--- In tiruvengadam@xxxx, "Sudarshan M.K." <sampathkumar_2000@xxxx>
wrote:
Dear friends,
You might have noticed that whenever Vedic chanteurs or
'ghanapAtin-s' begin their chants they will preface their recitation
with a brief invocation called "shAnti-pATam".
For example, before the famous 'purusha-suktam' is chanted one will
first hear the invocation of 'tacchamyO rAvriNamahE, gAtum
yagnyAyA..."etc. Similarly before we proceed with reciting the
'sIkshAvalli' in the Taittiriya-upanishad we first chant the
invocation "shamno mitra-sham varuNa:..." etc. Again, before we begin
the 'narAyaNavalli' we are taught to begin with the preliminary chant
of "sahanAvavatu sahanow bhunaktu...etc".
In every Vedic recitation there is always a prefatory chanting of
what is called a 'shAnti-pATam'. This 'shAnti-pATam' is repeated at
the end also.
You will notice that the 'shAnti-pATam' chant, both in the beginning
and the end, tapers off to the resonating chant of "shAnti, shANti,
shAnti:" meaning "Let Peace ever prevail" and this is recited thrice
in a most emphatic manner.
We must inquire into the reason why all Vedic chanting is prefaced by
this 'shAnti-pATam'. It is not without significance.
All religions lay down that the purpose of human life is to realize
divine purpose. Religions help in that endeavour. The Vedas tell us
however that nobody can practice religion outside an environment
conducive to 'shAnti' or peace. Such peace is three-fold... 'shAnti',
'shAnti' and 'shAnti'...
(1) In the first case of 'shAnti', what is conveyed is that one
becomes truly religious-minded only after one has learnt to be at
peace with oneself. We cannot be angry with ourselves and at the same
time hope to contemplate upon the glories of God. Anger and
contemplation are diametric opposites.
(2) In the second instance of 'shAnti', the Veda say we must be at
peace with our fellow-men. In the world we live today, we may not
have compelling causes that make us love our fellow-men. Nonetheless
we cannot have great hate for them either if we each want to pursue
our religious ends. If we are all the time at war with each other --
especially at "religious war" with each other, as we increasingly
seem to be these days everywhere in the world, from Palestine to
Kabul, and from New York to Islamabad -- we will be left with simply
no time in life to practice our religion. In the 'shAnti-pATam'
beginning with 'sahanAvavatu...' the chant prays for peace to prevail
between even the Master ('guru') and the ('sishyA') disciple. It
makes us wonder why the Vedas presume ill-will between even such
close partners in religious pursuits like a guru and his sishyA. The
Vedas do so because they know in their wisdom that in the history of
mankind it is not infrequent to find even gurus and sishyAs falling
out and going to savage war with each other. And when they do, the
Vedas wisely remind us, the warring master and disciple can no longer
say they are engaged in the pursuit of religious end.
(3) In the third instance of 'shAnti', the Vedas teach us that if we
are to be regarded as being religious, we have to be first at peace
with the world at large. We cannot practice religion in a world with
which we are in deep disharmony. If we go on destroying the forests
of this world, how can we expect to go into them to engage in
contemplation? If we all turn the temples, mosques and churches of
this world into arenas of secular conflict, how can we enter into
them and offer worship? If we wish the hills and the rivers of this
world to be our main destinations of pilgrimage, how can we afford to
turn them into war-zones and fortresses?
By prefacing the Vedas with the 'shAnti-pATam', the Vedic religion
hence clearly teaches us that we must learn to be peaceful before we
can learn to be religious. And that there is no such thing as a
"religious war" or a "holy war". If anything is holy, it cannot be
war; and if it is war, it cannot be holy.
In the troubled times in which we live today and in this insane world
into which we all seem to be waking up every morning, where can we
find, adiyane often asks myself, where can we find the true source of
comfort and balm for our minds and souls? Surely it is in the
universal chant of 'shANti,shANti, shANti:' that echoes at both ends
of the eternal Vedas?
Regards,
dAsan,
Sudarshan
--- End forwarded message ---
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