Om tattoos

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

This is a slightly random question that I’m just hoping for a little feedback on.

I have been practicing meditation for over a year now, using a mantra that I was very drawn to when I first started practicing (see my username, LOL). In December I had the idea that maybe I would get this mantra tattooed (in Sanskrit) someplace on my body, because it is something very meaningful to me, and I fully plan on meditating for the rest of my life.

I’m not the type of person to just jump into things, so I decided to sit on the idea for at least a year (I’m 20, so legality isn’t the issue here).

And while I have seen a bunch of people with Om tattooes on various body parts, it got me thinking… Is this some sort of taboo? I know to a certain extent it doesn’t matter because it is my body, but I feel like this might be the type of thing that more hardcore practitioners of yoga would frown upon… So I was just curious what everybody here felt about the whole thing.

Thoughts?

#2

I don’t frown upon anything you choose to do to your body or your living. We each make choices for our own living.

There are two things on this front for me. The first is that I would not elect to have toxic ink etched into my flesh. The second is that I don’t need to have any signage on my body. I don’t need it for me, and I don’t need it for others.

I personally think it stokes the ego, unless you’re living amongst an indigenous tribe of people for whom such things are a way of daily living.

#3

i always wondered too man…i recite the maha mantra everyday too…i was also thinking about the same thing…but i really am not into it because i feel like something is holding me back, as if it was; i dont to say right, but i dont want to say its wrong too…i just cant put my finger on it…im only 23 so what do i know…lol

#4

thanks innerathlete…i like that you did mention it plays a role in ego…and that is something i want to get rid of…i dont need to show anyone really or express my views on my body or anyform for that matter unless it was a anwser to a question…no disrepect to ppl with tattoo’s though…i kinda would like to get on…NO…stop it kevin…you dont want one!..lol

#5

As Om is a religious Hindu symbol, I would research whether it is likely to offend any practicing Hindus as well as followers of other religions in which it is sacred.

In his book “The Heart of Yoga” TKV Desikachar discussed Westerners putting Om on everything they lay their eyes on, in an amused tone as I recall.

#6

im hindu and have a few cousins/friends that have an OM tattooed in various places…to be honest I feel neutral about it…one friend I know has it in red/yellow/green colors since we’re west indian and its from our flag…i didnt like it…lol…of course i didnt tell her that…but i didnt see the point cause i dont think it makes the person more spiritual or so to have it or something like passage from a scripture as well…today in religion class a girl said a monk she saw walked into a starbucks and had a swastica on his hand or something and a jewish women screamed at him that worked at the starbucks…sigh…

#7

If it reminds you of your mantra and it makes you happy embrace it.

#8

The Om symbol is not a religious symbol. It is a representation of a primordial sound which pre-dates organized religion. However I would agree many westerners are slapping it all over the place without any idea as to it’s meaning - similar to the way people have Chinese symbols tattooed without having any grasp of the language.

#9

OmNamahShivaya, personally i do not prefer ink over my skin and lable myself with anything,
It makes me lets say personality ‘X’. Not because its a bad thing to have but because
i don’t want to label my skin at all.
But this is personal, If i had ideas the other way round, which make me, say
personality ‘Y’, i’ll go for it.
Now for ‘Y’, the question of whether or not to get a tatoo (any tatoo for that matter)
is something that can be answered only by ‘Y’ himself and no one else. For ‘Y’ getting
such a tatoo is a question of gut feeling. Do i really want this mark or its gonna
be meaning less after a while or it may even have to be conpletely removed (donno how??).
So ask these questions to yourself and your calm meditative mind answer them with ease.

You should give yourself some time to evolve with this mantra and hey don’t think it as
some taboo or a religion. Yoga is something transcendental and beyond our personal or
societal likes or dislikes, or do’s and don’ts! Change the way you look at it…you are
practicing this mantra for spiritual upliftment not to entagle yourself with various
conditions…its for your freedom not slavory of conditions!!!
Love and Guru’s Grace!
Suyash
Yoga Guru
Divine Wellness

#10

Hi OmNamahShivaya,

since a tattoo won't wash off, one should consider it seriously before getting one. That you did, so get your tattoo if you want to. The body is only a vessel and we all, to some degree or at some point in our lives, decorated it with imagery, colors, jewlery. Don't care what others say and think. That is not important.


Reinhard Gammenthaler

#11

If it reminds you of your mantra and it makes you happy embrace it.

^This!^

Do what makes YOU happy! You have one short life to live :smiley:

#12

JUST remember that Yoga is about going inwards,increasingly dropping identification with the body-mind complex.

But really it makes no difference.Do whatever you like.

today in religion class a girl said a monk she saw walked into a starbucks and had a swastica on his hand or something and a jewish women screamed at him that worked at the starbucks…sigh…
Swasitika photoes.

It might stir your bhakti by giving you an ishta or symbol to focus on to help your efforts at a spiritual life & sadhana or it might be a badge to massage the ego, or both or neither.

I think they look quite cool,the Om sign, but every Tom,Dick & Harry seems to have a tattoo these days.Almost like a rite of passage for youth.A swastika(a spiritual good luck charm, what the Nazis appropriated to respresent a long Aryan/Indian ancestry going back to ancient times in order to bolster credibility ) next to an Om might be more controversial.I’ve seen the swasitak symbol in Tibetan monasteries( it might be the Bon Buddhist tradition and many others ;just do a google search and you will find a heap of stuff about the ancient and diverse history of the swastika symbol such as here and Wiki- here).Youcould always reverse it- read here

‘Stoking the ego’ sounds just right.

I’m not the type of person to just jump into things, so I decided to sit on the idea for at least a year (I’m 20, so legality isn’t the issue here).
Good idea! That way you won’t think **** . what was i thinking? Becuase i think in your teens especially & 20’s you tend to go through phases of identities( then you realise they’re the product of life-experiences and cultures that have shaped you but they’re not really you or you at it’s core say minus all that ).The personality tends to remain the same throughout life, formed perhaps at about 4 or younger2 or shaped bio-genetically at birth…But your interests can change.Hopefully you become less concerned what you look like as you get older,less vain and body-image conscious.Because ater a while you realise these things don’t really matter. But by all means go for it.

20 seems quite young to start yoga especially if you’re a guy but i’m not making any assumptions here.It could be a sign of spiritual maturity- i don’t know? Or you’re just surrounded by a lot of spiritual types brought up in that environment or are quite clear on some of the deeper more penetrating and profound issues in life based on life experiences and/or upbringing generally or see yoga as a a noble great science for self-improvement and have experienced it’s tangible results for yourself.I took up yoga at 32,after about ten years of heroin/methdone additcion i’m now 36 going on 37… But i think i had left some of the fantasies and delusions of youth behind and experimented alot with psychedelics and the rave scene etc by then that i knew there was something more to life. When attended my first yoga class- it was the first time i had ever felt energsied after some “excercise”. I thought ,’ hey! that’s odd’. I developed a practice at home and by then i was completely sold and hooked.The rest is history. But in some sense i was always interested in eastern spirtuality and yoga as a student but i may have had to live a little and my life had to well & truly break down and my imaginary false( self-gratifying ego) self ripped apart in order to be pushed to explore yoga deeper and appreciate it for what it is. Basically i felt i had lost everything already so i had nothing to lose.Sometimes that can be a great spur spiritually because it allows you to see what well and truly matters as wellas the pitfalls and trapppings of materialism.

#13

Well from my perspective, I have three tatoos. If I could I would wash them off, but I cant so no reason to resist what I already have. I would not necessarily mind having one that deals with my current way of thinking/believing, but then again all three were doing that at the time I got them. Another thing, I dont really look at my tatoos much, but have since reading this thread. The artists did very good work and they have held up well for ten years. Id still wash them off though.

#14

Try it out in henna for a while. The time spent working with the henna could be a new-found meditation for you.

#15

To me taking up yoga at 32 seemed like a great age to start when you have more likely settled and clamed down a bit, in your ways etc.I think once you turn 30 that seems to be the case, like a milestone of sorts.You tend to be less unsure what you want out of life.If you were into hedonism , then you are more likely no longer.Though everyone’s life and life-experiences are obviously different, i guess.Just speaking generally because other folk tend to attest to this also.

#16

One warning about tattoos, you never stop at only one, you always think of your next tattoo. I have the chakras tattooed on back and head and for me they are very meaningful. As with most other things in life, including yoga, and tattoos, each person has his or her own journey. There is no right or wrong. I think.

#17

I would try the henna first, in my opinion. You are not ready for the tattoo. The only reason I say that is because you are questioning it. If you were ready you would go ahead, get it done and call it a day.

When I was in my early 20’s I wanted a tattoo. There is beauty in it and some people just wear them well. I asked friends and family about there thoughts about me getting a tatoo and they gave me various opinions.

Then I woke up (actually it was after a glass of wine) and realized my asking others about it meant I wasn’t ready. Because at that time in my life I so rarely asked anyone for their opinion about anything. Why would I ask about what to put on my body? So I never got the tattoo.

Now I’m in my late 30’s and I feel more unique being the only one in my yoga class without a tattoo! I still believe there is beauty in it. It’s just not right for me right now or maybe ever.

You are giving it a year to think about it. That’s a long time, I say good for you! Meditate on it. Then just go for it or not. But make sure it’s for your reasons.

Namaste~

#18

Wow, thanks everybody for your insightful replies!

To everybody who suggested I try it out in henna: I had thought of that myself actually, but I would want the tattoo on my upper back, and I’d have to get a friend to do the henna since there is no way I could possibly reach that spot myself… Guess I’ll have to find an artsy friend with a steady hand!

InnerAthlete, I really appreciated your point about ego… I had never really thought of it that way before, and it definitely made me stop and think.

Quetzalcoatl, I LOVED that picture! At first it creeped me out a little, but it’s very cool.

core789, I appreciated your points as well, but I’m not sure where you got the idea that I’m a guy, LOL. Also, I do not think 20 is too young to start yoga; I think that my path has probably (definitely) been very different from yours (not necessarily in a better or worse way, just different), and I have found yoga at this point in my life for a reason.

And to everyone who pointed out that I’m probably not ready because I AM questioning so much, you are probably very, very right. I used to be the type of person who asked others for their opinions on everything (very low self-esteem, giant perfectionist), but I have started to change that about myself; and I think the fact that I am still asking others about their opinions on tattooes means that this is something I really am NOT sure about right now. I’m still in no rush - I’ll think about it as long as I have to until I am totally sure about my decision (whatever that may be).

I really appreciate all the replies. Thanks guys!

#19

core789, I appreciated your points as well, but I’m not sure where you got the idea that I’m a guy, LOL. Also, I do not think 20 is too young to start yoga; I think that my path has probably (definitely) been very different from yours (not necessarily in a better or worse way, just different), and I have found yoga at this point in my life for a reason.
You could be a transgender, for all i know though i somehow doubt it.

I did say ,“but i’m not making any assumptions here”.

And i would’nt bother prescribing an age for yoga( though i’m still undecided about kids unless they were your own and they showed a genuine interest) ,just relating some observations. Based on classes i have attended, those tend to be taught by the better trained teachers in the studios ( rther than gyms) seem to attract older/more mature women/people.Some classes/teachers seem to attract a younger or mixed crowd wheras others attract an older.Generally speaking i’ve always felt that most folk took up yoga over 25 - say about 26-27, they first try it out.All i am doing is speakiing generally.Perhaps i have’nt tried out quite enough studios and different places to draw any tentative conclusions.But I speculated that those frequenting the more dedicated studios rather than gyms hadd been at it longer and knew what they were shopping for in terms of yoga or simply had more money and leisure time, both that come with age…But these are just tentative generalisations based on only a handful of different yoga places/studios/classes etc…

Maybe not the swastika ,after all…lol

#20

I heard a friend say it is preferential for an om tattoo to be red. Is this true? Why?