Known simply as the “Ancient Prayer” (Pracheen Pratanah), the following mantra is used weekly in our Nepali and Hindi Christocentric Satsangs. You may have noticed that I have also included this mantra in the “Gaytri Series”, but I’m also providing it here in an alternate style. As it is presented here, the mantra may be chanted corporately in unison or in a “call and repeat” style. We commonly use the latter in which the leader will say a line and then the congregation will repeat that line in the same tone. In all, I have found that utilizing a combination of unison, “call and repeat”, and “call and respond” styles has a nice effect on the overall balance and beauty of the satsang.
I have provided below I have provided below written forms of these mantras in Sanskrit followed by Nepali and English translations (Devanagari and Romanized).
Romanized Sanskrit:
Shalom
asato ma satgamaya
tamaso ma jytotirgamaya
mrithyor ma amritamgamaya
Romanized Nepali Translation:
Shanti
Asatyabaata satyama,
Andakaarbaata jyotima,
Mrithyobaata amritama chootownahos
English Translation:
Peace,
Lead me from falsehood to Truth
Lead me from darkness to Light
Lead me from death to Eternal Life