The serenity of Shiva the meditator.
om namah Shivaya -
meaning, discussion.
The Song.
Most Kirtan musicians record the om namah Shivāya mantra, for it is an important foundation to Kirtan. The best presentation I have heard was in concert by Sacred Earth, in 2019. This was sung very softly, with little melody, and seemed to gently entice the mind towards healing and purity of mind. Then the song grew in melody, instrumental and volume.
Now they have released this song, with more melody, as track 2 of their latest album “Into the Light”, 2019. A magnificent recording. The opening sounds like Prem’s brother Chris Lane on lead guitar, Prem’s husband Jethro on chord guitar, with Prem on keyboard.
You can listen to and buy this song as a single as a download at –
https://www.sacredearthmusic.com/listen-download Album “Into the Light”, track 2. I also recommend tracks 1 and 4 (the title track).
om namaḥ Shivāya
om namah Shivaaya
devotion to move towards
spiritual practice & Shiva
maha heshvara guru dev
fully pure teaches us radiant
developed consciousness (about) Presence.
Now they have released this song, with more melody, as track 2 of their latest album “Into the Light”, 2019. A magnificent recording. The opening sounds like Prem’s brother Chris Lane on lead guitar, Prem’s husband Jethro on chord guitar, with Prem on keyboard.
You can listen to and buy this song as a single as a download at –
https://www.sacredearthmusic.com/listen-download Album “Into the Light”, track 2. I also recommend tracks 1 and 4 (the title track).
om namaḥ Shivāya
om namah Shivaaya
devotion to move towards
spiritual practice & Shiva
maha heshvara guru dev
fully pure teaches us radiant
developed consciousness (about) Presence.
The Mantra Discussed.
ॐ Om.
Om is not really a word, but rather a primordial and universal sound of healing. Reciting om is a special meditation, and the full meaning of om is best realised by reciting it.
As a sound, om is like a bridge between the busy-ness of daily life and the quiet focus of meditation. It’s a good way to begin Kirtan, and often the Kirtan musicians begin their concert by inviting everyone to join them in chanting the om mantra. Thus om usually begins a mantra, and many of our mantras begin with om.
Shiva is the Name for Deity in our mantra, and this Name is widely used in India, with many shrines, temples and people devoted to Shiva śiva. We can begin with the simple dictionary meaning, where –
This leads to the initial translation of –
But this is a little simplistic, and the Name nāma of Shiva śiva cannot be interpreted in just a few words. Indeed, I allocate 10 pages of my treatise to just this one Kirtan word. However, we need something more concise here. So let us consider the Shiva that dwells within us, as our higher self or ātman, as our pure consciousness or heshvara = īśvara.
Our mantras about Shiva probably come from the Shiva school, and this will have a subtle effect on the meaning of our Shiva mantras. So let’s explore the kind of Qualities that Shiva devotees attribute to Shiva, when applied to the in-dwelling Shiva. These include –
(Adapted from Shiva websites written by Shiva devotees.)
When singing a mantra about Shiva, we can choose one of these Qualities of Shiva that best suits our situation, and focus on it.
When we reflect on these particular Qualities of Presence, we can realise we can improve them in much of our daily life. They are important, yet perhaps they do not receive the importance they deserve in our priorities. They are more a Goal to move towards, rather than an accurate description of our daily life experience. Our spiritual practice could be described as moving towards Qualities such as these. Therefore, Shiva appears as Shivāya (Shivaaya) in our mantra.
Prem gives a short pause between the Shivā- and the -ya. This suggests that we first focus on a particular Quality of Shiva, and then focus on moving towards it. We can sing -ya and think “move towards”, as we sing along to the recording. (For additional meanings of the -ya, see below.)
Moving towards Shiva is often easier said than done. We actually need some commitment and determination to proceed in this direction, instead of -
Therefore, the word preceding Shivāya (Shivaaya) is namaḥ (namah).
This includes devotion, dedication and commitment to our purification practice. So that we can move towards Shiva. All too often, we lack this important commitment and determination, and so we continue to wallow in our troubles. So namah reminds us to persevere, when the people, pursuits and possessions in our lives fail us. These are times for practise, not indulging in harmful addictions and addictive behaviour.
Another way of describing the goal of spiritual practice is pure consciousness. By this, I mean the experience when we feel at ease and untroubled, when we can enjoy experience and appreciate the good things we have, when we are confident and competent, when we can share with others and be supportive and tolerant. These are some of the many spiritual Qualities that we can develop, nurture, and practise in our daily life. They naturally follow on from the Qualities of Shiva, as we sing along with Sacred Earth. They are worthy of praise and protection, and we can perceive them as our Goal. This leads us to the first word of the next mantra that Prem sings in this song -
heshvara = īśvara can mean “pure consciousness,” and
heshvara = īśvara can mean our ability to be conscious.
Cultivating and experiencing pure consciousness or īśvara is usually easier said than done. So much of this website discusses themes that can help us in our spiritual practice, and illumine our understanding of it (including me!) Many of these themes come from the Wisdom of the East, and are adapted from Buddhism and Hinduism.
Om is not really a word, but rather a primordial and universal sound of healing. Reciting om is a special meditation, and the full meaning of om is best realised by reciting it.
As a sound, om is like a bridge between the busy-ness of daily life and the quiet focus of meditation. It’s a good way to begin Kirtan, and often the Kirtan musicians begin their concert by inviting everyone to join them in chanting the om mantra. Thus om usually begins a mantra, and many of our mantras begin with om.
Shiva is the Name for Deity in our mantra, and this Name is widely used in India, with many shrines, temples and people devoted to Shiva śiva. We can begin with the simple dictionary meaning, where –
- śiva means happy, prosperous, favourable, kind and benevolent.
This leads to the initial translation of –
- namaḥ śivāya can mean our dedication and commitment to seeking happiness and prosperity, finding it, valuing it, cultivating it, practising it, and protecting it from defilements.
But this is a little simplistic, and the Name nāma of Shiva śiva cannot be interpreted in just a few words. Indeed, I allocate 10 pages of my treatise to just this one Kirtan word. However, we need something more concise here. So let us consider the Shiva that dwells within us, as our higher self or ātman, as our pure consciousness or heshvara = īśvara.
Our mantras about Shiva probably come from the Shiva school, and this will have a subtle effect on the meaning of our Shiva mantras. So let’s explore the kind of Qualities that Shiva devotees attribute to Shiva, when applied to the in-dwelling Shiva. These include –
- a refuge or safe place and space, where we feel at ease, untroubled, confident, and open to share good things with others, and building this safety
- the release of painful thoughts, intentions, attitudes, so they may dissipate and dissolve, and no longer trouble us
- the vitality, energy and health of our body, and caring for it.
- the harmony, rhythm, dynamic motion of the Dance of life, that releases tension and guides action
- enjoying the simplicity of our lives, and appreciating all the good things we have
- directing our desires and motives down healthy and wholesome paths
- spiritual insight, that ability we have to see into the core of the troubles that beset us, and so come to a radical and lasting solution
- wisdom and knowing about spiritual practice and the healing process
- Perceiving all these pursuits as (part of) the Goal in our life, and our spiritual practice and healing
- Perceiving and valuing the beauty, serenity, spirituality, stability, purity of these pursuits
- The revelation of such spiritual wisdom, and then practising it.
(Adapted from Shiva websites written by Shiva devotees.)
When singing a mantra about Shiva, we can choose one of these Qualities of Shiva that best suits our situation, and focus on it.
When we reflect on these particular Qualities of Presence, we can realise we can improve them in much of our daily life. They are important, yet perhaps they do not receive the importance they deserve in our priorities. They are more a Goal to move towards, rather than an accurate description of our daily life experience. Our spiritual practice could be described as moving towards Qualities such as these. Therefore, Shiva appears as Shivāya (Shivaaya) in our mantra.
- Shivā-ya (Shivaaya) means “moving towards Shiva.”
Prem gives a short pause between the Shivā- and the -ya. This suggests that we first focus on a particular Quality of Shiva, and then focus on moving towards it. We can sing -ya and think “move towards”, as we sing along to the recording. (For additional meanings of the -ya, see below.)
Moving towards Shiva is often easier said than done. We actually need some commitment and determination to proceed in this direction, instead of -
- feeding the needless worries that assail us at times,
- getting stuck in painful thought and feeling,
- squandering our vitality with harmful addictions,
- being hard and inflexible,
- not appreciating the good things we have,
- misdirecting our desire into harmful pursuits,
- being blind to the root causes of our troubles,
- not valuing spiritual wisdom and the spiritual Path.
Therefore, the word preceding Shivāya (Shivaaya) is namaḥ (namah).
- namaḥ (namah) = namo means devotion and honouring.
This includes devotion, dedication and commitment to our purification practice. So that we can move towards Shiva. All too often, we lack this important commitment and determination, and so we continue to wallow in our troubles. So namah reminds us to persevere, when the people, pursuits and possessions in our lives fail us. These are times for practise, not indulging in harmful addictions and addictive behaviour.
Another way of describing the goal of spiritual practice is pure consciousness. By this, I mean the experience when we feel at ease and untroubled, when we can enjoy experience and appreciate the good things we have, when we are confident and competent, when we can share with others and be supportive and tolerant. These are some of the many spiritual Qualities that we can develop, nurture, and practise in our daily life. They naturally follow on from the Qualities of Shiva, as we sing along with Sacred Earth. They are worthy of praise and protection, and we can perceive them as our Goal. This leads us to the first word of the next mantra that Prem sings in this song -
heshvara = īśvara can mean “pure consciousness,” and
heshvara = īśvara can mean our ability to be conscious.
Cultivating and experiencing pure consciousness or īśvara is usually easier said than done. So much of this website discusses themes that can help us in our spiritual practice, and illumine our understanding of it (including me!) Many of these themes come from the Wisdom of the East, and are adapted from Buddhism and Hinduism.
Derivation Details.
Let us now turn to scholastics …..
namah = namo = namas means “bow, obeisance, reverential salutation, adoration” as a word in the dictionary. The mantras of our Kirtan songs come from the Bhakti tradition in India, and God worship is an important feature of this Bhakti tradition. But for those of us feel disinclined to worship the Gods of another country, we can use a different interpretation –
namah can mean our devotion, commitment to spiritual practice, and honouring it.
Shivaya is properly spelled Shivāya and pronounced Shivaaya. This is the dative form of the noun Shiva. Anglos usually translate namah Shivaya, the dative case, as “devotion to Shiva (the God)” = “devotion directed towards Shiva”. This suggests “moving towards Shiva”, as a Goal in our spiritual practice. This gives the basic interpretation -
- Shivāya (Shivaaya) is the dative case, and means “moving towards Shiva.”
However, the dative case in Sanskrit has additional meaning. The dative case also shows what we hope to gain from namah. The dative case indicates the purpose of our namah. So Shivāya can also mean to achieve and attain Shiva. The dative case also indicates bestowal = sampradāna = Divine Gift. So Shivāya can also mean “may the Qualities of Shiva be bestowed upon us
This leads to further interpretation –
- namah Shivāya means “devotion and commitment to spiritual practice, so we can attain and achieve the Qualities of Shiva”, or
- namah Shivāya means “devotion and commitment to spiritual practice, so that the Qualities of Shiva may be bestowed upon us.”
These cases are explained at -
https://easysanskrit.wordpress.com/tag/eight-noun-cases/
https://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/Sanskrit_Language_Tools/sanskrit-noun-declensions/
heshvara = īśvara. īśvara is pronounced eeshvara, and usually spelled ishvara. As a dictionary word, īśvara means : ability, or one who is capable, or the Director, or Lord and Master. In the realm of God worship, īśvara means God, and maha-īśvara = God Almighty. Prabhupada translates īśvara as : the Supreme Person, the Lord, Supreme Personality of Godhead, and “God”.
maha means higher or fully developed. Shiva devotees will call Shiva : “maha-heshvara or param-eshvara”, meaning the personal God that the devotee elevates above other Gods.
“Understanding Hinduism”, by Dr DC Rao, early in chapters 1 & 12, emphasises that God and īśvara mean : “pure consciousness” in Hinduism. This excellent treatise on best principles and practices of the religion is now on this website.
For us, maha heshvara can mean -
- pure consciousness that is fully developed, or
- “let us completely purify our consciousness”, or
- “let us develop our ability to be conscious, as best we can,” or
- Let us perfect our ability to direct our mind towards Liberation and away from troubles.
For more translated Sanskrit mantras :
click onto the + at the top of this webpage, then click again onto the +
My introductory webpages “Mantras Translated A - C”
discuss how to gain the full benefit of these mantra writeups.
©Copyright by Mike Browning, 2021. You are permitted and encouraged to copy text from this webpage and use as you see fit, provided it is not harmful to mantra-translate.
