The Shanti Mantras are a group of peace invocations found across the Upanishads, chanted at the beginning and end of study and spiritual practice as a way of creating and consecrating an atmosphere of peace. The most universally used is Om Shanti Shanti Shanti, but the tradition includes several longer prayers that extend the wish for peace to all dimensions of existence.
Meaning and Pronunciation
Shanti is the Sanskrit word for peace, but it carries a richness of meaning that the English word does not fully capture. It refers to peace not just in the sense of the absence of conflict but to a deep inner stillness, a fundamental freedom from agitation at the level of body, mind, and spirit. The triple repetition Om Shanti Shanti Shanti is traditionally said to address these three levels simultaneously: peace in the body and the world, peace in the mind, and peace in the spirit. Pronounced Om Shahn-tee Shahn-tee Shahn-tee, the mantra is best chanted slowly, with a full pause after each repetition.
How to Use It in Your Practice
The Shanti Mantra works beautifully as a closing chant at the end of yoga practice or meditation, offered as a gift of peace to oneself and to all beings. After your final Savasana, come to a comfortable seat, take three slow breaths, and chant Om Shanti Shanti Shanti three times. Allow each chanting to settle completely before the next.
You can also use this mantra at any moment of disturbance: in traffic, before a difficult conversation, in the midst of sleeplessness. It is a remarkably effective emergency peace practice, a way of returning to the ground of stillness that is always present beneath the surface agitation. Three repetitions, spoken quietly or mentally, with genuine intention, can shift the quality of inner experience noticeably within moments.
