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Each morning, around the world, students in the Himalayan Yoga Tradition recite seven prayers: three “Prayers to the Guru,” the “Peace Prayer,” Shankara’s “Prayer at Dawn,” the “Prayer of Harmony,” and the “Prayer of Completion.”

These prayers are not only beautiful in terms of the sound of the words and their melodies but are profound philosophical dissertations about the nature of reality which, when contemplated upon, can orient one’s day and give a solid perspective and solace in the face of social turmoil.

These prayers have incredible depth to them. Swami Veda has given lectures on them, and both Stoma Parker and Jan Brzezinski (Sri Jagadananda Das) have given word-for-word translations of them. Each word in these prayers, Swami Veda said, is a little “idea capsule.”

This Thursday, Michael Smith will go through these translations, word-for-word with hand-outs, and share his personal contemplations about them over the last 45 years.

By listening to this presentation about the “Morning Prayers” new understandings will come, and your morning recitations – and your sadhana – will be greatly enriched.