As I opened the Siddha Yoga path website, this delicate, soothing green image immediately drew me in. I read the verse and its English translation a few times, aligning it with my breath and my intention to offer my best self at this time to my family, my friends, the world. It is a time for us to truly reflect our inner state, by offering our virtues, strength, blessings, and inner peace to all around us.
As I looked at the image, it felt alive, pulsating like the breath. I felt my own breath grow deeper, longer, easier as I continued to look at it. I noticed the shades of the earth—the beautiful greens, the iridiscent blues, the shades of burnished browns. I noticed the hearts, the leaves, the trees, the snowdrop, like a magical mandala, drawing me into a peaceful state of well-being.
And as I breathed, I felt the earth breathe. I listened to the birdsong outside my window, and it reflected this feeling of calm, of rejuvenation, of peace.
New Delhi, India
I read and reread the verse in Sanskrit, not yet having an English translation in my head. But in my heart, I kept hearing the word
shanti resounding and resounding, like waves breaking on the beach, with the same calming effect on my whole being. In fact, my heart and my eyes overflowed.
Every time I visit the Siddha Yoga path website, especially when I hear Gurumayi speak, I receive reassurance. It is the reassurance that my Guru knows and understands our lives, our minds, our hearts. I am so grateful for her compassion and love and feel all the more able to reflect it.
Beccles, United Kingdom
When I read this verse from the
Atharva Veda, a sense of peacefulness arose around me. The verse swept me up to a different level of understanding, and I realized that, to experience
shanti, peace, silence is imperative and will facilitate my staying connected with the elements of Mother Earth.
Bedford Gardens, South Africa
As I clicked on the image, the picture that opened up made me take a deep breath in and expanded my heart. I was just preparing to recite
Shri Guru Gita so this provided the perfect meditation before I started. I didn’t know the meaning of the Sanskrit words and didn’t switch over to the Engish translation, but as I read them, I felt a sense of peace emanating from the repeated word
shanti.
May peace be with you. May peace be around you. May peace be to all of you
.
Leeds, United Kingdom
What a profound prayer for the current global circumstances! I repeated this prayer three times with enormous conviction. I also prayed for the physical well-being of humanity, for whom I feel so much compassion and for whom I pray again and again.
Ste. Colombe, France
As I read these simple yet profound words, my heart expanded with the sweet sense of each new element of nature. In this moment, I knew with total clarity of my connection to every particle of divine nature. The yearning in my heart for peace and tranquility came to rest through this worship. I will return again and again to this timeless prayer.
Maryland, USA
As I say this beautiful prayer to myself, I feel I am aligning my fervent wish and blessing with the heartfelt song of generations of beings.
I experience so much power in this simple verse. I am certain it will stay with me and that by letting it resonate within me, I am uplifting my world.
Melbourne, Australia
I took time to read this prayer slowly, mindfully pausing to experience each verse consciously. With each consecutive line, I felt my awareness drop more deeply into my heart. It felt as if the prayer was descending through layers of energy around my heart-center, empowered by intention and grace. When I reached the end of the prayer, I felt it land in the core of my being where it merged and then pulsated as a simple sense of pure harmony.
Berlin, Germany