‘OM’

                                                         A.C.Sekhar                                             14 July 2003

                                      OM  iti Brahma   Omitedam Sarvam

                   ‘OM’  has been considered by the great sages of India as the center of spiritualism from which all paths lead to the Ultimate Reality. It is considered as the origin of Creation itself. Some theories of Western Science also corroborate this view in a way. It is also called  Pranava  universally accepted as symbol or logo of  Sanathana Dharma . It is highly extolled in  Vedas, Upanishads, Geetha and various Hindu Scriptures. All religious rites and hymns invoking  various deities are started with the utterance and repetition of  OM as it helps to concentrate on the ongoing spiritual procedures and practices and also help deep meditation. Actually OM consists of three independent syllables  A U M each of it has a significant meaning. ‘A’ stands for  Adima  meaning the beginning ‘U’ represents  Utkarsha meaning  progress and ‘M’ represents the  end  Miti.  Thus the sound of OM is the energy or power responsible for  creation, preservation and dissolution (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) of the Universe. There are also several other interpretations on the symbolism of OM available in Hindu literature such as it represents the three states of human conscience etc. The lips and vocal muscles move in the same order of  phonetics of A U M  as the sound of OM is uttered signifying the opening, continuing, and closing of  the power of prayers as uttered  by the mouth of any person. Hence the Wisdom of our Vedic Masters suggested  ‘OM’ as an unique and ideal logo  for Sanathana Dharma  and also as an  idol to worship.  The Hindu temple of Greater Cincinnati is one of very unique institutions in the world to have placed it in the center of worship among the several Deities installed there. It is also interesting to note that in English language the concept of God as OMniscient and OMnipresent contain the two letters O and M as also similar in phonetics of  Christian “Amen” or Arabic “Amin”