Due to my (hopefully soon to be history) current career in advertising, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make my date with Dada at IYI. I am so grateful that I did, because it was an honor and a privilege to be in his presence and have my question answered by him. I was particularly curious about Dada’s view of Yoga in the Western World, which had picked up on limb 3–Asana–and turned “Yoga” into merely a way to achieve physical beauty and fitness. I myself am just as guilty with getting carried away with this and getting stuck on the 3rd step of an 8 step staircase, as Dada explained. Later visits to see Dharma Mittra and other teachers at the Yoga Journal Conference rammed this home for me; it’s as if the Universe was reminding me to mind my Yamas and Niyamas.

Dada, at 91, was the youngest and most cheerful presence in the room. The closer you get to enlightenment, the cuter you become! His answers to our questions made me smack myself in the head and go “of course!” But there’s something special about hearing those answers straight from a Guru. “I can see God more clearly than I can see you,” said Dada to a student desperate to see his creator, and like most of us, has forgotten that God can be seen in everything. Most of the questions were about God, happiness and purpose; Dada explained that we can find our life’s meaning “in the silence.” We can find our answers by meditating every day—Dada suggests 3 hours, again, another reason to give up the day job!

If you do the kind of Yoga that I do, then you find yourself singing. A lot. Mostly in a language you don’t understand. A language the kids like to call “Sanskrit”.

Now, if you’re new to Yoga, like I am not, you may feel confused and even intimidated by said singing. You may want to look for a Yoga class that has no chanting, like in a gym or at (shudder) Bikram, of which more on at a later date.

I would like to suggest that you embrace your inner “American Yogi Idol” and chant it up! It’s a wonderful way to connect to the spiritual side of your practice, and also to connect with the community. Yoga is at best, a team thing, a place to find union and to be part of the whole. There is no “I” in Yoga. (Ok there is an “I,” in “Yogi” fine. Leave me alone.)

Let’s look at a few famous chants and explore what they might mean.

ALL TRANSLATIONS ARE WAY LOOSE BUT THE MEANING IS INTACT.

EVOCATION TO PATANJALI

OM
YOGENA CHITTASYA PADENA VACHAM
MALAM SHARIRASYA CHA VAIDYAKENA
YOPAKAROTAN PRAVARNM MUNEENAM

PATANJALIM PRANJALI RANATOSMI

This is a tribute to Frank Patanjali, Capo Regime of the Corleone Family who testified that he “didn’t know no Godfather”…

I’m sorry what? Oh. Ok, my bad. It’s actually an homage to the famous sage who devised the “Eight Limbs of Yoga,” of which Asana (physical posture) is only one. (Imagine doing Yoga with 8 limbs? Omigod we gotta find an Octopus and teach it Half-Moon.) Patanjali is also rumored to have written a Sanskrit Grammar dictionary but my library doesn’t have it.

Here’s that chant in English

I bow to the sage Patanjali, who cured the imperfections of the mind through yoga

the imperfections of speech through grammar and the imperfections of the body through medicine

So yeah, you gotta love how this guy rolled.

PRAYER FOR ENLIGHTENMENT

OM
ASATOMA SADGAMAYA
TAMASOMA JYOTHIRGAMAYA
MRITHYORMA AMRUTANGAMAYA
OM SHANTI, SHANTI, SHANTI

Lead us from darkness to light
From ignorance to truth
And from death to eternity

Let peace prevail everywhere

My Yoga journey started with the Hatha classes at Integral Yoga in the West Village of NYC. Slow but intensely spiritual. We ended each class with the above prayer. Dickens said “ignorance” was our greatest danger, and us Yoga peeps are warriors in the fight against said stoopidness. (Well, he said the first part, the 2nd part is me)

THE CHANT OF GANESH

Ganesh, my favorite god. Head of an elephant, body of a guy who’s had a lot of peanuts. God of obstacles. He puts them in your path to challenge you, and takes them away when you’ve learned. I love this guy.

Om gam ganapataye namaha!

LOOSE MEANING

OM= The primordia sound or vibration, can be used to say Hello Ganesh. How You Doin’?
GAM= the sound o’ Ganesh, or the Bija Mantra.
Ganapataye= Ganesh, thank you for screwing with me and then making everything better. Really.

Namahah=I honor you, Elephant Dude”

For more chants and how they sound in mp3, visit theyogasanctuary.net. Until next time, Peace and don’t choke on your mantras!

By Jim Catapano, as posted on namayay.blogspot.com