Chanting of AUM

India is the land of mystics, seers and sages, who have traveled to depths beyond the mind and thought, and beyond the five senses and elements. Their insights have generated vast bodies of knowledge that the world must look to time and again to understand the meaning of life, and the directions towards which man must move in order to sustain himself and the world in which he lives.

The cosmic blueprint speaks of the underlying unity, interconnectedness and interdependence of all things, for beyond the perceptions of separation and separateness, exists the Primal Essence from which all things arise. Though this primal essence has been called by many names, its power is undeniable. It is ordered in the universal laws of harmony, balance and love. In the silence, and arising from it the mystics identified this vibration which become sound, and this sound is ‘AUM’.

The sound Aum is a stand-alone mini-mantra described in Vedic texts as one of the basic ‘bija’ sound to be chanted for spiritual benefits.

Aum is of utmost importance in the Hindu religion. The symbol Om is considered to be very sacred, as it represents the Brahman, i.e. the source of life. The day of Hindus begins with the chanting of Aum Mantra. It is chanted before every Mantra, Puja or any ritual.

Though chanting of Aum has been traditionally associated with Hinduism or to someone who wears saffron clothes, it is well-backed by Medical science.

The scientific principle behind chanting of Aum relates to the genesis of sounds as mentioned in Sanskrit literature and Hindi alphabets, the Hindi alphabet have vowels (swara) and consonants (Vyanjana). The last consonant in every line is a nasal consonant. Aum is nothing but a combination of a vowel along with a nasal consonant. The vowel here is ‘O’ or ‘AU’ and the nasal consonant is ‘M’.

It is a well-known fact that whenever we suffer physical pain, we automatically produce a vowel sound. For example, the spontaneous reaction when one is pricked by a pin or needle is to say out loud ‘ee’ and when in pain, the sound ‘Ah’ is produced. Allopathic research has demonstrated that chanting of vowels produces interleukin-2 in the body, which has an action, similar to that of aspirin, a painkiller. Therefore, chanting of vowels produces analgesics or painkillers in the body is a scientific fact.

It has been observed that Aum recitation, done in a lower voice and prolonged manner, produces Parasympathetic Predominance and brings about calmness and peace. When Aum is recited in a higher pitch or voice, the heart rate of the individual and the muscular activity of the chin increases manifold. In short, a sympathetic activity increases indicating a nervous excitation.

Depression and anxiety have been seen reduced and a psycho-physiological relaxation, increases due to 20 Om recitations done in the morning and evening for a few days. Hypertension is reduced and the sleep pattern improves by Aum recitation. The emotional stability, mental peace and balance increases as the tensions are removed. In the case with children the memory and IQ has been found improved after recitation of OM mantra. Their perception power also improves. It is postulated that this may happen as the nervous system is influenced by the vibrations and resonance of Om. For these reasons, chanting the Om mantra has received a therapeutic importance.

Aum or Om chanting helps to mobilize the energy in the body and blood in a very gracefully manner. Om meditation removes the blockages in the blood, heart and the muscles. Scientific studies confirmed that Om meditation produces relax response in the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).

The chanting of Aum also helps the metabolic equilibrium in the body. Generally, the excessive stress hormone kills the body cells. But Om chanting brings back the dominance of parasympathetic Nervous System over Sympathetic Nervous System and re-institutes the metabolic equilibrium in the body. Om meditation influenced the limbic system in the brain and controls the memories and the emotions. 

The chanting of AUM is thus a practice prescribed in Hinduism like the numerous rituals that are pointers to peace which is the very nature of oneself. Hence, Aum symbolizes everything - the means and the goal of life, the world and the Truth behind it, the material and the Sacred, all form and the Formless.