om ind. 1 The sacred syllable om , uttered as a holy exclamation at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas, or previous to the commencement of a prayer or sacred work. 2 As a particle it implies ( a ) solemn affirmation and respectful assent (so be it, amen !). ( b ) assent or acceptance (yes, all right); omityucyatAmamAtyaH Māl. 6 ; omityuktavatoTa SAMrgiRa iti Śi. 1. 75 ; dvitIyaScedomiti brUmaH S. D. 1. ( c ) command; ( d ) auspiciousness; ( e ) removal or warding off. 3 Brahman. [This word first appears in the Upanishads as a mystic monosyllable, and is regarded as the object of the most profound religious meditation. In the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad it is said that this syllable is all what has been, that which is and is to be; that all is om , only om . Literally analysed, om is taken to be made up of three letters or quarters; the letter a is Vaiśvānara, the spirit of waking souls in the waking world; u is Taijasa, the spirit of dreaming souls in the ( pb ) world of dreams; and m. is Prājña, the spirit of sleeping and undreaming souls; and the whole om is said to be unknowable, unspeakable, into which the whole world passes away, blessed above duality; (for further account see Gough's Upaniṣads pp. 69-73). In later times om came to be used as a mystic name for the Hindu triad, representing the union of the three gods a (Viṣṇu), u (Śiva), and m. (Brahmā). It is usually called Praṇava or Ekākṣaram]. Comp. — kAraH 1 the sacred syllable om . 2 the exclamation om , or pronunciation of the same. 3 ( fig. ) commencement; eza tAvadoMkAraH Mv. 1 ; B. R. 3. 78.