Krishna Responds to Everyone According to their Desires

Krishna Protects to everyone 

“All of them–As they surrender unto Me–I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha [Arjuna].” (Bhagavad-gita 4.11)

Krishna is responding to everyone, devotee or non-devotee. He is revealing Himself or not revealing Himself according to the desire of the individual person. In another place in the Gita Krishna says: “I am within everyone’s heart and I am giving remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” So one may ask why would Krishna give anyone the ability to forget Him? He states here clearly that He gives remembrance and knowledge — but He also gives forgetfulness. Krishna helps the devotees by giving them rememberance and knowledge so they can worship and serve Him–because that is what the devotees want, they want to remember Krishna, so Krishna helps them. But the demons do not want to remember Krishna. They want to become the supreme lord themselves, they want others to serve them, they want to be the master–they do not want to surrender to Krishna, they do not want to even know that there is a Supreme Personality of Godhead above them. So it is Krishna’s mercy to the demons that from within their hearts He gives them the ability to forget Him.

In reality everyone is searching for Krishna in the different aspects of His manifestations. Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is fully realized by His pure devotees but everyone is realizing different aspects of Krishna according to their desires and their surrender to Krishna. The jnanis or the philosophers partially realize Krishna in the form of His impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence that is spread everywhere in an all-pervasive way, the yogis or meditators realize the paramatma or supersoul feature of Krishna within their hearts. In this way Krishna is the object of everyone’s realization and He reveals Himself according to one’s desire to have Him.

In the transcendental world also Krishna reciprocates with His pure devotees just as the devotee wants Him. One devotee may want Krishna as his supreme master, another as his personal friend, another as his son and still another as his lover. Krishna responds to all the devotees equally, according to their different intensities of love for Him. In the material world also the same reciprocations of feelings are there, and they are equally exchanged by the Lord with the different types of worshipers.

The pure devotees both here in the material world and in the spiritual world associate with Krishna in person and are able to render personal service to Him and in this way they derive transcendental bliss from His loving service. Also Krishna helps the impersonalists who desire to commit spiritual suicide by annihilating the individual existence of the living entity — Krishna helps them by absorbing them into His effulgence. Because the impersonalists do not agree to accept the eternal, blissful Personality of Godhead they can not enjoy the bliss of personal service to the Lord, having extinguished their individuality. So Krishna is rewarding the impersonalists in the way they want to be rewarded, by absorbing them into His impersonal effulgence and He is rewarding the devotees also by manifesting Himself before them in the way they want to see Him.

Krishna directly states that for the non-devotees — because they do not want to see Him — He does not manifest Himself before them:

“I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yoga-maya]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible.” (Bg. 7.25)

This whole material world is created by Krishna for us, the rebellious living entities who want to try to enjoy separately from Him. In reality there is no enjoyment separate from Krishna because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead the sole enjoyer and we are His servants. We are constitutionally servants. We have no alternative, we must render service. The devotees enjoyment comes from seeing Krishna happy. So when Krishna is happy because of his service the devotee enjoys.

The materialists, also, can not avoid this service. Even if you look at the greatest and most powerful men on the planet — they all have to render service. If you take the President of the United States — a very big post — still he has to serve the country. He is elected because he promises to serve the country and if he does not serve the people will demand that he be removed from the post of president.

Every one of us is serving. Some are serving their family and to get money they have to serve the boss and serve the customers. Even if one is alone he is still serving his senses.  In every field of life this service is the most prominent thing for everyone. Many have heard the term ‘sanatana-dharma‘ but very few realize what this is. Sanatana means ‘eternal’ and dharma means ‘occupation’ so sanatana dharma means the eternal occupation of the living entity. People tend to think that this sanatana-dharma is religion but that is not a very good understanding of the word because religion can change. One day I can be a Christian then I can change to be a Hindu so this ‘Christian’ or ‘Hindu’ can not be sanatana-dhrama because it can not be changed.

The dharma of an object is that thing which can not be separated from the object. The thing that can not be changed, the eternal characteristic of that object. For example if we speak of sugar it must be sweet. Sweetness is the dharma of sugar. If it is not sweet it is not sugar. The dharma of water is to be wet, the dharma of salt is to be salty… So what is our dharma? What is the characteristic that we have that can not be changed and without it we have no meaning? Actually that characteristic is service. We have no meaning without service. There is no way we can escape from service. Even to simply maintain the body we have to work, we have to render service. So our dharma is service and there are so many different types of service that we can be occupied with. But what is sanatana-dharma, our eternal occupation? That is service to Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead so that is our eternal occupation, serving Krishna, and really there is nothing else but service to Krishna.

However Krishna has given us all a limited amount of independence. Our relationship with Krishna is based on love and love can not be forced. So if we are to love Krishna in a voluntary way then there has to be some other option for the rebellious living entities who decide not to love Krishna. That is this material world and because Krishna reciprocates with all the living entities in the way they want to see Him then it is His great mercy for the demons who have rebelled against Him the He creates this material world as a place where the demons can forget Krishna and try to be happy separately from serving Krishna. Actually there is no question of us ever being separate from Krishna but to create this illusion for the demons who want it Krishna has created maha-maya. It is only by the power of maya that the demons are bewildered into thinking that they can be happy separately from Krishna, it is only by the spell of maya that they think they can turn this material world into a happy place where they can live forever.

So the summary is Krishna reveals Himself to the living entities in the way they want to see Him. So for a devotee Krishna appears as Krishna in a relationship like son, friend of lover and for the demon Krishna appears as maya and by the illusions generated by maya the demon can believe that Krishna does not exist.

Therefore Krishna is revealing Himself to everyone in the way they want to see Him or if someone does not want to see Him Krishna is hiding Himself from them.

Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!

SHANKARA: India’s Greatest Impersonalist Meditated on Lord Krishna

Srila Prabhupada chastises impersonalist yogis and swamis, the nominal followers of the ninth-century teacher Sankara, in this commentary on Sankara’s Meditation on the Bhagavad Gita: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Whereas Sankara, the greatest of the impersonalists, offers his due respects to Krishna and His book Bhagavad Gita, the foolish say that we need not surrender to the personal Krishna.

–1–
O Bhagavad-gita,
Through Thy eighteen chapters
Thou showerest upon man
The immortal nectar
Of the wisdom of the Absolute.
O blessed Gita,
By Thee, Lord Krsna Himself
Enlightened Arjuna.
Afterward, the ancient sage Vyasa
Included Thee in the Mahabharata.
O loving mother,
Destroyer of man’s rebirth
Into the darkness of this mortal world,
Upon Thee I meditate.
–2–
Salutations to thee, O Vyasa.
Thou art of mighty intellect,
And thine eyes
Are large as the petals
Of the full-blown lotus.
It was thou
Who brightened this lamp of wisdom,
Filling it with the oil
Of the Mahabharata. 

Purport

Sripada Sankaracarya was an impersonalist from the materialistic point of view. But he never denied the spiritual form known as sac-cid-ananda-vigraha, or the eternal, all-blissful form of knowledge that existed before the material creation. When he spoke of Supreme Brahman as impersonal, he meant that the Lord’s sac-cid-ananda form was not to be confused with a material conception of personality. In the very beginning of his commentary on the Gita, he maintains that Narayana, the Supreme Lord, is transcendental to the material creation. The Lord existed before the creation as the transcendental personality, and He has nothing to do with material personality. Lord Krsna is the same Supreme Personality, and He has no connection with a material body. He descends in His spiritual, eternal form, but foolish people mistake His body to be like ours. Sankara’s preaching of impersonalism is especially meant for teaching foolish persons who consider Krsna to be an ordinary man composed of matter.

No one would care to read the Gita if it had been spoken by a material man, and certainly Vyasadeva would not have bothered to incorporate it into the history of the Mahabharata. According to the above verses, Mahabharata is the history of the ancient world, and Vyasadeva is the writer of this great epic. The Bhagavad-gita is identical with Krsna; and because Krsna is the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead, there is no difference between Krsna and His words. Therefore the Bhagavad-gita is as worshipable as Lord Krsna Himself, both being absolute. One who hears the Bhagavad-gita “as is” actually hears the words directly from the lotus lips of the Lord. But unfortunate persons say that the Gita is too antiquated for the modern man, who wants to find out God by speculation or meditation.

–3–
I salute Thee, O Krsna,
O Thou who art the refuge
Of ocean-born Laksmi
And all who take refuge
At Thy lotus feet.
Thou art indeed
The wish-fulfilling tree
For Thy devotee.
Thy one hand holds a staff
For driving cows,
And Thy other hand is raised–
The thumb touching the tip
Of Thy forefinger,
Indicating divine knowledge.
Salutations to Thee, O Supreme Lord,
For Thou art the milker
Of the ambrosia of the Gita.

           Purport

Sripada Sankaracarya explicitly says, “You fools, just worship Govinda and that Bhagavad-gita spoken by Narayana Himself,” yet foolish people still conduct their research work to find out Narayana; consequently they are wretched, and they waste their time for nothing. Narayana is never wretched nor daridra; rather, He is worshiped by the goddess of fortune, Laksmi, as well as by all living entities. Sankara declared himself to be “Brahman,” but he admits Narayana, or Krsna, to be the Supreme Personality who is beyond the material creation. He offers his respects to Krsna as the Supreme Brahman, or Parabrahman, because He (Krsna) is worshipable by everyone. Only the fools and enemies of Krsna, who cannot understand what the Bhagavad-gita is (though they make commentaries on it), say, “It is not the personal Krsna to whom we have to surrender ourselves utterly, but the unborn, beginningless Eternal who speaks through Krsna.” Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Whereas Sankara, the greatest of the impersonalists, offers his due respects to Krsna and His book the Bhagavad-gita, the foolish say that “we need not surrender to the personal Krsna.” Such unenlightened people do not know that Krsna is absolute and that there is no difference between His inside and outside. The difference of inside and outside is experienced in the dual, material world. In the absolute world there is no such difference, because in the absolute everything is spiritual (sac-cid-ananda), and Narayana, or Krsna, belongs to the absolute world. In the absolute world there is only the factual personality, and there is no distinction between body and soul.

–4–
The Upanisads
Are as a herd of cows,
Lord Krsna, son of a cowherd,
Is their milker,
Arjuna is the calf,
The supreme nectar of the Gita
Is the milk,
And the wise man
Of purified intellect
Is the drinker. 

Purport

Unless one understands spiritual variegatedness, one cannot understand the transcendental pastimes of the Lord. In the Brahma-samhita it is said that Krsna’s name, form, quality, pastimes, entourage, and paraphernalia are all ananda-cinmaya-rasa–in short, everything of His transcendental association is of the same composition of spiritual bliss, knowledge, and eternity. There is no end to His name, form, etc., unlike in the material world, where all things have their end. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita, only fools deride Him; whereas it is Sankara, the greatest impersonalist, who worships Him, His cows, and His pastimes as the son of Vasudeva and pleasure of Devaki.

–5–
Thou son of Vasudeva,Destroyer of the demons Kamsa and Canura,Thou supreme bliss of Mother Devaki,O Thou, guru of the universe,Teacher of the worlds,Thee, O Krsna, I salute.

          Purport

Sankara describes Him as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. Does he mean thereby that he is worshiping an ordinary, material man? He worships Krsna because he knows that Krsna’s birth and activities are all supernatural. As stated in the Bhagavad-gita (4.9), Krsna’s birth and activities are mysterious and transcendental, and therefore only the devotees of Krsna can know them perfectly. Sankara was not such a fool that he would accept Krsna as an ordinary man and at the same time offer Him all devotional obeisances, knowing Him as the son of Devaki and Vasudeva. According to the Bhagavad-gita, only by knowing the transcendental birth and activities of Krsna can one attain liberation by acquiring a spiritual form like Krsna’s. There are five different kinds of liberation. One who merges into the spiritual auras of Krsna, known as the impersonal Brahman effulgence, does not fully develop his spiritual body. But one who fully develops his spiritual existence becomes an associate of Narayana or Krsna in different spiritual abodes. One who enters into the abode of Narayana develops a spiritual form exactly like Narayana’s (four-handed), and one who enters into the highest spiritual abode of Krsna, known as Goloka Vrndavana, develops a spiritual form of two hands like Krsna’s. Sankara, as an incarnation of Lord Siva, knows all these spiritual existences, but he did not disclose them to his then Buddhist followers because it was impossible for them to know about the spiritual world. Lord Buddha preached that void is the ultimate goal, so how could his followers understand spiritual variegatedness? Therefore Sankara said, brahma satyam jagan mithya, or, material variegatedness is false but spiritual variegatedness is fact. In the Padma Purana Lord Siva has admitted that he had to preach the philosophy of maya, or illusion, in the Kali-yuga as another edition of the “void” philosophy of Buddha. He had to do this by the order of the Lord for specific reasons. He disclosed his real mind, however, by recommending that people worship Krsna, for no one can be saved simply by mental speculations composed of word jugglery and grammatical maneuvers. Sankara further instructs:

bhaja govindam bhaja govindam
bhaja govindam mudha-mate
samprapte sannihite kale
na hi na hi raksati dukrn-karane

“You intellectual fools, just worship Govinda, just worship Govinda, just worship Govinda. Your grammatical knowledge and word jugglery will not save you at the time of death.”

–6–
Of that terrifying river
Of the battlefield of Kuruksetra
Over which the Pandavas victoriously crossed,
Bhisma and Drona were as the high banks,
Jayadratha as the river’s water,
The King of Gandhara the blue water-lily,
Salya the shark, Krpa the current,
Karna the mighty waves,
Asvatthama and Vikarna the dread alligators,
And Duryodhana the very whirlpool–
But Thou, O Krsna, wast the ferryman!
–7–

May the spotless lotus of the Mahabharata
That grows on the waters
Of the words of Vyasa
And of which the Bhagavad-gita
Is the irresistibly sweet fragrance
And its tales of heroes
The full-blown petals
Fully opened by the talk of Lord Hari,
Who destroys the sins
Of Kali-yuga,
And on which daily light
The nectar-seeking souls,
As so many bees
Swarming joyously–
May this lotus of the Mahabharata
Bestow on us the highest good.

–8–
Salutations to Lord Krsna
The embodiment of supreme bliss,
By whose grace and compassion
The dumb become eloquent
And the lame scale mountains–
Him I salute!

Purport

Foolish followers of foolish speculators cannot understand the meaning of offering salutations to Lord Krsna, the embodiment of bliss. Sankara himself offered his salutations to Lord Krsna so that some of his intelligent followers might understand the real fact by the example set by their great master, Sankara, the incarnation of Lord Siva. But there are many obstinate followers of Sankara who refuse to offer their salutations to Lord Krsna and instead mislead innocent persons by injecting materialism into the Bhagavad-gita and confusing innocent readers by their commentaries, and consequently the readers never have the opportunity to become blessed by offering salutations to Lord Krsna, the cause of all causes. The greatest disservice to humanity is to keep mankind in darkness about the science of Krsna, or Krsna consciousness, by distorting the sense of the Gita.

–9–
Salutations to that supreme shining one
Whom the creator Brahma, Varuna,
Indra, Rudra, Marut, and all divine beings
Praise with hymns,
Whose glories are sung
By the verses of the Vedas,
Of whom the singers of Sama sing
And of whose glories the Upanisads
Proclaim in full choir,
Whom the yogis see
With their minds absorbed
In perfect meditation,
And of whom all the hosts
Of gods and demons
Know not the limitations.
To Him, the Supreme God, Krsna, be all salutations–
Him we salute! Him we salute! Him we salute!

           Purport

By recitation of the ninth verse of his meditation, quoted from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sankara has indicated that Lord Krsna is worshipable by one and all, including himself. He gives hints to materialists, impersonalists, mental speculators, “void” philosophers, and all other candidates subjected to the punishment of material miseries–just offer salutations to Lord Krsna, who is worshiped by Brahma, Siva, Varuna, Indra, and all other demigods. He has not mentioned, however, the name of Visnu, because Visnu is identical with Krsna. The Vedas and the Upanisads are meant for understanding the process by which one can surrender unto Krsna. The yogis try to see Him (Krsna) within themselves by meditation. In other words, it is for all the demigods and demons who do not know where the ultimate end is that Sankara teaches, and he especially instructs the demons and the fools to offer salutations to Krsna and His words, the Bhagavad-gita, by following in his footsteps. Only by such acts will the demons be benefited, not by misleading their innocent followers by so-called mental speculations or show-bottle meditations. Sankara directly offers salutations to Krsna, as if to show the fools, who are searching after light, that here ls light like the sun. But the fallen demons are like owls that will not open their eyes on account of their fear of the sunlight itself. These owls will never open their eyes to see the sublime light of Krsna and His words the Bhagavad-gita. They will, however, comment on the Gita with their closed owl-eyes to mislead their unfortunate readers and followers. Sankara, however, discloses the light to his less intelligent followers and shows that the Bhagavad-gita and Krsna are the only source of light. This is all to teach the sincere seekers of truth to offer salutation to Lord Krsna and thus surrender unto Him without misgivings. That is the highest perfection of life, and that is the highest teaching of Sankara, the great learned scholar whose teachings drove the voidist philosophy of Buddha out of India, the land of knowledge. Om tat sat.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Dharma? Sanatana Dharma?

Many people have heard of “Dharma,” even the term “Sanatana Dharma” has become quite well known. But exactly what is Dharma? And what is Sanatana Dharma? I will attempt to explain in this post. I have extracted and summarized this from the introduction to Bhagavad-gita As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhuapda.

The Sanskrit word sanatana means “eternal” and the word dharma means “occupation.” Therefore the term “Sanatana Dharma” can be taken to mean our eternal occupation.

The Supreme Lord and His transcendental abode are both sanatana, eternal, as are the living entities, and the combined association of the Supreme Lord and the living entities in the sanatana abode (the spiritual world) is the perfection of human life.

Krishna is very kind to the living entities because they are His sons. Krishna declares in the Bhagavad Gita that, “I am the father of all.” There are many different types of living entities according to their different karma, and Krishna declares He is the father of them all. Therefore, time and time again, the Lord descends to this material world to reclaim all of these fallen, conditioned souls to call them back to the sanatana, eternal,  sky so that the sanatana living entities may regain their original eternal positions in association with the Lord. Thus Krishna comes himself in different incarnations, or He sends His confidential servants as sons or acaryas to reclaim the conditioned souls.

Therefore sanatana-dharma does not refer to any sectarian process of religion. It is the eternal function of the eternal living entities in relationship with the eternal Supreme Lord. Sanatana-dharama referrs, as stated previously, to the eternal occupation of the living entity.

The English word “religion” is a little different from sanatana-dharma. Religion conveys the idea of faith, and faith may change. One may have faith in a particular process, and he may change this faith and adopt another, but sanatana-dharma referrs to that activity which cannot be changed. For instance liquidity can not be taken from water, nor can heat be taken from fire. Similarly the eternal function of the eternal living entity cannot be taken from the living entity. Sanatana-dharma is eternally integral with the living entity. When we speak of sanatana-dharma, then, we must take it forgranted that it has no beginning or end.

That which has neither beginning or end cannot be sectarian, for it cannot be limited by any boundaries. Yet those belonging to some sectarian faith will wrongly consider that sanatana-dharma is also sectarian, but if we go deeply into the matter and consider it in the light of modern science, it is possible for us to see that sanatana-dharma is the business of all people of the world–nay, of all the living entities of the universe.

Non-sanatana religious faith may have some beginning in the annals of human history, but there is no beginning to the history of sanatana-dharma because it remains eternally with the living entities.

The Bhagavad-gita states that the living entity has neither birth nor death, he is eternal and indestructable, and he continues to live after the destruction of his temporary material body.

In reference to the concept of sanatana-dharma, we must try to understand the concept of religion from the Sanskrit root meaning of the word. Dharma referrs to that which is constantly existing with the particular object.  We conclude that there is heat and light along with the fire; without heat and light there is no meaning to the word fire. Similarly, we must discover the essential part of the living being, that part which is his constant companion. That constant companian is his eternal quality, and that eternal quality is his eternal religion.

When Sanatana Gosvami asked Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu about the constitutional position of the living being He replied that it is the rendering of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If we look at what is happening around us in the world we can easily see every living being is constantly engaged in rendering service to another living being. We can see that one friend serves another friend, the mother serves the son, the wife serves the husband, the husband serves the wife and so on. If we go on searching in this spirit, it will be seen that there is no exception in the society of living beings to the activity of service. The politician presents his manifesto for the public to convince them of his capacity for service. The voters therefore give the politician their valuable votes, thinking that he will render valuable service to society. The shopkeeper serves the customer, and the artisan serves the capitalist. The capitalist serves the family, and the family serves the state. In this way we can see that no living being is exempt from rendering service to other living beings, and therefore we can safely conclude that service is the constant companion of the living being and that the rendering of service is the eternal religion of the living being.

Yet man professes to belong to a particular type of faith with reference to particular time and circumstance and thus claims to be a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or any other sect. Such designations are non-sanatana-dharma. A Hindu may change his faith to become a Muslim, or a Muslim may change his faith to become a Hindu, or a Christian may change his faith and so on. But in all circumstances the change of religious faith does not effect the eternal occupation of rendering service to others. The Hindu, Muslim or Christian in all circumstances is servant of someone. Thus, to profess a particular type of sect is not to profess one’s sanatana-dharma. The rendering of service is sanatana-dharma.

Factually we are related to the Supreme Lord in service. The Supreme Lord is the supreme enjoyer, and we living entities are His servitors. We are created for His enjoyment, and if we participate in that eternal enjoyment with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we become happy. We cannot become happy otherwise. It is not possible to be happy independently, just as no one part of the body can be happy without cooperating with the stomach. It is not possible for the living entity to be happy without rendering transcendental loving service unto the Supreme Lord.

Therefore, to summarize, the sanatana-dharma of every living entity is the rendering of service. No matter what religion one professes to belong to, this eternal occupation of rendering service remains with the living entity. To perfect one’s life one simply requires the redirection of this service. Instead of serving in the material world, he can serve Krishna, the Supreme Persoanlity of Godhead. This process, transforming one’s service from persons and objects in the material world, to the service of Krishna in the spiritual world, is the art of Krishna consciosuness and as we progress in this newsletter we will discover how we can easily transform seemingly material activities into liberating transcendental activities, by performing them for the pleasure of Krishna.

Shanti Mantras - Peace Quotes

Om sarveshaam swastir bhavatuSarveshaam shantir bhavatu

Sarveshaam poornam bhavatuSarveshaam mangalam bhavatu

Sarve bhavantu sukhinahSarve santu niraamayaah

Sarve bhadraani pashyantuMaakaschit duhkha bhaag bhavet

Meaning:
Auspiciousness (swasti) be unto all; peace (shanti) be unto all;
fullness (poornam) be unto all; prosperity (mangalam) be unto all.

May all be happy! (sukhinah)
May all be free from disabilities! (niraamayaah)

May all look (pashyantu)to the good of others!
May none suffer from sorrow! (duhkha).
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Om asato maa satgamayaTamaso maa jyotir gamayaMrityor maa amritam gamaya

Meaning:
Lead us from the unreal to the Real
From darkness to Light
From death to Immortality

Om poornamadah poornamidam
Poornaat poornamudachyate
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Poornasya poornamaadayaPoornamevaavashishyate

Meaning:
That (pure consciousness) is full (perfect); this (the manifest universe of matter; of names and forms being maya) is full. This fullness has been projected from that fullness. When this fullness merges in that fullness, all that remains is fullness.
- Peace invocation -Isa Upanishad
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Om sham no mitrah sham varunah sham no bhavatvaryamaaSham na indro brihaspatih sham no vishnururukramah

Namo brahmane namaste vaayo twameva pratyakshamBrahmaasi twaameva pratyaksham brahma vadishyaami

Tanmaamavatu tadvaktaaramavatuAvatu maam avatu vaktaaram.Om shantih shantih shantih!

Meaning:
May Mitra, Varuna and Aryama be good to us! May Indra and Brihaspati and Vishnu of great strides be good to us! Prostrations unto Brahman! (Supreme Reality). Prostrations to Thee, O Vayu! Thou art the visible Brahman. I shall proclaim Thee as the visible Brahman. I shall call Thee the just and the True. May He protect the teacher and me! May he protect the teacher! Om peace, peace, peace
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Om saha naavavatu sahanau bhunaktuSaha veeryam karavaavahai

Tejasvi naavadheetamastu maa vidvishaavahaiOm shantih shantih shantih

Meaning:
May He protect us both (teacher and the taught)! May He cause us both to enjoy the bliss of Mukti (liberation)! May we both exert to discover the true meaning of the sacred scriptures! May our studies be fruitful! May we never quarrel with each other! Let there be threefold peace.
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Namaste sate te jagat kaaranaayaNamaste chite sarva lokaashrayaaya

Namo dvaita tattwaaya mukti pradaayaNamo brahmane vyaapine shaashvataaya

Meaning:
Salutations to that Being, the cause of the universe! Salutations to that Consciousness, the support of all the worlds! Salutations to that One Truth without a second, which gives liberation! Salutations to that pure, eternal Brahman who pervades all regions!
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Om yaschandasaamrishabho vishwaroopahChhandobhyo dhyamritaat sambabhoova

Sa mendro medhayaa sprinotuAmritasya devadhaarano bhooyaasam

Shareeram me vicharshanamJihwaa me madhumattamaa

Karnaabhyaam bhoori vishruvamBrahmanah Koshoasi medhayaapihitah

Shrutam me gopaayaOm shantih shantih shantih!

Meaning:
May He, the Lord of all, pre-eminent among the Vedas and superior to the nectar contained in them, bless me with wisdom! May I be adorned with the knowledge of Brahman that leads to immortality! May my body become strong and vigorous (to practise meditation)! May my tongue always utter delightful words! May I hear much with my ears! Thou art the scabbard of Brahman hidden by worldly taints (not revealed by impure, puny intellects). May I never forget all that I have learnt! Om peace, peace, peace!
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Om aham vrikshasya rerivaaKeertih prishtham gireriva

Urdhwapavitro vaajineeva swamritamasmiDravinam savarchasam

Sumedhaa amritokshitahIti trishankor vedaanu vachanamOm shantih, shantih, shantih!

Meaning:
I am the destroyer of the tree (of samsar; worldly life). My reputation is as high as the top of the hill. I am in essence as pure as the sun. I am the highest treasure. I am all-wise, immortal and indestructible. This is Trishanku’s realisation. Om peace, peace, peace!

Om aapyaayantu mamaangaani vaak
Praanashchakshuh shrotramatho
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Balamindriyaani cha sarvaani sarvam brahmopanishadamMaaham brahma niraakuryaam maa maa brahma niraakarod
Niraakaranamastva niraakaranam me astuTadaatmani nirate ya upanishatsu dharmaaste
Mayi santu te mayi santu.Om shantih, shantih, shantih!

Meaning:
May my limbs, speech, Prana, eye, ear and power of all my senses grow vigorous! All is the pure Brahman of the Upanishads. May I never deny that Brahman! May that Brahman never desert me! Let that relationship endure. Let the virtues recited in the Upanishads be rooted in me. May they repose in me! Om peace. peace. peace!
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Om vaang me manasi pratishthitaaMano me vaachi pratishthitam

Aaveeraaveerma edhi vedasya ma aanisthahShrutam me maa prahaaseer anenaadheetena

Ahoraatraan samdadhaami ritam vadishyaamiSatyam vadishyaami tanmaamavatu tadvaktaaramavatuAvatu maam avatu vaktaaram avatu vaktaaramOm shantih, shantih, shantih!

Meaning:
Let my speech be rooted in my mind. Let my mind be rooted in my speech. Let Brahman (Supreme Reality) reveal Himself to me. Let my mind and speech enable me to grasp the truths of the Vedas. Let not what I have heard forsake me. Let me spend both day and night continuously in study. I think truth, I speak the truth. May that Truth protect me! May that Truth protect the teacher! Let peace prevail against heavenly, worldly and demoniacal troubles. Om peace, peace, peace!
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Om bhadram no apivaataya manah.Om shantih, shantih, shantih!

Meaning:
Salutations! May my mind and all these (the body, senses,
breath etc.) be good and well! Om peace, peace. peace!
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Om bhadram karnebhih shrunuyaama devaahBhadram pashyemaakshabhiryajatraah

SthirairangaistushtuvaamsastanoobhihVyashema devahitam yadaayuh

Swasti na indro vridhashravaahSwasti nah pooshaa vishwavedaah

Swasti nastaarkshyo arishtanemihSwasti no brihaspatir dadhaatu.

Om shantih, shantih, shantih!

Meaning:
Om, O worshipful ones, may our ears hear what is good and auspicious! May we see what is auspicious! May we sing your praise, live our allotted span of life in perfect health and strength! May Indra (who is) extolled in the scriptures, Pushan, the all-knowing Trakshya, who saves from all harm, and Brihaspati who protects our spiritual lustre, vouchsafe prosperity in our study of the scriptures and the practice of the truths contained therein! Om peace, peace, peace!
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Om yo brahmaanam vidadhaati poorvam
Yo vai vedaanshcha prahinoti tasmai

Tam ha devmaatma buddhi prakaasham
Mumukshurvai sharanamaham prapadye

Om shantih, shantih, shantih!

Meaning:
He who creates this entire universe in the beginning, and He about whom the Vedas gloriously praise and sing, in Him I take refuge with the firm faith and belief that my intellect may shine with Self-knowledge. Om peace, peace, peace!
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Om vishwaani deva savitar duritaani paraasuvaYad bhadram tanma aasuva

Meaning:
O all pervading, Supreme Lord, the effulgent Creator, we place our faith and trust entirely in Thee. Keep away from us all that is evil and bestow upon us all that is good.
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Om agne naya supathaa raaye asmaanVishwaani deva vayunaani vidvaan;

Yuyodhyas majjuhu raanmenoBhooyishthaam te nama-uktim vidhema.

Meaning:
O Supreme Lord, who art light and wisdom, Thou knowest all our thoughts and deeds. Lead us by the right path to the fulfilment of life, and keep us away from all sin and evil. We offer unto Thee, O Lord, our praise and salutation.
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Tvamekam sharanyam tvamekam varenyamTvamekam jagatpaalakam svaprakaasham;

Tvamekam jagatkartu paatruprahartruTvamekam param nishchalam nirvikalpam.

Meaning:
O Thou my only refuge, O Thou my one desire, O Thou the one protector of the world, the radiant One. O Thou the creator, sustainer and dissolver of the whole world, O Thou the one great motionless Being, free from change and modification.
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Vayam tvaam smaraamo vayam tvaam bhajaamoVayam tvaam jagat saakshiroopam namaamah;

Sadekam nidhaanam niraalambameeshamBhavaambhodhi potam sharanyam vrajaamah.

Meaning:
O Thou eternal all-pervading witness of the whole universe, we meditate on the one Truth. We silently adore Thee and offer Thee our salutation. We take complete refuge in that one Almighty Being, the basis of everything, self-supporting and supreme, a vessel in the stormy sea of li


Shanti Mantras

By Sri Swami Shivananda
The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh

Father of Atomic Bomb J Robert Oppenheimer Quotes from Bhagavad Gita

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