909. Om sama-gana-priyayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is fond of the chanting of the Samaveda
I bow down to Amma who taught me, in my early 20s, to start chanting. Up until then, I used to pray quite mindlessly, without much thoughts to words or intention. Amma's astottara is the first long prayer I ever learnt. I remember vividly the little book of prayers I had. It was in Hindi, so I could read the words as close to its Sanskrit pronunciation as possible. I would fumble through the words till suddenly, many years of chanting hence, they too became a mindless stream of words. Every once in a while I would think of Amma while praying - expectedly, at the beginning, somewhere in the middle and towards the end. Then one day I heard, at one of Amma's darshans, the longest prayer ever. The Lalitha Sahasranamam. 1000 names of the Devi! I remember thinking how crazy that was! A thousand names! When I was undergoing a tough pregnancy, I remember my parents who were visiting me during my third trimester, would sit on either side of me, touch me gently and recite these magical 1000 names. My parents said it was one of the most powerful prayers ever. So my little baby heard it while in the womb and I suddenly grew attached to it. It's what Bindu and Menon aunty chanted, sitting on the ground outside the operation theatre, while I was undergoing a C-section at 30 weeks! It's taken me over 18 years to even try and work on my pronunciations. But it's my favourite, longest prayer ever! It's what I chant when I am stressed. It's what energises me. It's what makes me feel safe. I feel like suddenly Amma wraps me in Her arms and all is right with the world!
Om Amriteshwariye namah!
I bow down to Amma who taught me, in my early 20s, to start chanting. Up until then, I used to pray quite mindlessly, without much thoughts to words or intention. Amma's astottara is the first long prayer I ever learnt. I remember vividly the little book of prayers I had. It was in Hindi, so I could read the words as close to its Sanskrit pronunciation as possible. I would fumble through the words till suddenly, many years of chanting hence, they too became a mindless stream of words. Every once in a while I would think of Amma while praying - expectedly, at the beginning, somewhere in the middle and towards the end. Then one day I heard, at one of Amma's darshans, the longest prayer ever. The Lalitha Sahasranamam. 1000 names of the Devi! I remember thinking how crazy that was! A thousand names! When I was undergoing a tough pregnancy, I remember my parents who were visiting me during my third trimester, would sit on either side of me, touch me gently and recite these magical 1000 names. My parents said it was one of the most powerful prayers ever. So my little baby heard it while in the womb and I suddenly grew attached to it. It's what Bindu and Menon aunty chanted, sitting on the ground outside the operation theatre, while I was undergoing a C-section at 30 weeks! It's taken me over 18 years to even try and work on my pronunciations. But it's my favourite, longest prayer ever! It's what I chant when I am stressed. It's what energises me. It's what makes me feel safe. I feel like suddenly Amma wraps me in Her arms and all is right with the world!
Om Amriteshwariye namah!
