AUM is the sacred Sanskrit syllable par excellance. When the meaning of the syllable is discussed it is presented in english as AUM. When it's practice is described, it is presented as OM, or O3M. OM refers to the pronunciation and AUM to the meaning. Westerners often get confused, and it is not usually clarified for them that OM is a single Sanskrit syllable, not a combination of letters. It is a single entity, and not a simple compound word of O and M. It is indeed made of these letters, but the whole is more than the sum of parts and different than one would expect. OM is written as O3M because the O is pronounced for 3 beats and the M for another 3 beats (as opposed to the expected 2).
To meditate on OM we need to pronounce it correctly. If we pronounce it correctly, the syllable becomes an energy/conscious stimulator. If we don't, it is just a syllable. You may as well meditate on something simpler like "dog" or "cat" for all the good a mispronounced OM will do you.
Let's take each letter at a time, and then put the two together.
O:
The o-sound of OM is a sankrit compound vowel. It is often misunderstood as pronounced like a long english O, as in "boat". This is almost correct, but "almost" doesn't cut it. When you pronounce an english long O your mouth forms two shapes, that for a short O (as in "log") and that for a OO (as in "boot"), and thus combines two different sounds consecutively. In sanskrit, the shape of the oral cavity is important and each and every vowel corresponds to only a single sound, not a combination of two or more.
Sanskrit O is pronounced by first puckering your lips as if you were to pronounce "boot", "shoot" or "chute", and then vocalize a short A sound, as in father. Just pucker your lips as if you were going to whistle, and then say Aaaahhh without altering the shape of your mouth. Let the aaahh come from the back of your through, and even farther down from the diaphragm. The resulting sound is the sanskrit O. Practice this until it comes easy.
M:
This is not an English (or Latin) M. It is called a chandrabindu and is symbolized not by a letter but by a dot with a cresecent shape below it, like a little bowl. A chandrabindu is not really a letter, but a continuing of the vowel sound with some modification. First you close your mouth, and then you divert the sound out your nose, but focusing its vibration at the top of the nasal cavity (and into your head) instead of your awareness following the expelled air out your nostrils.
In this case you are continuing to pronounce the O, but out your nose with a closed mouth. It sounds like a sort of M, which is why English represents it that way. There is no such thing as a chandrabindu (literally: moon-dot) standing alone. It is always preceeded by a vowel. Practice the O sound followed by the chandrabindu, O with open mouth and air going out the mouth, and M with closed mouth and air going to the top of the nasal cavity before going out the nose.
Timing:
The timing of each letter in Sanskrit is of paramount importance. The language has rhythm so every letter is timed, similar to music. Some letters have one beat, some two and a few have 1/2 or three beats. You can pronounce Sanskrit letters correctly, but if you don't have the proper timing, you may as well go for another language in your practice. The pace of your beats is up to you, as long as it is consistent. You can keep it slow, medium or fast, as long as the timing of each beat is the same. You can use a metronome, tap your feet or simply count to yourself until it becomes automatic.
The timing of O is 3 beats here. The rules of Sanskrit pronuciation, furthermore, define the chandrabindu as having the same number of beats as the vowel preceding it. Thus, the M also has three beats. It should, therefore, take you 6 beats to complete one pronunciation of OM.
Now all you have to do is put it all together.
Once you practice enough so you don't have to keep track of anything and OM is automatic for you, you can go for the meditation. For this you take the vocalization one step furthur by adding your conscious attention to the process. This means gently immersing yourself in the sensations the sound produces in you, being focused but not tense. When you begin OM let your attention start at your tailbone. As you pronounce your six beats, go up one chakra perbeat, from the tailbone, to where the sacral bone meats the lowest lumbar vertebrae, to the large area between the navel and solar plexus, to the heart, throat and finally between your eyebrows where the M impacts the top of your nasal cavity.
Then listen to the echo of the OM move into your brain, into your ventricals. The ventricals are a hollow filled with cerebrospinal fluid. This area is called the cave of the bumblebee in yoga literature. It is because the OM when uttered echoes into that cave and radiates out the brain, top, back and sides like an expanding sphere. The sound ends after the 6th beat, but the wave of awareness the sound carriers continues.
Be patient here, because it takes time to tune into this. You listen to the silence, but the silence holds a subtle vibration. Over time, this vibration gets stronger and stronger. When you sense it clearly, you can identify with it as your own being, your sense of AM. This is the next step of the meditation, but should be addressed after you get a good sense of the 7th beat and beyond, where the sound stops and the silent vibration takes it from there.
Just think of the verb AM (as in I AM) and tune into what sensations this verb generates in you as you refer to it. Then simply drop the word AM and tune into the sensations. The idea is that while you utter OM, and through the silence especially, you also tune into the sensations of AM. In this way you combine the two vibrations and enter the essence of your identitification awareness or consciousness.
With OM you are literally massaging your spine and primarily your brain, creating a vibration that clears blocks and purifies consciousness. You won't have to struggle with forcing a quiet mind because the vibration will draw you into a natural focus. Sometimes off the bat, sometimes after extended practice, OM generates a euphroic, relaxed concentration combined with oceanic feelings. This is not just some self-stimulating high, but a rewiring of the brain so as to be tuned into higher consciousness and free of conditioned ideas right down to what is called ego. It is both healthy and the foundation of all spiritual practice.
Attaining such states is not restricted to toning OM, but this syllable is one of the most direct ways to higher consciousness in the world. This is why in front of every mantra in Sanskrit, there is OM. It is the foundation tone.
Even if these instructions do not seem all that clear, practice will lead you to self-correct, since the euphoric state is something that magnetizes the body/mind as a goal seeking system. But don't take my word for it. Try it out for yourself
Meditation on AUM
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