7. Mode of our Investigation. We shall proceed in this prolegomena first to investigate into the orthographical character and structure of this syllable, and then to inquire into the designations and etymological synonyms or the word, with the lexical meanings that we can get of them, and lastly to treat of the many mystical interpretations which this single word is made to bear as a common emblem of them.
II. Orthography of Om.
1. The letter ॐकारः Firstly: Om with respect, to its name and utterance is called Onkára, that is, the nasal On in combination with the adjunct kára (signifying a sound) and meaning the letter On. For all sounds whether vocal (स्वरबर्ण) or sonant (व्यञ्जन), nasal (सानुनासिक) or not-nasal (निरनुनासिक), articulate (ब्यक्तस्फुट) or onomatopoeia (अब्यक्तास्फुट), are denominated letters; as the letters a &c. (अकारादि) are called vowels, the letters Ka &c. (ककारादि) consonants; so the nasals Án, in (आं इँ) &c., as also the inarticulate ones (फङ्कार) &c., are all letters; but the Onkára is the root of all; thus ॐकारेण सर्ब्बबाक् सस्तणोति । माण्डुक्योपनिषद् । Manu calls it a letter in the passage:—“This one letter is the emblem of the Most High”. II.83. Vide Dr. Mitra’s Ch’hánd Up, p. 4.
2. A conjunct Letter युक्ताक्षरः But here a question is raised as to whether a conjunct vowel or consonant may with propriety be styled a single letter or not. To this says Dr. R. L. Mitra in a foot-note to his translation of the Ch’hándogya Upanishad that—“It is true that this emblem conveys two sounds, that of O and m, nevertheless it is held to be one letter in the above sense; and we meet with instances even in the ancient and modern languages of Europe that can justify such privileges, such as xi and psi, reckoned single letters in Greek, and Q. W. X. in English and others.” (Ch 1. Sec. 1. p. 4). So is lámálif in Persian &c. The Sanskrit conjunct ksha (क्ष) is considered a single consonant, when they say, ककारादि क्षकारान्तं ब्यञ्जनं परिकीर्त्तितं ।
3. The Syllable Om ओमक्षरं । It is also like every other single or conjoint letter of the alphabet (युक्तायुक्त बर्ण) termed an akshara (अक्षर) or syllable, which forms either a word by itself when standing alone, or part of a word followed by an adjunct as ॐ, ॐकार, ओमक्षर &c.; where the first is a word of one syllable or monosyllabic term एकाक्षर, and the others as dissyllabic and trisyllabic words (द्ब्यक्षर, त्र्यक्षर शब्द), according as they are uttered by the help of one or more articulations of the voice. Om akshara apart from its other signification of the Imperishable and the like, and its symbolism of the Supreme Spirit, is also used in the sense of a syllable in the original writings and their translations. Thus says the Kathopanishad; एतद्ध्येबाक्षरंब्रह्म एतद्ध्येबाक्षरंपरं । एतद्ध्येबाक्षरं ज्ञात्वा ब्रह्मलोकेमहीयते ।
Manu says:—“That which passeth not away is declared to be the syllable om, thence called akshara.” He calls it also a triliteral monosyllable. II. 84. So says Mon. Wm: “Om is a most sacred monosyllable significant of the Supreme Being.” (Indian Wisdom p. 103 note 1).
4. The character Om ॐकार ।Omkára likewise indicates the written character Om, because the suffix Kára like Ákára is used to signify its written form or sign (आकार चिह्न), and in this sense the Bengali ও, corresponds with Greek character w omega the inverted ও, or the Omikron = English O, and Oao Persian, and likens to the Sanskrit bindu O, which is but another name of Om (ओंकारः ब्रह्मबिन्दुः). But the ও is formed by the union of two dots or cyphers (O bindu) like Greek Omega of two omicrons and the English w of two u’s. So says the Gáyatrí Tantra, ॐकारो ब्रह्म बिन्दुर्बिन्दुद्वय बिनिर्म्मतः । अधोर्द्ध बिन्दुरित्यादि । And again: समनुः परमाराध्या संयुक्ता ब्रह्म बिन्दुना. “It is the union of two circlets, one being the symbol of one’s own divinity and the other that of Brahma.” This character by itself is regarded with high veneration as an emblem of the Infinite, independent of its meaning or utterance, and is marked on the forehead of every devotee in the form of a spot or crescent.
5. The Symbol ॐ बिन्दुः । The symbolical Om is represented by four cyphers as placed over one another अधोर्द्धबिन्दु चतुष्टयं, and each designated by a different name in the aforesaid Tantra, and supposed to form the cavities of the heart and mouth of Brahm, चतुर्वर्ग प्रदा बिद्या चतुर्बिन्द्वात्मिकासदा । आद्यन्ते प्रणवंदत्वा गायत्रीं प्रजपेद्दिज । बामाधर्म्म प्रदा बिन्दुर्ज्येष्ठा अर्थ प्रदा तथा । रौद्रीकाम प्रदाबिन्दुः श्रीबिन्दुः मोक्षदायिनी ॥ महेश्वर बदनं बिन्दुः श्रीबिष्णोः हृदयंतथा ॥ मोक्षदाताच श्रीबिन्दुः चतुर्बिन्दु बिनिर्णयः ॥ These bindus or cyphers are differently named in the Vedánta, as we shall shortly come to see under the denominations of omkára. (No. IV).
6. Symbolized as Jagannátha.
The best representation of Om is the image of the god Jagannátha, which is said to be an incarnation of the mystic syllable प्रणबाबतार, or made in the form of Om, and not in that of Buddha, as some of our antiquarians have erroneously supposed it to be. There is a learned dissertation on the subject of Jagannátha’s representation of Onkára to be found in one of the early articles of the Asiatic Society’s Researches, where the reader will get much more light on this mysterious subject.