Did you know that Om (ओं), the Pravara Mantra, represents the Hindu Trinity, the Vedic scriptures, Vedic poetic meters and holy fires?
Om (ओं), the Pravara Mantra, the most incredible syllable with divine connotations, has been explained in almost every Upanishad. It is Brahma Taraka (Aum), the Ekakshara (one-syllabled), which is the store house of fire. The "Om" is traditionally considered in Hindu texts to be composed of three syllables, "A", "U" and "M". The oldest Upanishads consider these syllables as symbolism for the three Vedas – the Rigveda, the Samaveda and the Yajurveda. The "Om" is also asserted in most Upanishad texts to symbolize Brahman and Atman, the ontological concepts in Hinduism. Sita is said to signify “Pranava” or “Aum”. Narayana merged with one with the inner bliss, the Brahman, the Purusha, the holy syllable consisting of A, U, and M, it became the sound Aum (Pronunciation of Om ([õː] or [oːm]))
In Atharvashika Upanishad, Om is very elaborately explained as: “The four syllables of Om – A (अ), U (उ), M (म) and the half part (्) are equated with empirical realities, abstract concepts, rituals and gods. Sage Atharvan explains that the first syllable of Om, "A", represents the Prithvi (Earth), the Rig Veda, the god Brahma – the Creator of the Trimurti, the color red, the eight Vasus, the Gayatri meter, and Garhapatya, the sacred fire in a household. The second syllable "U" denotes the Akasha (sky), the Yajur Veda, the color black, the eleven Rudras, the Tristubh meter, and the Dakshinagni ritual fire. The third syllable "M" represents Heavens, the Sama Veda, the color white, Vishnu, the twelve Adityas, the Jagati meter and the Ahavaniya ritual fire. The half fourth syllable, which is the hidden part that follows M, represents the Atharva Veda, Purusha (the Supreme Being), the spectrum of all colours, the Maruts deities, the Viraj meter and the Samvartaka fire which destroys creation. It reverberates as the sound of Brahman.
The Dhyanabindu Upanishad states: The short accent of Om burns all sins, the long one is decay less and the bestower of prosperity. United with Ardha Matra (half metre of OM), the Pranava becomes the bestower of salvation. Om, states the text, is the true sacred thread, and that there is no difference between Om and the Atman (soul). In AUM, asserts the text, "A" represents the past, "U" represents the present, "M" represents the future.
In the Narasimha Tapaniya Upanishad, Om syllable is extolled as the whole world with the following attributes:
“The past, the present and the future,
all this is the sound Om.
And besides, what still lies beyond the three times,
that also is the sound Om.
All this, verily, is Brahman,
but Brahman is this Atman”.
Om represents the Hindu Trinity, the Vedic scriptures, Vedic poetic meters and holy fires.
Source: Extracts from texts of Upanishad articles in Wikipedia, collated and posted between 2015 and 2016 by three writers - Ms Sarah Welch, RedtigerXYZ (pseudonym), and Nvvchar (Narasipur Char (on FB).
Narasipur Char
