Dear friends, You might have noticed that whenever Vedic chanteurs or 'ghanapAtin-s' begin their chants they preface their recitation with a brief invocation called "shAnti-pATam". For example, before the famous 'purusha-suktam' of the Rg Veda 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 'katOpanishad' 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, or be filled with self-hate or guilt, 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. In fact, we find it increasingly difficult these days, and for an ever increasing number of reasons, to be able to "love thy neighbour". Unfortunately, it is the Law of Nature that one cannot accomplish both things at once -- i.e. being able to hate the neigbour and pursue religious end as well. 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 Baghdad to Pyongyang -- 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 to crop up between even such close partners in religious pursuit as 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 and fundamental 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 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, I often ask 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, Sudarshan __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/
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