around and within everything else.

From the story of creation from the Bible "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Amen (Aum)" : Bible St. John. 1.1

Both Christianity and Hinduism agree that in the beginning there was the vibration which through this vibration all manifest things were brought into being.

This vibration that the ancient’s state most resembles this sound is OM. This sound is different from other sounds that humans perceive with their senses. Sounds are usually created from one object hitting another – such as 2 cymbals, drum and hand, vocal chords, waves against the shore etc. This sound of OM is not created through two objects hitting one another. It is therefore known as “Anahata Nada” “Unstruck sound”. This is the sound of primal energy.

This Sacred sound is composed of four elements: the first three are vocal sounds: A, U, and M. The fourth sound, unheard, is the silence which begins and ends the audible sound, the silence which surrounds it. The lovliest explanation of OM is found within the ancient Vedic and Sanskrit traditions. We can read about AUM in the Manduka Upanishad, which explains the four elements of AUM as an allegory of the four planes of consciousness.

"A" (pronounced "AH" as in "father") resonates in the throat and is regarded as the primal sound, independent of cultural contexts. The sound ”A” is produced from within the throat and is said to include, and to be included in, every other sound produced by the human vocal organs. Indeed A is the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet. It represents normal waking consciousness, in which subject and object exist as separate entities. This is the level of mechanics, science, logical reason, the lower three chakras. Matter exists on a gross level, is stable and slow to change.

The open mouth of A moves toward the closure of M. Between is U, formed of the openness of A but shaped by the closing lips. The sound "U" (pronounced as in "who") transfers the sense of vibration to the back of the mouth. The vibration “U” represents the level of dream consciousness and lies mid-way between waking state (A) and deep sleep (M). From the sleep state of consciouness associated with “U”, object and subject become intertwined in awareness. Both are contained within us. Matter becomes subtle, more fluid, rapidly changing. This is the realm of dreams, divinities, imagination, the inner world.

AUM encompasses within itself the complete alphabet, since its utterance proceeds from the back of the mouth (A), travelling in between (U), and finally reaching the lips (M). "M" is the third element, humming with lips gently closed. This sound resonates forward in the mouth and buzzes throughout the head. This sound represents the realm of deep, dreamless sleep. There is neither observing subject nor observed object. All are one, and nothing. This is the cosmic night, the interval between cycles of creation, the womb of the divine Mother.

The last part of the sound AUM (the M) known as ma or makar, when pronounced makes the lips close. This is like locking the door to the outside world and instead reaching deep inside our own selves, in search for the Ultimate truth. When pronouncing the word AUM the first two letters A and U become combined to form the sound of “O”. The last letter M is still very apparent and still sounds as M upon pronunciation. For this reason the word AUM is shortened to OM. The word OM still contains all the characteristics of the word AUM.

The fourth sound of OM “the unstruck sound” exists within the silence at the end of the sacred syllable. It is interesting that you can’t really listen to silence, you listen to sound but how can you hear something where there is no noise?

When one really focuses on this silent sound - this unstruck vibration, one comes into the presence of stillness, presence and peace. In making the sound of OM we hear this unstruck sound clearly in the instance after the last humming vibrations of “M” start to fade away. At that moment, that instant separating audible sound and silence. When one sits or rests in this silence there is an intensity of silence.

Symbolism of the syllables of OM

According to the Mandukya Upanishad, the syllables of Aum represent the following realms of experience:
A = Jagarat (Waking State / Conscious state)
U = Swapna (Dreaming State / Subconscious state)
M = Shushupti (Deep Sleep State / Unconscious state)

According to yoga the human body and mind are made up of three gunas: Sattwa (Harmony, clarity and light), Rajas (Passion and Dynamism) and Tamas (ignorance, darkness and inertia). The three syllables of AUM symbolise the three gunas as:
A = Rajas  U = Sattwa  M = Tamas

After chanting AUM there is the silence which symbolises the transcendence of all the three gunas – trigunatita - pure consciousness. The three syllables of AUM also symbolise the three principles of existence symbolised by Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. – Creative, Sustaning and Destructive elements: 
A = Brahma  U = Vishnu  M = Shiva

After chanting AUM the silence that is present symbolically represents the underlying reality which underlies and is beyond that which is created, sustained and destroyed.

Beyond AUM

According to the Mandukya Upanishad the transcendental state is called Turiya (Sanskrit meaning 4th) – that which is beyond and yet encompasses the three states symbolised by A,U,M.

The circle symbolises Turiya, the underlying Reality. It includes Jagrat – the consciouns Waking state (A), Swapna the dream or subconscious state (U), and it includes shushupti the causal uncoinscious state (M). Even though Turiya is the underlying reality, it is beyond all three of these states. Turiya holds within it all three of these states and is also yet beyond them. The state of turiya can only be comprehended when the mind dissolves into the consciouness that is beyond all three of the state of jagrat, Swapna and Shushupti – 3 manifest states of the universe.

Symbolic meaning of the symbol AUM

With its threefold nature, special shape and unique sound, Om lends itself to a variety of detailed symbolic interpretations.

The symbol of AUM consists of three curves (curves 1, 2, and 3), one semicircle (curve 4), and a dot. The upper curve 1 symbolizes the waking state (jagrat), in this state the consciousness is turned outwards through the gates of the senses. Because this is the first curve it signifies the most common ('majority') state of the human consciousness.

The lower curve 2 signifies the dream state (swapna). In this state the consciousness of the individual is turned inwards, and the dreaming self beholds an enthralling view of the world behind the lids of the eyes.

The middle curve 3 signifies the state of deep sleep (sushupti) or the unconscious state. This is a state where the sleeper desires nothing nor beholds any dream.

These are the three states of an individual's consciousness, and since Indian mystic thought believes the entire manifested reality to spring from this consciousness, these three curves of the OM symbol therefore represent the entire physical phenomenon.

The dot signifies the fourth state of consciousness, known in Sanskrit as turiya. In this state the consciousness looks neither outwards nor inwards, nor the two together. It signifies the coming to rest of all differentiated, relative existence. This utterly quiet, peaceful and blissful state is the ultimate aim of all spiritual activity. This Absolute (non-relative) state illuminates the other three states.

Finally, the semi circle symbolizes maya (the non-real – the transitory state of consciousness) and separates the dot from the other three curves. Thus, it is the illusion of maya – the transitory state of consciousness that prevents us from the realization of this highest state of bliss.

The semi circle is open at the top, and when ideally drawn does not touch the dot. This means that this highest state is not affected by maya. Maya only affects the manifested phenomenon. This effect is that of preventing the seeker from reaching his ultimate goal, the realization of the One, all-pervading, unmanifest, Absolute principle. In this manner, the form of OM represents both the unmanifest and the manifest, the subtle and the physical realms of existence.

Over and above the threefold nature of OM as a sacred sound is the invisible fourth dimension which cannot be distinguished by our sense organs. The sense organs are restricted to material observations. This fourth state is the unutterable, soundless silence that follows the uttering of OM. A quieting down of all the differentiated manifestations, i.e. a peaceful-blissful and non-dual state. Indeed this is the state symbolized by the dot in the traditional iconography of AUM.

Swami Vishwaanashuyananda