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Asato Ma Sad Gamaya
Asato Ma Sad Gamaya
Asato Ma Sad Gamaya
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Om! Asatoma Sadgamaya, Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya Mrityorma Amritamgamaya, Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi! This is one of the most famous slokas in India. I think most schools (at least when I was a kid) have this in their silence or prayer hour. When I was in primary school, we had a two minute silence period, in which all of us had to stand silently. I hardly knew the meaning of this sloka when I used to sing this after the silence hour in the morning. Here is what it means: Lead the world from the unreal to the real (truth), from ignorance to knowledge, from mortality to immortality and peace! This signifies one thing what ever happens, at the end, we need one thing PEACE!
material. That anything material will forever be transient and will forever bring suffering. Understanding this, the seeker chants this mantra and asks only for Truth, Truth and Truth. Above in the meanings, the implications are as follows. In asking for deliverance from "Asat", the seeker is asking for deliverance from Maya, duality or the dream world. The seeker is saying, I feel this reality is not the Truth, please awaken me to the Absolute Truth (Sat). The seeker is aiming for God Realization. Similarly, in the second line, the seeker is asking to be delivered from darkness (Tamaso), meaning ignorance, to light (Jyotir), meaning awakening. Again, the seeker, understanding that what is most important in life, is awakening to the Truth, asks for nothing material, but asks for Enlightenment and True Knowledge instead. In the third line, the seeker is not asking for eternal life or immortality. The seeker is asking for Self Realization. The seeker is asking to be awakened to his Infinite, Timeless, Un-born and Eternal nature. The seeker is requesting to be awakened to his True Nature, to who he truly is, and that awakening to the eternal Self is the freedom from time and death which he is seeking. If ever you were to meet the Genie in the bottle, I suggest you immediately chant this mantra for your 3 wishes.