YOGIC WISDOM
IS IT OM
OR AUM
If you listen to any sound
deeply enough, and trace
it back to its source in
silence, you can hear OM
within that sound,
whether it be the wind in
the trees, a rushing river,
a speeding train, or dinner
conversation in a
restaurant.
Y O G I C
H E R A L D
14
n my mantra workshops around the
world, one of the most common
questions I hear is about the timeless
mantra OM. It can be written in different
ways, and there is a lot confusion about it,
because different teachers like to share
what has worked well for them, but they
might not know the experience of others. I you’re chanting AUM as a mantra
meditation on its own. (The method, in
summary: Start with AA sound in the belly,
slowly transition to an U sound using the
lips, and then allow the M sound to slowly
internalize the sound back into silence, by
closing your lips and allowing your tongue
to rest gently on your upper palate.)
Especially with a mantra like OM, it’s
important to understand different
perspectives and open ourselves up to the
direct magical experience of the sound,
rather than get limited by dogmatic ideas. The nerdy tantric Sanskrit answer:
The vowel sound O in OM is made up
equal parts A and U. It is a perfect blend of
the first position (guttural) and the fifth
position (labial).
Therefore, I’d like to share a few different
answers to the question, “Is it OM or
AUM? Which is correct?” The vowel sound AU in AUM is made up
of two parts A and one part U. It
emphasizes the first position (guttural)
more than the 5th position (labial).
The short, practical answer:
OM is for short chanting. It is chanted as 1
beat, usually at the beginning of a longer
mantra.
AUM is for extended chanting. It will take
you 3 to 10 seconds or more to
pronounce each unique vowel sound, if
Because there is more A sound, and A
represents infinite consciousness (cid
sakti) and the A sound itself has a direct
heart-opening power, it could be
considered to be more powerful than the
blended O sound.