Bodhidham opening & closing prayer.
The daily prayer of Bodhidham Yog Dhyan Ashram. A salutation to the Guru, and a request to be led from darkness to light.
Salutation to the Guru.
The opening verse of every practice at Bodhidham. A salutation to the teacher who reveals the Ultimate Truth that pervades the entire universe, both the movable and the unmovable.
Word by word
I offer my salutations to that Guru who revealed to me the Ultimate Truth, undivided, infinite, divinity beyond time and space, and which pervades the entire universe, both movable and unmovable.
From darkness to light.
The Pavamana Mantra from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. A request to be led from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. Recited at the end of every practice, with three repetitions of shaantih: peace in body, peace in mind, peace in spirit.
Meaning
Aum. Hey Lord, keep me not in the material world of unreality, but lead me toward the Ultimate Reality of the eternal Self. Keep me not in the ignorant state of darkness, but lead me toward the light of spiritual wisdom. Keep me not in the mundane world of mortality, but lead me toward the world of immortality, of Self-realisation. Aum, peace, peace, peace — at the level of body, mind and spirit. May the Lord bless all.
May the Lord bless all.
Download the printable prayer
A printable PDF of the full Bodhidham opening and closing prayer, with Devanagari, IAST transliteration and the word-by-word meaning.