Why We Chant Om: The Sound of the Universe

If you have ever sat in a yoga class and chanted "om" without knowing why, you are not alone — and you have not been chanting it fully. The syllable is written अ-उ-म् (A-U-M), and Vedic tradition holds that it is built from four distinct parts, not one flat sound.

The four parts of Om

• A — the sound of creation, from the back of the throat. It represents Brahma, the beginning, and the waking state of consciousness.
• U — the sound of preservation, rolling through the middle of the mouth. It represents Vishnu, sustenance, and the dreaming state.
• M — the sound of dissolution, closing at the lips. It represents Shiva, transformation, and deep sleep.
• The silence after — often called the fourth state, turiya. This is pure awareness, beyond waking, dreaming or sleeping — and many teachers consider it the most important "part" of the mantra.

Chanted slowly and correctly, Om is therefore a complete map of existence in one breath: birth, life, ending, and the silent awareness that watches all three.

Why the Upanishads call it "the sound of the universe"

The Mandukya Upanishad, one of the shortest and most concentrated texts in the Vedic canon, is devoted almost entirely to this single syllable. It opens with the line:

Om ityetad aksharam idam sarvam — "Om is this syllable, and this syllable is everything."

This is not poetic exaggeration in the tradition's own view. Sound (shabda) is considered the subtlest and first expression of creation — closer to pure consciousness than anything visible. Om, as the most universal sound the human vocal apparatus can produce, was recognised as the closest audible approximation of that first vibration.

How to actually chant it

1. Inhale fully through the nose.
2. Begin the "A" from deep in the belly — open, unforced.
3. Let it round into "U" as the sound moves forward.
4. Close gently into "M," feeling the vibration rise into the space behind your eyebrows.
5. Sit in the silence that follows for as long as it lasts naturally, before your next inhale.

Do this three times, slowly, and notice how different your body feels compared to before you began. This is the entire practice — no incense or particular posture required, though both are welcome companions.

I share short chanting practices like this one regularly. If today's teaching resonated, follow along on Instagram — that is where new practices land first, before they make their way here.