Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu!
As a child growing up in a middle-class Hindu family in India I was
taught, and memorised a number of religious mantras,
shlokas, and other incantations. Some of these were formally taught, but I imbibed
a larger number in the normal course of life by listening it during either
religious ceremonies or as part of regular usage.
A number of my friends, specially those who came from overtly devout
and pious families knew many more mantras
& shlokas than I did, which somehow
made me feel belittled due to apparent lack of knowledge of the sacred and profound.
I tried to make up for this by either scorning this skill or trying to show off
other knowledge that I possessed.
While some of these mantras
& shlokas have evolved and now
exist in the commonly spoken tongues, most of them are in esoteric and chaste
Sanskrit, a language which historians tell us was never spoken by the common
man. So their use has always intrigued me.
We were advised that these mantras
have magical qualities and their regular chanting brings about profound
positive changes in both the person reciting and to the general atmosphere. They
can also be used for putting bad spells on ones enemies or adversaries. This
also explained holding of pujas and yajnas where such mantras were recited
by cohorts of priests and lay persons with various aims and intentions. Right
from invoking the Gods to bring about rainfall, to achieving world-peace, relief
from illness, to give the person arranging (read as spending the dough for the yajna) supernatural powers etc. The
actual meaning of the mantras & shlokas seemed to be of little interest
to the believers. For them, the resonance of reciting the mantra would help in
achieving the desired objectives.
Some very spurious pseudo scientific reasons were also placed for
buttressing this line of thought. We were told that just as the power of
resonance can shatter glass or make bridges sway, the power of resonating mantras effect the human body and mind
in ways both subtle and gross.
I once had occasion to request a holy man to explain the meaning of
the mantras that he had taught us in
course of my attending a spiritual conclave. He loftily explained that the
regular repetition of the mantras were
sufficient, since their inner meaning becomes apparent on regular repetition
over time. Moreover, these mantras have power much beyond their meaning and the
resonance of reciting them has profound and deep all round effects. On the
person doing the reciting, the people who listen to it and the also the general
atmosphere around, to the extent that it benefits all living and non-living
being in its vicinity like birds, trees, domesticated and wild animals, stones
etc. Very many stories were retold from the ancient epics to modern times in support
of this argument.
On another occasion, one of my neighbours called to invite our
participation (my wife and mine) for a group recitation of the Vishnu
Sahasranamah (recitation of the 1008 names of Vishnu). This was being organised
simultaneously at various places in the world with the objective of achieving
World Peace. It was explained in all sincerity that the more people got
involved in the simultaneous recitation the more power would be generated for
World Peace. My natural scepticism overcame me and voiced my disagreement to
this line of thought in what I hoped was a light, and flippant way. The lady
got very upset with me and just crossed me off her list of acquaintances. This
was unfortunate, as I liked flirting with her.
Well some of the mantras are fairly simple and their meaning
actually becomes apparent over time, especially with repeated use. For example;
Tvameva Mata cha Pita
Tvameva,
Tvameva Bandhu cha Sakha
Tvameva,
Tvameva Vidya Dravinam
Tvameva,
Tvameva Sarvam Mama Deva
Deva.
It translates to:
You are my mother, and you are also my father,
You are my friend and also best friend and closest relative,
You are knowledge and also the food that I eat,
You are all
It is simple, easy to understand, appreciate, and relate to this shloka. It brings about a one to one
communion between mankind and his Maker. Reciting this hymn always made me feel
nice from inside and gave me a sense of particular closeness with God.
However, this mantra is
the exception to the rule. One of the most famous and supposedly very powerful mantra is the Gayatri Mantra. It is supposed to be so powerful that the purists
advise against saying it aloud. It is generally whispered into the ears of the
novice brahamachari as part of his initiation rituals. It has not been possible
for me to make sense of this mantra inspite of reciting it regularly over a
number of years. But then I realised, that I was not alone. Different scholars
have given different interpretations to this mantra, though the overall sense is similar as may be seen from the
details below:
Gayatri
Mantra
Om Bhoor Bhuvassuvah
Tat Saviturvarenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi
Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayaat
"May there be peace on mortal, immortal and divine plans
I meditate upon the most brilliant splendor of the Sun God
May he stimulate our intellect (so that we are inspired to take the right action at the right time."
Om Bhoor Bhuvassuvah
Tat Saviturvarenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi
Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayaat
"May there be peace on mortal, immortal and divine plans
I meditate upon the most brilliant splendor of the Sun God
May he stimulate our intellect (so that we are inspired to take the right action at the right time."
S. Radhakrishnan: "We meditate on the
adorable glory of the radiant sun; may he inspire our intelligence.
Swami Vivekanand: "We meditate on the
glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may He enlighten our
minds."
Another famous and supposedly very powerful mantra is the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra. We learnt it
with the eagerness of the greedy since we were told that it helps in conquering
death. And who does not want to remain immortal? The mantra goes like this.
Om
Triyambakam Yajaamahe
Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam
Urva-rukamiva Bhandhanan
Mrytor-muksheeya Maamritat
Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam
Urva-rukamiva Bhandhanan
Mrytor-muksheeya Maamritat
It sounds nice reciting it and the thought that it helps in
conquering death adds to its importance and by reflection our own importance.
But its meaning was quite lost to me inspite of prolonged recitation over long
years. I then looked up its meaning on the net thanks to the mantra of Google. And this is what I
came across.
"We worship Lord Shiva, the three-eyed
one
Who is fragrant and nourishes all beings
May he liberate us from death, for the sake of immortality
even as a cucumber is severed from its bondage to the creeper."
Who is fragrant and nourishes all beings
May he liberate us from death, for the sake of immortality
even as a cucumber is severed from its bondage to the creeper."
Well, nothing earth shattering or profound I would say and the
significance of the last line is totally lost on me.
Another common mantra is the Shanti
Mantra usually recited before starting any new activity and which goes like
this:
Shanti
Mantra:
Om
Saha Naavavatu
Saha Nau Bhunaktu
Saha Veeryam Karavaavahai
Tejasvi naavadheetamatsu Maa Vidvishaavahai
Saha Nau Bhunaktu
Saha Veeryam Karavaavahai
Tejasvi naavadheetamatsu Maa Vidvishaavahai
Om
"May the Lord protect and bless us
May he nourish us
Giving us strength to work together for the good of humanity
May our learning be brilliant and purposeful
May we never turn against one another."
May he nourish us
Giving us strength to work together for the good of humanity
May our learning be brilliant and purposeful
May we never turn against one another."
While the essence of this mantra does have quite some significance,
for a layman simply reciting it like a parrot might not really add to much. And
I am quite sceptical about nature and effect of so called vibrations which it
produces.
On a different vein, the mantra
Asato
Maa Sadgamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrityor Maa Amrtam Gamaya
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrityor Maa Amrtam Gamaya
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
which translates to:
"Lead us from unreality to
reality
From darkness to light (ignorance to knowledge)
From death to immortality
OM Peace Peace Peace."
From darkness to light (ignorance to knowledge)
From death to immortality
OM Peace Peace Peace."
is quite simple in meaning, easy to understand and appreciate and at
the same time provides solace.
Another mantra which I have been reciting for long, which did
produce some feeling of wellness in me (the so called ephemeral positive
vibrations) goes like this:
Lokah
Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
I recently looked up its exact meaning and was pleasantly surprised
to know that its import is to the effect that:
May all beings everywhere be
happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life
contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.
This agrees very much with my personal philosophy of life and I have
adopted it as my personal mantra. It
is short, sweet, and to the point. So like Wordsworth’s “Daffodils”, whenever I
am in vacant or pensive mood, I silently recite it and it in turn acts like an
elixir to my mood.
5 Comments:
At 8:27 AM , kimmi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
At 8:31 AM , Anmol said...
Instruments of thought!well explained.Thanks.
At 10:15 AM , Shashi said...
Well said Sushil
At 11:34 AM , Sacha Singh said...
And I always thought Kayastha aadha musalmaan hote hain
At 3:23 AM , Anonymous said...
We know the lady you are referring who organised the group recitation - but didn't know that you like to flirt with her. Naughty naughty!!
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