Three requests and three shāntis, lead me from the unreal to the real, darkness to light, death to deathlessness.
The movement itself, from unreal to real Vedic (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad) Peace & śānti
The mantra
असतो मा सद्गमय तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
asato mā sad-gamaya tamaso mā jyotir-gamaya mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya oṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ
Meaning
From the unreal, lead me to the real; from darkness, lead me to light; from death, lead me to deathlessness. Oṁ: peace, peace, peace.
In the tradition
A prayer that asks for direction rather than things: not “give me truth” but “lead me toward it”. The threefold śānti at the end grants peace in advance of arrival, the tradition’s way of saying the walking itself is the gift.
Sources & further reading
- Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad , Yājñavalkya's circle (1.3.28, asato mā sad-gamaya)