Mantra for Coping with COVID19

 

Many of you know the mantra that begins with “Gobinday, Mukanday…”.  Did you know this was written by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru when he was 19 years old?  This beautiful, self-healing explanation is written by Snatam Kaur.

 

Gobinday: God is taking care of us; the sustainer. Feel all of the ways that you are sustained.

 

Mukanday: God liberates us. Feel yourself being released from the weight of the world. You are Spirit first, free to live in your truth.

 

Udaaray: God uplifts. Feel God coming into relation with your deepest troubles. Feel yourself being embraced by God and being healed as you are lifted up and out of each and every trouble.

 

Apaaray: God carries us. Feel how the hand of God is carrying you, has been, and will always carry you. You simply have to come back to the breath to realize it. Feel completely supported, held, and loved.

 

Haree-ang: God destroys. Let’s say, for example, that everything is falling apart in your life, and you are being torn apart by that experience. This is the energy of haree-ang. When we come into alignment with our Soul, through the power of breath and practice, we begin to see that what’s being destroyed is actually not in alignment with our Soul’s destiny. Instead of a destruction that we resist, it becomes a destruction that allows us to shed our old ways and start fresh. Really, in each moment, as sure as we exhale, there is an elemental destruction occurring in the universe.

 

Karee-ang: God creates. As soon as something is destroyed, by law of the universe, another thing is created. New blessings come into our lives constantly. Take a moment to feel all of the blessings created for you on this day.  And also feel your own creativity as the Divine flows through you, trusting that your inner knowing voice is guiding you.

 

Nirnaamay: God is without Name. So, here we are as human beings with our minds, trying to define and name everything. That is the power and the job of the mind. It’s good. We need names to anchor into our knowledge and awareness. God also has many names from many traditions, and when we chant those names, we are uplifted. However, here in this mantra, we are going to let go of all of that and go into the unknown. Like a baby being born who does not have a language, and like an old man who breathes his last breath wordlessly, we are brought back into the essential nature of existence. We are asked to let go of our knowledge and just be in the flow of Spirit. Try it out for a moment.

 

Akaamay: God is beyond desire. This is asking us to let go of the quality or experience of desire, because it only causes pain to be desiring something outside of yourself.  The experience that will fulfill us most deeply is already happening within. Being in touch with this inner space will help you to give more fully to your loved ones in a way that feels joyful and true. I invite you to take a deep breath, close your eyes, and go into your interior space, and feel what is within you.