Friday, January 24, 2014

2014 01 24 Vehicle to Enlightenment - the Gayatri Mantra

This is the third mantra that I believe has extraordinary powers of transformation. The first two were Immortality - the Asatoma Sadgamaya mantra  and Only Wholeness Is - the Om Purnam mantra 

Entire books have been written about the Gayatri Mantra, so I won't try to repeat or condense them here. All I will say is that this is truly one of the most powerful mantras on the planet and that I do believe, and can speak from experience, that the combination of sounds while singing this mantra cause vibrations that lead to extraordinary experiences that may include Wholeness (Oneness) and Immortality. Try it and see for yourself.

This is interesting, an introduction to how and why this mantra may produce the effects it can in the human experience.

Science Of Gayathri Mantra [Must] 9:58





The excerpt below serves as an introduction to the translated meaning of the Gayatri Mantra. Please do follow the link and read the entire article, it's quite excellent.

My Pilgrimage to Gayatri Mantra by Dr. Manohar Abhay

"Meaning With the Use of Pre-Fix

"With the pre-fix of four words, the mantra is comprised of four parts (1) Aum, Bhur Bhuvah, Suvah,(2) Tat Savitur Veranyam,(3) Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi, (4) Dheeyo Yo Nah Prachodayat. By chanting the first part, one contemplates, to invoke certain powers, on the glory of the light that illumines the three worlds namely; earth, atmosphere and space or the gross, subtle and casual or the three realms of waking, dreaming, and sleep or the three part s of the body (from feet to navel, navel to throat, throat to mind). This prepares the ground for effective functioning of the second, third and the fourth part o f the mantra. This is also an invocation to pay reverence to the planes of our existence (the planes of our ordinary life- the physical, astral and mental) and to invite their presiding deities to support and help us. These three parts are in praise of the glory, the splendour that flows from the light. It is an invocation to Savitur (the centre of light) for granting more light. Indirectly, it is the Supreme-Conscious- Being within the cosmic sun or light of lights, the creator of all forces, which is praised here.

"Taking together all the four important parts of the mantra, its meaning reads as follows:
We meditate (dheemahi) on the spiritual effulgence or glory (bhargo) of that adorable supreme divine reality (varenyam devasya), the source or projector (savitur) of the three phenomenal realms of the gross (bhur), the subtle or the psychical (bhuvah) and the potential or casual(svah). May that(tat)Supreme-Divine-Being stimulate (prachdayat) our (na) intellect (dheeo)."


The lyric to the mantra:

Aum Bhur Bhuva Svaha
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi
Dheeyo Yo Na Prachodayat


1 - Gayatri Mantra (27 Repetitions) 9:14

2 - Gayatri Mantra - Jagjit Singh 5:33

3 - Gayatri Mantra Anuradha Paudwal 9:32

4 - Ravi Shankar Gayatri Chants#A3C23 3:30
Ravi Shankar and George Harrison

5 - Gayatri Mantra bellísimo! [Tina Malia] 7:35

6 - The Gayatri Mantra - Music for a peaceful Planet by IndiaJiva 4:44

7 - Suresh Wadkar - Gayatri Mantra 7:37

8 - Gayatri Mantra con Sonia Casado Saraswati 5:23

9 - Sathya Sai Baba chanting the Gayatri 5:10

10 - Gayatri mantra, Devi the Goddess by Shanti Mayi 6:15






Playlist url:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLACmwZPBGZMfBQ7KNKFHk_a0HKi4BxSJe


Thursday, January 9, 2014

2014 01 09 Immortality - the Asatoma Sadgamaya mantra

I am working on a theory that there are three Sanskrit mantras that teach the core beliefs held by every spiritual tradition; One is Om Purnam which teaches Oneness (See Om Purnam post of 1.1.2014), Two is Asatoma Sadgayama which teaches Immortality.

The third mantra, the Gayatri Mantra, is the teaching of and vehicle to Enlightenment to realize the other two. I'll write later about the Gayatri.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meaning behind the prayer - "Asato ma sadgamaya"
Author: Shyam
http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/143844-Meaning-behind-prayer-Asato-ma-sadgamaya.aspx
The prayer in Sanskrit

Asato ma sadgamaya
Tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
Mrtyorma amrtam gamaya

-Taken from Brhadaranyaka Upanishad — I.III.28.

Each line in English

Lead, me from LIE to TRUTH
Lead, me from DARKNESS to LIGHT
Lead, me from DEATH to IMMORTALTIY

Truth, existence and reality are one and the same, according to Advaita, In Indian philosophy the truth has been successfully dissected by its concept. Advaita says that in all the three periods if the truth exist means it is a real truth. If it is not existed in any of the form in any of the period means it is not an ultimate real.

The first line explains the same to us. Always we should remember to know ourselves. Ultimate goal is to attain the knowledge to know the reality in life. Once you are far away from all the un-realistic things like daily needs. So this is not a prayer asking money, shelter, food, fame, cloth, success, health etc.

So we have to decide which is true.

Pure bliss, pure consciousness and pure existence is said to be as reality.

The second line explains how to lead the life towards knowledge from ignorance which obscures our mind to understand the reality. As our body keeps generating the cells, our Universe with a constant flux, and the earth with constant distance at every moment of time with other astral bodies, we have to travel from darkness to light and death to life. It is also a constant change. Nothing in this world is constant. You feel happy, tomorrow you may be sad, yesterday you might have cried for something. These things are not at all real and constant. As like the universe is a constant change, we should be too.

As we know already that energy nor created or destroyed like soul. We shouldn't be very keen to love this body. It is unreal. Our soul is real. That's a constant change. This is the meaning given in the third line of the prayer.

We are leading life journey of knowledge. To know what is self, and to know what we misunderstood from what is truly "I" .

What the mantras really means is "God, please lead me to the understanding that I am not the limited body, mind and intellect, but I am, was and always will be that eternal, absolute, blissful consciousness that serves as their substratum."

-With the help of Vedanta.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The translation, in short:

Mantra: Om Asato Ma Sad Gamaya
http://www.spiritvoyage.com/mantra/Asato-Ma-Sad-Gamaya/MAN-000348.aspx

Complete Mantra:
Om Asato Ma Sad Gamaya
Tamasoma Jyotir Gamaya
Mrityor Ma Amritam Gamaya
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Translation:
Lead me from the unreal to the real
Lead from the darkness to the light
Lead me from death to immortality
Let there be peace peace and peacefulness


The Asatoma mantras:
Ten videos play for 64 minutes
The last selection is from "The Matrix" and is very loud....watch your volume!!!


1 - Asato Ma Sad Gamaya - Shiva Mantras from Music for Deep Meditation [Vidura Barrios, Kim Engler, Nate Morgan] 6:04

2 - ASATOMA SADGAMAYA [Satya Sai Baba] 5:48

3 - Deva Premal & Miten with Manose and Friends - Om Asatoma Live (originally on The Essence) 4:27

4 - Sacred Songs from the Medicine Circle: Om Asatoma/Om Asato [Darpan & Maureen] 7:59

5 - Hindisongs. Asato Ma Sadgamaya. Hindisongs for Free! 4:02

6 - asatoma sadgamaya (Indian vocalist) 2:01

7 - sato Ma sad gamaya [Sonia Casado]  12:07

8 - asatoma-mantras del alma [Paula Ferrari and Claudio Maria Dominguez] 4:29

9 - Sharanam - Om Asatoma. Live @ Natural High Healing Festival 2013 7:54

[BEWARE -  VERY LOUD!]
10 - The Matrix Soundtrack - Om Asatoma Sadgamaya - 480 P.mp4 9:00





Playlist url:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLACmwZPBGZMfUhVEjYQBYs-0ZWU9gT-cB

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

2014 01 01 Only Wholeness Is - the Om Purnam mantra

Oneness in all it's parts: the Om Purnam mantra seems most appropriate for beginnings, a New Year and a Full Moon together on this January 1, 2014.

This is one of my favorite songs. (I say that about all the songs, though!)

OM Purnam-ada purnam-idam
Purnaat purnam udachyathe
purnasaya purnam-adaya
purnam-eva vashishyathe

The translation I am most familiar with from our Bend, Oregon, Kirtan Community gatherings is:

THAT is infinite, THIS is infinite;
From That, This comes.
THIS added or removed from THAT,
the Infinite remains as Infinite.

although I like this one, too:
Wholeness produces wholeness
Only wholeness come out of wholeness
Only wholeness is.


Here is an Osho quote on the meaning of this mantra:
"[Om Purnam] is one of the most significant statements ever made anywhere on the earth at any time. It contains the whole secret of the mystic approach towards life. This small sutra contains the essence of the Upanishadic vision. Neither before nor afterwards has the vision been transcended; it still remains the Everest of human consciousness. And there seems to be no possibility of going beyond it.

"The Upanishadic vision is that the universe is a totality, indivisible; it is an organic whole. The parts are not separate, we are all existing in a togetherness: the trees, the mountains, the people, the birds, the stars, howsoever far away they may appear – don’t be deceived by the appearance – they are all interlinked, all bridged. Even the smallest blade of grass is connected to the farthest star, and it is as significant as the greatest sun.

"Nothing is insignificant, nothing is smaller than anything else. The part represents the whole just as the seed contains the whole."



This site offers a wide variety of translations which have a slightly different slant and meaning.
Purna: The Full, Infinite, Whole, Complete
From the Isha Upanishad


Om Purnamadah Purnamidam - in sanskrit with meaning - mantra from [Isha] Upanishad

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णश्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Purnnam-Udacyate
Puurnnashya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Meaning:
1: Om, That is Full, This also is Full, From Fullness comes that Fullness,
2: Taking Fullness from Fullness, Fullness Indeed Remains.
3: Om Peace, Peace, Peace.


See the complete Sri Isha Upanishad here:



The Om Purnam playlist includes 14 versions by different artists, 15 videos because one is a “repeat” with different graphics that I happen to love. Plays for 76 minutes.

1 Om Purnam 6:06
Sung by Satyaa & Pari. Cd Garden of Peace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIpnzw0V2Qw

2 George Harrison ~ Om Purnam 4:00
Sloka 1 of Sri Isopanishad performed by The London Radha Krsna Temple produced and featuring George Harrison of Beatles fame.

3 Jaya Lakshmi - Om Purnam 5:50

4 Shantala -"Purnamadah" 6:11

5 OM PURNAM 3:46
MUSIC: "OM PURNAM" BY KESAVA ACHARYA DAS

6 Karnamrta Devi Dasi ~ Om Purnam 4:54
Om Purnam is performed by bhakti bhajan artist Karnamrta Devi Dasi.

7 Deva Premal - Om Purnam I 3:57

8 Gaura-Shakti - Om Purnam 7:44

9 Om Purnam Adah Purnam Idam - Naradi Devi 4:37
Sat Sanga Kirtan Band with band members - Balabhadra Prabhu, Naradi Devi & Hasyagrami Prabhu - March 5, 2011 - NS - DVD 66 appearance at Chantlanta gathering.

10 om purnamadah purnamidam / La ilaha illallah 3:51
om purnam adah purnam idam // this is one and that is one
purnat purnam udacyate // from one the one has come
purnasya purnam adaya // if from one you take out one
purnam evavasisyate // one alone remains
"La ilaha illallah" there is no god except god

11 Sivali Shanti - Om Purnamidam 4:16
Mooji Satsang in Rishikesh, India, 3 March 2013

12 Shanti People (Russian) - OM PURNAM 2:30

13 Om Purnam 6:23 (a second version of this song)
Sang by Satyaa & Pari. Cd Garden of Peace.

14 Sri Vasudeva- OM PURNAM  9:54

15 Om Purnamadah Purnamidam Purnat Purnamudachyate 2:04 (as a mantra chant)




Playlist url