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Om (Pranava)

The sacred syllable, its meaning in the Mandukya Upanishad, and how to chant it

Om (also written Aum) is the most sacred sound in Hindu tradition, called the Pranava. The Mandukya Upanishad declares that 'all this is Om': its three sounds A, U and M stand for waking, dreaming and deep sleep, and the silence after it for Turiya, pure consciousness. Om begins prayers and mantras, and is chanted slowly with attention to its meaning.

Om (Pranava)
Om symbol (Devanagari), by Kashmiri, public domain (Wikimedia Commons) Wikimedia Commons

The sacred syllable

Om is heard at the start of almost every Hindu prayer, mantra and Vedic recitation, and its written form ॐ marks temples, books and homes. It is called the Pranava, a word often explained as 'that which is sounded forth' or 'that which ever renews', and the ekakshara, 'the one imperishable syllable', since akshara means both 'syllable' and 'imperishable'.

In Sanskrit the vowels a and u combine into o, so A-U-M is pronounced as one syllable, Om. The Upanishads return to Om again and again as a support for meditation and a name for the highest reality. The Patanjali Yoga Sutras call it the word that expresses Ishvara, the Lord, and the Bhagavad Gita calls it 'the one-syllabled Brahman'. Om is also sacred in the Jain and Buddhist traditions, where it begins many mantras.

'All this is Om': the Mandukya Upanishad

The Mandukya is the shortest of the principal Upanishads, just twelve prose verses, and it is wholly devoted to Om. It begins with a sweeping statement: past, present and future are all Om, and so is whatever lies beyond the three times. It then identifies this whole with Brahman and with the self (atman), which it says has four 'quarters'. Later Vedanta tradition held this short text in the highest regard; the Muktika Upanishad says that the Mandukya alone is enough for a seeker of liberation.

Scholars disagree about its date, with estimates ranging from the last centuries BCE to the first centuries CE. It is preserved with the Mandukya Karika of Gaudapada, the earliest systematic work of Advaita Vedanta, and Adi Shankaracharya commented on both.

  1. ॐ इत्येतदक्षरमिदꣳ सर्वं तस्योपव्याख्यानं भूतं भवद् भविष्यदिति सर्वमोङ्कार एव यच्चान्यत् त्रिकालातीतं तदप्योङ्कार एव ॥ १॥

    om ity etad akṣaram idaṃ sarvaṃ tasyopavyākhyānaṃ bhūtaṃ bhavad bhaviṣyad iti sarvam oṅkāra eva yac cānyat trikālātītaṃ tad apy oṅkāra eva || 1 ||

    Meaning: Om: this syllable is all this. Its explanation is this: what has been, what is and what will be, all of it is Om. And whatever else lies beyond the three times, that too is Om. (Mandukya Upanishad 1)

  2. सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोऽयमात्मा चतुष्पात् ॥ २॥

    sarvaṃ hy etad brahmāyam ātmā brahma so'yam ātmā catuṣpāt || 2 ||

    Meaning: All this is indeed Brahman. This self is Brahman. This self has four quarters. (Mandukya Upanishad 2)

  3. माण्डूक्यमेकमेवालं मुमुक्षूणां विमुक्तये ॥

    māṇḍūkyam ekam evālaṃ mumukṣūṇāṃ vimuktaye ||

    Meaning: The Mandukya alone is enough for the liberation of those who seek it. (Muktika Upanishad 1.26, second half)

A, U, M and the silence: the four quarters

The heart of the Mandukya is a map of consciousness. It describes the self in three familiar states, waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep, and then a fourth, Turiya, which is not really a 'state' at all but the awareness in which the other three come and go. Verse 8 then lays this map over the sound of Om: the quarters of the self are the 'measures' (matras) of the syllable, A, U and M. The fourth corresponds to no letter. It is the silence in which the sound ends.

So each time Om is chanted, it traces the whole range of experience, from waking through dream and sleep, and comes to rest in silence. This is why teachers stress listening to the silence after Om as much as making the sound.

  1. सोऽयमात्माध्यक्षरमोङ्कारोऽधिमात्रं पादा मात्रा मात्राश्च पादा अकार उकारो मकार इति ॥ ८॥

    so'yam ātmādhyakṣaram oṅkāro'dhimātraṃ pādā mātrā mātrāś ca pādā akāra ukāro makāra iti || 8 ||

    Meaning: This self, in terms of the syllable, is Om; in terms of its measures, the quarters are the measures and the measures are the quarters: A, U and M. (Mandukya Upanishad 8)

  2. अमात्रश्चतुर्थोऽव्यवहार्यः प्रपञ्चोपशमः शिवोऽद्वैत एवमोङ्कार आत्मैव संविशत्यात्मनाऽऽत्मानं य एवं वेद ॥ १२॥

    amātraś caturtho'vyavahāryaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ śivo'dvaita evam oṅkāra ātmaiva saṃviśaty ātmanā''tmānaṃ ya evaṃ veda || 12 ||

    Meaning: The fourth has no measure. It cannot be dealt with in ordinary terms; the world of plurality ceases in it; it is auspicious and non-dual. Thus Om is the self itself. One who knows this enters the self by the self. (Mandukya Upanishad 12)

A (a-kara): waking
Vaishvanara, the self in the waking state, conscious of the outer world and enjoying gross objects (verses 3 and 9).
U (u-kara): dreaming
Taijasa, the self in the dream state, conscious of the inner world of mind (verses 4 and 10).
M (ma-kara): deep sleep
Prajna, the self in dreamless sleep, a unified mass of consciousness full of bliss (verses 5 and 11).
The silence after: Turiya
'The fourth', which is not a fourth state alongside the others but the pure consciousness underlying all three: peaceful, auspicious, non-dual. It has no sound-element (amatra) and corresponds to the silence in which Om resolves (verses 7 and 12).

Om in the Yoga Sutras and the Gita

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras give Om a central place in practice. After describing Ishvara, the Lord, the sutras say that the Pranava is the word that expresses him, and that its repetition, together with dwelling on its meaning, is the practice. The next sutra adds that from this come inward-turned awareness and the removal of obstacles.

The Bhagavad Gita, describing how a yogi leaves the body, says that one who departs uttering Om, the one-syllabled Brahman, while remembering the Lord, reaches the supreme goal.

  1. तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः ॥ १.२७॥

    tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ || 1.27 ||

    Meaning: The word that expresses him (Ishvara) is the Pranava, Om. (Yoga Sutras 1.27)

  2. तज्जपस्तदर्थभावनम् ॥ १.२८॥

    taj-japas tad-artha-bhāvanam || 1.28 ||

    Meaning: Its repetition, and contemplation of its meaning, (is the practice). (Yoga Sutras 1.28)

  3. ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन्। यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम्।।8.13।।

    om ity ekākṣaraṃ brahma vyāharan mām anusmaran | yaḥ prayāti tyajan dehaṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatim || 8.13 ||

    Meaning: Uttering Om, the one-syllabled Brahman, and remembering Me, whoever departs, leaving the body, attains the supreme goal. (Bhagavad Gita 8.13)

How to chant Om

Chanting Om needs no special equipment, only a quiet place and a few minutes. The steps below follow common teaching; the essentials come from the texts themselves: Om is three sounds resolving into silence (Mandukya), and it is repeated with attention to its meaning (Yoga Sutras 1.28).

Sit steadily
Sit comfortably with the spine upright, on the floor or a chair. Rest the hands, relax the shoulders and close the eyes.
Settle the breath
Take a few slow, natural breaths. Let the mind turn inward.
Chant on the out-breath
Breathe in, then on a long out-breath sound 'O' (the A and U blended), opening at the throat, and close the lips into a humming 'M'. Many teachers let the M last longer than the O.
Rest in the silence
When the sound ends, sit in the silence before the next breath. The Mandukya teaches that this soundless 'fourth' is the heart of Om.
Repeat with meaning
Repeat for a few minutes, or 108 times on a mala. Patanjali's instruction is to repeat Om while dwelling on its meaning, not mechanically.
Follow your tradition
Families and sampradayas have their own customs, and some Vedic recitations of Om follow rules learned from a teacher. Where you have a guru or family practice, follow it.

Om in daily worship

Om opens and closes worship. Vedic mantras begin with it, the Gayatri mantra is prefaced by 'Om bhur bhuvah svah', and peace chants end with 'Om shanti shanti shantih'. Names of deities are honoured with it, as in 'Om namah shivaya' and 'Om namo bhagavate vasudevaya'. In many homes, children learn to draw ॐ before they learn to write.

Devotees experience Om in many ways: as a name of God, as the sound of Brahman, as a doorway into meditation, or simply as a moment of stillness at the beginning of the day. Many people find that chanting Om slowly calms the breath and settles the mind. Whatever one's path, the tradition's invitation is the same: to sound it with reverence and then listen to the silence it leaves behind.

For this puja and path

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Questions pilgrims ask

What is the meaning of Om?

The Mandukya Upanishad says Om is all that is, past, present, future and beyond. Its sounds A, U and M stand for waking, dreaming and deep sleep, and the silence after it for Turiya, pure consciousness. It is also a name of Brahman and of Ishvara.

Why is Om called Pranava?

Pranava is the traditional name for Om as the sacred sound. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (1.27) say the Pranava is the word that expresses Ishvara, the Lord.

How do you chant Om correctly?

Sit upright, breathe in, and on a long out-breath sound 'O' and then a humming 'M', then rest in the silence before the next breath. Repeat with attention to its meaning, for example 108 times on a mala.

Is it Om or Aum?

Both. In Sanskrit a and u merge into o, so A-U-M is pronounced as one syllable, Om. 'Aum' spells out the three sounds the Mandukya Upanishad describes.

What does the Mandukya Upanishad say about Om?

That everything is Om; that the self has four quarters, waking, dreaming, deep sleep and the fourth (Turiya); and that A, U and M correspond to the first three while the soundless fourth is the self itself.

How many times should Om be chanted?

There is no fixed rule. Many people chant for a few minutes or 108 times on a mala. Follow your guru's or family's tradition where there is one.

Sources

Last researched: 2026-10-29

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