Om

Many of our silver jewelry has Om carved on it. Many ask what it means. So here is a small answer.

Om is a mystical or sacred syllable in the Indian religions. It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred exclamation to be uttered at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or previously to any prayer or mantra. The Mandukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the explanation of the syllable. According to the Mandukya Upanishad, “Om is the one eternal syllable of which all that exists is but the development. The past, the present, and the future are all included in this one sound, and all that exists beyond the three forms of time is also implied in it”.

The Power of Om
During meditation, when we chant Om, we create within ourselves a vibration that attunes sympathy with the cosmic vibration and we start thinking universally. The momentary silence between each chant becomes palpable. Mind moves between the opposites of sound and silence until, at last, it ceases the sound. In the silence, the single thought—Om—is quenched; there is no thought. This is the state of trance, where the mind and the intellect are transcended as the individual self merges with the Infinite Self in the pious moment of realization. It is a moment when the petty worldly affairs are lost in the desire for the universal. Such is the immeasurable power of Om.

In Hinduism: The syllable Om is first described as all-encompassing mystical entity in the Upanishads. Today, in all Hindu art and all over India and Nepal, ‘Om’ can be seen virtually everywhere, a common sign for Hinduism and its philosophy and mythology.

In Buddhism: Buddhists place om at the beginning of their Vidya-Sadaksari or mystical formulary in six syllables (viz., om mani padme hum) As a seed syllable (bija mantra), it is also considered holy in Esoteric Buddhism. With Buddhism’s evolution and breaking away from Vedic/Hindu tradition, Om and other symbology/cosmology/philosophies are shared with the Hindu tradition.

Om in Sanskrit

Tibetan Om