Om: the cosmic sound

As the children of one mother come from the same mother's womb, all other Mantras come from the womb of Mantras ‘OM’ and the first mantra was Gayatri. This mantra consists of 24 syllables. Om is considered a bridge of all other Mantras. Every mantra must be preceded by OM, then only it has to be complete. It is the powerhouse of all mantras. Any particular Mantra, if it has to be alive or Chaitanya, must be preceded by OM.

The structure of OM:

Om has three curves in its structure which is based on sound principles, A, U, and M. According to Rig Veda, OM has a crescent moon and a star. So, Om is not only a holy sound; the three curves represent three waves, and the fourth is pure awareness.

According to 'Mandukya Upanishad', there are three stages of consciousness, the first is objective, the second stage is subject and the third stage is unconsciousness. It is also called waking, dreaming, and sleeping. So, while chanting OM one passes through three stages, ‘A’ represents the conscious mind, ‘U’ represents the unconsciousness, and ‘M’ represents the unconscious mind.  

So, Om is not just a sound picked at random, nor it is a holy word, which represents any particular religion. Om is an equation. A  represents the objective, which can be touched, or perceived. U represents the subjective, mental world, and M represents the invisible world,  the unmanifest world. 

So, if OM is chanted properly with the mantra of your connection, then your meditation can be much more powerful. 

OM and Gayatri Mantra:

Om is a universal bija Mantra and as it is very powerful when practiced by someone with higher intensity, it gives quick results. Suddenly, some supernatural experiences come to life. As it is very rapid and drastic, one can not manage the prana. For this reason, Gayatri Mantra was revealed to humankind.  Gayatri represents total Prana where ‘OM’ represents ‘Nada’.

Thus from Om, Gayatri was created, and Gayatri manifests in two stages:

a. In the first stage Gayatri manifests three states of the individual self: bhuh, bhuvah, and suvah which

       represents three stages, walking, sleeping, and dreaming.

b. In second stage,the mantra manifest sevel  lokas:bhuh,bhuvah,suvaha,mahah,janah,tapah,satyam.

Conclusion:

The mantra and tantra sastra says except OM, twelve groups of Mantras are practiced as per the Zodiac sign of an individual and with specific purposes. Only Om can be chanted by anyone at any time as it is a universal cosmic sound that has come from the cosmic world, the eternal world. Some mantras are practiced for overcoming physical suffering, and some are utilized for fulfilling human desires, for higher spiritual consciousness. Even some mantras are chanted all the time, with each breath to remember God all the time.

Thus there is a complete science of mantras. This science was known to the ancient people in many places around the world. The mantra of science is not confined to India only. There are some proofs of the practice of mantras in different traditions of the World like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sufism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc.