I know, it may sound like a cruel joke to talk about any such thing when thousands of innocent lives are going due to the current Corona pandemic.
No, I am not out to sell any such magic remedy. I am afraid, there is none. I am only reminded of how human beings resort to anything whatsoever, when faced with calamities that seem to threaten their lives and there is no solution in sight.
Decades ago, I had gone on a tour visiting some of the well-known Himalayan sacred peaks. Our destination was Kedarnath. Perched at a breath-taking height of 14000 ft in the snowy Himalayas, it housed the most ancient and most sacred of the Hindu shrines. Shankaracharya, the well known Indian Advaita philosopher is supposed to have left his mortal body at this place.
Those were the days when this place was almost inaccessible. The only road that existed in those days took you 50 Km short of the destination. Only specially designed and well armored vehicles could ply these roads which were no more than heaps of boulders! It was really a nightmare of a journey. But not everything was bad. The surrounding was really breath taking, if only you had a strong heart 😉
A group of us were traveling in one such vehicle up the hill through the winding roads. As we moved, we were welcomed by huge boulders rolling down from the hills making thundering noise. Many of them landed straight in front of our vehicle blocking whatever was a semblance of a road! Fortunately, vigilant Indian army soldiers in the vicinity would come rushing to our help. They would clear the rubbles in no time making our onward journey safe.
What if one of the boulders landed straight on the top of our vehicle?! Just the thought itself sent goose bumps in us. So scary it was! But there was nothing anyone could do except pray to God. And that is what we did 😉
We had a doctor among us. He had served in the Indian Army as a resident doctor before he took up his own civilian role as a physician. A very brave man. Though not a soldier himself, he had been on the warfront on several occasions and seen death eye to eye. He gave us a mantra, which he said can potentially save us from any calamity.
He narrated a little background on how he got this Mantra. Apparently, when he was in the army, one of the soldiers had taught him this Mantra. The soldiers used to chant this Mantra to protect themselves when they were faced with grave situations. It may sound illogical and may be superstitious, but when you are helpless and when “the God becomes the only hope”, even a highly rational person succumbs to any belief system as the last straw.
And you know what? The most interesting part of this story is that the soldier who taught this Mantra to our doctor was a Muslim! Fear of death sees no barriers – neither faith nor intellect.
And obviously, we started chanting this Mantra taught to us by this Doctor. In those circumstances, anything could have given us some hope, hope from the terrorizing boulders that seemed to be hell bent on crushing us down. Whether this Mantra really works or not, the fact is that all of us were safe without any casualty, and here I am to recall that incident.
This mantra is the well-known “Mrithyunjaya Mantra”, that appears in the ancient Vedas of India. That means it has a history of at least 5000 years! The word Mrithyunjaya means victory over death. And surely that is what it is – at least that is what faithful believe.
The wording of the Mrithyunjaya Mantra is as follows.
OM. Thrayambakam yajaamahE
Sugandhim puShTivardhanam
Oorvaarukamiva bandhanaath
MrthyurmOkShIyamaamrthaath
It is a verse in the ancient Sanskrit language. It is believed that any one who chants this mantra repeatedly in a specific way, is sure to escape accidental deaths. The word ‘mantra’ itself means “that which protects when memorized”. For the faithful, that is all the detail they need.
But what do these words mean? How can chanting it protect us from death? Who composed it? When was it composed? What is the right way to chant it? These are some of the questions an intellect dominated person would ask. Given its antiquity we may not have unique answers to any of these questions. We need to wade through an ocean of beliefs before we can get any closer glimpse of it.
You may be surprised that there are thousands of such Mantras in the ancient Vedas each one believed to be potentially very powerful. The entire thing is shrouded in mystery and deep-rooted faith. That should not make you jump to the conclusion that it is all some superstition of primitive people. As you study them more and more, you find it difficult to believe that whoever composed these mantras and preserved them for thousands of years were primitive people. Also, it does not look like it is all a matter of faith and superstition. Is there more to it than what is apparent?
As you probably have guessed, I am planning to start a new series of talks on these ancient scriptures. Join me in an exploratory expedition to unravel some of the hidden mysteries. From next week on wards I am going to dissect various aspects of these age-old mysteries and share with you whatever I could garner. But keep in mind that we may not be able to crack the complete puzzle.
Before I sign out, I would like to confess that my voice is not in good condition. I am going through my usual seasonal allergy condition that may adversely impact my voice. At times my voice may sound a bit labored. Some breath sounds may escape my sincere attempts to edit them out. I hope you don’t mind. I will try to do my best and meet you every week when possible.
OK then, till we meet next time, bye and good luck. Thank you.
A series discussing the most ancient of the Indian scriptures, nay the world scriptures namely the Vedas. © Dr. King, Swami Satyapriya 2021
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