In my last post on Samadhi, I mentioned that there are several ways to get there. However, devotion to God is known to be the fastest and most efficient means of travel in Patanjali’s view. If you’ve ever been to a yoga class, you may have heard the instructor lead everyone in the sound of “OM” or “AUM” and wondered, “What are they doing and why?” I hope to answer this question here and pray that I do it justice. You my have also seen the OM/AUM symbol on some of the cars in the parking lot at your local yoga studio or around town when running errands:
The sound is symbolic of the original sound that created the entire universe. As I alluded to in the prior post, everything must begin somewhere and as we chase creation and knowledge down the rabbit hole we eventually wind up at the start of everything… the first sign of something, the first sign of life, the first sign of energy… God (Īśvara) if you will. This could be equated to the “big bang” in science. As we know scientifically everything is always vibrating and expanding at different rates to create the world that we see. Vibration generally creates a sound, even if that sound isn’t always readily audible. The sound of vibration if you imagine it is that of a humming sound or a consistent “Mmmmmm” if we were to try to imitate it. Technically, God has no name, but many names that people have ascribed to Him/Her/It (also, no gender, but is a hard concept to discuss without using some sort of pronoun and “it” is generally used for nonliving objects, which is precisely the opposite of what “God” is). So, with this being said… the idea is that any name we try to use to discuss God or explain God is insufficient and therefore we attempt to utilize a sound that is considered the infinite sound of the universe… the constant humming of creation.
The sound of OM sounds like A-U-M. “A” is symbolic of creation… all alphabets begin with the letter “A” representing the beginning. To transition to the “M”, you then have to move through sort of an “ooh” sound which is represented by the U, which represents preservation, and “M” is the culmination or death of the sound or creation. When we chant OM, it signifies the cycle of all life on this planet and in the universe… birth, life, death. It is a celebration of all that is and invokes vibration within one’s being as it is being chanted. The silent vibration that can be felt is the unspoken sound which can never be destroyed… or the feeling of the energy created by the action. Asana is the experience of playing with this energy… creating, feeling, and dissipating this energy, but we’ll get into that later.
Repetition of the sound of God “Om” is said to link or yoke the mind to God, which as I’d previously mentioned is what the point of the practice is. This is called “japa” and serves as a remembrance when our mind starts diving down the rabbit hole of worry, doubt, frustration, ego, etc. Because we exist in the world, it’s easy to forget who we are… we all do, which is why this practice needs to be undertaken with commitment, persistence, and vigor. As you think, you become and words have power, which is why the practice of reciting such a powerful mantra is believed to help one transcend any and all obstacles in life. It’s about linking your mind, body, and emotions to the innate energy/force that lies within you, so that all of that energy is harnessed with intention in a unified direction rather than haphazardly on whatever presents itself to you.
Feel free to reach out with questions or go deeper with me in a private session.