Om Namah Shivaya

So now we're going to sing a song to Shiva, and this song, the word onnama shivaya, shivaya namaha, shambhu, shankara, nama shivaya, giri ja, shankara, nama shivaya. aruna chala, shiva, nama shivaya, aruna chala shiva, nama shivaya. So Shiva, the infinite, the always auspicious, the source and repository of consciousness, the container of everything. So we bow to that consciousness which is the heart or the source of everything, nama shivaya. And shambhu, shankara, these are two names of Shiva.

Now Shiva has many epithets and many aspects, and shambhu and shankara, sham means basically that which is auspicious, that which is benevolent. So bhu is the verb to be, to bring into being, if you like. So shambhu, the one who makes, who brings up beautiful, agreeable, harmonious things. And shankara, kara to make, the one who makes things beautiful, agreeable, harmonious. The idea that consciousness has that power to harmonize.

When we cultivate presence, we learn step by step how we can actually invite ourselves into deeper harmony. And Arunachala, this refers to one of Shiva's fabled favorite horns. So he likes to be, spend a lot of time in Mount Kailash, they say, the anthropomorphized form of Shiva in Mount Kailash in northern India. But when he goes on holiday to the south, he likes to go to the mountain called Arunachala. So this is also associated with Raman Maharishi.

He was in this part of South India. And it's one of these mountains that sometimes people think, oh, a mountain, what does it mean when a mountain is holy? But sometimes people who are very kind of, let's say, I have a friend, for example, who's a very rational man. He is an engineer and proud of it. And he's not so sure about kind of esoteric things.

He's rather wary of them. But he went to Arunachala, and he's just like, blew him away, I don't know any words for it. There's a presence there that just made it very easy to kind of dive into this more meditative place and see parts of myself that I wouldn't have known before. And so this is the idea of Arunachala Shiva. This is actually the Arun is the dawn, and it's the light of the dawn.

So the idea is that sometimes in life, because Shiva contains everything, sometimes in life we experience nighttime, we experience times of darkness. And Shiva's known as a lot of destruction and transformation. But the idea is that after the darkness comes the light. And the idea is that in the dark, the dawning is already beginning. Just like in life, all of the beautiful things sprout from the dark.

So Arunachala Shiva Namah Shivaya, we bow to Shiva recognizing that even in the dark times, even in difficulties, there is consciousness. And because there's consciousness, we can transform challenging opportunities into opportunities for growth. So we'll start with Aum, three times, a capella, and then we'll go into the chant. And we'll start as well as the other word, one other important word will be aa, aa. My favorite word in kirtan.

And later today, we're going to have another song, and I'll talk about why I'm so fond of aa. Aum, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, aa, Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Aum Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Shivaya Shambha Shankarama Chihaya Giridha Shankarama Chihaya Shambha Shankarama Chihaya Giridha Shankarama Chihaya Shambha Shankarama Chihaya Giridha Shankarama Chihaya Shambha Shankarama Chihaya Giridha Shankarama Chihaya Shihaya Nama Nama Shihaya Shihaya Nama Nama Shihaya Shihaya Nama Nama Shihaya Shihaya Nama Nama Shihaya Shambha Shankarama Chihaya Giridha Shankarama Chihaya Shambha Shankarama Chihaya Giridha Shankarama Chihaya Shambha Shankarama Chihaya Giridha Shankarama Chihaya shambha namah shivaya giri dasankaranamah shivaya shambho shankaranamah shivaya giri dasankaranamah shivaya shambho shankaranamah shivaya giri dasankaranamah shivaya shambho shankaranamah shivaya giri dasankaranamah shivaya shambho shankaranamah shivaya giri dasankaranamah shivaya shambho shankaranamah shivaya giri dasankaranamah shivaya shambho shankaranamah shivaya giri dasankaranamah shivaya shivaya namah namah shivaya shivaya namah namah shivaya shivaya namah shivaya shivaya namah namah shivaya namah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah