The Hindu prayer Aum

Hindus believe that Aum is the enigmatic, universal, divine sound. It is said to represent everything from the three (and ultimate fourth transcending) states of consciousness to the Trinity of Hinduism. It is analogous to the concept of the "word of God," but seems to transcend it by maintaining that everything emanates from Aum, exists in Aum, and ends in Aum. It is known as the pranava or root mantra of Hinduism. Included in all prayers, from the Vedas and onwards, regardless of the nature of the prayer, it is the ultimate self-contained prayer for the Hindu mind. Many sages of the Hindu tradition claimed (and still do) that if nothing else, the lover of God could pray through that one sound alone