Om Symbol

This page has little mythology! The Om symbol is discussed here as a symbol (letter/character) and also as a word. Samples for the sound associated with this symbol are give on the next page.

'Indic words' here means Hindi and Sanskrit words written (transliterated) in Roman Alphabet. These Indic words do not always represent precise pronunciation.

For every Indic word, corresponding DevaNagari word is written in a pair of round brackets. The DevaNagari word is followed by a precisely transliterated word. For precise transliteration we have used xNagari scheme.

What is Om?

It is the smallest mantra (मंत्र; mantraa). It is a common practice to begin other mantras with 'Om'. Eg. 'Om Namah Shivaya' (ओम नमः शिवाय; Om namah shivaaya), 'Om Shanti Shanti' (ओम शांती शांती; Om shaantee shaantee).

A mantra is a word or a phrase used for meditation and chanting.

A shloka (श्‍लोक) is a verse. Generally people use the words - 'mantra' and 'shloka' as synonyms!

Sacred ancient Indian texts like Vedas (वेद; ved), are collections of shlokas. Some of these shlokas are used as mantras.

Many religions like 'Hinduism', 'Buddhism', 'Sikhism' and 'Jainism' originated from India. According to these religions, 'Om' is the main sound. Religious minded Indians (mainly Hindus) believe that 'Om' is the ultimate, hyper or super-natural sound!

Using DevaNagari alphabet, this word can be written as 'ओम्' or 'ओम'. It is general practice in DevaNagari to drop the last 'halant' (i.e. '्'). So almost every one write 'ओम'.

Generally the spelling 'ओम' is used in literature (as noun), while the sign/symbol 'ॐ' is used for religious purposes.

The Meaning of Om

Gayatri Mantra (गायत्री मंत्र; gaayatree mantr) like many other vedik sloks starts with Om. That's why we can safely assume that Om (ओम) means 'My Lord' or 'Oh, our God' ('हे परमेश्वर') (at least in Hinduism.)

If you think that the above paragraph is not the precise meaning of 'Om' please let me know why.

What is an Om symbol?

An 'Om symbol' is a sign (glyph, shape) to write (scribe, represent) the 'Om' sound.

'Om symbol' is called 'Omkar' (ओम्-कार; Omkaar) or 'Onkar' (ओंकार; ONkaar). ओंकार can be written as ओँकार (ONnkaar).

As discussed earlier, the 'Om' sound/word can be written as 'ओम'. So 'ॐ' is a kind of shortcut of the word 'ओम' in DevaNagari and other Indic (Indian) scripts.

People use this sign for meditation.

In Hindi and Sanskrit,
glyph = AkShar (अ‍क्षर) or AkSharaakRiti (अ‍क्षराकृति)
indicate = saNket (संकेत)
symbol = saNket + AkShar (संकेत-अक्षर)
saNket + AkShar = saNketaakShar (संकेताक्षर)
shape = AAkaar (आकार) or AAkRIti (आकृति)
sign = chihna (चिह्न)

Om symbol is drawn mostly as in the picture below or as 'ॐ'.

If you want a bigger picture of the 'Om symbol', click the above picture.

Is Om a religious symbol?

YES. It is main religious symbol for Hindus and Buddhists (Bauddh; बौद्ध). Sikhs have a derived form called एक ओंकार 'Ek ONkaar'.

In Hindi 'dharm' means religion. So it is mainly a religious symbol (dhaarmik chihn; धार्मिक चिह्न).

What is AUM?

As per the Hindi grammar ('vyaakaraNN'; व्याकरण) the vowel 'O' (ओ) is sometimes substituted for two vowels 'A' (अ) and 'U' (उ), so some people also spell AUM ('AUm') instead of 'Om'.

What is ओ३म् (O3m)?

Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati (महर्षि दयानन्द सरस्वती; maharShi dayaanand sarasvatee) was founder of the 'Arya Samaj'. He used to write 'ओ३म्' instead of 'ओम'. The '३' (DevaNagari digit 3) between 'O' and 'm' is called 'ploot' (प्लूत). Dayanand used 'ploot' to emphasize long pronunciation of 'O'. Only followers of Dayanand Saraswati (members of 'Arya Samaj') write 'ओ३म्' instead of '‍ॐ'.

The syllable that is prior to a ploot is pronounced for a longer time/period (more than double). So 'ओ३म' is to be pronounced as OOOm (o..m).

Whether Om symbol can help you in meditation?

If a dark circle / point can help you in meditation then the Om symbol will also help.

Whether Om symbol is the most powerful symbol?

There is no scientific study to proove that ॐ is better or more powerful than any other symbol or letter for meditation etc. No symbol can really bring good luck, wealth or power. This symbol is sometimes misused by greedy preachers/godman.

Flipped or reversed Om

There is no sense in doing that. Some Hindus may feel offended. Few religious minded people even say that a reverse Om brings bad luck. Luckily most people do not believe in such nonsense. अंधविश्वास.