What is AUṀ? Does it signify anything? Why do dharmics chant it?
The ultimate reality, Brahman, is the Truth that dharmics seek. That is what they contemplate upon. For theistic dharmics, that is Ishvara. AUṀ is the sonal representation of Brahman. That representation started with the Upanishads and has continued since.
Sanskrit, the lingua franca of dharmic texts such as Vedas and Upanishads, has single syllable sounds (vowels) that can be stretched indefinitely. In their infinite stretch they still hold their sound. ‘E’ or ‘A’, for example, are sounds that will still be audible and ‘E’ and ‘A’ no matter the duration between their start and your tuning in to them. Hence, these are called akshara, which means “that which is imperishable”. These akshara are also anahata sound, the unstructured sound – there is no striking of the tongue or any two parts of the mouth to make this sound. Anahata represent the vibration of the heart. Therefore the anahata akshara of AUṀ stretches as – AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA – UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU – ṀṀṀṀṀṀṀṀṀṀṀṀṀṀṀṀṀ. The significance of stretching the anahata is that they can be sequenced one after the other for a full breath.
The contemplation of Brahman/Ishvara requires stillness of the mind. That stillness is achieved by cleansing of the mind using sonic vibrations. AUṀ generates vibration in the body and raise the center of the vibration from the belly to the chest, terminating in the nasal area around where the physical brain sits inside the skull. AUṀ is therefore a tool to stimulate the body such that the energy rises from the belly up to the head and cleanses the mind of other thoughts so that it can focus on the ultimate. That is the potency AUṀ for which it is described as Pranav – the primal sound.
The correct way to pronounce AUṀ is to finish it in a single breath, with roughly equal time devoted to each of the three aksharas. ‘A’ from the belly, ‘U’ from the throat, and ‘Ṁ’ from the nasal area. Satguru Bodhinath Veylanswami recommends each repetition of AUṀ to be 7 seconds – 2 seconds each for A and U, and 3 seconds for Ṁ. Take a 2 second break and repeat.
On the first syllable, A, we feel the solar plexus and chest vibrate. On the second syllable, U, the throat vibrates. The third syllable, M, vibrates the top of the head.
Now, how exactly does AUṀ work? It is close to, if not the same as, two tuning forks in which the vibrations of one induce the vibrations in the other. It is demonstrated in this video. The vibrations created by chanting AUṀ induces all the chakra centers in the body similarly, and cleanses them.
Sonic induction is also the principle behind a mantra as well. A mantra is a collection of words, which when recited create vibrations. AUṀ, therefore, can be denoted as the smallest mantra.
AUṀ as a mantra works on the principle of resonance to excite other energies present in the body, which it synchronizes. It has a bala (power) and causality. Its causality is the synchronizing of the energies in the body, both subtle and gross. Chant AUṀ, and you will start to notice a difference in your speech. AUṀ is a mantra (sound formula) that impacts your speech the first – you will start to feel a better control over your’s.
धार्मिक छवियाँ 