Re: chants

[decwrl!well.sf.ca.us!well!padraigm@uunet.UU.NET (Patrick McFarland)]

In article <3244@odin.cs.hw.ac.uk> scott@cs.heriot-watt.ac.uk (Scott Telford) writes:
>
>In article <9106121704.AA26212@EDDIE.MIT.EDU>
>jburka@silver.ucs.indiana.EDU (Jeff Burka) writes:
>>Shouldn't that be "om mani padme hum"?
>>
>>(BTW, does anybody know exactly why KaTe used this in "Strange Phenomena"?
>
>...And  what does it mean, anyway? I never got any Latin at school 8^(...
>
>...and, what about the Latin bits in "Waking the Witch" too?

"om mani padme hum" isn't Latin.  It's Sanskrit.  Probably the most well-
known Hindu mantra, or chant.  "om" and "hum" are "power words", which have
no ordinarily recognized meaning, although "om" or more correctly "aum"
supposedly represents the continuing process of creation, existence and
destruction.  "mani padme" means literally "the jewel is in the lotus".
Symbolically, it represents union of the human with the divine.  In some
sects (no pun intended), it also represents sexual union, the jewel standing
for the lingam, or phallus, and the lotus for the yoni, or vagina.  BTW,
"aum" is also used frequently as a mantra in its own right.

As for the Latin in Waking the Witch, I have Hounds of Love on casette
(sigh, I know.  There's no excuse for not having CD now), and the lyrics
aren't given.  Perhaps I missed a post which listed them?

Pat
-- 
"And a thousand thousand slimy things lived on, and so did I"-STC
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro"-HST
"You're either part of the solution or you're part of the precipitate-Wilbur
"If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing"-Me