This short video is, in part, inspired by experiences in the waking state, the dream state, and meditation on the Gāyatrī Mantra. It is a mantra that resonates in every cell of the body, beyond the intellectual understanding of Sanskrit or definition of the words.
oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ
tat savitur vareṇyaṃ
bhargo devasya dhīmahi
dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt
My brother understands Sanskrit and the richness in the sound and meaning of the words. His voice is imbued with a deep respect and understanding. He sent his recitation of the mantra to me at the beginning of the year, as we shared our thoughts about the Bhagavad Gita, amongst others things. I have included it in this video.
There are several direct translations available of this mantra. I like the more poetic rendering by the American / Indian poet Ravi Shankar:
“Oh manifest and unmanifest, wave and ray of breath, red lotus of insight, transfix us from eye to navel to throat, under canopy of stars spring from soil in an unbroken arc of light that we might immerse ourselves until lit from within like the sun itself.”
The title of the video is That. As I read more Buddhist texts and Hindu texts, this simple word itself hangs in the air with vibration and possibility. We are all part and manifestation of the whole. That.