Thursday, February 26, 2009

Om


Om
Originally uploaded by Pixelsior
Aum (also Om or, more rarely, Ohm; Sanskrit: ॐ) is a mystical or sacred syllable in the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist religions, says Wikipedia.

It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred exclamation to be uttered at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or previously to any prayer or mantra and also is said in the beginning of any puja (religious ritual).

The Sanskrit name for the syllable is praṇava, from a root nu "to shout, sound, praise", verbal pra-nu- being attested as "to make a humming or droning sound" in the Brahmanas, and taking the specific meaning of "to utter the syllable om" in the Chandogya Upanishad and the Shrauta Sutras.

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