Shanti Mantra-s - 1

[Guest guest]

Namaste to all members,

 

I am attempting a simple translation of one small book related to Shanti

mantra-s by Swami ChidAnanda Puri of AdvaitAshramam, Kerala. The remarkable

clarity in which Swamiji expresses the Advaitic Truth is beyond comparison. I

believe that these works should be beneficial to all the followers of Srimad

BhagavatpAdangal, and not just confined to the malayalam speaking community. As

I am not an expert in Malayalam, Sanskrit or English, errors are bound to

happen. So if at all any errors are there, they are certainly due to my

ignorance. Members are requested to point out the errors, if any.

 

Hari Om

 

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ShAnti mantra-s

 

1. Introduction

 

The common message that runs through all the verses in the Veda-s, the highest

authority on SanAthana Dharma is that of Peace. The rishi-s through the

teachings in the Veda-s show us the way to attain Absolute Peace in this life.

So it is right to consider all the verses in the Veda-s as ShAnti mantra-s.

However, in the traditional way of study of the Veda-s, some mantra-s are

specifically denoted as ShAnti mantra-s. This is a humble attempt to investigate

and understand the meaning of such mantra-s which have been granted the status

of ShAnti mantra in the traditional line of Vedanta.

 

1.a. Vedanta and ShAnti mantra

 

The ShAnti mantra is chanted by the Guru and the disciples before the starting

and at the end of each Vedanta session. This has been the tradition followed

from time immemorial. A ShAnti mantra is basically a prayer to bestow peace in

all the realms, namely Spiritual, material and celestial (AdhyAtmika,

Adhibhautika, Adhidaivika). The main intention of chanting the ShAnti mantra

during the sessions is to pray for the fruitful study of the scriptures without

any sort of hindrance. This does not mean that ShAnti mantra-s are just prayers.

It should be understood that with the ShAnti mantra-s, the entire essence of the

Vedantic message is being presented to us by the rishi-s in the form of prayers.

 

The gist of the teachings in the Veda-s form the Vedanta. However, the term

Vedanta is generally used to denote the portion in the Veda-s known as

Upanishad-s. In the primary sense, the term 'Upanishad' denotes the highest

Truth (parA vidhya) propounded by the Veda-s. So it would seem like an error

from our part to speak of Upanishad in the plural form as Upanishad-s. However

we should note that in a secondary sense the term 'Upanishad' also stands for

the texts in the Veda-s which convey this highest Truth. So even though

Upanishad is only One, when it is considered in this light to denote the texts

imparting that parA vidhya, we say that there are several Upanishad-s.

 

The moment someone says that there are several Upanishad-s, it is quite natural

that the question of their exact number would come to the rational mind.

It is said in the MuktikOpanishad as follows:

 

'EkaikasyAstu sAkhayAh EkaikOpanishanmatA' - Muk.Up 1-14

[The opinion is that for each branch (of the Veda-s), there is an Upanishad

associated with it.]

 

So according to this verse from Muk.Up, the number of Upanishad-s will be equal

to the number of branches (ShAkha) of the Veda-s. The number of branches for the

Veda-s were as follows.

 

Rig - 21

Yajur - 109

SAma - 1000

Adharva - 50

 

So the total original number of Upanishad-s would have been 1180. The sad truth

is that majority of these Upanishad-s does not exist today. Due to the careless

attitude we had towards our glorious ShAstra-s, most of them have become extinct

today. All of us should take a vow that we wont let it happen again and that we

will preserve whatever ShAstra-s and traditions remain with us today.

Nevertheless it is possible for us to gain the highest purushArtha even with

what remains amongst us today.

 

Among the 1180 Upanishad-s which originally existed, the important ones were 108

in number.

It is said in the MuktikOpanishad as follows:

 

'sarvOpanishadhAm madhyE sAramashTOtharam shatam' - Muk.Up 1-44

[Among all the Upanishad-s, the ones having the essence is 108]

 

Out of the 21 branches of Rig Veda, the important Upanishad-s are 10 in number.

Likewise, it is 51 out of 109 for Yajur Veda, 16 out of 1000 for SAma Veda and

31 out of 50 for Atharva Veda. These 108 Upanishad-s are still available for the

spiritual seeker to aid him in his spiritual evolution.

 

All of these Upanishad-s have a ShAnti mantra associated with it. All the

Upanishad-s in a Veda will be having the same ShAnti mantra. Even though Veda-s

are One, it is broadly classified as four in number. Among these four, the Yajur

Veda has two branches, namely KrishNa Yajur Veda and Shukla Yajur Veda. So,

there are five major ShAnti mantra-s, each attached to a Veda.

 

We will take up these ShAnti mantra-s one by one for a detailed study.

 

To be continued..