Why is Omkar called as pranav mantra?

This is written as ‘Om (ॐ)’ and is considered as the sacred vowel. Not only is Omkār a mahamantra with a single letter but is also labelled as the monosyllabic Brahman in the Shrīmadbhagwadgitā. The sage of this mantra is Parabrahman, the Deity Parmātmā and the rhythm (chanda) Gāyatrī. The mahamantras from the Vedas, Upanishads, etc. and also the efficacious (siddha) mantras and Names denoting The Lord are the varied forms of this Omkār. When chanting every mantra it is essential to start it with Omkār.

‘The scriptures describe the pranav, that is, Om as the “monarch of mantras”. It is considered as the symbol or representation of the individual soul. Omkār is the main Name of The Supreme Brahman (Parabrahman). Since acquisition of knowledge about it means realisation of Parabrahman, worshipping it is the same as worshipping The Supreme God. The famous quote from the Upanishads ‘अयमात्‍मा ब्रह्म’ means ‘This soul is Brahman’. Once one realises through meditation that the entire universe is composed of Omkar and develops conviction that every object in the universe and every individual soul itself is Brahman, the realisation of Brahman as the soul, is achieved and finally one attains Self-realisation of the unmanifest (Nirguṇ) Brahman in the form of “I am Brahman (अहं ब्रह्मास्‍मि)”. Click here to read more.

• 1. Omkar
• 2. Gayatri mantra
• 3. Mrutyunjay mantra
• 4. Navarnav (nine letter) mantra
• 5. Shri Ganesh mantra
• 6. Vedic mantras
• 7. Mantras recommended by some sages
• 8. Mantras associated with various sects
  • 8.1 The Shaiva sect
  • 8.2 The Varkari sect
  • 8.3 The Samarth sect