Chants from Hindu Scriptures

Om Sahana Vavatu Sahanau Bhunaktu……….

May God protect both of us.
May God nurture both of us with heavenly influence.
May we both acquire the capability (to study and understand the scriptures).
May our study be blissful.
May we not argue with, or hate each other.
Om, peace, peace, peace to all.

Both the teacher and the taught used to recite this call for peace together. Both ask for the God’s blessings for study unhindered, such as lack of memory, concentration, ill health and diversions. A beneficial relationship is also asked for; lacking which, the interaction on any topic is hard. The prayer is very important as it signifies the surrender of ones self-image, partiality and pride, in order to teach and be taught. It is a commitment. It is a commitment, as the elder (The teacher), has to take the younger (The taught) as an equal (in that way, add to his self-confidence) and impart knowledge to him, while the younger has to be receptive and make an effort to understand.

A teacher learns every time he tutors. Absurd? True!

Gurur Brahma.......

Recognize the teacher to an embodiment of the creator personified. The teacher is the protector incarnate. The teacher is also destructive force in material form. Know him to be The Supreme, ageless, immeasurable, and magnificent reality, and tender your respect to that unequaled counselor.

This is a prayer a student chants, equating the teacher to the Lord Brahma (The Creator), Lord Vishnu (The Protector) and Lord Siva (The Destroyer). The teacher’s importance in reference to the student’s future is real, definite and divine.

Sarveśām Svastir Bhavatu……

May good take place for all,

May there be serenity for all

May all be fit for flawlessness, (The immeasurable form of divinity.)

May all experience that which is positive.

This is a chant for the general good of the mankind. For, as said by the sages,” The true human being is one, who is the personification of detachment from emotions.” Very logical, if one is detached, then the entire world is the family, then one’s actions will be even handed, friend-foe, privileged-unprivileged not counting. That is the characteristic of a true human.

Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ…….

Let all be happy.

Let all be healthy.

Let all experience what is good,

And,

Let no one suffer.

This chant is similar to the one above in substance.

Aum Asato mā sad gamaya.....

Show me the way to truth, from ignorance.
Show me the way to light (Wisdom), from darkness (inability).
Show me the way to immortality, (Moksha, Nirvana, eternal afterlife.), from death.
Peace, peace, peace.

This chant humbles me. Our modern motto, “Information is Power” was vocalized thousands of years ago! They had the guts to ask their peers and the informed, the way, while we, slog to rediscover the discovered. What is to be noted is that, the guidance asked, had the goal of achieving the ultimate knowledge, for serving the mankind, not to dominate others. Here the God is being asked.

As for the actual chant need there be an explanation at all?

tryambakam yajāmahe…….

We honor and worship you, O three-eyed one, O Shiva. You are ecstasy, the heady aroma of life, who nurtures us, re-establishes our wellbeing, and makes us to flourish. As, at the appropriate point in time, the stalk of the cucumber withers and it parts from the vine in an instant, free us from the bonds called attachment and death, and guide us from death to immortality (Moksha, Nirvana, eternal afterlife.).

This chant calls for a clean life and a cleaner death, free from pangs of attachments. Peace at every point in life and in death. Death, as the ultimate truth, inevitable and irreversible is accepted and embraced.

The following two chants are known as “Mahavakya” or the ultimate sayings. Do not be misled by the brief saying, there is unending ocean of nectar, of philosophy hidden in there.

Tat Tvam Asi (You are that)

This statement is with reference to God. This is my interpretation. There is an element of animism in this.
God is present every where, covers everything and present, always. God is in everything living (Animate, Jeeva), in everything which does not show signs life (Inanimate, Nirjeeva). For the benefit of skeptics in God’s presence in the inanimate, despite various social rituals and even different faiths, we show respect to the dead, literally a mass of rotting flesh and bones. Another example is, the believers of all persuasions have respect for a relic, an Idol or a symbol, all inanimate.
The point here is, every thing in nature is to be respected as a divine gift and treated as such. We have ignored this for so long. A quick look at our environment proves it. It is worsening every moment, as we are in the process of exploiting it indiscriminately. Greed is the cause. Detachment is the solution.
One may argue that if God’s creation is infinite, then, why is the environment worsening? Valid point! It is nature’s way of herding us into a balanced way of life. I use the word ‘herding’ as we behave like animals of greed. Actual animals are much more normal and have far reaching sight. Have you ever heard animals of exploiting their habitat to the extent of total destruction? To dip into nature bounty to survive, is natural. To destroy nature, to pander to our own comfort is disgraceful.

Aham Brahmasmi. (I am God.)

I interpret “I” as the inner being of a human. If it is to be believed that there is God in every human, then it is true. My hope in humankind is such. Since the very concept of God is that of a Powerful, Merciful, Benevolent and all-pervading entity, the same qualities have to be shown when dealing with life. There can be a billion variations of an incident that life throws at us, all of them should be treated on the values of the concept of God.

What I see in real life is very different. The concept of Merciful, Benevolent has been abandoned. “I” is now “ME”. Powerful is now a weapon. “I am God” is a statement to assert authority. “All-pervading” is “Never ending”. The result is unlimited ill-feeling.

People, humanity is at stake. It’s up to us to burn it down or lift it to an altar.

The scope and possibility of these mahavakyas is unraveling on to me to the point that I am overwhelmed.

I invite the knowledgeable to correct me if my interpretation is in error. I have a vast vacuum where knowledge is concerned. Please help me to become a complete human.