Every Ashtanga class,
Everywhere in the world,
Traditionally starts and ends with invocations in Sanskrit.
Why do we chant?
And what do these invocations mean?
Let's look at this aspect of our practice to understand it better.
Sound is energy,
And so is a human body.
And naturally,
They interact.
Sound effects are physical,
Subtle and energy bodies.
Mantras are like sacred sound formulas which have an uplifting energy.
And when we chant,
We tune into this higher healing vibration.
Chanting affects the rhythm of our breath and typically slows it down.
It activates our parasympathetic nervous system so that rest and healing can take place.
To feel the benefits of chanting,
We need to be consistent with the practice.
And also tune into the emotion of the chant when we say the words.
And we can do this more effectively when we understand what we are saying.
Let's look at the opening mantra.
Verse 1 The first verse in Yoga Taravalli by Acharya Shankara,
And it says,
I prostrate before the lotus-like feet of my guru,
Who reveals to me my true self,
And hence makes me aware of the bliss of resting in my true nature.
Who heals and is beyond comparison.
Who pacifies delusion,
The poison of samsara,
And brings me peace.
So we begin by paying our respects to the guru,
One who leads us from darkness to light,
From ignorance to wisdom.
He is a jungle physician,
Jangali Kayamane,
Because he is a healer of all the cautious,
Physical,
Mental,
Emotional,
Psychic and spiritual of our being.
And he does so naturally through food,
Breath,
Sound,
Movement,
Posture and other rituals.
The guru also saves us from the poison of samsara.
Samsara is the worldly life of constant change,
Of cycles of birth,
Aging,
Sickness and death.
The suffering we experience through these cycles,
Physical,
Disease,
Emotional pain,
Agitation,
Anger,
Greed,
Hatred,
Is poison.
And the guru guides us from a conditioned and cyclic existence towards the true nature of our consciousness,
Which is blissful,
Unchanging and infinite.
So we acknowledge and bow to this guiding wisdom,
To the light that rests in each of our hearts,
To the lineage of all the yogis and teachers who came before us and have kept the teachings alive and accessible for us today.
The reverence for guru's lotus feet in this verse implies absorption and surrender.
So bowing before him or our higher self shows an attitude of gratitude and humility and we need these qualities to let go of our ego so that grace can flow.
The verse 2 of the mantra is which says,
I prostrate before Patanjali,
Who has a partial human form till his arms and shoulders,
Who holds a conch,
A disc and a sword,
Who is crowned by a thousand-headed cobra.
O incarnation of Adi Sesha,
My salutations to thee.
And in this verse we explicitly honour sage Patanjali,
Who wrote a treatise on grammar,
Then medicine and then composed the Yoga Sutras,
A comprehensive text on the path and practice of yoga.
His works together are referred to as moksha,
Liberation,
Sastras because they can free the practitioner from the cycles of karmic existence by purifying speech,
Body and mind.
In this verse we also visualise his form,
Which is a finaga.
This verse describes him as holding a conch shell,
A disc and a sword.
A conch shell is a symbol of purity and auspiciousness and the sound from the conch is associated with the sacred syllable on,
The first sound of creation.
The chakra or the disc represents the cyclic patterns of time and inversely eternity.
The sword symbolises discriminative faculty of the mind,
Which cuts through the delusion of maya and leads the practitioner to the true nature of the self,
Which is satchet ananda.
Ever true,
Ever conscious,
Ever new bliss.
So this opening invocation is a great reminder of the potential that lies ahead of us to realise.
We acknowledge that what we are practicing is more than physical.
Now for the closing mantra for ashtanga practice.
It goes like this.
Om Brahm Nee Miesha Bhama Stu Netyam Lokasamastah Sukhino Bhavantu Om Shanti Shanti Shanti The closing chant is Mangal Mantra from Rig Veda,
Which is one of the oldest texts in Vedic India.
It roughly translates to,
May all of humankind be happy and well.
May the leaders be just and virtuous and protect the earth in every way.
May there be goodness for those who know the earth to be sacred.
May all the worlds be happy.
So we've finished the abhyasa,
The practice,
Performing of austerities.
And we now balance it with vairagya,
Non-attachment,
By offering our efforts to the benefit of all and praying for peace and happiness of all human beings.
And the emotion in this mantra is of loving kindness,
Of oneness with the universe and with all of the creation.
So that was about the mantras with the ashtanga practice.
I hope it was helpful.
Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy your practice.
Namaste.
