Asato Ma Sad Gamaya

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।

तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।

मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।

ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्तिः ॥

Oṁ asatō mā sad gamaya ।

tamasō mā jyōtirgamaya ।

mr̥tyōrmā amr̥taṁ gamaya ।

oṁ śānti śānti śāntiḥ ॥

Meaning:

Om! Lead me from the unreal to the real; from darkness (ignorance)

to light (knowledge); and from the world of mortality to the world of immortality (Moksha).

Extended Meaning:

This shloka has a very deep philosophical meaning. All the lines of the sholka explain that the world we perceive with our five senses are very limited. There are many things that we are unable to explain or understand. We pray to the Bhagwan, to lift our consciousness out of the false & ignorant existence (asat and tamas) and bring our consciousness to the truthful & knowledgeable existence (sad and jyoti).