07/19/2021
06/08/2019
inked in india - om what does it mean
I reached up to wipe my damp cheeks as I finished reading the card from my Mom.
Of course I wasn’t surprised that she gave me a card; this was unspoken custom within the family.
The ‘Just a Note’ card section was basically invented for us. It’s how we communicate best!
My grandmother used to send my siblings and I cards in the mail when we lived just a few blocks down the street from each other.
I loved receiving posted mail with my name hand printed on it; it’s a special feeling you get knowing that someone took the time, put actual pen to actual paper, added doodles, symbols, stickers and signed their name. I felt the love in these letters.
Why not try putting a little of your own love down on paper the next time you want to send a message. Gather your stationary, a stamp and a taste of the good ole days.
And if you can state the postage requirement for a standard letter these days I salute you!
I digress; I was visiting my mother before setting off on two months of solo travel (which included most of the time in India) and although I wasn’t surprised by receiving a card, I was in fact surprised to find that the envelope contained my mom’s precious gold OM pendant necklace that she rarely took off.
I was really moved.
I knew that India would create a special bond between us, as it tends to do between people who have shared in it’s indescribable qualities and one of a kind experiences.
After exchanging hugs and thanks and pawing for more tissues, I fastened around my neck the necklace that would not be removed for the next two months and tucked the card into my case; it would also accompany me on the voyage ahead, it’s words providing comfort and strength along the way.
It later felt ironic that in a country where woman were significantly adorned with dazzling gold, beads, bangles and colourful jewels, I had intentionally left all of my jewels behind, aside from the OM, so as not to draw more attention to myself than needed for safety reasons.
But in reality, I just might have fit in better by being beaded, bangled, and bejeweled.
Speaking of fitting – coincidentally, a few weeks prior to leaving Canada, I ended up wearing the only article of clothing I own with the OM symbol on it during a fun photo shoot shot with a talented photographer friend of mine – oh the foreshadowing…
So, first things first. Is it OM or AUM?
Depends on who you ask and what you read but, my answer is both.
Generally you will see it written as OM, yet when chanted there are three distinct sounds and that’s where AUM comes in handy. Stay tuned.
I hadn’t planned on getting a tattoo in India, but like most of my tattoos they’ve been the result of fairly prompt decision making.
Once I make these decisions they seem to be stuck in my head like a tiny ring on a fat finger. I just can’t seem to think of much else until it’s done and over with!
Insert images of my mom and dad wincing in not so much disapproval as incomprehension. Why painfully piercing your skin with a needle that leaves behind permanent black marks would be in any way appealing.
Although! Spoiler alert..
My mother recently got a tattoo soooo… no more moral ground for you mom!
The appeal must have seeped it’s way into her psyche slowly over the years.
Or, like most people, suddenly something became unequivocally important within their soul, deserving an equally important outward display of this importance to the world.
I recently heeded some well intentioned advice on getting a tattoo: wait 1-2 years once you initially have your idea and if at the end of those 1-2 years you still want to proceed, great, you’ve done your due diligence – you may get on with it.
But I just don’t seem to be built that way. I can easily become attached or even obsessed with the idea of something yet be overly indecisive at the same time. Taking all the steps to get somewhere but torturing myself with the ping- pong pro-con like thought process along the way. Another on going practice of acceptance and balance.
It’s like that really cute top you try on, but leave on hold but don’t stop thinking about for the next week.
Or that piece of jewelry you spend far too long trying on, staring at yourself in every teeny tiny mirror placed very un-strategically around the store leaving you in a semi-permanent mini squat position in order to actually see your reflection.
All the while engaged in the internal battle going on in your head over whether or not you really need another piece of jewelry.
But it’s all a kind of art to me.
Some people choose to hang the art on their walls, and some of us wear our art in the form of metals, stones, beads, and ink.
The OM symbol has been familiar to me throughout the last decade or so of my life as my mothers spaces have included various forms of the symbol represented on books, cards, paintings, posters, shirts etc..
But when I arrived in the oldest holiest Indian city of Varanasi, it felt like I was being given a sign.
And for someone who looks for signs this felt like a big one.
Upon check-in at my ashram I was told I would be among only a handful of guests, as it was low season, and was offered an upgraded room over looking the Ganges River.
Guess what the name of my room was?
You couldn’t drive or walk five minutes without seeing the OM symbol displayed on a building or wall, let alone in and on the thousands of temples dotted throughout the city.
This is when I really started researching further into the meaning and the history.
OM is a Sanskrit letter that, before written, was chanted as a mantra in the spiritual practice of yoga to attain union with the divine.
The chanting of this syllable creates a vibration that matches the vibration of not only nature but as the sound of the universe.
Therefore, through this chanting we are aligning ourself with all that is true and in it’s purest state.
There are endless articles and resources talking about the history and meaning of this sacred symbol and universal sound. My intentions aren’t to regurgitate that information for you but I would encourage you to dig deeper if you feel called to do so. I found the following article to be especially informative and encompassing, yet brief.
I admit I don’t chant OM during my own yoga practices (although, full disclosure, I did engage in a hearty soul filled round of OMs from the bathtub the other night when I had the house and seemingly the hills of Blind Bay all to myself – good start right!), and it tends to be hit or miss when attending a yoga class if the teacher includes it in their practice or not.
Honestly I used to be relieved when the class quietly ended post Savasana with prayer hands and a Namaste.
Because it didn’t seem to matter how many people were in the class or how dark it was, I’d still get a bit anxious in the moments leading up to participating in the A-U-M.
Maybe it’s the tattoo, or maybe I finally realized everyone else is in their own zen mode and my energy is better spent in mine, but I actually got excited at the end of my yoga class recently when the instructor informed us it was time to close with the chant of not one, but three (which is also typical) OM’s.
Now, I am all in.
I can hear myself over most others around me and it feels good. I find myself actually craving the vibrations it brings and that’s the whole reason behind the mantra.
It’s the reason behind chanting Sanskrit in general and I can see how it can become a daily practice for people.
I have chosen my favourite definition of OM to share with you:
“The sacred symbol OM is found throughout India not only in temples, but also on walls, trucks and doors reminding those who see it that all is One Consciousness.
OM is eternal Existence, Consciousness and Bliss. The entire universe, including our body, mind and senses, is its manifestation, extension and expansion.
Past, present and future all are nothing but OM. This was true in the past, it is true in the present and it will be true in the future.
And whatever else exists beyond the three divisions of time, that also is indeed OM.
What is the essence of OM? It is the eternal vibration of awareness.”
Text from the Mandukya Upanishad translated by Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati. Photos of “OM in India” copyright 1997 Martin Brading , Woodstock, New York.
That’s what I like so much about it. The totality. The Wholeness. The Oneness.
OM says ALL the words, with NO words.
It reminds me when I glance down at my inner right wrist not to stress about the past, not to worry about the future, and give my awareness wholly to the present.
At the same time it gives me an understanding that all three “divisions of time” past, present, and future, still exist with a purpose, and that they make up our existence.
Be aware but not attached.
How many times have you heard this in meditation or yoga circles?
Because it’s something we need to continuously hear and tell ourselves – hence the reference as a practice.
A mindset for life, of love.
I don’t claim to be anything close to an expert on Sanskrit, Ancient Hinduism or Yoga, but I have had the privilege of knowing and being taught by many who are.
I do on the other hand claim ownership over whatever it is that drew me into everything the OM symbol and the AUM sound represents.
I encourage you to give chanting of three AUM’s one big kick at the can.
Try it alone, try it with a friend or your partner.
Give it all you got.
Pick up some good vibrations!
Even You Tube it if you feel that’ll help guide you or for some extra motivation.
Click here for an enlightening and informative video about OM and feeling the power of a full chant!
Then, try and tell yourself you don’t feel a little more peace within.
Namaste,
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Feels odd, seeing some of my special, meaningful to me, treasures in your blog. These items I have collected over the many years. Some gifts, some momentos of my travels, some just relating to my “ journey “ over the years.
I am touched that you would use them.
Ahh I bet! Well thank you xox
Wow! I actually didn’t not know any of this! Om will definitely take on a new meaning for me in my yoga classes.
Awesome! Yes ROAR that OM =)