O
OṀ (or AUṀ) The syllable which has come to have a holy significance in India, particularly in Brahmanical literature. It has the meaning of benediction and affirmation, it opens and closes invocations or prayers (see Bh.G. 119), and is pronounced by Yogins during meditation.
“It is a compound of three letters a, u, m, which, in the popular belief, are typical of the three Vedas, also of three gods – A (Agni) V (Varuṇa) and M (Maruts) or Fire, Water and Air. In esoteric philosophy these are the three sacred fires, or the ‘triple fire’ in the Universe and Man, besides many other things.” (Theos. Gloss. 240) (Bh.G. 1)
I
