My mom is a big believer in mantras and chanting. Every day she gets out her mala and chants for whatever we need (lately it’s been the removal of obstacles–I hope she’s chanting to Ganesha!). Anyway, in order to facilitate her knowledge, she purchased a really cool audiobook about the power of chanting. It’s called Mantra: Sacred Words of Power, by Thomas Ashley-Farrand (he usually has a small chant featured each month in Yoga Journal). She sent me a copy of the discs, which I’m now listening to for the second time around. His premise is that sound is extraordinarily powerful, and that it was the spoken word that created the universe. Although I’m not a regular chanter, I do enjoy mantras, especially before a yoga class. In the spirit of that, I thought I’d share the one that Nancy always used (and maybe still does) in her class.

Asato ma sad gamaya
Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya
Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya

I think it’s spelled correctly, although my Sanskrit spelling isn’t stellar. Here’s the (loose) English translation:

Lead me from the unreal to the real
Lead me from darkness to light
Lead me from death to that which is immortal