It is not possible for anyone to fully cognise or even describe the form of the sacred word ‘Aum’. It is an integral word that stands for the Divine.
Shabda brahmamayi, characharamayi, jyotirmayi vaagmayi,
Nityanandamayi, niranchanamayi, thathwamayi chinmayi,
Tattvatitamayi parathpara mayi mayamayi srimayi,
Sarvaisvaryamayi sadshuvamayi, maama pahi meenambike.
It is Shabda brahmamayi (the audible form of Brahman). Characharamayi (pervading the universe of animate and inanimate beings), Jyothirmayi (resplendent, Divine Light), Vaagmayi (Speech), Nityanandamayi (Eternal Delight), Parathparamayi (Transcendental), Mayamayi (the mother of Maya itself - the creative consciousness of Brahman) and Srimayi (Auspiciousness). ‘Aum’ thus has the foregoing eight ‘aiswaryas’ or divine treasures. It is divinely precious and should be recognised as the Name of God. (SSB 1979, pp. 124-125)
Aum is a Name of God which can find universal acceptance. The Christians say ‘Amen’ in their prayers everyday. It is only a different form of ‘Aum’. ‘Aum’ has universal relevance and applicability. It cuts across all barriers of time, place and religion and culture, and can be uttered by all men. (SSB 1979, p. 125)
The Aum of the Omkara, representing the Vishva, Taijasa and Prajna aspects of the waking, dreaming and deep sleep stages of existence have each a particular role in Sadhana. Upasana which ‘A’ emphasises more, makes one realize all desires; if ‘U’ is concentrated upon, then Jnana increases and if ‘M’ is specially dwelt upon in the Upasana, the final merging of the Soul in Supreme is effected. The Upasaka of Pranava will also earn the knowledge of the truth of the world of creation.
The A, U and M proceed from one to the other in the Pranava and finally merge in an A-Mantra, a letterless resonance which thins out into silence. That is the symbol of the Shantam, the Shivam and the Advaitam, the merging of the individualized soul in the Universal, after the shedding of the limiting particulars of name and form. (UV, pp. 25-26)
Listen to the primeval Pranava resounding in your heart as well as in the heart of the Universe. (SSS Vol.4, p. 54)
A-U-M (Om) is a three-wheeled help, the 3 wheels being 3 letters – Learn to walk safely and quickly on the path of spiritual progress with the help of AUM. (Uniq, p. 150)
That silence that surrounds the outside sound is God. Inside that silence is the eternal sound of ‘Om’. There is only one sound and that is Om. Every other sound arises from Om. (CWBSSB, p. 99)
The Pranava japa, or the recitation of Om and the contemplation of that mystic syllable will help to calm the roaring waves. Om is the sum of all teachings in the Vedas about Godhead and of all systems of adoring the Godhea.
om iti eka aksharam brahma
vyaharan mam anusmaran
yah prayati tyajan deham
sa yati paramam gatim
(Bhagavad Gita, 8:13)
‘Om iti eka aksharam Brahma’ - ‘Om, that One syllable is Brahman!’ Om is a composite of three sounds A (aa) arising from the region of the navel, U (oo) flowing through the, throat and tongue and M (mm) ending up at the closed lips. It has to be pronounced rising in a crescendo as slowly as possible and as slowly coming down, until after the M there will be the echo of the silence reverberating in the cavity of the heart. Do not take it in two stages, arguing that your breath will not hold so long.
Preserve, until you are able to be rallied by the upward sweep and the downward curve and the silent sequel. These represent the waking, dreaming and sleeping states, and the fourth state, beyond these three. It also represents the flower of one’s individuality growing into a fruit and filling itself with sweet juice out of its own inner essence, and then the final release from the three. (SSS Vol.7, pp. 240-241)
The Om is a three-wheeled help, the three syllables A, U and M being the wheels. Learn to walk safely and’ quickly on the path of spiritual progress with the help of AUM. Or; Rama is another Mantra, having the same numerological vibration: A equalling 0, U equalling 2 and M equalling 5, so that AUM is 7, whereas R is 2, A is 0 and M is 5 so that Rama too is 7, a very seminal number, with spiritual tonalities. Each individual is born with the question,’ Koham’, on his lips. ‘Who am I?’ is the question which presses on every breath. And the answer is given by every breath - ‘Soham’; ‘He am I°, the inhalation whispering, ‘So’, and the exhalation, ‘Ham!’ (SSS Vol.7, p. 296)
Om has to be pronounced in the mind, not through the mouth, a sensory organ... If Om is recited and the significance of the Om, that is to say, the Lord is meditated upon, then the Lord is attained by you, in other words, you are liberated. (GV, p. 139)
What is the difference between the Omkara and all other sounds and words? The Omkara has a unique, distinctive quality in the way it is pronounced and the goal it represents. When other letters are uttered, the lips, the tongue, the cheeks and the jaws are in action. But when the Omkara is pronounced, none of these move at all. This is a unique characteristic of Omkara. Hence ‘Om’ alone can be regarded as Aksharam (imperishable). All the other sounds are expressions of different languages.
The Omkara is the base for the Veda. To grasp the full significance of Omkara, which is all pervasive, it is necessary to have the same kind of self-control, which one has to exercise to bring the sensory organs under control.
In reciting any Mantra the primacy to be accorded to Om should be recognised. The Mantra ends with the word Namah (as for example, in Om Keshavaya Namah: Prostrations to Keshava). In the mantras Keshavaya Namah, Govindaya Namah, Narayanaya Namah, the significance of Namah, which occurs at the end of each Mantra, should be noted.
The worshipful attitude signified by the term Namah will be lost if the word Om is not used at the beginning of each Mantra. It is only when Om is said at the beginning and Namah at the end that the full purport of the Mantra will be brought out. The integral connection between Om and Namah should be recognised. Namah represents Prakriti (objective world). In ordinary parlance Namah is understood to mean namaskaram (salutation). But it has a wider meaning. It means Prakriti (the phenomenal world). Om connotes Purusha (Divinity). The purpose of the Mantra is to reveal the connection between Prakriti and Purusha. Based on the inner significance of this, the Mahavakya (great declaration) Tat Tvam Asi (That Thouh Art) has to be understood. Asi is the link between ‘Tat’ and ‘Tattva’. In Aham Brahmasmi, Asmi provides the link. In the Mahavakya Prajnanam Brahma, Asmi does not figure.
If in the Mantra Om Keshavaya Namah the word Keshavaya is omitted, and Om Namah is uttered, the unity of Shiva-Shakti (Purusha and Prakriti) is established and the dualism implicit in the Mantra is removed. The Mantra states: ‘I am offering obeisance to Keshava,’ thereby positing two entities, besides the action of obeisance itself being a third element.
To eliminate this dualism, the Mantra Shastra laid down that if instead of Namah, na mama (not for my sake) is employed, the identity of the worshipper and the worshipped will be established. ‘Om Keshavaya, na mama’ would mean ‘for Keshava, not for me.’ By this process, the ego is destroyed. And only by the elimiantion of the ego can the attributeless Brahman be realised. (SSS Vol.17, pp. 164-165)