Asatoma Ma Sadgamaya

source: www.amritapuri.org

asato ma sadgamaya
tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
mrtyorma amrtam gamaya

Lead me from the asat to the sat.
Lead me from darkness to light.
Lead me from death to immortality.

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad — I.iii.28)

This is true prayer—the seeker’s admission of his sense of limitedness and his heartfelt cry for assistance in transcendence. It is not a prayer for the things of the world. It is not a prayer for food, shelter, health, partnership, riches, success, fame, glory or even for heaven. One who recites these three mantras has realized that such things are full of holes, soaked in pain and, even in abundance, will forever leave him wanting. It is in this full understanding that one turns to this prayer. The essence of each of these three mantras is the same: "O, Guru, help me free myself from my sundry misunderstandings regarding myself, the universe and God and bless me with true knowledge."

Teyata by Deva Premal and Miten

Teyata om bekanze
Bekanze maha bekanze
Radza samudgate soha

(It is like this. Medicine Buddha, you are the king, the supreme healer. Please remove illness, illness and the Great Illness.)

Illness can be understood on all the three levels: physical, psychological and mental.  The Great Illness manifests as the illusion of duality, which is the root cause of our suffering.  The Medicine Buddha is called by chanting this mantra, and is present immediately, even though he lives light years away.  

A Chant For Healing The Oceans

One of my favorite mantra singers, Deva Premal, has recorded a mantra for healing Mother Earth and the oceans during this time of terrible disaster, and invites you to join her in chanting it daily.

Most of the time, we humans take and use what we want from the earth without considering the long-term consequences. This mantra act as a counterbalance. It helps the earth in her evolution and brings balance to the effects our presence here has on her. It is a salutation to the goddess Lakshmi (in this case, as a representation of Mother Earth) and invoke shakti (feminine energy) to support her. We summon the divine energy that aids the earth’s evolution and helps balance the impact of human life.

Om Dharayei Namaha

(Om and salutations to the Divine Mother, who is the earth.)