SEVEN Sacred Chants...................

On my first day post, I encompassed shades of my own self. However I wish to append another aspect of me i.e. My  firm belief in God. Its part of my parent’s legacy. We are the descents of “Parashar” rishi & have the Saraswat Brahmin lineage. Being born into a Brahmin family “pandits” to be precise, the knowledge of existence of God has been instilled from the birth. Though as a child performing rituals, worship and chanting mantras was merely done for routine presence .But as I grew old, I felt the uncanny desire to read & comprehend our ancient Hindu mythology. After reading Ramayana, Mahabharata , Bhagwat Gita & Shiv Puran , I felt the subsistence of God.

For me being a theist means believing in the concept of Karma and performing your deeds without expecting the fruits of your actions. I deem our good deeds never get unrewarded and we definitely pay for our selfish Karma’s.

I bond with God when I chant hymns. It’s my way of cleaning my mind from unwanted thoughts & connects with divinity. There are thousands of mantras in our holy books dedicated to different deities. These are the one which soothes my mind & gave me clarity.

Vakratund mahaakaay suryakoti samprabha
Nirvign kuru me dev sarvakaareyeshu sarvada
(Lord Ganesha is the Lord of beginnings and we worship Ganesha before starting any work to ensure hassle-free work. So my morning starts with humming of the meaningful chant.)

 

Om bhur bhuvah svah Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dheemahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat.

(Am sure most of us recite Gayatry mantra since childhood.

"May we attain that excellent glory of the god:
So may he stimulate our prayers.")

 Om Namah Shivaya, Om Namah Shivaya / Om Namah Shivaya

For sports like shooting, you need bouts of concentration. And so meditation was the part of our physical training. As the mind concentrates more and more on the mantra and its meaning, it conditions the mind and takes me to higher states Shiva intone not only helped me to focus but bestowed an opportunity to connect with him.

Sarva mangala mangalye shive sarvaartha saadhike
Sharanye trayambake Gauri
Narayani namosthute
It is a secular sloka as it were, intended to have people pray the Divine Mother for blessing us with auspiciousness and wealth, afford Refuge from problems generated by our Karmas .

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare ...

(During my stay in scotland,I happen to meet a family devotee to ISCON. They pursued me to attend one of their gatherings and after that there was no looking back. It amazed me not only the Indians but how Scottish devotees are dedicated to the deity.)

Om Namo Hanumate Bhaybhanjanaya Sukham Kuru Phat Swaha
 (God of peace & protection. My belief in the diety becomes stronger after a deadly incident. In 2009, near Seychelles, our ship got attacked by somalian pirates. I remember how one of the officer’s wives kept on reciting the Hanuman chalisa & we survived the attack.)

 om asto ma sadgamaya
tamso ma jyotirgamaya
mrtyorma amrtangamaya


Lead me from the untruth to the truth.

Lead me from darkness to light.

Lead me from death to immortality

I remember this hymn from school days.we used to recite these verses after the end of prayer

                                           " om shantih shantih shantih"