ABC Wednesday? Ok, I'll play!

So today is ABC Wednesday (well, I suppose EVERY Wednesday is ABC Wednesday...) and today's letter is "O."

Keeping with the spirit of this blog's intent to be "Random and Interesting" I think I shall not write about something near and dear to my heart, as my mother often (if not always) does, but rather something that appears a little more random. **Edit** That is what I was PLANNING on doing, but I ended up with something that actually DOES mean something to me. Read on, dear reader, and you shall see why...

O is for Om

Taken from Wikipedia.org:

[Om]¹ is a mystical or sacred syllable in the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religions. It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred exclamation to be uttered at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or previously to any prayer or mantra and also is said in the beginning of any puja (religious ritual). The Mandukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the explanation of the syllable.


The Devanagari symbol, one of the more recognisable Om symbols.

The Sanskrit name for the syllable is praṇava, from a root nu "to shout, sound, praise", verbal pra-nu- being attested as "to make a humming or droning sound" in the Brahmanas, and taking the specific meaning of "to utter the syllable om" in the Chandogya Upanishad and the Shrauta Sutras. More rarely used terms are akṣara or ekākṣara, and in later times omkāra becomes prevalent.

The syllable Om is first described as all-encompassing mystical entity in the Upanishads. Today, in all Hindu art and all over India and Nepal, "Om" can be seen virtually everywhere, a common sign for Hinduism and its philosophy and mythology.

In Jainism, Om is regarded to be a condensed form of reference to the five parameshthis, by their initials A+A+A+U+M (o3m). The Dravyasamgrah quotes a Prakrit line:

"Om" is one syllable made from the initials of the five parameshthis. It has been said: "Arihanta, Ashiri, Acharya, Upadhyaya, Muni" .

Buddhists place om at the beginning of their Vidya-Sadaksari or mystical formulary in six syllables (viz., om mani padme hum) As a seed syllable (bija mantra), it is also considered holy in Esoteric Buddhism.

With Buddhism's evolution and breaking away from Vedic/Hindu tradition, Om and other symbology/cosmology/philosophies are shared with the Hindu tradition.


Notes:
1 - Om is a variant of the spelling "Aum" or "Ohm"

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So why is this "Om" important to me? Well, last summer when I was in the hospital for the 2nd time for my illness (see side bar 'about me' section) I made good friends with another 'inmate' (as we laughingly named ourselves). She was quite into Buddhism, and I have always had a great affinity for Eastern culture and philosophy, especially that of Tibetan Buddhists. Her Buddhism was spawned when she was travelling through Nepal. She too holds Eastern ways in high regards, and often would meditate using the above referenced "Om mani padme hum" mantra.

I decided I would try it, not as a religious mindset, but more of a spiritual one, if that makes sense...there's a difference between spiritual and religious. Anyway, I found it was quite useful to concentrate my mind onto one thing when it would race, as it often did (and still does).

One day when she and I were taking a walk along the street a few blocks from the hospital (we were on a pass, not escapees!) we decided to hit the Nepalese and Tibetan gift store that is located inside one of the hotels there. The first thing I was drawn to was a dish full of bone bracelets. The bone was carved into squares, then inscribed with symbols. The one I was drawn to most was, I discovered, the one with the symbol for "Om" (as seen above) carved onto it.

Wearing that bracelet reminded me to slow down and take time to ground myself when my mind was racing. I don't wear it all that often any more, but it still holds a strong power for me. Just holding it makes me feel calmer.