Ananda.Academy



Mantras &
Sanskrit



- The Gayatri Mantra -





Om bhur bhuvah svah
tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yo nah prachodayat

Translation:

Earth, Heaven, the Whole Between.
The excellent divine power of the Sun.
May we contemplate the radiance of that God, May this inspire our understanding.

-OR-

The eternal, earth, air, heaven
That glory, that resplendence of the sun
May we contemplate the brilliance of that light. May the sun inspire our minds.



Ancient tradition of the Gayatri Mantra



This is one of the oldest Sanskrit mantras. It speaks to the unity of all creation, despite its many forms. Chanting it invokes the light of the sun and helps us to transcend suffering.



- History and Meaning of the
Gayatri Mantra -



The Gayatri mantra first appeared in the Rig Veda, an early Vedic text written between 1800 and 1500 BCE.

It is mentioned in the Upanishads as an important ritual and in the Bhagavad Gita as the poem of the Divine.


The Gayatri is the most sacred phrase uttered in the Vedas. “It doesn’t get more ancient, more sacred, than this, It’s an ecstatic poetic moment. The mantra is a hymn to Savitur, the sun god. The sun in the mantra represents both the physical sun and the Divine in all things. The Vedic mind doesn’t separate the physical presence of the sun from its spiritual or symbolic meaning," says a Vedic scholar.


Why and How To Use the Gayatri Mantra

Chanting the mantra serves several purposes. The first is to give back to the sun. “My teacher used to say the sun gives but never receives,” they say. “The mantra is a gift back to the sun, an offering of gratitude to refuel the sun’s gracious offering.”


The second purpose is to seek wisdom and enlightenment. The mantra is a request to the sun: May we meditate upon your form and be illumined by who you are? (Consider that the sun offers its gift of illumination and energy to all beings, without judgment and without attachment to the outcome of the gift.)





Gayatri Mantra - Sanskrit



Om bhur bhuvah svah tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah prachodayat





Gayatri Mantra - Sanskrit



Om bhur bhuvah svah tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah prachodayat



- The Gurmukhi Mantra -

Oong namo Gurudav namo



Translation:
I bow to the creative energy of the infinite.
I bow to the Divine channel of wisdom.

Why chant it:
This Gurmukhi mantra opens the communication channel between the student and the Divine teacher.



Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung



Translation:
Sun, Moon, Earth, Infinity,
All that is in infinity, I am Thee.

Why chant it:
Used as a restorative meditation to send healing energy to ourselves and others.

In Kundalini Yoga, the pose for this meditation is as important as the sound. Sit comfortably with elbows bent and tucked in firmly alongside the ribcage, extended forearms out perpendicularly with palms facing up.



Cleaning the Nadis and Mudras



"Offering inhaling breath into the outgoing breath, and offering the outgoing breath into the inhaling breath,
the yogi neutralizes both these breaths;
thus he releases the life force from the heart
and brings it under his control."
Bhagavad-Gita, IV:29



Sanskrit words used in Yoga



Asana
AH’-sah-nah Means 'Seat' or 'pose.'

Namaste
nah’-mah’-stay Means The divine light within me salutes the divine light within you.

Om
Ooooooohhhhhmmmmmmm. This is the sound of the universe. But what does it mean? Essentially, we are all a part of this universe–always moving, always changing, always breathing. When you chant Om, you’re tapping into that vibration.

Shanti
Peace. When you chant, “Om shanti shanti shanti,” it’s an invocation of peace. In Buddhist and Hindu traditions you chant shanti three times to represent peace in body, speech, and mind.

Yoga
Yoga is the union of body, mind, and spirit. That’s what the word means–yoke or union. It’s also about connecting us to ourselves, each other, our environment, and, eventually, our truth.



- On Posture -



When practicing something as simple as padahastasana, which is bending forward to bring your feet (pada) and hands (hasta) together, you must keep your feet in such a way that your heels are touching and your feet are forming a V.



- HATHA YOGA MOVEMENT -



Surya Namaskar
Sun Salutation



Buddha Teaching on Enlightenment and the human condition



The Buddha teaches the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra



A monk asked Buddha, "I have a question to ask you. If people want to develop the highest, most fulfilled and awakened mind, what should they do to help quiet their minds and manage their cravings?"


The Buddha replied:

"Listen carefully and pay attention, and I will answer your question.


If people want to develop the highest, most fulfilled and awakened mind, if they want to quiet their minds while managing their cravings, then there is something they can do. This will help them in managing their discriminative thoughts and craving desires. It is possible to attain perfect tranquility and clarity of mind.


All living beings, whether they are human beings or other animals, will eventually come to Enlightenment. And when this infinite number of beings have all been liberated, in truth no one has been liberated.

Why? Because if a disciple still clings to notions of duality such as ego, self, or separation, that disciple won't be aware of their own Enlightenment."


The Buddha is telling us that everyone has the seed of Buddha nature within themselves. We have Enlightenment already and it's only our clouded delusions that prevent us from realizing this. The Buddha is extending this idea, not just to all humans, but to all living beings.


Enlightenment really consists of recognizing the Buddha nature that is already within us.


Our Buddha nature is our true self. It's the self that is one with everything and realizes that fact. It's the self that is fully enlightened and perfect. In reality, it's who we are right now, even if we don't realize it. It's not some goal to be achieved - each and every one of us is fully enlightened already.


We just have to awaken to the fact. We just have to conquer the delusions that prevent us from realizing the fundamental truth of our being.




Buddha teaches the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra




When we have enlightening experiences that help us start to recognize our true nature, they help us stay motivated to remain on the path. As long as we don't forget and become deluded again, the motivation will remain present.


Buddha nature simply means that we are all enlightened already. It is just because we are suffering from delusion that we don't realize it. We don't think of enlightenment as something to be achieved like a prize. If we contemplate this deeply, it is very significant.


I am enlightened and so are you. Stop and think about that for a minute.


If I am enlightened already, then I can celebrate my success right now. I certainly don't need to feel bad about not getting enlightened sooner. If I am enlightened already, then the Buddhist path doesn't seem nearly as daunting. If all I am doing is clearing away delusion, that seems a lot more achievable than getting some high spiritual goal.




Buddha teaches the Diamond Perfection of Wisdom Sutra




"Also, in the practice of kindness and generosity, a disciple should not be attached. Give for the sake of giving, not for the sake of appearances or for any merit you might receive in return. Be compassionate because being compassionate is good, not for some external reward. Why? Because practicing kindness and generosity without attachment is the way to reaching the Highest Perfect Wisdom, it is the way to becoming a Buddha."

"All that has a form is illusive and unreal. When you see that all forms are illusive and unreal, then you will begin to perceive your true Buddha nature. The truth is that the Buddha you should follow is your own Buddha nature, neither me nor anyone else."


One of the fundamental teachings of Buddhism is that our sense of individuality is delusional.


The Buddha taught that we aren't really individual beings in the way we tend to think. We are really just part of everything else, like how waves are part of the ocean. A wave can be described as an individual, but it really isn't separate from the rest of the ocean.


The Buddha taught that what we think of as our self is actually not an individual being, but a combination of things. He called these the five aggregates. they are:

physical form, consciousness, feelings, perceptions and mental habits.


If we are just a collection of things, like parts of a cart, then our self is less significant than we think it is. What are the implications of this?


Well, our feelings of greed and jealousy become insignificant if we aren't so focused on ourselves. THe world becomes a better place with less selfishness. Recognizing ourselves as part of a context rather than thinking we are some separate independent being can go a long way toward fixing many problems in the world.


Selfishness is a big problem. Because of selfishness we are greedy. Because of selfishness we are jealous of others and we tend to get upset if we don't have everything we think we deserve. Because of selfishness we take others for granted, which can greatly damage our relationships. Selfishness is at the root of most of our human problems. a lot of our anger is motivated by selfishness as well.


If we recognize others as ourselves then we are certainly less likely to harm them.


It can make us want to help them instead - and ultimately, helping others is really important in Buddhism. When we recognize that we are everything, it can be easy to forgive everything - or at least accept everything.




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