The Divine ‘OM’ Mantra is an infinitely powerful holy ‘Shabda’ (Sound). This post shares some incredible OM chanting benefits along with scientific research studies relating to it. Also, some profound spiritual benefits of Om mantra chanting!
Lets dive right into the details of the alluring 3-syllable mystical Om Mantra that is representative of the intricate wonders of Indian philosophy and mysticism.
Scriptures on the significance of OM Mantra
The scriptures assign a special transcendental quality to it. The Vedas, Upanishads, Tantras and the Yogic scriptures all reiterate that OM is a primordial Cosmic vibration that carries the seed of Creation.
‘Om Tat Sat‘: ‘Om is the essence of everything’ The Bhagavad Gita
‘Om Sarvam Omkāra eva’ : ‘Truly, Everything is Om’ The Mandukya Upanishad
‘Tasya vācakaḥ praṇava‘: ‘He (God) is signified by OM (Pranava)’ Patanjali
OM is the most important Bija mantra of all Vedic and Tantrik mantras. Almost all mantras start with an Om
The special quality of the OM /AUM meditation sound
When we utter a word, the combined sound of its letters determine how the word sounds. And that in turn, corresponds to the vibrations generated in the vocal chord.
When we chant, ‘Om’, something uniquely spectacular happens!
Om consists of three syllables ‘A’, ‘U’ and ‘M’ and the right way to chant is ‘AaaaaUuuuuuuuMmmmmmm’. Now when we chant AUM, the entire sound-box vibrates. Because AUM encompasses the whole system involved in sound production. And there is no other word that can do that.
Therefore, AUM contains all sounds and all languages of the Universe.
Swami Krishnanand outlines 3 types of Om mantra chanting:
- Short—about one second, i.e. 30 in 30 seconds
- Middle—each chant for five seconds, i.e. 6 chants in 30 seconds
- Long—each chant for fifteen seconds, i.e. 2 chants in 30 seconds.
Know more about how mantras can help us through the power of sound here..
First, some Spiritual Om chanting benefits
Ancient wisdom says, the benefits of Om mantra chanting (even for 15minutes a day) are immense.
1.Chanting Om purifies the Mind-Body and Soul.
Chanting ‘Aaaa–uuu–mmm’ regularly generates powerful waves or vibrations both, inside and outside. These dispel toxic (hidden) festering on all planes of being; physical, mental and spiritual.
2.OM benefits by bringing one in tune with the joyful flow of the Universe.
An effortless inclination to do the right thing takes over. One takes the wisest of decisions every living moment, quickly and intuitively.
3.Cosmic forces invoked by the sound of OM transform each iota of the chanter.
With the purification process complete, the energy vibrations of OM now start to enrich every inch of the chanter. Strength, energy and vitality rush to fill in the body. Creativity, clarity and serenity fill in the mind. Priceless spiritual knowledge rush into the soul.
4.Self Knowledge dawns in clearly with Om
Post the purification and transformation, a deep realization of the Inner Self naturally arises in the sincere Om chanter. The practitioner now naturally recognizes his real needs, strength, talents and inclinations. This helps his pour his energies in the right direction where he would have the greatest potential to excel
5.Om mantra chanting creates a strong internal anchor
The practitioner is so deeply centered now that he can hear the voice of his inner conscience loud and clear. No more is he moved by the vagaries of the world.
6. Superior execution comes with regularly chanting om
A heightened concentration and razor sharp focus emerges. Also aided by stronger memory and retention, the speed and quality of the practitioner’s task-execution drastically improves.
7.Mental stability is another enormous benefit .
Disruptive emotions like fear, anxiety, restlessness, doubt, anger, greed, envy will vanish making way for grander emotions. With Om Chanting one can safely ward off mental issues like depression and stress
8.Om mantra can help kick off addictions
Om mantra chanting and meditation can help amp up mind control and the power of resolution. It can gently but decisively help get rid of compulsive addictions like smoking etc
9. Chanting Om regularly can groom one into an irresistibly magnetic force
The finer qualities that an Om chanter exudes becomes magnetic in his sphere of influence. The practitioner’s patience, peace, endurance, enthusiasm and clarity makes him a person that others start to look up to.
10. Heightened Powers of manifestation come with OM
The Om chanter is so much tuned into the divine that his deepest wishes may get manifested quickly. The forces of the Universe are now his friends always working for him.
Now, Scientific research relating to the benefits of chanting Om
The 13 Amazing Scientific research backed benefits of chanting Om
1. Benefits learning, memory, spatial navigation etc by enhancing the theta (wave) amplitude in the brain.
Theta rhythm is a neural oscillation of the brain that impacts the cognition and behavior.
This study tested this rhythm of naïve meditators after 30 min of Om chanting Om mantra chanting . The EEG (electroencephalogram – recorded internally or through electrodes attached to scalp) showed higher theta power in the brain similar to cortical arousal during relaxation. This scientific research proved that OM chanting benefits students by enhancing their academic retention.
2. Chanting OM reduces mind wandering, enhances mindfulness, awareness and working memory
This study conducted on 60 healthy school children (14-16 years) was to test the effect of MSRT- Mind Sound Resonance Technique. MSRT involves experiencing with closed eyes, the internal vibrations and resonance developed while chanting the Om syllables of A,U,M and also the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra.
These students were divided into two groups and the first group chanted OM mantra and felt its resonance all over for 30 mins daily over two weeks. But the second group was asked to do any of this. Subsequently, both groups were tested using tools like State anxiety inventory-short form (STAI-SF), State mindfulness attention awareness scale (SMAAS), Mind wandering questionnaire (MWQ), and Trail making test (TMT).
The findings of this scientific research indicated enhanced psychological functions and cognition in the first group as a benefit of chanting OM. This enhancement of cognitive tasks was related to sustained attention, concentration, visual scanning. Also the test found an activation and inhibition of rapid responses, psychomotor speed, mental flexibility, and speed of information processing. The second group showed no such improvement.
Also find the Top 25 Bhagavad Gita quotes for students here and also how Gayatri mantra can benefit them
3. Increase in emotional empathy.
This study used functional neuroimaging to compare the effects of listening to OM mantra versus a similar sounding but meaningless word TOM and a similar sounding word with meaning AAM (Hindi)
It found that OM chanting activating the Brain’s neural regions of middle frontal (left dorsolateral middle frontal cortex) and right supramarginal gyrus (SMG) all involved in the area of emotional empathy and thus benefits it.
4. Chanting Om leads to limbic deactivation, similar to vagus nerve stimulation used for treating depression.
This study used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to test the impact of Om mantra on a group of 12 healthy adults. When the result were compared with those of a random ‘SSS’ chant and of no-chant resting stage.
Om chanters showed significant limbic deactivation, that is helpful for fighting stress. In fact, the results were similar to Vagus nerve’ s stimulation therapy for treatment of depressive disorders.
A similar study further tested these fMRI scans using multivariate autoregressive model (MVAR) to understand the directional connectivity between deactivated regions.
Further, this study found similar results after the Om mantra chanting. A reduced output from the brain’s insula, anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortices to the limbic area (amygdala). Destressing these brain-areas (involved in depressive disorders), with OM mantra could benefit with curative effects
5. Cognitive protection against harmful mobile phone electromagnetic field radiations
The negative impact of mobile phone’s on the brain’s cognition/haemodynamics have been hotly debated. So also for Om Mantra chanting, albeit in a positive way.
So, this study split 20 healthy teens into four groups. the first two had mobile phones on while Chanting Om and chanting a meaningless SSS. The other two groups had mobile phones off while chanting Om and while chanting the random sound SSS. On testing, Om chanters came out with the best Stroop scores and the least Pre-frontal Cortex activation both ways with and without the presence of the mobile phone’s electromagnetic radiations.
6. A combination of Bhramari pranayama and OM mantra chanting has a beneficial impact on the pulmonary function and well as weight reduction.
This study split a group of 82 healthy participants into two groups a study group and a control group. The study group practiced 5 mins Bhramari pranayama+ 5 mins Om chanting daily for 2 weeks in a row, 6 days each week. The control group did not.
On testing the study group showed a significant improvement in peak expiratory flow (FEF) 25%, maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) along with a significant weight reduction as compared to the control group. Another scientific research based benefit of Om chanting.
7. Om mantra benefits by increasing mental alertness while maintaining physiological restfulness.
This study tested the autonomic and respiratory variables in seven experienced meditators. Each meditator took two sessions. One session with a period of mental Om chants and another with a period of non-targeted thinking.
The result was a significant reduction in heart rate during the Om chanting session and an increase in cutaneous peripheral vascular resistance (a sign of mental alertness) in both sessions
8. A respiratory defense booster for COVID times
This study recommends Om mantra chanting with normal inhalation + lengthened exhalation + Om Humming along with Bhramari pranayama as a Yogic humming method of protecting the respiratory system.
9. Keeps the auditory neural pathways (brainstem auditory -evoked responses) to the brain, optimal
Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs), also referred to as evoked responses, is a set of records of time the auditory system nerves take to respond to sound and electrical stimulation. This stimulation leads to nerve signal transmission from parts of the ear to the brain and vice-versa, rapidly.
Clinically, AEP’s are important to localize brainstem dysfunction and to treat language disorders. Basically they keep track whether the neural pathways leading to the brain are clear.
The following 3 studies assessed the cortical/sub cortical changes during meditation through AEPs. This helped them test the ‘claimed’ benefits of Om mantra:
- This study asked experienced and naïve meditators, to repeat ‘Om’ on day1 and ‘One’ on day2. The Na wave corresponds to the mid-brain or the posterior end of the fore-brain. This component significantly increased in amplitude which meant the recruitment of a greater number of neurons.Day 2 of ‘One’ repetition showed a significant decrease in the Na amplitude for both groups. In contrast Day1 showed a significant increase in the Na wave amplitude for meditators but the reverse for naïve subjects.Thus, This shows that regular OM mantra chanting can lead to greater neural engagement and activity.
- This second study tested 7 experienced meditators during the mental repetition of Om mantra. These records were compared with those of a control group of 7 naïve subjects. These naive subjects sat with their eyes closed but without any instruction for focusing their thought.Here, a reduction in the peak latency of the Nb wave was observed during the sessions of experienced meditators. The naïve meditators showed no such change. The Nb component corresponds to the primary auditory cortex.Hence, this implies that Om Mantra repetition facilitates the transmission of neural information to the primary auditory cortex.
- This third study too came out with a similar result. It concluded that mental Om chanting brings out the most superior AEP’s. This is when compared with control groups tested post, random thinking, non-meditative focused thinking and meditative focused thinking
10. Chanting Om benefits the brain by enhancing attention, concentration and visual-scanning abilities.
This study tested 35 experienced meditators on a six-letter cancellation task in 4 separate sessions. Session 1 was random thinking, Session 2 was focusing on a single topic, Session 3 was focusing on the symbol Om (Dharana) and Session 4 was effortlessly dwelling on the essence of OM. Of the 4 sessions, tests after the Session 3 of Dharana on the OM symbol produced best results.
11. Reduces the skin resistance level (GSR: galvanic skin response) thereby regulating emotional behavior
This study tested 12 volunteers before and after 3 sessions. The first after mentally chanting Om, the second after mentally repeating One and the third after random thinking. It found that after Session 1 the skin resistance of the meditators reduced substantially thereby increasing its conductance leading to better emotional regulation
12. Vocal Group OM Chanting helps bond with feelings of connectedness plus psychosocial benefits
In this study 44 females and 72 males closed their eyes and participated in an online Om chanting session for 10minutes. The Qualtrics survey that they took showed reduced stress, a more positive mood and general feelings of connectedness to all people involved in the group chanting
13. Increases energy, shifts focus from dissipating thoughts, calms nerves.
This study digitized the analog waveforms of OM chant recordings of healthy individuals in the age group of 30-40 years. The 10-minute recording was done after a long day’s work.
It found that the rate of the Om mantra chanting, slowed down naturally. Also the breath slowed and the mind and body relaxed. The detailed statistics are linked in the report.
It concluded that chanting OM mantra benefits by stabilizing the brain, removing of worldly thoughts and increase of energy
The Spiritual realm of OM Mantra chanting
Swami Krishnanada says that the long Om chanting format is the best. He advises :
- Pranayama while Walking:
- Walk upright and inhale slowly while counting OM (mentally) thrice, once per step. Next, hold that breath to a count of 12 OM’s. Lastly exhale for a count of 6 OMs. Pause briefly before the next cycle or time this pause to 12 OMs.
- Meditate on each of the three letters A, U and M.
- Inhale through the left nostril while contemplating on ‘Aaaa’ for 16 seconds.
- Hold that breath for 64 seconds, while contemplating on ‘Uuuu’ during the time.
- Exhale through the right nostril for the space of 32 seconds and meditate on the letter ‘Mmmm’ during that time.
Practice repeatedly starting with a few times and then increasing it to 20 or 30 times as per capability. Keep the ratio at 1:4:2
Spiritual powerhouse’s thoughts on the OM/AUM Mantra
Swami Sivananda says in his book, ‘Japa Yoga’:
“Pranava Japa,” (Pranava is synonymous with Om) “has a tremendous influence on the mind. The vibrations set up by OM chanting are so powerful that, if one persists in taking recourse to them, they would bring the largest building to the ground. This seems difficult to believe in until one has tried the practice; but once having tried it one can easily understand how the above statement may be true and perfectly correct. I have tested the power of the vibrations and can quite believe that the effect would be as stated.”
Swami Krishnanda in his translation of the Mandukya Upanishad on OM/AUM
‘‘A’ is the beginning of all letters, and in this akāra is the beginning of experiences in consciousness, which is the waking state. by meditation on this harmony between akāra of Om and the waking state of the Ātman, one achieves the fulfilment of all desires – āpnoti ha vai sarvān kāmān.
Ukāra namely U is the second syllable of Om, The ukāra is regarded as utkarṣha or elevated in the sense that it is beyond akāra, proceeds after akāra. When you utter ‘U’, you find that the middle of the throat begins to function. And one who meditates in this manner, rises in his status of knowledge.
Just as there is an equalising effect of ukāra between akāra and makāra, one who meditates thus becomes an equalizing factor in society and in all creation. One becomes a harmonising element everywhere.’
With such amazing spiritual and scientific benefits of OM mantra, its no wonder that it is such a universally favorite chant! Join in…
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