शान्ति मन्त्र
The peace chants
These chants come from the Upanishads. They are said before studying together, and at the start or end of a prayer. Many end with “Om shanti shanti shanti”: peace said three times, for peace within us, peace with the world around us, and peace from everything beyond our control.
Lead me from the unreal to the real
असतो मा सद्गमय ।asato mā sad gamaya
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।tamaso mā jyotir gamaya
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ॥mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya
Word by word
- asataḥ
- from the unreal
- mā
- me
- sat
- to the real
- gamaya
- lead
- tamasaḥ
- from darkness
- jyotiḥ
- to light
- mṛtyoḥ
- from death
- amṛtam
- to what never dies
What it means
Lead me from what is not real to what is real. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to what never dies.
From The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Read it in the library
Together: a prayer for students and teachers
ॐ सह नाववतु ।Oṁ saha nāv avatu
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।saha nau bhunaktu
सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।saha vīryaṁ karavāvahai
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ॥tejasvi nāv adhītam astu mā vidviṣāvahai
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
Word by word
- saha
- together
- nau
- us both
- avatu
- may God protect
- bhunaktu
- may God nourish
- vīryaṁ karavāvahai
- may we work with energy
- tejasvi
- bright, shining
- adhītam astu
- may what we study be
- mā vidviṣāvahai
- may we never quarrel
- śāntiḥ
- peace
What it means
May God protect us both, teacher and student. May God nourish us both. May we work together with energy. May what we study shine bright. May we never quarrel. Om, peace, peace, peace.
From The opening prayer of the Katha Upanishad, also said in the Taittiriya Upanishad.
That is whole, this is whole
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदंOṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते ।pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादायpūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya
पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥Oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
Word by word
- pūrṇam
- whole, complete
- adaḥ
- that: God, whom we cannot see
- idam
- this: the world we can see
- pūrṇāt
- from the whole
- udacyate
- comes out
- ādāya
- taking away
- eva
- still
- avaśiṣyate
- remains
What it means
That is whole. This is whole. From the whole, the whole comes out. Take the whole away from the whole, and the whole is still there. It is a riddle about God: God is complete, the world that comes from God is complete, and nothing is ever lost from God.
From The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and the opening prayer of the Isha Upanishad. Read it in the library
How to say it
Say one of these before you study, before a lesson, or to close your day. Say each line slowly. When you reach “shanti”, let your breath slow down a little more each time.
Count as you go
Say the chant once, then tap. A mala has 108 beads.