Guru Invocation, also know the Om Namah Shivaya Gurave chant.
Om Namah Shivaya Gurave
Saccidananda Murtaye
Nisprapancaya Shantaya
Niralambaya Tejase
Om
Translations:
Om
Namah Shivaya Gurave
“I offer myself to the Light of God, the true teacher inside and out.”
Saccidananda Murtaye
“Who assumes the forms of Reality, Consciousness and Bliss.”
Nisprapancaya Shantaya
“Who is ever present, full of peace.”
Niralambaya Tejase
“Unconditional existence, the vital essence of illumination”
OM
Word Translations:
Om (Aum) : A sacred syllable representing the Absolute, Universal Energy inside of everything. It is the primal vibration, the all connecting harmonic.
Namah Shivaya: Namah means to honor the name. Shiva refers to one of the main manifestations of God, the Destroyer (Death). Namah Shivaya is known as a “maha mantra”, meaning it is one of the great mantras that has been chanted for humans for thousands of years. There are countless interpretations to this mantra, one being “I recognize the ground of being as divine, and honor the divinity in all forms. #DivinoBetSatori 😉
Gurave: “Gu” translates to darkness and “ru” means remover. Gurave means to bow to the teacher, especially the teacher within. In the outter world, the guru can be any energy you recognize as a teacher. It can be your partner, your friend, a bird, a place in nature, perhaps even a situation.
Murtaye: This literary translates to image or form. In this case, it points to the images that invoke expansive qualities such as peace and balance. In a general sense, it applies to the images that convey divinity, such as Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, etc. It can refer to any image we see God in.
Nisprapancaya: Referring to the Grace that flows from God, this is the river of prana (life force), that animates all living beings. It is the power to create goodness in the universe as an extension of God.
Shantaya: Shanti is the Sanskrit word for peace. This state between past and future is where awareness can rest in its true nature, an expansive state of non-referential peacefulness.
Niralambaya Tejase: Unconditional light and illumination. This is a symbol of the expanded Self. It is a key ingredient for creation and transformation.
Thank you to Anusara School of Hatha Yoga for helping with the translation.