I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the line in my religious and metaphysical studies I started learning about Buddhism. While some of it doesn’t resonate with me, many of the practices and teachings do. I began incorporating some of their practices into my own spiritual practices, and one of the things I felt very attracted to were mantras.

I have a couple of lists on my Protopage with various mantras and their approximate meanings. (It’s hard to translate the complex ideas of some mantras into simple English words.) I have made a great deal of use of the healing mantra Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha, and of the balancing mantra Om Mani Padme Hum. There are others I’ve used as well, like Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, Om Vasudhare Svaha, Om Padmo Ushnisha Vimale Hum Phat and Om Shuddhe Shuddhe Mahayogini Mahaanidre Swaahaa. (Interesting side note: Google Drive’s spell check recognizes all of these mantras as being spelled correctly. I’m surprised it understands them as words at all.)

Today I was listening to my Spotify station that i based on Vas “In the Garden of Souls”, and it played a song called “Om Shanti Om” by Sheila Chandra. I’ve grown quite fond of Sheila’s voice since she plays in my list often. I immediately loved the sound of this song, and recognized it as a mantra. The song made me feel so peaceful, I had to look up the meaning.

Om Shanti Om, like many mantras encompasses many complex ideas, but at it’s core is a call for peace to all beings in the universe. Om is the sound of God or Creation, and Shanti means peace. It represents a wish to alleviate physical, spiritual and natural suffering from all beings. Isn’t that a beautiful thing? I’ve added this mantra and it’s meaning to my list, and I may very well use it in future meditations.

If you’d like to hear the song and Sheila Chandra’s lovely voice, you can listen to it here:

Do you use mantras in your spiritual practice? Do you use mantras from a specific religion, or do you make up your own? (I do both.)

Read More: The Health – Wealth – Magic Mantra – The Way of Universal Balance: Chanting

Briana Blair

Briana Blair is an author and artisan. She has published more then 30 books and thousands of articles across multiple sites. After practicing Paganism and witchcraft for 25 years, she's now on a journey as an atheist and skeptic. She's eclectic, unpredictable, and always evolving. Facebook - Twitter