“Om shanti”, often chanted as “Om shanti shanti shanti”, is a mantra you may be familiar with if you have an interest in yoga and spirituality. But what does it mean? And why is “shanti” repeated three times? Even simply reading about the significance of this mantra can be deeply transformative and eye-opening, but it is even more powerful when used during your own spiritual practice.
Firstly, we need to discuss the significance of “om”. “Om” is more than a word, it is a concept, and its importance cannot be understated in many religions and spiritual practices such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. “Om” is believed to be the primordial sound of the universe, the essence of the universe in a syllable. “Om” emerged as a concept from ancient Indian texts known as the Vedas, and in one scripture Mandukya Upanishad it states that “The past, the present, the future—everything is just the word ‘Om’.” It even represents all that exists outside of time as we know it. “Om” encapsulates the entire universe in all its paradoxes: nothing and everything, good and bad, the material world and the spiritual dimension. It is very frequently used in meditation as well as during prayers, chanting, and recitations of sacred texts.
“Shanti” is the Sanskrit word for “peace”—chanting “Om shanti shanti shanti” is an invocation of peace. But, like with “om”, the threefold repetition of “shanti” contains within it a magnitude of spiritual significance. Firstly, each repetition of “shanti” addresses each type of suffering: “adhidaivik”—suffering caused by factors outside of our control, such as natural disasters; “adhibhautik”—suffering caused by things in the material realm over which we have a modicum of control, such as negative interactions with people and disturbances to our environment; and “adhyatmik”—suffering over which we do have control, namely our spiritual suffering caused by the ego and “negative” emotions. So chanting “shanti” three times aims to bring peace into these three realms of discord. Furthermore, the threefold repetition of “shanti” also represents peace for the body, the speech, and the mind (so the entirety of one’s state of being) as well as peace while awake, while asleep and while in the dreamstate.
As you can see, “Om shanti shanti shanti” is a mantra of great power that could be seen to defy comprehension. To understand it further, using the mantra actively through chanting and meditation is key. Before you start, it can be helpful to familiarise yourself with the pronunciation and cadence of the mantra by listening to recordings online. You can repeat the mantra as a chant on its own or begin your meditation or yoga practice with it. Spending time with these profoundly spiritual words is invaluable for understanding the transcendental nature of spiritual experience as well as cultivating inner peace. If we can create more peace within ourselves, we are one step closer to creating a peaceful world.