Jai guru deva. Om... This is a phrase that appears in the song, "Across the Universe" by The Beatles in Sanskrit. The song also makes an appearance in the film, "I am Sam" as its original soundtrack. The phrase, "Jai guru deva. Om" is a mantra, a form of spiritual prayer in Hinduism that can be translated as, "Victory or Glory to the divine god". (Guru dev was the teacher of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who The Beatles followed as their teacher). However, I noticed that some bloggers interpreted this phrase as, "Allow us enlightenment, O divine God",which I prefer more than the actual translation of phrase. Because of the spiritual influences of Hinduism to the members of The Beatles, this song explores the transcendental meditation, in which the members struggled to dwell as they attempt to walk away from other negative influences.
According to John Lennon, he began writing the lyrics during time when he was conflicting over his relationship with his wife, Cynthia. Most of the lyrics, I think, it is is spiritual state during his reflection and meditation. It explores how his world is moving through various states with mixed feelings through various metaphors, such as "pools of sorrow" and "wave of joy".
The first part of the song is about his spiritual state journeying across the universe. The word that becomes the center and the connector of the song is "Om". "Om" is an iconic word that represents the vibration of universe. Lennon's journey across the universe brings him to a different world, a state that can be reached through the divine support and consistent meditation with mantra. And although I do not want to presumptuous over the actual motive of song, I wish to believe that Lennon is fighting to keep the the world that he reached after this spiritual journey across the universe. This world includes the "sound of laughter" and the "shades of love" along with "limitless undying love". And yes, this could be referring to the woman he loves, but I think Lennon's thoughts on his personal struggle to keep his love and protect his world from changing can be extended to this world. Perhaps, this is why the song was used as the original soundtrack for the film, "I am Sam".
The film is about a struggle of a father, who has developmental disability, to retain his right as a parent for her daughter, who would soon be reaching an age that is older than he is mentally. His struggle to fight to keep his daughter is his struggle to protect his individual world from changing, because his daughter is his happiness and the one, who he loves without limit.
In my opinion, the songs of The Beatles are still loved by many listeners around the world even today, because most of their songs talks about a different world. Even from the title of the song, "Across the Universe" we are able to guess that this song will be looking at things big. Even if our conditions are not exactly the same as John Lennon, we are still able to relate to lyrics through our own experiences just like the producers of "I am Sam" did with the life of Sam. So, what kind of message does this message give to us today in our world?
Today, we have our own struggles. The world sees many different conflicts in between nations in different aspects and in between religions. We conflict with our neighbors because of minor differences. But we can reach to a better state. Just as Sam fights for his right to be with his daughter, our parents must fight so that they are able to keep their role as parents to their sons, who may had to join as a solider to face death. It is our journey, literally across the world to stop these struggles to join in unity and reach harmony. This must be the spiritual state of this universe. This is why Chairman Man Hee Lee is travelling around the world and meeting people, who are different than him, to ask them to join in this movement. To return the spiritual state of this world back to the divine creator. It is to fulfill the term, "Jai guru deva". We are not working for our own individual gods that we have created based on our culture and opinion, but we are working together for one creator, who created this world. It is impossible that all the gods of the world created the world that we live in. These gods are only a reflection of one true Creator.
The world that does not change is not the current state of this world, which is filled with struggles. It is the world that we must work to preserve in the future after reaching harmony. This world must see a change, but after its change, we should work to keep it, so that it won't return.