Sanskrit is a classical language of India. Major modern-day languages of India are derived from Sankrit, and many Sanskrit derivatives are found in other languages, including English. Punjabi is an Indian language which belongs to the outer-circle of the Indo-Aryan languages and is distantly related to English - being a member of the same Indo-European language family. It is a modern Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the Punjab states of both India and Pakistan.
Remember this - Punjabi is language (what we speak). Gurmukhi is a script (how we write punjabi). I teach Mantra in ALL my classes. Now the 'meaning' of mantra is offered differently for children - to serve them at an age appropriate level. We sing a song (I am Happy - by Shakta Kaur Khalsa see Radiant Child.com) in my classes that includes English as well as Sanskrit. I let the kids know the Sanskrit comes from India and I let them know the 'meaning'.
So this morning one of the Moms sent me a message on Facebook which let me know the message behind the mantra made its way into Daniel's reality. As I have said before often times kids come to class and do not participate so it looks like they are not doing anything. Daniel has been coming to my class for years - not doing anything. But when the water hit the wheel Daniel looked within and relied on his own budding moral compass.
Here is the message from Miriam:
Thursday night Daniel found a bell from a cat toy and put in his mouth. I told him to take it out and he said he swallowed it. I called the doctor to find out if we should take him to the ER. While I waited for her return call I found the bell. Larry sat Daniel down for a conversation about lying to which Daniel replied, "and Wahay (sp?) Guru means I love the teacher inside of me." Larry looked a bit confused so Daniel told him, "Sat nam means I tell the truth and wahay guru means I love the teacher inside of me."Sat Nam is a frequently-used mantra for meditation exercises and has become popularized by Kundalini yoga instructors. In Sanskrit, "sat" means "truth" and "nam" means "identity". There are many differing interpretations when you put the two together- some have given the following interpretation: “truth is my identity”. Other common interpretations include: "express the truth within you," "in name there is truth" and "the light shines in you"; light being a metaphor for truth. The words themselves have a soothing and centering quality due to their monosyllabic nature, similar to sounds made by babies.
Aum (or OM) is a mantra, or vibration, that is traditionally chanted at the beginning and end of yoga sessions. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, aa, au and ma which, when combined together, make the sound Aum or Om. It is believed to be the basic sound of the world and to contain all other sounds. It is said to be the sound of the universe. What does that mean? Somehow the ancient yogis knew what scientists today are telling us–that the entire universe is moving. Nothing is ever solid or still. Everything that exists pulsates, creating a rhythmic vibration that the ancient yogis acknowledged with the sound of Aum. We may not always be aware of this sound in our daily lives, but we can hear it in the rustling of the autumn leaves, the waves on the shore, the inside of a seashell.
Chanting Aum allows us to recognize our experience as a reflection of how the whole universe moves–the setting sun, the rising moon, the ebb and flow of the tides, the beating of our hearts. As we chant Aum, it takes us for a ride on this universal movement, through our breath, our awareness, and our physical energy, and we begin to sense a bigger connection that is both uplifting and soothing.
