THE SOUND OF OM

 The fact that the sound “Om” shares this shape may not come as a surprise to the millions of people around the world who hold this sound sacred. The ancient Hindus believed that “Om” was the first vibration of divine consciousness during creation.

In fact, “Om” is said to be the manifestation and name of the God who created the universe. Before “Om”, there was only an empty void. The vibration of “Om” filled that space, much the same way that the elliptical orbits of planets fill our solar system.

Science tells us that the Universe began with a big bang, whereas Vedanta says that the big bang is actually a big OM, which didn’t just happen once; it is ongoing. In fact, if the OM stopped for even a micro second, the whole Universe as we know it would disappear instantly. OM rises from Pure Consciousness, which is primary and underlies all existence, constantly unfolding as our experience of the Universe.

Imagine, if you can, a time before the Universe existed. Imagine a field of Pure Consciousness, an eternal silence. Not an empty silence, but one filled with the potential for everything. At some point, Pure Consciousness decided it wanted to have an experience but, as nothing else existed, it could only experience itself. Because all experiences are based on contrast, Pure Consciousness had to move within itself to experience itself.

Now, movement creates friction, and friction creates noise, so Pure Consciousness experiencing itself created a sound. However, Pure Consciousness, by definition, is silent, so this sound, which was OM, had to be forced out of the silence and became what we call conditioned consciousness. OM, or conditioned consciousness, is what we experience as the Universe in which we live.

The idea that God created the world out of nothing is also central today to Islam, Christianity, and Judaism—and many references to a god creating the Universe by sound (words) exist. In the Old Testament God created through His words when He said, “Let there be Light.” The Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word (the sound of OM), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Oneness).”