Om Bhur Bhuvaha Svaha

Om Tat Sat Savitur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi

Dhiyo Yo Naha Prachodayat

 

 

Oh, Savitri, Glorious light.

Oh, Savitri, Godly light.

May we live in Thee, dwell in Thee,

And Thou live in us, dwell in us.

May the whole of our being be forever in light.

May the whole of our being be forever in truth.

May the whole of our being be forever in joy.

May the whole of our being live increasingly,

In the revelations of Thine unfolding reality.

 

This chant is a prayer and a meditation.

Bhur Bhuvaha Svaha indicate the three regions of the being: the lower, the middle and the higher.  Together they describe the whole of your being, the whole of the Reality, which is om tat sat, tat – the reality, sat – the truth; complete enlightenment, the whole realisation of what the Reality is.  Therefore we reach to a complete Reality – through ourselves, within ourselves, and without.

Bhur Bhuvaha Svaha: the first word is Bhuhu, but according to the rules of Sanskrit grammar, when it joins with a succeeding word the visarga h becomes ‘r’: Bhur.

The sounds of this chant are meant to energize, when they are chanted in a certain way. Not only does the chant have a meaning, but when chanted in a certain way is supposed to produce the required vibrations within oneself.  Through the modulation of different sounds, the required atmosphere, within and without, is created.

In the word Varenyam, for example, the ‘n’ is not dental; the tongue is to be taken back to the end of the palate behind. In Sanskrit there are various pronunciations for the ‘n’ sound: there is the dental ‘n’, and there is this which is cerebral – you roll the tongue back. In hatha yoga it is called khechari mudra, when the tongue rolled back touches the back of the palate.

In Sanskrit the sounds produced take into account the entire mouth: they have the guttural, they have the cerebral – murdhanya, the dental, etc., all these sounds which initiate and trigger certain points in you, certain centers, so that the language itself becomes a technique to touch centers, and so therefore energize and awaken.

Dhimahi, Dhiyo: there is a force behind this dhi, because of the aspirate: if it were only di, it would not have that kind of force. The sound of the chant goes out, comes in, and so on:  therefore the sound modulation happens, and it creates a certain vibration in you and outside.

Prachodayat: In Sanskrit no consonant is full if it is not joined by a vowel. Here it ends in the dental sound ‘t’: it is not a vowel ending. This is important because of the modulation of the sound. With Prachodayat it stops there, in the consonant. Like Ram stops there, in the consonant, while Rama ends in a vowel.

From this you can see that one is flowing and the other holding on: when it ends in consonant it is as if you are stopping in yourself holding on; while when it ends in vowel, like Svaha, Dhimahi, it is more outward, flowing. So it works in this modulation: putting it out, holding it – putting it out, holding it.

This modulation creates a certain vibration and is supposed to bring this whole process of flowing-and-hold again and again to create the required atmosphere and charge.

That is why when you hear them chanting the Vedic mantras it is very beautiful – because of the modulation. The chants in Latin similarly have their own modulation thereby creating their own special atmosphere.

Feel the chant, feel the charge that is in there – and feel yourself.

Feel the aeons, the ages past from where this mantra has come and has been chanted for thousands of years, again and again. The soul of all those who have chanted it earlier are chanting with you, and inspiring you to the revelation that is the mantra.

Let the chant happen within yourself in your heart, through the mind, muting it finally to silence. And you are there with the charge, you are there with the inspiration, you are there with the feeling, you are there with yourself – and the Self of all those who have chanted before.

You are there with God, that which is Light, Savitur, that which is the Truth, Savitur, that which is Joy, Savitur, that which is Love, Savitur, that which is the Awakening, Savitur, that which is All, Savitur…

Just go in, feel it, and let the feeling carry you to Savitur – that is yourself, that is the Reality, within, without – there is not aught else…

Manifest that God that is in you, Savitur.

 

O Savitur my Lord, I dwell in Thee,

and Thou dwellst in me.

I live in me, which is Thee – within and without,

and Thou live in me that is Thee.

We are lifted, we are Thee.

 

O Savitur I raise my eyes to Thy feet,

from whence cometh my help,

from whence cometh Thy grace.

 

I abide in Thee through the whole of my being,

and Thou abide in me,

enlightening my whole being, illuminating my whole being, filling me

with Thy beauty, with Thy light, with Thy Goodness,

revealing to me my unfolding Reality –

That which is me, that which is You.

 

You are me and I art Thou.

We are One:

One in All, All in One.

 

Fill me with Thy joy –

may I live forever in joy,

the joy of being one with Thee,

the joy of being one with All,

even so in our inter-exchange,

even so in our inter-relationships.

May there be harmony within,

May there be harmony with all.

 

 

 

Arya Vihar

1 August 1998 and 24 June 1998

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(webedit)