The Meaning of Omkara

Om is the name for Brahman , the cause and the basis of creation . Om , as a sound symbol , also indicates auspiciousness (mangalam) and is chanted at the beginning of prayers and religious studies . Om is derived from the Sanskrit verbal "av" , meaning "to protect" . It refers to the Lord who protects and sustains everything . When one chants Om with the understanding that it is a name for the Lord , it becomes a prayer for one's protection .

Om etymologically is composed of three sounds , "a" , "u" and "m" . The first syllable , "a" , stands for the waking world , the waker and the waking experience ( the physical body and the physical world) . The second syllable "u" , stands for the dream world , the dreamer and the dream experience ( the thought world - dreams / imaginations / thinking ) . The third syllable "m" , stands for the sleep world , the sleeper , and the sleep experience (the unmanifest condition) . As one chants Om repeatedly , the silence between the chants (called amātrā) stands for the awareness , the consciousness which is the basis of the three worlds , the three experiences , and the three states of experience .

Om thus represents all that exists and the basis or substratum of all that exists . Om is complete . This Om is a comprehensive name for the Lord and Om is the Lord .