Namaḥ Shivaya is called Panchakshari (5 syllable mantra) whilst Aum Namah Shivaya is called Sadakshari (6 syllabled mantra).

As the name 'Rama' gives rise to the form of Rama, similarly, the name 'Shiva, in Aum Namah Shivaya' gives rise to the form of Shiva (Maheshwara).

The Universe is said to be made up of vibrations.

Adi Shankaracharya says that the name 'Shiva' means 'the one who purifies the one that repeats His name.'.

Ohm Namah Shivaya Mantra Further Information: 'Na' refers to the Gross Body (annamayakosa), 'Ma' refers to Pranic Body (pranamayakosa), 'Shi' or 'Chi' refers to Mental Body (manonmayakosa), 'Va' refers to Intellectual Body (vignanamayakosa) and 'Ya' refers to Blissful Body (anandamayakosa) and 'M' or the 'silence' beyond these syllables refers to the Soul or Life within. It is the beginning on the path of Siddha Yoga, or the Yoga of Perfection of the Divine Vehicle.' A very rough, non-literal translation could be something like, 'Om and salutations to that which I am capable of becoming.' This mantra will start one out on the path of subtle development of spiritual attainments. Notice that this does not refer to the chakras themselves which have a different set of seed sounds, but rather the principles which govern those chakras in their place.

The sounds related directly to the principles which govern each of the first six chakras on the spine.Earth, water, fire, air, ether. 'This mantra has no approximate translation.

The book The Ancient Power of Sanskrit Mantra and Ceremony, Volume I defines Om Namah Shivaya as: Namaḥ Śivāya has become our sure protection.' Namaḥ Śivaya is our souls, our bodies and possessions. Namah Śivāya represents all mantras and tantras. The holy Natchintanai proclaims, 'Namaḥ Śivāya is in truth both Āgama and Veda. Sages declare that mantra is life, that mantra is action, that mantra is love and that the repetition of mantra, japa, bursts forth wisdom from within. Namaḥ Śivāya quells the instinct, cuts through the steel bands and turns this intellect within and on itself, to face itself and see its ignorance. Namaḥ Śivaya has such power, the mere intonation of these syllables reaps its own reward in salvaging the soul from bondage of the treacherous instinctive mind and the steel bands of a perfected externalized intellect. Na is earth, Ma is water, Śi is fire, Vā is air, and Ya is ether, or Ākāśa. The five elements, too, are embodied in this ancient formula for invocation.

Na is the Lord's concealing grace, Ma is the world, Śi stands for Śiva, Va is His revealing grace, Ya is the soul. The meaning of the Namaḥ Śivāya mantra was explained by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami: Namaḥ Śivāya is the most holy name of God Śiva, recorded at the very center of the Vedas and elaborated in the Śaiva Agamas. The Aum namah Śivāya mantra written in Devanagari

Om namah shivaya song lyrics in hindi