Ashtanga Chants

By the end of this lesson, students will:

1. Understand the significance of the opening and closing chants in Ashtanga Yoga.
2. Learn the words, pronunciation, and correct recitation of both the opening and closing chants.
3. Experience the meditative and grounding quality of chanting as a group.

Ashtanga Yoga Invocation:

Om
Vande Gurunam Charanaravinde
Sandarshita Svatma Sukava Bodha
Nih Sreyase Jangalikayamane
Samsara Halahala Mohashantyai
Abahu Purushakaram
Shankhacakrsi Dharinam
Sahasra Sirasam Svetam
Pranamami Patanjalim
Om
  

• vande = (1. pers. sg. of vand) praise
• gurūṇāṁ = (gen. pl.) great teacher, master, guru
• caraṇā = (pl.) feet
• ravinde = (loc. sg.) Lotus

Praise for the guru, aka the dispeller of darkness. Not just any guru, either, a BIG guru. As a sign of my respect, this praise is offered up to him at his lotus feet. Don't worry, this isn't the weird part: touching your teacher's feet is a thing people do in some places. Because he’s awesome, he’s sitting in lotus, no problem. 
 

• san = (non konjuktional) offer, give
• darśita = (past passive particip) uncover
• sva = own
• ātma = the own self
• sukhāvabodhe = (loc. sg.) joyful awakening

Why the big love? Because he’s given us the power to uncover our own real, true, self. And that true self is made of bliss, so this awakening away from darkness is just incredible.
 

• niḥ = (reinforcing part.) very, thorough
• śreyase = (dat. sg. m.) well-being, happiness, joy
• jāṅgali = jungle
• kāyamāne = One who has knowledge about healing, who heales, a healer, shaman
• jāṅgali-kāyamāne = jungle shamans.

  It’s so powerful, in fact, that this happiness and joy might as well have come from a jungle physician. I know, it seems crazy, but at the time of this chant, jungle physician’s were the most knowledgeable kind of doctor around! Take that, Kaiser. Also: still not the weird.
  

• saṁsāra = Conditioning, wheel of cause and result
• hālāhala = most awful conceivable poison
• moha = deceit, deception, illusion
• śāṁtyai = (imperativ pass. sg. from śāṁt) ease, calm down

But what makes the knowledge so powerful? It eases us from suffering due to the poison of conditioned existence. You know, all the little things we believe that may or may not be true that cloud our understanding of our own self and our own joy. Something that steals your joy and your bliss and hides who you are is the WORST kind of poison. Gross. Give me some EASE, PLEASE.
  

• ābāhu = upper body
• puruṣa = (m.) human being, man, soul
• ākāram = (acc. of ākara) shape, appearance, form

This describes the jungle doc, or Patanjali. He needs the upper body of a man, because he's got stuff to carry. Spoiler Alert: he's lugging around the tools for yoga. Sometimes, karma yoga is sometimes described as skill in action. These things are going to need to be wielded with SKILL to take ACTION. 

• śhaṁkha = (acc.) mussel horn. The horn symbolises the tone that is considered to be the original tone and the basis of all that is.
• cakra = (acc.) Wheel, Discus. The Chakra represents infinity
• asi = (acc.) Sword, because sword represents the power of differentiation.
• dhāriṇam = holding, carrying

So, what things? The jungle doc/patanjali  has in his arms a horn that makes the oldest and deepest of sounds (creating the universe, calling you to practice, om, etc), a sword that discerns (cuts through bullshit), and a discus that represents infinity (you've got the time).

• sahasra = 1000
• śirasaṁ = (akk. sg.) Head
• śvetaṁ = (akk. sg.) white, bright

We know the crazy jungle doc is supposed to be imagined as Patanjali (the guy who wrote the yoga sutras and the book on sanskrit grammar). And, not only is he imagined as a jungle doc, he’s also got a thousand white serpent heads, so you know he’s crazy powerful. *bwoop bwoop!* weird alert! *bwoop bwoop* We made it this far, and now they're sneaking in the weird. THATS why the said he showed up with the torso of a man. Because he has crazy snake heads. Got it. Moving along.
 

• praṇamāmi = (1. pers. sg.) I bow
• patañjalim = (akk. sg.) to Patanjali, the Author of the Yoga-Sutra.