The Mantra Which Calms All Suffering

Semi-cursive script

15" x 27"40 x 69 cm

Private collection

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This artwork brings alive the mystic spell of the heart sutra. In the calligraphy the mantra flows like energy-waves creating a soft rhythm that invites the viewer to join the vibration of the mantra.

In the heart sutra it says:

Therefore the mantra of transcendent knowledge, the mantra of deep insight, the unsurpassed mantra, the incomparable mantra, the mantra which calms all suffering should be known as truth, for there is no deception. In transcendent knowledge the mantra is proclaimed:

GATE GATE PARAGATE PARASAMGATE BODHI SVAHA

Japanese rendering of the mantra:

GYATEI GYATEI HARA GYATEI HARASO GYATEI BOJI SOWAKA

English rendering of the mantra:

GONE, GONE, GONE BEYOND, COMPLETELY GONE BEYOND,ENLIGHTENMENT, HAIL

Buy gate gate paragate calligraphy prints

I have brushed the gate mantra in three different calligraphic styles. I hope you like them as an inspirational presence of this powerful wisdom mantra in your home.

Click on the images for more details.

MantrasMantra is a holy syllable we chant or we pray with. With use of mantras we can come nearer the Gods we worship.

Mantra is practiced by vocalizing a mystical syllable or verse, most frequently in Sanskrit, but this is not a rule. For example, there are mantras like:

Aum Bhur Bhuva Svaha(Aum) Tat Savitur VarenyamBhargo Devasya Dhi-mahiDhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat, (Aum)

OR

(To challenge a direction from ignorance to truth)

Asato ma- sad gamayaTamaso ma- jyotir gamayaMr.tyorma- amr.tam gamayaAum śa-nti śa-nti śa-ntih.

Aum sahanaavavatuSahanau bhunaktuSaha viiryan karavaavahaiTejasvi naavadhiitamastuMaa vidvishhaavahai

On the picture above are mantras written in Sanskrit. This language still lives, but it is used only in religious prayers (like Latin in Christian Church); people normally do not use it for ordinary communication.

Saraswati mantra will improve memory and concentration in learning:

SARASWATI NAMASTHUBHYAMVARADE KAMARUPINIVIDHYARAMBAM KARISHYAMISIDDHIR BAVATHUME SADHA

Ganesha mantra

jaya ganeśa jaya ganeśa jaya ganeśa deva mata jaki parvati pita mahadeva

Shakti mantras

The following mantras for Goddess Shakti can anyone use freely in worship. The names of Mother Divine are mantras, too, as Mother Divine can bestow Her energy to us.

1. Chamunda Parianganatha - Governor of sacred assembly

2. Kali Nitya Siddhamata - Mother of the Siddhas

3. Nagalakali - Kali of Naga

4. Kurukulla Rasanatha - Emperor of physical pleasure

5. Tripuresi - She who is the head of three cities

6. Ghana MahaJagadamba - Great Mother of the world

7. Maha Kali Siddhesvari - Queen of the Siddhas

8. Dakini Madasalini - Shining with rapture

9. Sarvaruna - Mother with a reddish color of the dawn.

kula-vidyA mantra

(Kula or Kaula is a type of Hindu tantrism; the word Kula or Kaula is difficult to translate, but its meaning is close to something like "family").

tatashchAnu paThedenAM kulavidyAM samAhitaH |aulA nIlA khalA kAlA nakulA grahakArikA ||senA susenA mAtA cha mahAsenA yashasvinI |kR^itamAlAkSatashirA etAstu graha-mAtaraH ||kumAra-vachanAch-ChIghraM pramu~nchantu shishuntvimam |kAla-kalpA jvalach-ChaktiH ki~NkiNI-jAla-bhUShitA ||kumAra-vachanAd-dUtI samprAptA muchyatAM shishuH |patAkA kukukTaH ChatraM ghaNTA-barhadharaH shikhI ||sharastambhash-cha te mudrA muchyatAM mAtaraH shishuH

Chatuhsasthi Yogini Mantra

64 Sacred Names of Kali are pronounced, here are only eight of them (which can be repeated eight times to get the number 64), but their character may change depending on the energy (if destructive or positive force is evoked), which is intended to be called into being:

1. Maha Kali Siddhesvari - Queen of the Siddhas2. Kapalini Nagalakshmi - Lakshmi of Naga 3. Kula Devi Svarnadeha - The One of golden body 4. Kurukulla Rasanatha - The Ruler of pleasure5. Nila Bhukti Rakta Sparsha - Who receives pleasure from passion6. Ghana MahaJagadamba - Great Mother of the world7. Kameshvari Sarvashakti - Shakti of all 8. Bhagamalini Tarini - The One Who delivers us from calamity

Gayatri Mantra 

There is a famous prayer in Sanskrit that first appears in the Rig Veda (iii /62/10) called the gayatri mantra that almost every Hindu knows. In roman letters it is as follows:

Om bhur bhuvah svahtat-savitur varenyam

bhargo devasya dhimahidhiyo yo nah pracodayat

Literally hundreds of books and thousands of web pages are currently dedicated to explaining the esoteric meaning of this mantra, so I will not repeat that discussion. Instead I will provide a basic grammatical explanation of this most famous mantra and if you are new to Hinduism and want to know at least one prayer, this is the prayer you should learn.

Gayatri is actually the name for a Sanskrit poetical meter that contains three lines of eight syllables each. There are, therefore,

Gayatri in Devanagari letters

many gayatri mantras, but this particular one is the oldest and most well known of all gayatri mantras. In Hinduism all Gods and Goddesses have a gayatri mantra associated with them. There is a gayatri for Ganesha, one for Shiva, one for Durga, one for Vishnu, one for Lakshmi, and so on. Most people are unaware of this fact and when Hindus talk about the gayatri mantra they mean thee gayatri mantra shown above, which is addressed to Savitri, the sun. The first line: om bhur bhuvah svah that you see above is not actually part of a gayatri mantra. It is a special utterance called vyahriti that has been added to the beginning of this famous gayatri . This vyahriti is important in and of itself and we will discuss it after we have explained the basic gayatri mantra. The three lines of this gayatri mantra are:

1. tat-savitur varenyam. 2. bhargo devasya dhimahi, and 3. dhiyo yo nah pracodayat

Here is a word-for-word breakdown of the gayatri mantra that most Hindus know.

tat–that (God)savitur–of the sunvarenyam–the bestbhargo (bhargas)–light, illuminationdevasya–divinedhimahi–let us meditate (a verb)dhiyo (dhiyah)–thought(s)yo (yah)–whichnah–of us, ourpracodayat–May it push, inspire (a verb)

The deity associated with this gayatri mantra, as we mentioned, is the sun, savitri. (The second word of this mantra.) The more common name for the sun is surya. Generally "surya" is the name for the sun while it is above the horizon and savitri is the sun as it is rising and setting, just below the horizon. There is a great metaphor in Hinduism that when understood explains a lot about the Hindu way of seeing the universe. The metaphor is: “the sun equals light, which equals knowledge, which equals consciousness.” This metaphor applies not only to the gayatri mantra, but also to the design of temples and homes, and to details such as why we circumambulate from left to right and offer incense and lamps in a clockwise direction.

The most important word in the gayatri mantra is the word, “tat,” which is a neuter pronoun meaning “that.” It is a reference to “that One," God. According to the metaphor mentioned above, the sun, which is the source of illumination, heat, food and so many other things in our life, can naturally be seen as the “representative” or symbol of God in this world. There are two verbs in the gayatri mantra, dhimahi and prachodayat. Dhimahi means, “let us meditate.“ So, “let us meditate on the light (bhargo) of the sun which represents God.” This is the basic meaning of the first part of the gayatri mantra.

The second part is also straight forward. The verb prachodayat literally means , “it should push,” but in more poetic language we can translate it as “let it inspire.” Dhiyah is

Savitri: the Sunrise

“thoughts,” so dhiyo yo nah prachodayat means, “may our thoughts be inspired” So the most literal meaning of the gayatri mantra is, “Let us meditate on the light of the sun which represents God, and may our thoughts be inspired by that divine light.”

As with most things Hindu, the gayatri mantra is also personified as the Goddess, Gayatri Devi. She is the wife of Brahma and is pictured with five heads sitting on a lotus. She is the embodiment of the supreme brahman. You will also see other depictions of Gayatri Devi that vary somewhat.

The gayatri mantra is traditionally whispered into the ear of a young boy in a ceremony called The Thread Giving Ceremony (upanayana), which is one of the rites of passage followed by many Hindus. In addition, the gayatri mantra is repeated during daily prayers performed by many Hindus three times a day, while facing the sun: at sunrise, at noon and at sun set. It is also common to recite the gayatri as part of a havan, or to recite it in a collective way in temples or homes.

The Great Utterance

The first part of the gayatri mantra, om bhur bhuvah svah, which we mentioned at the beginning as not part of the mantra, is called vyahriti or the “great utterance.” This mantra is repeated not only in conjunction with the gayatri mantra, but also separately during havans or fire ceremonies. The word om is a auspicious sound made at the beginning of many prayers. The expression bhur bhuvah and svah is technical, but a simple way to think of it is as a “call to creation,” that the light of the sun (the light of God) shines on the earth (bhur), in the sky (bhuvah), and in space (svah), and therefore the implication is, “let that light also shine on me.”

The technical explanation vyahriti has to do with subtle practices of meditational yoga. This earth is simply one of many planes of existence. In fact, above this earth are six higher planes, heavens as it were. Including this earth, there are seven planes up (heavens) and seven planes down, or hells below this earth. The earth is in the middle. If you have ever heard the expression, “he is in seventh heaven” you should understand that this is a reference to the Hindu idea of heavens. The seventh heaven is the highest heaven. The first three of these planes starting with the earth are called bhur, bhuvah and svah. The utterance bhur bhuvah svah, therefore, refers to the first three subtle planes of existence that may be reached in meditation by a yogi.

Gayatri Devi