What does the flag of five colours, fluttering on monasteries, on rooftops of houses, on windows, in bullet motorbikes headed to the Himalayas mean to you? The green, yellow, blue, white, and red of the soft silk fabric of these flags sold and bought, ever so enthusiastically, are almost always for “aesthetic” purposes. Looking for the meaning behind the six syllables of “Om Mani Padme Hum”, I’ve found answers that range from “It looks pretty!” to “It’s soothing”. The mantra of Om Mani Padme Hum, if you’ve noticed, blares from the speakers at monasteries and other Buddhist religious spots. I myself have, multiple times, found it calming to listen to the mantra on my phone as a “soundtrack” on a loop or went round spinning the prayer wheels at monasteries without a hint of what the six syllables mean. Is it just the “pretty” silk fabric in vibrant colours or a calming “soundtrack”?
During my travels in Nepal, I discovered that the influence of the Buddhist religion, culture, and tradition is, contrary to popular belief, sporadic and concentrated to certain parts of the country. However, these Tibetan prayer flags can be seen even in the Hindu dominated parts of Nepal, gracing window ledges, entrances, and bikes. In my search for its meaning, I found myself loitering in the monasteries, asking (and sometimes even bothering) the lamas, young and old alike, the textual meaning of the mantra. However, to look for answers in monasteries/in religious texts wouldn’t quench my curiosity about the relevance of these religious flags outside of their natural habitat, the religious space.
Before venturing into the wide prospect of the relevance of the mantra, its meaning, textual and religious, was of much significance. As I had earlier been told, viewing and chanting the mantra to self invokes compassion, blessings, and “benevolent attention”. Spinning the prayer wheel, or the Mani wheel is believed to have the same effect. A lama in the Ghoom monastery in Darjeeling said that all of Buddha’s teachings are enveloped in this one simple mantra.
The mantra, as it travelled from India, its origin, to Tibet, underwent changes in pronunciation, which was, now that I think about it, rather confusing to me. Written as “Om Mani Padme Hum” but often pronounced “Om Mani Peme Hung”, as the Sanskrit syllables proved too difficult for the Tibetan Buddhists.
If you’ve read this so far expecting to find an English translation of the six syllables or their epistemology, this is probably where you should close the tab, for, as I have been told, there is no possible direct translation of the mantra to any Western language. Even if there was one, I am surely not aware of it. If all of Gautama Buddha’s teachings could be translated into a few English phrases, hermits wouldn’t be meditating inside the caves, chanting the prayer innumerable times for days, weeks, months, and years in complete isolation.
….Find continuation in Part II.
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