ॐ
OM is the signature of the Lord.
The Mother – Words of the Mother: CWM, Vol. 15, p33
OM is the syllable, OM is the Universe; the past, the present and the future,—all that was, all that is, all that will be is OM…. Likewise all that may exist beyond the bounds of Time, that too is OM.
Sri Aurobindo – Kena and Other Upanishads: CWSA, Vol. 18, pp 340-43
I will tell you my old mantra. It keeps the outer being very tranquil: OM, Namo, Bhagavateh…. Three words.
To me they meant:
OM: I implore the Supreme Lord.
Namo: I obey Him.
Bhagavateh: Make me divine.
This, I found, has the power to calm everything.
The Mother – Agenda: Vol. 13, p377
There is ONE sound which, to me, has an extraordinary power—extraordinary and UNIVERSAL (that’s the important point): it doesn’t depend on the language you speak, it doesn’t depend on the education you were given, it doesn’t depend on the atmosphere you breathe. And that sound, without knowing anything, I used to say it when I was a child (you know how in French we say, “Oh!”; well, I used to say “OM,” without knowing anything!)….
The Mother – Agenda: Vol. 5, p201
OM is the mantra, the expressive sound-symbol of the Brahman Consciousness in its four domains from the Turiya to the external or material plane. The function of a mantra is to create vibrations in the inner consciousness that will prepare it for the realisation of what the mantra symbolises and is supposed indeed to carry within itself. The mantra OM should therefore lead towards the opening of the consciousness to the sight and feeling of the One Consciousness in all material things, in the inner being and in the supraphysical worlds, in the causal plane above now superconscient to us and, finally, the supreme liberated transcendence above all cosmic existence. The last is usually the main preoccupation with those who use the mantra.
In this Yoga there is no fixed mantra, no stress is laid on mantras, although sadhaks can use one if they find it helpful or so long as they find it helpful. The stress is rather on an aspiration in the consciousness and a concentration of the mind, heart, will, all the being. If a mantra is found helpful for that, one uses it. OM if rightly used (not mechanically) might very well help the opening upwards and outwards (cosmic consciousness) as well as the descent.
Sri Aurobindo – Letters on Yoga: CWSA, Vol.29, pp 323-24
…. The power is automatically there, because the sound contains the experience. I saw that once in Paris, at a time when I knew nothing of India, absolutely nothing, only the usual nonsense. I didn’t even know what a mantra was. I had gone to a lecture given by some fellow who was supposed to have practiced “yoga” for a year in the Himalayas and recounted his experience (none too interesting, either). All at once, in the course of his lecture, he uttered the sound OM. And I saw the entire room suddenly fill with light, a golden, vibrating light…. I was probably the only one to notice it. I said to myself, “Well!” Then I didn’t give it any more thought, I forgot about the story. But as it happened, the experience recurred in two or three different countries, with different people, and every time there was the sound OM, I would suddenly see the place fill with that same light. So I understood. That sound contains the vibration of thousands and thousands of years of spiritual aspiration—there is in it the entire aspiration of men towards the Supreme. And the power is automatically there, because the experience is there.
The Mother – Agenda: Vol. 4, p131
I made an experiment: writing the letter OM. When you have written it four, five, six times, it becomes excellent!
… I started writing the letter OM carefully…. Well, when I came to the fourth, the fifth, it became excellent—excellent, as though it were creating a vibration. That’s the power it has, an external power….
The Mother – Agenda: Vol. 4, p187
…we can, when pronouncing a word, force ourselves to reflect upon its exact meaning, its true import, in order to make it fully effective.
In this regard, we can say that the active power of words comes from three different causes.
The first two lie in the word itself, which has become a battery of forces. The third lies in the fact of living integrally the deep thought expressed by the word when we pronounce it.
Naturally, if these three causes of effectiveness are combined, the power of the word is considerably enhanced.
1) There are certain words whose resonance in the physical world is the perfect vibratory materialisation of the more subtle vibration produced by the thought in its own domain.
If we examine closely this similarity between the vibrations of thought and sound, we can discover the limited number of root syllables which express the most general ideas, and which are to be found in most spoken languages with an almost identical meaning.
2) There are other words which have been repeated in certain circumstances for hundreds of years and which are instinct with the mental forces of all those who have pronounced them. They are true batteries of energy.
3) Finally, there are words which assume an immediate value when they are pronounced, as a result of the living thought of the one who pronounces them.
To illustrate what I have just said with an example, here is a very powerful word, for it can combine the qualities of all three categories: it is the Sanskrit word “AUM”.
It is used in India to express the divine Immanence. There, it is associated with every meditation, every contemplation, every yogic practice.
More than any other sound, this sound “AUM” gives rise to a feeling of peace, of serenity, of eternity.
Moreover, this word is instinct with the mental forces which for centuries all those who have used it have accumulated around the idea that it expresses; and, for Hindus especially, it has the true power of bringing one into contact with the divine Essence it evokes.
The Mother – Words of Long Ago: CWM, Vol. 2, pp66-67
OM. The Word of Manifestation.
A The external manifestation (consciousness realised in the actual and concrete—seen by the human consciousness as the waking state.)
U The internal manifestation (intermediate—the inner, not the inmost being—consciousness realised in the inner potentialities and intermediate states between the inmost supramental and the external—seen by the human consciousness as the subliminal and associated with the dream state.)
M The inmost seed or condensed consciousness (the inmost supramental, glimpsed by the human consciousness as something superconscient, omniscient and omnipotent, and associated with the state of dreamless Sleep or full Trance.)
AUM Turiya, the Fourth; the pure Spirit beyond these three, Atman consciousness entering into Tat Sat and able to identify with it. Believed to be obtainable in its absoluteness only in absolute Trance—nirvikalpa samadhi.
Sri Aurobindo – Record of Yoga – II: CWSA, Vol. 11, pp1337-38
OM Choir – The New Music:
In 1961 the Mother gave Narad the adesh to bring down a New Music. These were Her words: “You must bring down a New Music” This is the aspiration of the OM Choir…. We gather as a group soul, a sacred body, to open ourselves to be instruments for the descent of the New Music, a music that has the power of effectuation through OM, which the Mother has called, “The signature of the Lord.” OM Choirs are now in many parts of the world.
All are welcome and no formal training in music is required. When we sing OM its vibrations penetrate not only all countries with its healing, assisting in the transformation of the world, but enter into our bodies as well and many write of healing that has occurred and others of their visions and experiences. To read more on the OM Choir please visit website, motherandsriaurobindo.org.
General Guideline of Om Choirs around the world
