Om Namah Shivaya Meaning — The Five Elements Hidden in Five Syllables

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Oṃ namaḥ śivāya

"Om. Salutation to Shiva." — or more fully: "Om. I bow to the auspicious one who is the ground of all five elements."

Na is the syllable of earth — the densest, most material element. Pṛthvī (from pṛthu = broad, vast) is the vast ground of all existence. Shiva as Na governs everything physical and material. The sense organ associated with earth is the nose (smell), and the action organ is the feet (movement across earth).

Ma is the syllable of water — the fluid, adaptable element that takes the shape of its container. Jala (from jal = to cover, to conceal) is the element of emotional life and flow. Shiva as Ma is the principle of nourishment and grace. The sense associated with water is taste.

Śi (the first syllable of Śiva) is the syllable of fire — transformation and purification. Agni (from the root ag = to move in a curved path) is the universal principle of transformation. Shiva as Śi is the destroyer-transformer. The third eye of Shiva (which can reduce anything to ash) is an expression of this fire-nature.

Va is the syllable of air — movement, breath, life force (prāṇa). Vāyu (from vā = to blow) is the element of vitality and breath. Shiva as Va is the breath of the universe. Va is also the first syllable of Vāyu — the wind god, and of vāc (speech, voice). Touch is the sense of air.

Ya is the syllable of space (ākāśa) — the most subtle element, the canvas on which all others exist. Ākāśa (from ā + kāś = to shine, to appear) is pure awareness, the ground of all experience. Sound is the sense of space — and indeed, Shiva as Ya is the origin of all sound, including Om itself. The Natarāja form of Shiva dancing in a ring of fire is the visual expression of this cosmic dance in space.