ॐoṃ · praṇava
Om, the sacred syllable
3 min read · Updated October 16, 2026 · sources checked October 16, 2026
In short
Om is the most sacred syllable of the Indian traditions. The Mandukya Upanishad opens by saying that Om is all this, past, present and future, and what lies beyond time. In the Yoga Sutras, Patañjali calls it praṇava and teaches its repetition with attention to its meaning as a support for meditation.
Listen: Om and the Gāyatrī — short extract
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Chapters
Guided audio narrated with a synthetic voice (ElevenLabs). Sanskrit recitation checked line by line.
Read the transcript
Oṃ, the syllable. The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad divides it into three sounds, A, U and M: waking, dream and deep sleep. And a fourth part, the silence that follows.
Sit comfortably. Breathe in through the nose, and chant one long Om on the out-breath. Then rest in the silence for one breath. Three times, at your own pace.
Breathe in.
Om. [you chant]
Rest in the silence.
Breathe in.
Om. [you chant]
Rest in the silence.
Breathe in.
Om. [you chant]
Rest in the silence.
The Gāyatrī. A verse of the Ṛgveda, three, sixty-two, ten, attributed to the seer Viśvāmitra and addressed to Savitṛ, the sun as the divine power that sets all in motion. Listen once.
ॐ, भूर् भुवः स्वः। तत् सवितुर् वरेण्यं। भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि। धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्॥ (oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ / tat savitur vareṇyaṃ / bhargo devasya dhīmahi / dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt)
Now line by line. Repeat each line after me, slowly.
ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः। (oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ)
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं। (tat savitur vareṇyaṃ)
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि। (bhargo devasya dhīmahi)
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्॥ (dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt)
Our translation: Om. Earth, atmosphere, sky. May we receive that excellent radiance of the god Savitṛ, who shall inspire our thoughts.
Some traditional families prefer that the Gāyatrī be received from a teacher; others open it to all. Whichever you follow, chant it seated, attentive, without haste. This was an extract from Sacred Mantras, on yogide.com.
Om opens and closes Vedic recitation, almost every mantra and most yoga classes in the world. Behind this short sound stands one of the deepest teachings of the Upanishads: a map of consciousness in three letters and a silence.
The syllable in the Upanishads
The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, one of the shortest Upanishads (twelve verses), is entirely about Om. It opens with these words:
ओमित्येतदक्षरमिदं सर्वम्
om ity etad akṣaram idaṃ sarvam
Om: this syllable is all this.
It goes on to say that past, present and future are Om, and that what lies beyond the three times is Om too. Then it reads the syllable as three sounds (mātrā) and a silence (verses 8-12):
| Part | State | What the Upanishad says |
|---|---|---|
| A | waking (jāgrat) | the first sound, because it pervades and comes first |
| U | dream (svapna) | the second, the middle state, turned inward |
| M | deep sleep (suṣupti) | the third, where everything is gathered and measured |
| silence | the fourth (turīya) | without parts, beyond words, peaceful, non-dual |
The last verse is the key to chanting Om:
अमात्रश्चतुर्थोऽव्यवहार्यः प्रपञ्चोपशमः शिवोऽद्वैत एवमोंकार आत्मैव
amātraś caturtho 'vyavahāryaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ śivo 'dvaita evam oṃkāra ātmaiva
The fourth has no measure: beyond all dealings, where the world comes to rest, kind, without a second. Thus Om is the Self itself.
The most important part of Om is the one you do not pronounce: the silence after the M.
In the Kaṭha and Chāndogya Upanishads
In the Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Death himself teaches the boy Naciketas. Of the word that all the Vedas proclaim, he says he will tell it in brief: om ity etat, "it is Om" (2.15). "This syllable is brahman, this syllable is the highest… This is the best support, this is the highest support" (2.16-2.17). The Chāndogya Upaniṣad opens with the same instruction: om ity etad akṣaram udgītham upāsīta, "one should venerate the syllable Om as the chant" (1.1.1).
The syllable in the Yoga Sutras
Patañjali names Om praṇava and gives it a precise role in meditation:
तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः । तज्जपस्तदर्थभावनम् ॥
tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ | taj-japas tad-artha-bhāvanam ||
Its word is the praṇava, Om. Repeat it while dwelling on its meaning.
"Its" refers to Īśvara, the special Self untouched by affliction that Patañjali has just described (1.24). The next sutra (1.29) says that from this practice comes the turning of awareness inward and the disappearance of obstacles. Om is therefore not a warm-up sound in the Yoga Sutras: it is a complete path of meditation, the basis of mantra meditation and japa.
The symbol ॐ
In Devanagari, ॐ is a special ligature: the vowel ओ (o) crowned with a candrabindu, a crescent and a dot that mark the nasal hum. The word praṇava is often explained as "that which resounds", and oṃkāra simply means "the syllable Om". Many explanations of the curves of the sign circulate today; they are modern readings. The Upanishads explain the sound, not the drawing.
Om is sacred beyond Hinduism: Buddhist mantras such as oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ begin with it, and Jain tradition reads it in its own way. That is a good reason to treat the sign with care: many people in India find it disrespectful to see it on a floor mat or a shoe.
How to chant Om
- Sit upright, eyes closed, and take a calm breath in through the nose.
- Open the mouth on A (as in father), round the lips into U, close them on M and let it hum.
- Give the humming M about as long as the open vowels together.
- Stay in the silence that follows for one breath.
- Repeat three times at the start or the end of your practice.
Good to know
There is no "correct" pitch. Chant at a comfortable, low volume; the attention matters more than the sound. In a group, let your voice blend rather than lead.
A five-minute Om meditation
Chant Om aloud nine times, then nine times in a murmur, then nine times silently, letting each one end in the silence of the fourth. Finish by sitting without any sound for a minute. If you want to count, a japa mala helps; if you want to go further, the guided meditation ends with this same practice. Om also opens the Gāyatrī and Om namaḥ śivāya, and is the seed syllable of the centre between the eyebrows, ājñā.
Questions people ask
Is it Om or Aum?
Both. In Sanskrit the vowels a and u merge into o, so the syllable is written oṃ; the Mandukya Upanishad analyses it as A, U and M.
Do I need to be Hindu to chant Om?
Om is chanted in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions and in yoga classes worldwide. Chant it with respect for what it means to those traditions.
What does the Om symbol mean?
The sign ॐ is a ligature: the vowel o with a crescent and dot (candrabindu) marking the nasal hum. The meaning lies in the sound: A, U, M and the silence after them, according to the Mandukya Upanishad.
How many times should I chant Om?
Three times at the start or end of a practice is the common custom; 9, 21 or 108 for a longer meditation. Stay in the silence after each one.
Sources
- Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad with Gauḍapāda’s Kārikā and Śaṅkara’s commentary, Sanskrit text (GRETIL) checked October 16, 2026
- Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, verses 1-12, Sanskrit text (GRETIL) checked October 16, 2026
- Patañjali, Yogasūtra, Sanskrit text (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 16, 2026
- Kaṭha Upaniṣad, Sanskrit text (GRETIL) checked October 16, 2026
- The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, translated by Charles Johnston (1912), Project Gutenberg checked October 16, 2026