oṃ bhadraṃ karṇebhiḥ śṛṇuyāma

This luminous Shanti mantra from the Upanishads is a profound prayer that recognises how our entire being needs to be aligned with the divine purpose. The mantra opens by seeking divine grace for our faculties of perception - that our ears may hear what elevates us spiritually, and our eyes witness that which is noble and sacred (bhadraṃ). It then extends beyond mere perception to our entire physical existence - praying for strength and stability in our limbs, not for personal comfort, but so that our very being (tanūbhiḥ) becomes an instrument of divine work (devahitaṃ).