Question Students Never Ask: Why do we chant the sound of “OM” in yoga? What does it mean and what is the significance of chanting or saying it three times?
I think Mr. Iyengar explains it well. The following is from his “Light on Yoga”:
“Aum: According to Sri Vinoba Bhave, the Latin word Omne and the Sanskrit word Aum are both derived from the same root meaning ‘all’ and both words convey the concepts of omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. Another word for aum is pranava, which is derived from the root nu meaning to praise, to which is added the prefix pra denoting superiority. The word, therefore, means the ‘best praise’ or the ‘best prayer.'” Patanjali uses the word pranava in the Yoga Sutras.
Some thoughts on the significance of 3:
Interpretations A – U – M:
Waking, dreaming, dreamless, combined: state of transcendence
Speech, mind and breath (prana), combined: living spirit
Length, breadth, depth, combined: divine, formlessness
Absence of desire, fear and anger, combined: “perfect man”, wisdom grounded in the divine
Masculine, feminine, neuter, combined: all creation together with the Creator
Past, present, future, combined: the Creator, transcends time
Teachings of mother, father and guru, combined: knowledge of the self
Asana, pranayama, pratyahara, combined: Samadhi, transcendence
“Tat Twam Asi” – “That Thou Art”, the realization of man’s divinity within himself, combined; realization of this state, “which liberates the human spirit from the confines of his body, mind, intellect and ego.”
T.K.V. Desikachar talks about OM as an audible symbol we use to invoke isvara, which we can think of very loosely – as it has no direct translation – as “divine power” or supreme state of being. To begin to reach toward the experience of isvara we meditate and use the sound of OM as a mantra to let our minds merge the sound and the concept of that supreme state. He describes “the full meaning of om” as the sound that conveys “all that can be expressed in words, but also that which cannot be expressed in words.”
I like to think of the chanting of OM in our classes as a way to open our practice, to further focus our attention, and to set our intention for the hour. When a roomful of yogis bring that sound out from within, the communal effect is also quite amazing, and quite beautiful. The next time we chant, contemplate the “trinities” of your own life experience and bring that to your asana work or to your meditation time. Make the OM meaningful for you. As Mr. Desikachar says, “With the sound OM we say everything.”
Pranam~