Gayatri Mantra – A Universal Prayer

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्।। -ऋग्वेद

Om Bhur Bhuvaḥ Swaḥ

Tat-savitur Vareñya

Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi

Dhiyo Yonaḥ Prachodayāt

gayatri mantra

Gayatri Mantra meaning: 

We meditate thereon most adored Supreme Lord, the creator, whose effulgence (divine light) illumines all realms (physical, mental and spiritual). May this divine light illumine our intellect.

Word meaning:

Om: The primaeval sound;

Bhur: the physical body/physical realm;

Bhuvah: the life force/the mental realm 

Swah: the soul/spiritual realm; 
Tat: That (God); 

Savitur: the Sun, Creator (source of all life); 

Vareñyam: adore; 

Bhargo: effulgence (divine light); 

Devasya: supreme Lord; 

Dhīmahi: meditate; 

Dhiyo: the intellect; 

Yo: May this light; 

Nah: our; 

Prachodayāt: illumine/inspire.

What is the Gayatri Mantra?

The Gayatri is a universal prayer enshrined within the Vedas. It is addressed to the Immanent and Transcendent Divine which has been given the name ‘Savita’ which means “from which all this is often born.” The Gayatri can be considered as having three parts –

(i) Adoration 

(ii) Meditation 

(iii) Prayer

First, the Divine is praised, then it’s meditated upon in reverence and eventually, an appeal is formed to the Divine to awaken and strengthen the intellect, the discriminating faculty of man.

The Gayatri is taken into account because of the essence of the Vedas. Veda means the ultimate knowledge, and this prayer fosters and sharpens the knowledge-yielding faculty. The four core-declarations enshrined within the four Vedas are implied during this Gayatri mantra.

The Gayatri Mantra may be a sacred chant that demonstrates the unity that underlies manifoldness in creation. It is through the popularity of this unity that we will understand the multiplicity. Clay is one and therefore the same thing, though pots of various shapes and sizes are often made up of it. Gold is one, though gold ornaments are often multifarious. The Atma is one, though the embodied forms during which it resides could also be many. Whatever the colour of the cow, the milk is usually white.

Who is Mother Gayatri?

Gayatri is the Mother of all scriptures (Vedas). She is present, wherever Her name is chanted. She is very powerful. The One who nourishes the individual being is Gayatri. She bestows pure thoughts on anyone who worships Her. She is the embodiment of all Goddesses. Our very breath is Gayatri, our faith alive is Gayatri. Gayatri has five faces, they’re the five life principles. She has nine descriptions, they’re ‘Om, Bhur, Bhuvah, Swah, Tat, Savitur, Vareñyaṃ, Bhargo, Devasya’. Mother Gayatri nourishes and protects every being and she or he channelizes our senses within the proper direction. ‘Dhīmahi’ means meditation. We pray to her to inspire us with good intelligence. ‘Dhīyo Yonah Prachodayāt’ – We beseech her to bestow on us everything we’d like. Thus Gayatri may be a complete prayer for cover, nourishment and eventually, liberation.

Gayatri is that the mother of the Vedas (गायत्री चांधसं माता)

Gayatri, however, has three names: Gayatri, Savitri, and Saraswathi. These three are present in everyone. Gayatri represents the senses; it’s the master of the senses. Savitri is the master of Life Force(प्राण). Many Indians are conversant in the story of Savitri, who brought back to life her dead husband, Sathyavan. Savitri signifies truth. Saraswathi is the presiding deity of speech (वाक). The three represent purity in thought, word, and deed (त्रिकरण शुद्धि). Although Gayatri has three names, all three are in each folk because of the senses (Gayatri), the facility of speech (Saraswathi), and therefore the vital force (Savitri).

The universality of Gayatri Mantra

For every quite power, proof could also be sought by direct perception or by the method of inference. Men sought to seek out by what direct proof they might experience this transcendental power. They found the proof within the Sun. Without the Sun there’ll be no light in the least. neither is that each one. All activities will come to a standstill. during this world, hydrogen is important for the expansion of plants and living beings. The Sun’s primary components are hydrogen and helium. Without hydrogen and helium, the planet cannot survive. Hence, the ancients concluded that the Sun was the visible proof (of a transcendental power). They also found some subtle secrets about the Sun.

Hence, they adored the Sun because of the principal deity within the Gayatri mantra. “Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayāt” – May the Sun illumine our intellects within the same way he sheds his effulgence. this is often the prayer addressed to the Sun within the Gayatri mantra. during this way, they came to take the Gayatri mantra because the mother of the Vedas.

The earliest finding of the seekers was that the Sun was the foremost important think about determining the lifestyle of man and providing the essential requirements for living. Life would be impossible without the Sun for man, beast, bird, or plant. The Sun was considered the source of all energy and liable for birth, growth, and destruction of all things in creation. it had been for this reason that Sage Viswamitra glorified the Sun God (Savitr) within the Gayatri mantra.

Repeat the Gayatri – it’s a universal prayer. it’s three parts, meditation on the glory of God because the illumination immanent within the three worlds – upper, middle and lower (Om Bhur Bhuva Swah; Tat Savitur Vareñyam); it’s smaraña or picturisation of the Grace (Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi) and prārthanā, prayer for compassion for the sake of liberation, through the awakening of intelligence that pervades the whole universe, to not any particular name or sort of that intelligence; then, all can use it and be saved by it. There are often no fanaticism, no hatred, no rivalry, if the Gayatri is adhered to, its pious repetition will clarify the passions and promote love.

The deeper meaning of the Gayatri Mantra

Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati are latent in everybody. Bar, Bhuvah and Swah within the Gayatri mantra ask the body (materialization), the life-force (vibration), and therefore the soul (radiation). Bar means the world, which is nothing but a mixture of materials. This denotes the physical body, which is additionally a mixture of materials. Bhuvah refers to the life-force, which makes the body vibrate. Swan refers to Prajnāna-shakti, which sustains the life-force. This Prajnāna-shakti is understood as a constant integrated awareness. this is often also termed as radiation. All three, namely, materialization, vibration, and radiation are present in man. You’re not one, but three—the one you think that you’re (physical body), the one others think you’re (mental body) and therefore the one you are a soul (Atma).

Gayatri is described as having five faces. the primary is “Om”. The second is “Bhur-bhuvah-svah”. The third is. “Tat-savitur Vareñyaṃ”. The fourth is “Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi”. The fifth is “Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayāt”. Gayatri represents in these five faces the five prāñas (life forces). Gayatri is the protector of the five prāñas in man. “Gāyantaṃ trāyate it Gayatri” — Because it protects the one who recites it, it’s called Gayatri. When Gayatri acts as a protector of the life-forces, she is understood as Savitri. Savitri is understood within the scriptural story because the devoted wife who brought back to life her husband, Sathyavan. Savitri is that the presiding deity of the five prāñas. She protects those that lead a life of Truth. this is often the inner meaning.

When one’s intelligence and intuition are developed by the recitation of the mantra, the activating deity is Gayatri. The time When the life-forces are protected, the guardian deity is named Savitri. When one’s speech is protected, the deity is named Saraswati. due to the protective roles of Savithri, Saraswati and Gayatri, about life, speech, and therefore the intellect, Gayatri is described as “Sarva-devatā-swarūpiñi”— the embodiment of all goddesses.

The Gayatri has three parts:

1.Praise

2.Meditation

3.Prayer

First, the Divine is praised, then it’s meditated upon in reverence and lastly, an appeal is formed to the Divine to dispel the darkness of ignorance and to awaken and strengthen the intellect. Dhīmahi is said to the meditative aspect. Dhīyo Yonah Prachodayāt relates to the aspect of prayer. Chanting of the Gayatri Mantra purifies the mind and confers devotion, detachment and wisdom.

Benefits of chanting Gayatri Mantra

Through meditation on the Gayatri, one can become conscious of the inner motivating principle of the five elements, the five vital breaths of air within the physical body, and therefore the five sheaths which encase the Atma. even as three basic energies govern man—the physical, the metaphysical and therefore the psychical, the ādhi-bhoutik, the ādhi-daivik and therefore the ādhi-atomic, Gayatri has three facets, Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati. Gayatri fosters the metaphysical, Savitri, the physical, and Saraswati, the psychical. These three karañas or instruments need to be cleansed and sublimated so that man can realise the goal of life. Through the recital of Gayatri mantra and meditation thereon, this great task is often achieved.

It will protect you from harm wherever you’re –travelling, working, or reception. Westerners have investigated the vibrations produced by this mantra and have found that when it’s recited with the right accent as laid down within the Vedas, the atmosphere around becomes visibly illumined. So Brahma-prakāsha, the Divine Effulgence, will descend on you and illumine your intellect and lightweight your path when this mantra is chanted. Also repeat Shanti thrice at the top, for that repetition will give Shanti or peace to 3 entities in you –body, mind, and soul.

It is essential to recite the Gayatri mantra a minimum of 3 times during the morning, noon, and evening. this may serve to scale back the consequences of the incorrect acts one does a day. it’s like buying goods for cash, rather than getting them on credit. there’s no accumulation of karmic (a result of action) debt since each day’s karma (action) is atoned for that day itself by reciting the Gayatri mantra.

“Sarva roga nivaarini Gayatri” (Gayatri is that the reliever of all diseases),”Sarva Shikha parivaarini Gayatri” (Gayatri wards off all misery),”Sarva valencia phalashri Gayatri” (Gayatri is that the fulfiller of all desires). Gayatri is that the bestower of all that’s beneficial. If the mantra is chanted, various sorts of powers will emerge in one.