Om is the primordial sound, the sound
(naada) from which the whole universe
emanated. It is this sound which has been
found to be the cosmic frequency of sound
in universe by Advance scientific researches.
It is described as the essence of all
philosophical truths, the crux of the veda.
Kathopanishad states- “The goal, which
all vedas declare, which all austerities aim at,
and which humans desire when they live a life
of conscience, I will tell you briefly it is aum”
According to Hindu philosophy, the
letter A represents creation, when all existence issued forth from Brahma’s golden nucleus;
the letter U refers to Vishnu the God of the
middle who preserves this world by
balancing Brahma on a lotus above himself,
and the letter M symbolises the final part of
the cycle of existence, when Brahma falls
asleep and Shiva has to breathe in so that all
existing things have to disintegrate and are
reduced to their essence to him. More broadly,
om is said to be the primordial sound that
was present at the creation of the universe. It is said to be the original sound that contains
all other sounds, all words, all languages and
all mantras.
It is also the manifestation of the
formless God.
The abstractness of the sound combined
with the representation of it in a script makes
it as the most appropriate symbol for God
who is both formless as well can assume form
for the benefit of His devotees.
Hence all the verses or mantras are begun
with that name of God, which is most
appropriate.
In meditation, chanting of Om helps in
invigorating all the chakras as the naada
emanates from Muladhara chakra while
commencing pronouncement of “A”, passes on through Anahata in heart while chanting
“U” and after the exhalation of “M” from the
mouth, the sound continues to reverberate in
the Sahasrara in cerebrum.
Hence the Omkara is chanted before all
forms of prayers.