Aum

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A sacred syllable chanted as a mantra in Hinduism and Buddhism ; an old Dutch unit for measuring quantities of wine and other liquids
2. The mystical sound chanted in Hindu and Buddhist worship ; a historical Dutch measure of volume used for wine casks
3. A holy spiritual syllable recited in Indian religious practice ; a former Netherlands liquid measurement applied to wine and spirits

Etymology: Aum (also written om) is a sacred syllable in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, chanted at the start and end of prayers and meditation. Its history begins in the Vedas, the oldest Hindu scriptures, where it appears in the Upanishads as a mystical sound standing for the ultimate reality. Early texts treat it less as a word with a definition than as a sound whose sacred power comes from its place in ritual speech. Its form is traditionally analysed as three sounds, a, u, and m, which are often linked to the waking, dreaming, and deep-sleep states, and a silent fourth element beyond them. Writers and teachers have read these parts in many ways, but the three-sound pattern is an interpretation layered onto the syllable rather than the reason it was used. The syllable's sacredness rests on its long use in chanted ritual.