Aum Sweet Aum - What we can't fit on the label

There's no place like Aum

"What is this symbol?" a visitor to the booth asks. Well, it's said to be the first sound of the universe or some people refer to it as the yoga symbol. An utterance evoking peace and meditation.  Ahh-who-mmm-  ending with a humming sound and then silence.  The silence is important and counts as the fourth sound of the syllable.  It is necessary to be aware of stillness.  The focus is on the vibration and then the silence and stillness between the chants of ahh-who-mmm-  .  Once I sound out the syllable, the person instantly recognizes it but still knows little of its origin or meaning.  

Some even confuse the flowing script as Arabic.  This particular Aum is in the Devanagari script.  Sanskrit was an oral tradition way before it was written and became more of a liturgical language.  There are other scripts that the Aum is written in which is why you may notice a difference in the way it is depicted.  Artists also take liberties as they create the many representations of the syllable that you see in jewelry, bags, tattoos, t-shirts, etc.


The Aum, in Hindu belief, is in use daily.  Hindus begin their day, work or any journey by uttering and chanting Aum.  A new born child is washed, then the sacred syllable is written on their tongue in honey.  It is not a word but rather an intonation and like music, with proper intonation, can resonate throughout the body so that the sound penetrates to the center of one's being.  The past, present and future are all included in this one sound.

Jeff and I chose to refer to the syllable in English as Aum.  Some visitors to our booth will correct me and say that it should be written as Om.  Both are equally accepted so I will continue with Aum in this writing and on our labels.  

The label on the tile back simply reads:

Charged with religious energy, this most sacred of Sanskrit syllables is often articulated at beginning and end of recitations and prayers.  Early noted evidence of AUM (Om) use occurs in the Hindu text Rgveda, and dates in practice to at least 1200 BCE.

Rgveda is a Sanskrit compound of "praise,verse and knowledge".  The Rgveda Sanskrit qualifies as one of the earliest of the Indo-European language family which includes English and most European languages. 

This is certainly a "nutshell" version of what Aum is.  The depth and breadth of this syllable is awe inspiring and will take a great deal of meditation to more deeply understand and to feel even a portion of the power that it contains.

A young child bought our Aum art tile as a birthday gift for his mother who was turning 35.  I can now hardly look at the Sanskrit writing of the Aum without seeing the 35 that the child saw.  As I reflect on the powerful vibrations of this syllable I remember his joyful purchase.  "Aum is where the heart is."

Thine is Greatest

A Christian Woman speaks to a Muslim Man speaks to a Native Woman while a practitioner of Falung Gong goes through her meditation exercises in the background

Three young Sikhs walked by the booth, one saying so that I could hear, "Nothing for Sikhism I see".  "Actually Sikhism and Baha'i are the two that I get asked for the most."  They stopped and walked back to talk with me.  They picked up the sign that reads Art Tiles Reflecting Images of Five of The World's Great Religions.  One of them started typing into his iPhone to see if Sikhism is the 6th in line.

Actually, in a ranking by size from 2007, Sikhism is listed 9th.  Christianity and Islam are shown as 1 and 2 respectively.  Number 3 is Secularism/Non-Religious/Agnostic/Atheist - they get thrown together for this list. Hinduism is number 4.  Something referred to as "Chinese Traditional Religion" is in slot 5, evidently a counting together of Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, etc.  Buddhism is number 6.  Judaism, number 12.

We spent a great deal of time crafting that sign to convey an overall sense of welcome to people approaching our booth or web store. What I found is that people read with a preconceived idea and interpret any signage accordingly.  "Oh" some will say. "The Five Greatest Religions. Well, you don't have mine."  It actually reads Images of Five of the World's Great Religions.  We chose five that we were personally interested in and felt would reflect the majority of the people that we would come into contact with.  There are many more.  We didn't choose them in any particular order.  The word "great" refers to the sheer number of people following recognized religions and styles of philosophy.

Many visitors to our booth express thanks for the display of this even reflection of faith in one place, some are surprised.  I especially love the children who come running up with excited expressions and chirping voices.  "Om! That's om. We're Hindu.  We have many oms."

A young boy walks up to the booth and reads one of the other signs out loud. "Islamic Art. hmm." he says.  "We're Jews."  "Welcome" I say with a smile.   "Are you Jewish?" he asks as he watches his mother pick up and purchase a Magen David tile and a Hamsa.  "No, We just enjoy making and selling spiritual art.  I never know who I'm going to get to talk to next."

We're expanding our collection.  Keep a look out early next year for the new additions.  Sikh? Baha'i?  Perhaps, and hopefully a few more!