Prayer

May Mitra bring us well-being, may Varuṇa bring well-being. May Aryamā be gracious to us. May Indra and Bṛhaspati bring us well-being. May Viṣṇu of wide strides be auspicious to us. Salutation to Brahman. Salutation to you, O Vāyu — you alone are the directly perceivable Brahman. I have declared you as the directly perceivable Brahman. I have spoken the eternal order, I have spoken truth. That protected me, it protected the one who spoke. It sheltered me, it sheltered the speaker. Om, peace, peace, peace.

May Mitra bestow well-being upon us; may Varuna grant us peace. May Aryaman shower his grace on us; may Indra and Brihaspati bless us. May Vishnu of wide strides bring us auspiciousness. Salutation to Brahman — salutation to you, O Vayu. You alone are the directly perceivable Brahman. I shall declare you as that directly perceivable Brahman. I shall speak what is eternally right. I shall speak what is true. May that Truth protect me; may it protect the one who teaches. May it shelter me; may it shelter the teacher. Om — Peace, Peace, Peace.

The face of Truth is hidden by a golden vessel. O Pūṣan, remove that covering — for one devoted to truth and righteousness, grant the vision.

O Lord, by what path can this embodied soul come to be fully absorbed in Brahman? Bestow your compassionate grace upon me, my Lord — I bow at your feet.

You need to have firm conviction and pray with your whole heart.

O Agni, lead us by the auspicious path to prosperity, O God who knows all our ways. Ward off from us the sin that goes astray. We offer you our most abundant words of reverence.

The water of the Guru's feet is itself Gaya, is the imperishable sacred banyan tree, and is Prayaga, the king of pilgrimage sites. Again and again, salutations to the blessed form of the Guru.

All that is established in the three worlds is in Prana's power. Guard us as a mother guards her children; grant us prosperity and wisdom.

If any illness afflicts him during this age, let him say: 'O vital breaths, O Adityas, extend this my third libation to a full span of life; may I, the sacrifice, not be cut off in the midst of the vital breaths, the Adityas.' He then rises out of it and becomes free of illness.

If any illness afflicts him during this age, let him say: 'O vital breaths, O Rudras, extend this my midday libation into the third libation; may I, the sacrifice, not be cut off in the midst of the vital breaths, the Rudras.' He then rises out of it and becomes free of illness.

If any illness afflicts him during this age, let him say: 'O vital breaths, O Vasus, extend this my morning libation into the midday libation; may I, the sacrifice, not be cut off in the midst of the vital breaths, the Vasus.' He then rises out of it and becomes free of illness.

That form of yours which abides in speech, in hearing, in sight, and which is spread through the mind — make that auspicious; do not depart.

How short is human memory for divine favors! No man lives who has not seen certain of his prayers granted.

Prayer requires purification of the body, and gnosis requires purification of the heart. As, in the former case, the water must be clean, so in the latter case unification must be pure and belief undefiled.

Blessed are the Friends of God, Oh, blessed are they / Whose Task is ever "He is God" to say; / Happy are they who always are at Prayers, / For Heaven rewards them at the Final Day.

Then, moving back from the fire and taking the mash in his joined palms, he softly recites: 'You are Ama by name, for all this rests with you. He is the eldest, the best, the king, the overlord. May he lead me to eldership, to excellence, to kingship, to overlordship. May I indeed be all this.'

And when I said 'I take refuge in Svah', what I said was: I take refuge in the Rig Veda, I take refuge in the Yajur Veda, I take refuge in the Sama Veda — that is what I said, that is what I said.

And when I said 'I take refuge in Bhuvah', what I said was: I take refuge in fire, I take refuge in the wind, I take refuge in the sun.

And when I said 'I take refuge in Bhuh', what I said was: I take refuge in the earth, I take refuge in the mid-region, I take refuge in heaven.

When I said 'I take refuge in prana' — prana is all this that exists, whatever there is; so it was in that very thing that I took refuge.