I was asked about the significance of saying “Om”.
The friend who asked me this question is a scientist. Before responding, I made sure to understand his intention (genuine interest? yes)
I responded by asking him something else.
“Are you comfortable with the concept of the span of basis vectors that form a vector space from linear algebra?”
“Yes,” he said.
“How many vectors exist in \(\mathbb{R}^3?\)”
“Infinite.”
“Do we need to list all of them to represent the entire \(\mathbb{R}^3?\)?”
“No.”
“Then how do we represent it?”
“Three vectors pointing in three independent directions are sufficient.”
“Exactly. Just three vectors.”
I then said, let us come to Om. It is also composed of three fundamental sounds: A-U-M, the combination of which gives rise to all other sounds.
He then asked,”So what? Why do we care? What is the point?”
I said, “Good. Let me go further”
“As human beings, we assign names or sounds, nāma or śabda, to all that is known, ..
And the realm of the knowable is infinite…
…from the Higgs boson or fundamental strings, to electrons, atoms, molecules, RNA, DNA, single-celled organisms, living beings, the Earth, planets, stars, galaxies, and superclusters,…
..all these are just names and sounds in the mind (manas)…
..all these names and sounds are like innumerable vectors in a vector space…
A-U-M forms the basis of that space, the entire creation.
By uttering A-U-M, we are not referring to a specific object or entity. We acknowledge (salute, pay gratitude,..) the whole (space), known, unknown, and yet to be discovered.”
At this point, he asked, “It sounds like a good theory. What is the effect of doing this?”
I replied, “Whether one says ‘AUM’ a thousand times a day or expresses it in some other way matters very little, if it is not accompanied by the right bhāvanā (attitude)”
With consistent practice, the mind gradually begins to resonate in harmony with the environment, not because of mechanical chanting, but because of the underlying bhāvanā (attitude). One then remains largely unaffected by changes in the environment, whether they relate to people, circumstances, or wealth
“…and then?” he asked curiously.
I replied, “You will be ready.”
Note: I tried multiple angles to explain this as simply as possible. Eventually, Linear algebra made it simpler 🙂. Thought of sharing this for the sincere seekers🕉️