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Found first in the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism, Aum has been seen as the first manifestation of the unmanifest Brahman (the single Divine Ground of Hinduism) that resulted in the phenomenal universe. Essentially, all the cosmos steams from the vibration of the sound 'Aum' in Hindu cosmology. Indeed, so sacred is it that it is prefixed and suffixed to all Hindu mantras and incantations. It undoubtedly the symbol of Hinduism.
The Chandogya Upanishad (1.1.1-10) states, "The udgitha is the best of all essences, the highest, deserving the highest place, the eighth."
'Aum'/'Om' can be seen as Shri Ganesh, whose figure is often represented in the shape of Aum. He is thus known as Aumkar (Shape of Aum). Shri Nataraja, or the Hindu god 'Shiva' dancing his dance of destruction, is seen in that popular representation mirroring the image of Aum.
"The First Word Om (Aum)
It is also called Pranav because its sound emanates from the Prana (vital vibration), which feels the Universe. The scripture says "Aum Iti Ek Akshara Brahman" (Aum that one syllable is Brahman).
When you pronounce AUM:
A - emerges from the throat, originating in the region of the navel
U - rolls over the tongue
M - ends on the lips
A - waking, U - dreaming, M - sleeping
It is the sum and substance of all the words that can emanate from the human throat. It is the primordial fundamental sound symbolic of the Universal Absolute." --- [* http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa061003b.htm]
Today, in all Hindu art and all over India and Nepal, 'Aum' can be seen virtually everywhere, a standard sign for Hinduism and a vast but economical storehouse for the deep mythology inherent in the world's oldest religion.
[For an excellent look at 'Aum,' see :
With Buddhism's evolution and breaking away from Vedic/Hindu tradition, Aum and other symbology/cosmology/philosophies were coopted from the Hindu tradition.
It has been argued that Om can be translated, into English, as "yes". Notes the Chandogya Upanishad, "That syllable, is a syllable of permission; for, whenever we permit anything, we say Om." However, this is a myopic perspective because the same Hindu scriptures, the Upanishads, that aver this function also attribute to it the divine property of the source of the universe. Aum is seen as the source of existence as we know it within the causal dimensions of time and space, and thus affirmatory meanings in languages are a natural progression.
Aum/Om in Hindu Tradition
Other Traditions, Interpretations and Understandings