Hum in the mantra OM Mani Padme Hum has layers of meaning just as the other words do. Yet, essentially the word has to do with emphasis and a definite statement about reality. Hum = It is so.
What is so? The meaning of the rest of the mantra.
- OM: Each person is a creator and all in his or her existence is one’s creation. (Therefore, make a good one for others and oneself.)
- Mani: jewel. That which is most valuable about oneself, others, and life is that which is precious, irreplaceable, and requires being discovered.
- Padme: lotus. Everything and everyone is unfolding and growing. Some are growing roots – roots of what is a good contemplation. Some are growing a stem, are stretching into a newness, or are finding center and centeredness. Some are expressing outwardly, like a plant puts forward leaves. These expressions of individuality enable the person to touch, to feel, to communicate, and to take in life more fully. Some are coming inside to the sacredness within. They might do that through yoga or meditation or prayer or loss or birth or love or countless other experiences that turn a person inside to find something more than the outer life can give. And, some are blossoming.
Hum or Hung in Tibetan states that yes, this is so, and that reality is what one makes of it.
Downloadable: Intermediate: Hum