The Gayatri Mantra & significance of Om

 

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥
Om Bhuur-Bhuvah Svah
Tat-Savitur-Varennyam
Bhargo Devasya Dhiimahi
Dhiyo Yo Nah Pracodayaat ||

Meaning:
1: Om, Pervading the Bhu Loka (Earth, Consciousness of the Physical Plane), Bhuvar Loka (Antariksha, The Intermediate Space, Consciousness of Prana) and Swar Loka (Sky, Heaven, Consciousness of the Divine Mind),
2: That Savitur (Savitri, Divine Essence of the Sun) which is the most Adorable,
3: I Meditate on that Divine Effulgence,
4: May that Awaken our Spiritual Intelligence (Spiritual Consciousness).

The significance of Om

The symbolic foundations of Om are repeatedly discussed in the oldest layers of the early Upanishads. The Aitareya Brahmana of Rig Veda, in section 5.32, suggests that the three phonetic components of Om (a + u + m) correspond to the three stages of cosmic creation, and when it is read or said, it celebrates the creative powers of the universe. However, in the eight anuvaka of the Taittiriya Upanishad, which consensus research indicates was formulated around the same time or preceding Aitareya Brahmana, the sound Aum is attributed to reflecting the inner part of the word Brahman. Put another way, it is the Brahman, in the form of a word. The Brahmana layer of Vedic texts equates Om with bhur-bhuvah-svah, which symbolizes "the whole Veda". They offer various shades of meaning to Om, such as it being "the universe beyond the sun", or that which is "mysterious and inexhaustible", or "the infinite language, the infinite knowledge", or "essence of breath, life, everything that exists", or that "with which one is liberated". The Samaveda, the poetical Veda, orthographically maps Om to the audible, the musical truths in its numerous variations (Oum, Aum, Ovā Ovā Ovā Um, etc.) and then attempts to extract musical meters from it.

The Maitrayaniya Upanishad in sixth Prapathakas (lesson) discusses the meaning and significance of Om. The text asserts that Om represents Brahman-Atman. The three roots of the syllable, states the Maitri Upanishad, are A + U + M.

The sound is the body of Self, and it repeatedly manifests in three:

• as gender-endowed body – feminine, masculine, neuter;
• as light-endowed body – Agni, Vayu, and Aditya;
• as deity-endowed body – Brahma, Rudra, and Vishnu;
• as mouth-endowed body – garhapatya, dakshinagni, and ahavaniya;
• as knowledge-endowed body – Rig, Saman, and Yajur;
• as world-endowed body – bhūr, bhuvaḥ, and svaḥ;
• as time-endowed body – past, present, and future;
• as heat-endowed body – breath, fire, and Sun;
• as growth-endowed body – food, water, and Moon;
• as thought-endowed body – intellect, mind, and psyche.

·        Brahman exists in two forms – the material form, and the immaterial formless.The material form is changing, unreal. The immaterial formless is not changing, real. The immortal formless is truth, the truth is the Brahman, the Brahman is the light, the light is the Sun which is the syllable Om as the Self.

The world is Om, its light is Sun, and the Sun is also the light of the syllable Om, asserts the Upanishad. Meditating on Om, is acknowledging and meditating on the Brahman-Atman (Self).

The Mundaka Upanishad in the second Mundakam (part), suggests the means to knowing the Atman and the Brahman are meditation, self-reflection, and introspection and that they can be aided by the symbol Om. It uses a bow and arrow analogy, where the bow symbolizes the focused mind, the arrow symbolizes the self (Atman), and the target represents the ultimate reality (Brahman).

That which is flaming, which is subtler than the subtle,
on which the worlds are set, and their inhabitants –
That is the indestructible Brahman.
It is life, it is speech, it is mind. That is the real. It is immortal.
It is a mark to be penetrated. Penetrate It, my friend.

Taking as a bow the great weapon of the Upanishad,
one should put upon it an arrow sharpened by meditation,
Stretching it with a thought directed to the essence of That,
Penetrate that Imperishable as the mark, my friend.

Om is the bow, the arrow is the Self, Brahman the mark,
By the undistracted man is It to be penetrated,
One should come to be in It,
as the arrow becomes one with the mark.

— Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.2 – 2.2.4

Adi Shankara, in his review of the Mundaka Upanishad, states Om as a symbolism for Atman

Mandukya Upanishad

The Mandukya Upanishad opens by declaring, "Om!, this syllable is this whole world".Thereafter, it presents various explanations and theories on what it means and signifies. This discussion is built on a structure of "four fourths" or "fourfold", derived from A + U + M + "silence" (or without an element).

• Om as all states of Time.

In verse 1, the Upanishad states that time is threefold: the past, the present and the future, that these three are Om. The four fourth of time is that which transcends time, that too is Om expressed.

• Om as all states of Ātman .

In verse 2, states the Upanishad, everything is Brahman, but Brahman is Atman (the Self), and that the Atman is fourfold.Johnston summarizes these four states of Self, respectively, as seeking the physical, seeking inner thought, seeking the causes and spiritual consciousness, and the fourth state is realizing oneness with the Self, the Eternal.

• Om as all states of Consciousness.

In verses 3 to 6, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates four states of consciousness: wakeful, dream, deep sleep, and the state of ekatma (being one with Self, the oneness of Self).These four are A + U + M + "without an element" respectively.

• Om as all of Knowledge.

In verses 9 to 12, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates fourfold etymological roots of the syllable Om. It states that the first element of Om is A, which is from Apti (obtaining, reaching) or from Adimatva (being first). The second element is U, which is from Utkarsa (exaltation) or from Ubhayatva (intermediateness). The third element is M, from Miti (erecting, constructing) or from Mi Minati, or apīti (annihilation).The fourth is without an element, without development, beyond the expanse of universe. In this way, states the Upanishad, the syllable Om is indeed the Atman (the self).

 

Shvetashvatara Upanishad

The Shvetashvatara Upanishad, in verses 1.14 to 1.16, suggests meditating with the help of syllable Om, where one's perishable body is like one fuel-stick and the syllable Om is the second fuel-stick, which with discipline and diligent rubbing of the sticks unleashes the concealed fire of thought and awareness within. Such knowledge, asserts the Upanishad, is the goal of Upanishads.^[82][83] The text asserts that Om is a tool of meditation empowering one to know the God within oneself, to realize one's Atman (Self).

 

Ganapati Upanishad

The Ganapati Upanishad asserts that Ganesha is same as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, all deities, the universe, and Om.

(O Lord Ganapati!) You are (the Trimurti) Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesa. You are Indra. You are fire [Agni] and air [Vāyu]. You are the sun [Sūrya] and the moon [Chandrama]. You are Brahman. You are (the three worlds) Bhuloka [earth], Antariksha-loka [space], and Swargaloka [heaven]. You are Om. (That is to say, You are all this).

— Gaṇapatya Atharvaśīrṣa

Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana

The Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana, a Samavedic text, outlines a story where those who chant Om can achieve the same rewards as deities. However, the gods are concerned about humans ascending to their realm. To address this concern, a compromise is reached between the gods and Death. Humans can attain immortality, but it involves relinquishing their physical bodies to Death. This immortality entails an extended celestial existence after a long earthly life, where the practitioner aspires to acquire a divine self (atman) in a non-physical form, allowing them to reside eternally in the heavenly realm.

Ramayana

In Valmiki's Ramayana, Rama is identified with Om, with Brahma saying to Rama:

"You are the sacrificial performance. You are the sacred syllable Vashat (on hearing which the Adhvaryu priest casts the oblation to a deity into the sacrificial fire). You are the mystic syllable OM. You are higher than the highest. People neither know your end nor your origin nor who you are in reality. You appear in all created beings in the cattle and in brahmanas. You exist in all quarters, in the sky, in mountains and in rivers."

— Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda, Sarga