Shānti
In class, we begin and end the practice with the blessing “Śhānti,” one of the most widely used words in the Sanskrit vocabulary.
It derives from the root śam (“to calm,” “to soothe”) and the suffix -ti, which denotes a state. Thus, Śhānti describes a state of peace, serenity, and inner stillness.
We often tend to associate calmness with inactivity, passivity, or low energy. Shānti, however, defines a state in which inner friction has subsided, without life itself being extinguished. It does not mean that we cease to feel, create, move, and so on. It means that we are not in constant resistance to whatever is happening within us and around us. That we are sufficiently anchored in our center so that we can move between different circumstances with adaptability and acceptance. That we gain flexibility through stability.
And what is our center? A fixed place, a space, a feeling? This is what all our spiritual practices ultimately urge us to discover.
However, for one to find peace in the face of a mind that delights in constantly moving through the world of phenomena, one needs willpower, alertness, and clarity. That is why we often loosely translate the state of Shānti as “serene vitality.” After all, isn’t that what we’re all looking for? To be able to feel alive without being constantly on edge! To have enthusiasm for life and our plans without our happiness constantly depending on the next thing that might happen. To act from a place of fulfillment rather than fear, craving, or inadequacy.
When our energy isn’t constantly drained by internal conflict, there’s more room for exploration, connection, and creation. It’s interesting that “śam” is also associated with prosperity, well-being, and “auspiciousness.”
In class, we recite the mantra Om Shanti three times as a prayer for peace against the three sources of distress:
- Ādhidaivika — those arising from natural phenomena
- Ādhibhautika — those arising from other beings
- Ādhyātmika — those arising from the body and mind themselves
Om Shanti ~ in our deepest Self (OM), where all phenomena dissolve, the true nature of the Soul is Peace.
May this school year inspire us with a little more Shānti! Peace, not as the absence of movement—which is inevitable anyway—but as the absence of inner conflict within movement.
Om Shānti, Shānti, Shānti