The most divine message of Hinduism, Gayatri Mantra is enchanted by every devotee. Read to know the Gayatri Mantra along with its meaning.
Gayatri Mantra
OM Bhur-Bhuvah-Svah.
Tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasva dhimahi.
Dhiyo yo nah pracodayat.
'Gayatri Mantra', the ultimate Vedic prayer to awaken the intellectual
powers of a person, first found its reference in the 'Vedas' believed to
be the storehouse of all Divine Knowledge and the most ancient
scriptures known to mankind. The universal prayer is addressed to the
Sun God, addressed as 'Savitha' as the Life-Giver on Earth. Goddess
Gayatri or Annapurna is believed to be the Mother-God that animates all
Life. Considered to be the essence of the Vedas, Gayatri Mantra fosters
and hones the knowledge-yielding faculty of a person. The four
'mahavakyas' or ultimate sentences of Gayatri Mantra, is a sacred mantra
that demonstrates the unity that underlies multiplicity and manifoldness
in creation.
The essence of the Mantra can be stated as follows - 'Oh God! Thou art
the Giver of Life, Remover of pain and sorrow, The Bestower of
happiness, Oh! Creator of the Universe, May we receive thy supreme
sin-destroying light, May Thou guide our intellect in the right
direction.'
The individual words and characters of the Mantra have a meaning of
their own than can be defined as follows:
Om: |
The primeval sound that represents Brahma, |
Bhur: |
The physical world that embodies the vital
spiritual energy or 'Pran', |
Bhuvah: |
The mental world and destroyer of all sufferings, |
Swaha: |
The celestial and spiritual world that embodies
happiness, |
Tat: |
That or God, referring to transcendental Paramatma
(Ultimate Spirit), |
Savithur: |
The Bright Sun or the Creator and Preserver of
World, |
Varenyam: |
Best or most adorable, |
Bhargo: |
Destroyer of all sins, |
Devasya: |
Divine Deity or Supreme Lord, |
Dheemahi: |
We meditate upon and take in, |
Dhiyo: |
The Intellect, |
Yo: |
The Light, |
Nah: |
Our, |
Prachodayath: |
Inspire or Enlighten. |
Thus, the Gayatri Mantra can be translated as follows:
We meditate on the glory of the Creator;
Who has created the Universe;
Who is worthy of Worship;
Who is the embodiment of Knowledge and Light;
Who is the remover of all Sin and Ignorance;
May He enlighten our Intellect.
Thus, we can say that Gayatri Mantra basically consists of three parts:
1. Praise,
2. Meditation, and
3. Prayer.
While chanting the mantra, we first praise the God or the Divine Power,
meditate upon it in all reverence and then finally pray or make an
appeal to the God awaken and strengthen the intellectual powers of a
person. The Mantra is said to be the embodiment of all deities and is
certainly not associated with any particular religion or sect, time,
place or person. While Om, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Swaha, Thath, Savithur,
Varenyam, Bhargo and Devasya are said to be its nine colors or praise of
the Divine, Dheemahi is related to meditation and Dhiyo, Yo, Nah and
Prachodayaath are said to be the parts of the prayer aspects of the
mantra.
'Gayatri' is not actually the Goddess, which sounds surprising but she
is held in equal reverence because she is the mother of the Vedas or
Divine Knowledge. The other two forms of Gayatri are Savitri and
Saraswathi and these three are said to be present in everyone, in which
- Gayatri is said to be the one to control the senses of a person,
Savitri controls the Prana or the Life Force of a person and Saraswathi
controls Speech of a person. Thus, the three together represent the
purity in thought, word, and deed. In the same order, Gayatri is said to
enhance one's intelligence and intuition by recitation of the mantra,
Savitri is said to protect the life forces and Saraswati is said to
guard one's speech.
The deity Gayatri is said to be 'Panchamukhi' (having five faces).
These five faces are actually the five senses guarded by her or
alternatively, five 'pranas' of life forces protected by her as Savitri.
The concept of Savitri being the deity to control life forces stems from
the legend that Savitri was the devoted wife who was so pure and loved
her husband so much that she succeeded in bringing her husband back to
life by forcing Yama, the God of Death, to return his 'Prana' or Life
Force. It is said that Gayatri Mantra acts as a third eye of a person
that opens up a whole new world of spiritual realization and attaining
Brahma.
It is said to have power to protect one from any possible harm. Even
the science-minded Westerners have found that the correct recitation of
Gayatri Mantra in the right accent as described in the Vedas produce
certain vibrations that make the surrounding atmosphere visibly
illumined, which is described as the 'Brahmaprakasha' or Effulgence of
the Divine by more staunch believers. As prescribed by the Vedas,
Gayatri mantra must be chanted at least three times a day during morning
while taking bath, noon before eating lunch and evening at the time of
sunset to cancel out all the sins that one may have done all through the
day unknowingly. However, it is best to recite Gayatri period during the
'Satwik' or 'pure and serene' period during the day from 4 am to 8 am
and 4 pm to 8 pm. The Gayatri Mantra should be recited while meditating
upon the fact that everything is within oneself and thus, we should keep
and develop confidence in the Self.