Summary
I encounter the Om sign less often in this city than I expected. But it is always there on my hand. One day, these two worlds were connected. That is what this article is about.
I see the Om symbol in a few places around the city when I walk around, but not as often as I expected.
Others can easily see it in my surroundings, on my hand for example. I have been approached quite a few times, mostly by locals who saw the tattoo on my hand.
Yesterday, the city and my hand became connected. I will tell you how.
Om on the street
I have noticed a sign several times, but yesterday I saw a particularly beautiful one, I took a close-up picture of it.
Then when I got home, I asked ChatGPT what this sign was.
To my greatest surprise, he said that it was Om. And of course he started explaining what it meant.
Repetition in the picture: OM is the ancient mantra of Hinduism, Buddhism and the yoga tradition. The completeness of the universe, the presence outside of time, the unity of the self and the universe.
The form I know – so far -:
The difference between the two symbols is not in meaning, but in writing and culture.
I have known the classical Sanskrit (Devanagari) form so far, which appears in written sacred texts and mantras, more as calligraphic, detailed symbols.
The writing style I have just learned is basic Hindu, but translated into local artistic language, with flame-like, ornamental elements, displayed on gates and temples, as a symbol of protection.
What else might be interesting to notice about the form I have just learned:
- the flame-like form – consciousness, transformation
- the circle – completeness, cycle
- the gold – divine quality
- the red background – life energy (prana).
Om on my hand
Maybe a week ago someone asked me why I have this image on the back of my hand.
I answered that there are several reasons:
- I always want to see it.
- When I shake hands with someone, I can pass the symbol on to them with the gesture.
- It is also part of my greeting (wai) with folded hands, which is customary in Asia.
In connection with this article, I thought about what the representation of Om on my body means to me, and whether the hand has a special role besides the above.
To do this, I started a conversation with AI and we agreed on the following two questions.
Om is not originally a visual symbol, but a sound and vibration. When it becomes an image and is embodied, the meaning is transformed. It is no longer the sound of the world, but the designation of my inner voice.
The simplest way to describe the moment I decided to make this symbol a part of my body is to remind myself that I had found peace within.
It’s probably true that people rarely get Om tattoos for purely aesthetic reasons. I certainly didn’t make the decision for aesthetic reasons.
It became a symbol that something had ended, or that something had quieted down inside me, and that my life had taken a new direction. It didn’t represent a moment, but a state.
The feeling I had been repeating for months took shape on my hand:
I don’t want to understand it all – I want to be present in it.
The hand is not a passive part of the body, as I stated in my answer a week ago. The hand acts, gives, touches, releases and decides.
It is surprisingly new information for me that in many traditions the hand is the bridge between the inner world and the outer reality.
In a spiritual sense, I accept that what I put on my hand, I do not just “wear”, but I activate it again and again with every movement.
I also felt this: I always want to see it. It seems that this is key, because it is not hidden, it is not just for others.
At the same time, it is important that it does not express a belief for me, but a reminder of what I do not want to forget:
I act in the present.
Together, the two have perhaps become an unspoken message. Om on the body is the inner silence. Om on the hand is the action done in silence.
It is a way of life. It is no coincidence that I chose this.
This is not a “spiritual tattoo,” but a subtle compass.
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