A Meditation Mantra for Humanity
Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu — may all beings, everywhere, be happy and free
I often end my yoga classes with this powerful wish: lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, om shanti, shanti, shanti. It means, “May all beings everywhere, be happy and free. Peace, peace and perfect peace.”
(to hear the pronunciation, listen to the link below):
It’s for the grocery store workers, who have been tirelessly packing up the food for frenzied shoppers. It’s for the UPS driver, who delivered extra cat food to my doorstep. It’s for the exhausted doctors and nurses and health care workers, trying to save lives. It’s for you, even though I may have never met you. And it’s also for the grandmother in China, who just wishes that she could be out of quarantine and hug her grandson.
- Lokah means “realm, location, all universes existing now”
- Samastah means “all sentient beings sharing that same location”
- Sukhino means “free from suffering, centered in happiness and joy”
- Bhav represents the divine mood or state of unified existence
- Antu means “it must be so, may it be so.” The use of the sanskrit word “antu” at the ending transforms this amazing mantra into a powerful pledge, as if you are vowing, “I promise to do that.”
- The three shantis represent the words, “peace, peace and perfect peace.”
Uttering the words of this lovely shanti (peace) mantra always reminds me of how interconnected we all are. It brings me a sense of calm, and envelops me in a sense of deep well-being.
In these new times, when the whole world seems like it is shifting beneath our very feet, it helps to find some grounding, some reconnecting, to those threads of reality weaving through the the world all around us.
I have always been an “outdoors” meditator. It allows me to feel the roots of the earth supporting me, and to hear the buzz of the bees, and to feel the warmth of the sun on my face. And, lately, I have been beginning my practice with “lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu — may all beings, everywhere, be happy and free.”
I think that right now, the most important part of this mantra is the wish for everyone, regardless of whether or not you have ever met them, feel some sense of peace and happiness. It’s for the grocery store workers, who have been tirelessly packing up the food for frenzied shoppers. It’s for the UPS driver, who delivered extra cat food to my doorstep. It’s for the exhausted doctors and nurses and health care workers, trying to save lives. It’s for you, even though I may have never met you. And it’s also for the grandmother in China, who just wishes that she could be out of quarantine and hug her grandson
This mantra doesn't need to be chanted in sanskrit. English, or any other language, is just fine. It’s the meaning, and the intent, that is important.
I invite you to find a little bit of nature — whether through the window of your apartment, or underneath the jacaranda tree in your backyard — and repeat the mantra, or just think about the meaning, for a few moments. I think that you, too, might feel the roots of the earth, cradling you. Then just imagine sending the mantra back out through those roots to the rest of the world.
To hear this spoken, as a meditation, please listen here:
One of my favorite, more modern variations on lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu, performed by my dear friend, Girish Cruden:
And another, really lovely, version:
Erika Burkhalter is a yogi, neurophilosopher, cat-mom, photographer, and a lover of nature and travel. She has been studying and teaching the ancient yogic texts for many years and holds an MA in Yoga Studies, as well as a MS in Neuropsychology. She has been teaching yoga for twenty years. Erika teaches yoga philosophy for Loyola Marymount University’s extension program and has traveled within India seven times to study yoga, to see the ancient sites, for graduate school study, and to take her yoga students on retreats to see the land where yoga originated. Erika is also an editor for Dharma Talk, a medium publication.
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Story and photo ©Erika Burkhalter. All rights reserved.
