ओमित्येकाक्षरं ब्रह्म व्याहरन्मामनुस्मरन् । यः प्रयाति त्यजन्देहं स याति परमां गतिम् ॥
omityekākṣaraṃ brahma vyāharanmāmanusmaran | yaḥ prayāti tyajandehaṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatim ||
Translation
Uttering the single syllable Om — Brahman — and remembering Me, whoever departs, leaving the body — that person goes to the supreme goal.
Interpretation
The completion of the instruction: Om — the primordial sound that encapsulates the entire Brahman — is uttered (inwardly or outwardly), and simultaneously the mind holds the remembrance of the Divine (mam anusmaran). The one who departs with this double act — sacred sound and divine remembrance — goes to the param gatim, the supreme destination, liberation itself. Om is not merely a syllable; it is the vibrational essence of Brahman, the sound-form of the formless. To die with Om and God-remembrance is the highest possible departure.