„Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu“ – A SACRED SANSKRIT PRAYER
Dear Yogis
Living a practice of PRAYING or CHANTING doesn’t require you to be part of any religious community, or to have any specific religious views. Saying a prayer, out loud or just for yourself, in whatever language, no matter from which culture or background, is a beautiful way to express your feelings. Prayers support us in dealing with difficulties, problems, worries, anxiety and fear – but they can also be a manifestation of our deepest sentiments of GRATITUDE, JOY and HAPPINESS. Prayers are exactly what YOU want them to be and they are always there for you.
The sacred prayer of „LOKAH SAMASTAH SUKHINO BHAVANTU is one of the oldest ones known from the ancient YOGIC TEACHINGS. Still today, it is often chanted towards the END of a YOGA or MEDITATION class, to express well-wishes for OURSELVES, OUR FELLOW YOGIS and all FORMS of LIFE in the universe.
One of the simple translations of this PRAYER says: „May all beings everywhere be free and happy“, while the JIVAMUKTI YOGA interpretation adds: „and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute in some way to the happiness and to the freedom of all“
Here you can also find a more literal word-by-word translation of the prayer:
LOKAH, meaning the universe
SAMASTAH referring to all living things
SUKHINO meaning happiness or freedom of suffering
BHAV is the state of unification with the divine essence
ANTU is translated as „may it be so“, much like a vow or pledge
Let us conclude this TUESDAY with a sense of GRATITUDE if it was a good day or with a sense of LOVING ACCEPTANCE, if it was a rough day – taking a moment to reminding ourselves of the GIFT of LIFE that we experience everyday! To do so, we would like to INVITE YOU to saying this prayer (or any meaningful words of your choice) three times with clear intention and a pure heart
MAY ALL BEINGS EVERYWHERE BE FREE AND HAPPY !
Have a good and restful evening – we are looking forward to seeing many of you in class tomorrow!
With love,
Your ATHAYOGA Team