yogi becomes absorbed meditationally in om, he
becomes eternal. Om, too, is understood as the
essence of the word brahman (shabda brahman)
and is therefore, via its transcendent sound, the
source of all manifest reality, where reality is
known to be nothing but the congealing of sound.
No mantra begins without om and most Vedic
mantras end with om as well. Om is often referred
to as Omkara (the kara, a meaningless marker),
added to make it easier to distinguish visually in
Sanskrit script. It is also called pranava, which
literally means, “That which resounds.”
Further reading: Cornelia Dimitt and J. A. van Buite-
nen, eds. and trans., Classical Hindu Mythology: A
Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas (Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 1978); S. Ranganath, Aum-Pranava in
Indian Tradition (Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 2001).
Omkara See OM.
Omkarananda, Swami (1930–2000)
Vedanta teacher
Swami Omkarananda was a VEDANTA teacher who
founded the first Hindu ASHRAM in Switzerland.
As a 16-year-old in South India the person
later known as Swami Omkarananda suddenly
left his home and traveled north to RISHIKISH in
the foothills of the HIMALAYAS. There, the next
year, he was initiated into the renounced life
(sannyas) by Swami Sivananda Saraswati. He
remained at Rishikish for study and in 1954 was
awarded a degree by the Yoga Vedanta Forest
University. In the following years he met and
studied with several other prominent Indian
teachers, but from 1962 to 1965 he entered a
period of retreat.
In 1965, at the request of several Swiss intel-
lectuals, he traveled to Switzerland to teach.
He made a second visit in 1966; at that time he
founded the Omkarananda International Ashram
at Winterthur, Switzerland (near Zürich), the first
permanent Hindu ashram in the country. The ash-
ram grew and purchased a number of houses in
Winterthur, identified by being painted blue.
By 1975, tension had developed in the town
between the members of the ashram and their
neighbors. As the tension increased, some mem-
bers of the ashram bombed the home of a member
of the government of the canton of Zürich.
The perpetrators were arrested, and the swami
was also taken into custody and charged with
complicity. He pleaded innocent but was con-
victed. After seven years in jail, he was released
but banished from Switzerland. He settled in
Austria, near the Swiss border, and resumed his
teaching work. His followers initiated actions to
have his conviction overturned and to restore his
reputation, but he died in 2000 before that could
be achieved.
In spite of the setback caused by the events
of 1975, the ashram in Winterthur continues to
operate, as does its sister branch in Rishikesh.
Omkarananda wrote a number of books, many of
which have been placed online at the Internet site
posted by the ashram.Further reading: Omkarananda Ashram Himalayas. Avail-
able online. URL: http://www.omkarananda-ashram.
org/. Accessed August 16, 2005.om tat sat See OM.
Osho See RAJNEESH, SRI.
K 320 Omkara