1. What is Om?
Om is considered the monarch of all mantras. All bījamantras and mantras originate from it. It prefixes some mantras. It is representative of the Supreme God Principle (Parabrahman).
2. The effect of continuously chanting Om
The energy associated with Om is of the unmanifest (nirguṇ) God principle. The unmanifest energy of God is the same energy used to create the entire manifest (saguṇ) Universe. As a result, a lot of energy is generated when one chants Om.
Chanting only Om can have adverse effects if the person chanting is of a lower spiritual level as he may not have the capacity to tolerate the spiritual energy generated from the chant.
The following table illustrates who can tolerate chanting just Om.
Footnotes:
- These readings are pertinent to a person chanting Om with concentration and spiritual emotion (bhāv) for a period of four hours. They do not apply to a person chanting Om prefixed to a Name of God as in Om Namaha Shivaya. An average person (male or female) can chant Om Namaha Shivaya without being affected by the Om in the chant.
- Due to the spiritual energy generated by chanting Om, a person at a lower spiritual level may be adversely affected by chanting Om regularly. A person at a lower spiritual level can suffer physical distress such as hyperacidity, a rise in body temperature, etc., or psychological distress like restlessness. It is especially recommended that women should not chant just Om, by itself. The frequencies emanating from Om generate a lot of energy which in turn generates physical and subtle heat in the body. This does not affect the male reproductive organs as they lie outside the body cavity. However, in the case of women, this heat can affect the reproductive organs as they lie within the abdominal cavity. Thus, women may experience distress in the form of excessive menstrual flow, amenorrhoea (absence of a menstrual period), dysmenorrhoea (severe uterine pain during menstruation), infertility, etc. Hence, it is advisable for women not to chant Om by itself unless it is specifically recommended for them, by a Guru or a Saint.
3. Printing of Om in various places
A basic law of spiritual science states that ‘the word, touch, form, taste, smell and its related energy coexist.’ This means where a symbol of God is present, its related energy is also present. By placing the Om symbol on t-shirts or tattoos, the following adverse effects may be felt:
- Physical distress such as hyperacidity, a rise in body temperature, etc.
- Psychological distress like restlessness.
Another important aspect is that the random placement of the symbol Om amounts to playing with a symbol related to God, and hence, constitutes a sin.
