nārāyaṇa sūktam

May He protect us both (the teacher and the student) together. May He nourish us both together. May we both work together with great energy.

May our study be brilliant and effective. May we never harbor ill will toward one another.

Om. Peace, peace, peace. The Creator revealed Him in the beginning, and Indra, the all-knowing, perceived Him in the four directions.

He who knows Him thus attains immortality even here in this world; there is no other path for liberation. Om. I meditate upon the Divine Being who has a thousand heads, who sees all, and who is the source of happiness for the entire universe.

The entire universe is Narayana, the Divine Being, the imperishable, the supreme goal. He is the eternal Lord, beyond all, pervading everything, the remover of sins and the sustainer of the world.

The entire universe is indeed the Supreme Being; it exists by His grace. He is the Lord of the universe, the ruler of the Self, eternal, auspicious, and unchanging.

Narayana is the greatest object of knowledge and the supreme refuge of all souls. Narayana is the supreme light, and Narayana is the supreme Self.

Narayana is the supreme Brahman, and Narayana is the supreme reality. Narayana is the supreme object of meditation, and meditation itself is Narayana.

Whatever exists in this universe, whether seen or heard, is pervaded by Narayana from within and without.

He is the infinite, the immutable, the omniscient, residing in the ocean of the heart. He is the source of happiness for the world, dwelling within the lotus of the heart, which is shaped like a bud and hangs downwards.

Below the region of the heart, inverted and hanging, is the great abode of the universe, resplendent and surrounded by flames.

It hangs like the bud of a lotus, supported by nerve-like channels. Within its core is a subtle aperture, and in that space resides everything that exists.

In the middle of that space burns a great fire, the flame of the universe, facing all directions. It consumes the food offered to it, distributing energy throughout the body, eternal and all-knowing.

Its rays extend horizontally, upward, and downward. It warms the body from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head.

In the center of that fire is a subtle, upward-reaching flame, shining like a streak of lightning amidst a dark, rain-bearing cloud.

It is as slender as the awn of a paddy grain, golden, radiant, and infinitesimally small. Within that flame, the Supreme Soul resides.

He is Brahma, He is Shiva, He is Hari, He is Indra, He is the Imperishable, the Supreme, and the Self-Luminous. He is the Cosmic Order, the Truth, the Supreme Brahman, and the Purusha of dark-blue and tawny hues.

Salutations again and again to Him, who is the source of pure energy, the all-seeing Lord, and the embodiment of the entire universe. We meditate upon Narayana, the son of Vasudeva.

May that Vishnu inspire and guide our intellect. Om, peace, peace, peace.