Peace Chant

Chant

Om Poornamadah poornamidam
poornaat poornamudachyate
Poormasya poornamaadaaya
poornamevaavasishyate

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Translation

That is Whole and this is Whole; from the Whole the world (mithya) becomes manifest. From the Whole when the world (mithya) is negated, what remains is the Whole. Om Peace Peace Peace

Comments

Study of this particular Upanshiad begins with the Peace Chant or Peace Prayer, which is spoken aloud by both the teacher and the student(s). In the seemingly simple and unglamorous act of articulating this chant, we are reminding ourselves exactly why it is that we are devoted to the spiritual life. In the Western Tradition there is a term "anamnesis" which means: (an • am′• nē • sis) n. [Gr. ἀνάμνησις remembering < ἀνά up, again + μιμνήσκειν to call to mind, attend] a recollective ascent or ascensional recollection. It, also, is the practice of turning to the whole within, as a point of departure from which to realize the Whole of Divine Being.

The triple repetition of the word Shanti is, according to the late Swami Chinmayananda, to aid us in overcoming all of the obstacles coming from three sources that may hamper our study of scripture at the feet of a teacher. These sources are the unseen, the seen and what is arising from within us (due to our karmas and vasanas).

om tat sat

Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra

Namskar Friends,

Here is a wonderful mantra. It is called Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra or also Trayambakam Mantra. It is already on this blog in a video explaination on a post from last year. You can find it in the archives.

Happy chanting!

Mantra

tryambaka yajāmahe
sugandhim pushti-vardhanam
urvārukam iva bandhanān
mrtyor mukshīya māmrtātat

Translation (by Arthur Berriedale Keith)

"OM. We worship and adore you, O three-eyed one, O Shiva. You are sweet gladness, the fragrance of life, who nourishes us, restores our health, and causes us to thrive. As, in due time, the stem of the cucumber weakens, and the gourd is freed from the vine, so free us from attachment and death, and do not withhold immortality."

Word-by-word

tri-ambaka-m "the three-eyed-one" (accusative)
yaja-mahe "we praise" (1st pl. middle)
sugandhi-m "the fragrant" (accusative)
pusti-vardhana-m "the prosperity-increaser" (accusative)
urvaruka-m "disease, attachment, obstacles in life, and resulting depression" (accusative)
iva "-like"
bandhanāt "from attachment stem (of the gourd); but more generally, unhealthy attachment" ("from the stem", ablative)
mrtyos "from death" (ablative)
mukshīya "may you liberate"
mā "not"
amrtāt from immortality (ablative)

om tat sat

Fire in Stone

Reality is not some
distant mystical mystery.

Reality is.

Lovers have heard this
explained before--

have heard how
every wave shares
its Essence with
the Ocean.

But lovers are not
concerned with

transcendental Essence alone.
Lovers throw their own little love
into the arms of

lightning

as its flashing
cleaves
mountains.

Lovers are not bound to
what is either fleeting

or

invisible.

Lovers love to touch
and be by
tasting
fire
in stone.

Intellectus

What kind of
dreamed of
hand has
a thumb and
then

another thumb?

This is like
the moon being

shadowed by

another moon when

one moon is
distance enough.

Any moon is

half in darkness

half in light--

borrowing from that
freely giving

shapelessly
illuminating
One.

(for Joanna)

Byasa, Cottage Cheese & Krishna

Namskar Friends,

I hope you enjoy this little story. I first heard it some years ago while listening to a recording of a talk given in 1948 by Paramahamsa Yogananda on the occasion of his birthday celebration. It was a wonderful talk that he gave and I always have remembered this story as one of the most lovely parts of the talk.

***

Once Beda Byasa--the writer of the Bhagavad Gita--was with some other disciples of Krishna. Krishna loved cottage cheese and so these disciple were trying to bring him some cheese. Only the Jamuna river was in flood and they could not think of how to get across it. So they said to Byasa, "Can you help us?" And Byasa said, "Do you think it is only Krishna who is hungry?" Then Byasa took the cheese and ate as much of it as he could. The other disciples were quite shocked and could not believe that Byasa would eat before the Master did.

Then Byasa stood facing the river and said, "Oh, Jamuna, if I have not eaten anything part your waters so that we can cross and be with Krishna." And to the amazement of everyone...the river parted. No one could understand. Nonetheless they began to make their way across the river.

When they at last made it to where Krishna was staying, he looked sleepy and his belly seemed quite full. But they took what cheese was left and offered it to him. He waved his hand to politely decline. So they asked, "Master, don't you want any cheese today?" And Krishna said, "Oh, no. I'm too full. The other disciple on the other side of the river already feed me too much." The rest of the disciples then understood that when Byasa was eating, he was only eating for Krishna.

om tat sat

Chaitanya, Chaitanya

Everyone has heard
the story
of the time
beautiful Chaitanya
discovered a man

reading

the Bhagavad Gita
and weeping.

When Chaitanya asked,
"Do you understand
these words?"

the weeping man
said,

"No.

But
as I read I see
Arjuna on the battlefield
and I see and hear
beautiful Krishna
giving
such beautiful teachings."

Chaitanya, Chaitanya--
as you see and hear this mystery
your Face shines

so softly

golden.

Lover's Song

We are all lovers
here.

Even the few of us
seeking
to know

despite having long ago buried
the faithful seeds of our
thinking

deep
in the dark ground
of the heart's
Inner Chamber.

If you meet any clouds
tell them tenderly
every
secret
you have heard
about us.

If you see the Sun
pray for it to
shine, shine.

We are all lovers--
waiting on

the Sun.

Devotion, Dust & Vedanta

See the devotion
flowing
from Shankara's heart
when he

mentions

the fingernails

of the Goddess.

See the dust
gathering on his

feet

as he walks
and walks to
share the santana dharma
in the form of his
loving

Advaita

Vedanta.

See his Vedanta
as our Vedanta--

as illuminating

our hearts,
our minds.

My soul is your temple, O Lord

My soul is your temple, O Lord,
My actions are your handmaids,
My body is your home,
My senses witness only you,
My sleep is pure meditation on you,
These walking feet are your journey,
Whatever falls from my mouth is prayer to you,
Oh Lord, everything I say and do are worship.

by Adi Shankara from Shiva Manasa Pooja

Two Jokes

Pranams to Bill for sharing this joke at one of the Starbucks meetings!

A monk is accepted into a monastery that has an extreme vow of silence. Upon entry he is told, "You can say two words every five years."

After the first five years he says, "Bed hard."

Then after another five years he says, "Food sucks."

And finally after five more years he says, "I quit." To which the abbot replies, "I thought you might. Since you've been here you've done nothing but complain!"


***

Did you hear about the snail that died?

While he was between incarnations he said to another snail, "I hope this time I am reincarnated as a red race car covered with yellow S's." "Why?" the other snail asked. Said the snail: "So as I zoom around the race track everyone can say, 'Look at that S car go! Look at that S car go!'"