FROM THE THE VEDAS May the Gods Help Us! Swami Chinmayananda on
an ancient student/teacher invocation This peace chant is sung
by the teacher and the taught, as well as during puja,
traditional temple worship. It is a prayer from the Taittiriya
Upanishad of the Krishna Yajur Veda raised in devotion to the
recognized Gods of the Vedic Period. These Deities invoked here
are all delegates representing in Themselves one power or
another given to Them by the All-Powerful. Thus, Mitra is the
Guardian Spirit of the prana, or life-force, and the daytime.
Varuna governs the "outgoing breath," apana, and the night.
Aryama is the presiding Deity of the Sun and the eyes. Indra is
the governor of all might, and the physical strength in an
individual. Though it cannot be located, we can at least say
that its expression is generally through the instrument of the
hands. Brihaspati is an expression of the Divine which controls
intelligence and knowledge. Vishnu, in His all-pervading nature,
governs all movements and thus beco