“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” It is a particularly human trait to be curious about our origins, and the origins of our universe. How could so much – the diversity of our planet, the vastness of our solar system, the unknown reaches of space – come from nothing? Spiritual traditions from all over the world have grappled with this question, and have recognized the profound role of the Divine Word as the origins, the beginning, of the universe. If at first there was nothing, the very first thing was a sound vibration, and from there, everything sprang into existence, and the material world was born. And Western science is now coming on board as well: quantum physicists have been studying the role of vibration at the root of matter itself.
Though many comprehend sound as merely something to be heard, its mechanism is a little more complex. Sound is made up of vibrations. These vibrations are produced from a source, travel through the air, and then are picked up by the ear before being interpreted by the brain, which assigns them some value. The number of vibrations per second is known as frequency. Because all matter is composed of atomic material, which is in constant motion, everything and everyone vibrates on some frequency.
Nikola Tesla said, “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” The very foundations of our Universe, of matter and thought, appear to lie in sound vibration.
Everything around us is pulsating and vibrating—nothing is really standing still. The sound Om, when chanted, vibrates at the frequency of 432 Hz, which is the same vibrational frequency found throughout everything in nature. As such, AUM is the basic sound of the universe, so by chanting it, we are symbolically and physically acknowledging our connection to nature and all other living beings.
The word Om is defined by Hindu scripture as being the primordial sound of creation. It is the original vibration of the universe. From this first vibration, all other vibrations are able to manifest.
The Science of Om
Scientists have researched the effects on the brain of the vibrations created by chanting. A small 2011 study,3 as well as a 2018 follow-up,4 evaluated the effects of using om as a mantra by taking functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brains of participants as they chanted om and also the sound "sss" as a control.
The 2018 study, which was published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry, noted that om chanting is associated with an experience of relaxation, specifically citing beneficial changes in the autonomic nervous system (which regulates heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism, and other internal functions) and deactivation of limbic brain regions (an area that controls emotion, memories, and arousal).
Researchers also observed brain activity during the om periods similar to that created by vagus nerve stimulation, which is used to treat depression and epilepsy. Scientists concluded that chanting om may have potential in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Although these results are considered preliminary, they offer scientific support for the positive effects many people experience from chanting om.
Another 2018 study found that chanting om loudly for 30 minutes significantly increased theta brain waves, signaling deep relaxation.5 A 2019 study showed that it changes delta waves too,6 which are the same waves experienced when in a deep, dreamless sleep.
The syllable OM is an ancient Sanskrit letter first found in the Vedas, originating between 1500 – 1200 BC. A collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, they were sung in praise of the Divine. They were not written out at first but were vibrated into existence using human speech. Teachings on the metaphysics of OM were later elaborated on in the Upanishads, ancient Indian mystical texts. Later, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali categorized the ‘eight limbs of yoga.’ The sixth of these, Dharana, meaning concentration, described various methods of supporting the mind to achieve single-focused attention. Repeating a mantra, and especially this syllable OM, was an important aspect of accomplishing this sixth stage of yoga, or union with the Divine origins. Anne Dyer, sound yoga expert, in an interview with Rodney Yee, explains that Patanjali taught: “Chant Om and you will attain your goal. If nothing else works, just chant Om.”
According to Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the classic text Autobiography of a Yogi: “Om or Aum of the Vedas became the sacred word Hum of the Tibetans, Amin of the Moslems, and Amen of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians.” The syllable has been translated into many different languages, cultures, and religious traditions, but the creative and transformative power of the sound remains the same. In the Bible, the word Amen is connected to the beginning of the creation of the Universe: “These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.”
Science tells us that the Universe began with a big bang, whereas Vedanta says that the big bang is actually a big OM, which didn’t just happen once; it is ongoing. In fact, if the OM stopped for even a microsecond, the whole Universe as we know it would disappear instantly! OM rises from Pure Consciousness, which is primary and underlies all existence, constantly unfolding as our experience of the Universe.
Imagine, if you can, a time before the Universe existed. Imagine a field of Pure Consciousness, an eternal silence. Not an empty silence, but one filled with the potential for everything. At some point, Pure Consciousness decided it wanted to have an experience but, as nothing else existed, it could only experience itself. Because all experiences are based on contrast, Pure Consciousness had to move within itself to experience itself.
Now, movement creates friction, and friction creates noise, so Pure Consciousness experiencing itself created a sound. However, Pure Consciousness, by definition, is silent, so this sound, which was OM, had to be forced out of the silence and became what we call conditioned consciousness. OM, or conditioned consciousness, is what we experience as the Universe in which we live.
The idea that God created the world out of nothing is also central today to Islam, Christianity, and Judaism—and many references to a god creating the Universe by sound (words) exist. In the Old Testament God created through His words when He said, “Let there be Light.” The Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word (the sound of OM), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (Oneness).”
As the initial vibration of OM emerges from the unmanifest, it diversifies into all the different vibrations of the Universe, which manifest as the world we know. OM, therefore, contains within it all the mantras, sounds, and vibrations of the Universe. Everything in the Universe is a manifestation of OM and ultimately a reflection of Pure Consciousness from which it emerged. OM is the collective sound of the Universe, the Primordial Sound.
The Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians says, “The One becomes Many, the Unity becomes Diversity, the Identical becomes Variety, yet the Many remains One.” The Gospel of John says, “The Word became flesh” (manifest creation). In Egyptian literature, the creator god pronounced the names of everything.
Modern science tells us the Universe is expanding. Vedanta tells us that our Consciousness, or Awareness, expands as we grow towards Enlightenment. The Quran states, “And the heaven (space) We created with might, and indeed We are (its) expander.”
If, as Vedanta tells us, the Universe is a projection of our Consciousness, then the so-called expansion of the Universe is contingent on our spiritual growth, and at the moment of our Enlightenment, the Universe will also reach the conclusion of its journey and cease to exist as a separate reality.
As OM is the sound of the Universe, it’s always present, so technically we can’t chant it. We cannot create OM by a chanting of it; we only produce a vibration sympathetic with the vibration that is already there, which is OM. It is not a chant made by us, created by us, or initiated by us. Rather, we establish a connection between ourselves and the Supreme Reality, which manifests itself as sound vibration in the form of OM.
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