Hindu Prayers  

Hinduism is an ancient religion with no founder or known date of origin. The term "Hinduism" simply derives from the word "India" and refers to a wide variety of religious traditions and philosophies that have developed in India over thousands of years. Most Hindus worship one or more deities, believe in reincarnation, value the practice of meditation, and observe festive holidays like Diwali and Holi. 1

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A Hindu Prayer for Peace

Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real.
Oh God, lead us from darkness to light.
Oh God, lead us from death to immortality.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all.
Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace in celestial regions.
May there be peace on earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and plants bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May the Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world.
May all things be a source of peace to us.
And may thy peace itself bestow peace on all and may that peace come to me also. 
 - U.N. Day of Prayer for World Peace 2

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Hindu Upanishads

Lead me from death to life,
from falsehood to truth.
Lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust.
Lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe.
Peace, peace, peace.
 - Adapted from the Hindu Upanishads by Satish Kumar

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O! Mother Earth

O! Mother Earth,
who has the ocean as clothes and mountains and forests on her body,
who is the wife of Lord Vishnu, I bow to you.
Please forgive me for touching you with my feet.
 - Hindu Prayer

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Bhagavad-Gita

The brightness of the sun, which lights up the world, the brightness of the moon and of fire
- these are my glory.   With a drop of my energy. I enter the earth and support all creatures.
Through the moon, the vessel of life-giving fluid, I nourish all plants.
 - Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord)

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Peace

Supreme Lord, let there be peace in the sky and in the atmosphere. Let there be peace in the plant world and in the forests. Let the cosmic powers be peaceful. Let the Brahman, the true essence and source of life, be peaceful. Let there be undiluted and fulfilling peace everywhere.
 - The Atharva Veda

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Prayers for Peace

May there be peace in the higher regions; may there be peace in the firmament;
may there be peace on earth.
May the waters flow peacefully; may the herbs and plants grow peacefully;
may all the divine powers bring unto us peace.
The supreme Lord is peace.
May we all be in peace, peace, and only peace; and may that peace come unto each of us.
Shanti (peace) Shanti---Shanti!
 - The Vedas, trans. Raimundo Panniker

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Hindu Morning Prayer

May all in this world be happy,
may they be healthy,
may they be comfortable
and never miserable.
May the rain come down in the proper time,
may the earth yield plenty of corn,
may the country be free from war,
may the Brahmans be secure.
 - Hindu Morning Prayer

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Pure and Strong

Lord, make me so pure and strong
That all creatures may look upon me with friendship.
And may I also look upon all creatures with friendship.
 - Yajur Veda

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There is a Light

There is a light that shines beyond all things on earth,
beyond all of us, beyond the heavens,
beyond the highest, the very highest heavens.
This is the light that shines in our hearts.
 - Chandogya Upanishad

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Nature's Beauty

Nature's beauty is an art of God. Let us feel the touch of God's invisible hands in everything beautiful.
By the first touch of His hand rivers throb and ripple. When He smiles the sun shines, the moon glimmers,
the stars twinkle, the flowers bloom. By the first rays of the rising sun, the universe is stirred;
the shining gold is sprinkled on the smiling buds of rose; the fragrant air is filled with sweet melodies
of singing birds, the dawn is the dream of God's creative fancy.
 - Rig Veda 1.6.3

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Prayer for the Unity of All Life

May the winds, the oceans, the herbs, and night and days, the mother earth,
the father heaven, all vegetation, the sun, be all sweet to us.
Let us follow the path of goodness for all times,
like the sun and the moon moving eternally in the sky.
Let us be charitable to one another.
Let us not kill or be violent with one another.
Let us know and appreciate the points of view of others. And let us unite. 
 - Hindu Prayer

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Prayer For Peace

I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship.
I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings.
My wisdom flows from the Highest Source. I salute that Source in you.
Let us work together for unity and love.
 - Mahatma Gandhi

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Peace Chant

Peace be to the East!  Peace be to the West!
Peace be to the North!  Peace be to the South!
Peace be above!  Peace be below!
Peace be to all creatures of this universe!
Peace be everywhere.
 - Sri Swami Sivananda

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Quotes and Inspirations

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. 
 - Mahatma Gandhi

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
 - Mahatma Gandhi

Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful.  Everything is simply happy.  Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance.  Look at the flowers - for no reason.  It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are.
 - Osho

Just as the beauty and sweet fragrance of the Lotus flower are only revealed when it rises up from the muddy water and turns towards the sun, so our lives will only grow in beauty when we leave behind the world of Maya or illusion and look toward God, through meditation.
 - Swami Vishnu Devananda

The fragrance always remains on the hand that gives the rose.
 - Gandhi

We meditate on the transcendental glory of the Deity Supreme, who is inside the heart of the Earth, inside the life of the sky, and inside the soul of the heaven.
 - From the Gayatri Mantra

Only spiritual consciousness - realization of God’s presence in oneself and in every other living being - can save the world. I see no chance for peace without it. 
 - Paramahansa Yogananda

The wise ones who see that the consciousness within them, is the same consciousness within all beings, attain peace.
 - The Katha Upanishad

If one's mind had peace, the whole world would appear peaceful.
 - Sri Ramana Maharshi

You have it in your power to make your days on Earth a path of flowers, instead of a path of thorns.
 - Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Be the peace you wish for the world.
 - Mahatma Gandhi

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Reference Information

1  www.religionfacts.com/compare/religions

2  www.hds.harvard.edu/life-at-hds/religious-and-spiritual-life/peace-and-justice/prayers-for-peace-and-justice

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