Gayatri Mantra, The Mother of the Vedas

Gayatri Mantra, The Mother of the Vedas

ॐ भूर्भुव: स्व: |
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं |
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि |
धियो यो न: प्रचोदयात् ||

Om, The Material World (mortal world, or Prithvi Loka), The Nether World (hellish world, or Patala Loka), The Celestial World (heavenly world, or Swarga Loka),
The Supreme Being, The Source To Be Worshiped,
The Divine Light, Its Sacred Truth, We Deeply Meditate,
The Intellect, Which To Us, May Light Be Endowed.

The Gayatri Mantra, also known as the Savitri mantra, is the Universal Prayer enshrined in the Vedas, the most ancient Scriptures of Man. This Mantra is considered to be the Essence of the teachings of the Vedas. In general term, it translates "Om. Let us meditate upon the glory of Lord, Who has created this Universe (the three worlds), Who is fit to be worshiped, and Who is the remover of all sins and ignorance, may He enlighten our intellect."

Of all the Mantras, the Supreme and the most potent power of powers, is the great, glorious Gayatri Mantra. This Mantra is called the Veda-Mata, i.e. the mother of all the Vedas. It is the life and support of every true Hindu. It is the support of every seeker after Truth who believes in its efficacy, power and glory, be he of any caste, creed, clime or sect. It is only one's faith and purity of heart that really count.

Repetition of Gayatri Mantra develops the intelligence.

Who is the God associated with this Mantra?

Gayatri is, in fact, the name applied to one of the most well-known Vedic hymns consisting of twenty-four syllables. This hymn is addressed to the almighty God (the creative force) who has created this Universe (the three worlds). In Vedic literature, light is considered to be the knowledge, and absence of light (darkness) means ignorance or evil. By chanting the Gayatri Mantra, we are requesting the almighty God to shower his divine light (light of wisdom, or enlightenment) onto us, and fill our mind with knowledge dispelling all sins and ignorance. Gayatri Mantra is also dedicated to the Sun God (or Sun aspect of Supreme God) since the Sun God is considered as the God of Knowledge, and he is the only source of light here on this Earth. He is also the visible God, and the only source of inspiration on Earth.

Gayatri is not the name of any God. But since the mantra itself is very powerful, it is personified as Shakti or Goddess. In illustrations, the Goddess sits on a lotus flower accompanied by a white swan and appears to be with five heads (four heads represent the four Vedas and the fifth one represents Almighty God Himself) and ten eyes looking in eight directions plus the earth and sky, and ten arms holding all the weapons of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma. The Goddess represents the incarnation of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati, all three Goddesses in one form (Adi Shakti). She is seen as a consort of Brahma, and known to be the Goddess of Knowledge. One of the sacred texts explicitly reads, 'The Gayatri is Brahma, the Gayatri is Vishnu, the Gayatri is Shiva, the Gayatri is Vedas".

When to chant Gayatri Mantra?

Gayatri mantra can be chanted anytime and anywhere, and any number of times. But dawn, noon and dusk times are considered to be the most favorable times to chant Gayatri Mantra because these times are also known as Sandhya Kaalam, it means, the meeting point between night and day, morning and evening, day and night. These times are beneficial for spiritual practices.

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Benefits of chanting Gayatri Mantra

Originally written in the Vedas, the mantra is made up of 24 syllables that are meant to have both a psychological and physiological effect on our body.

1. Chanting the Gayatri Mantra fosters and sharpens the knowledge-yielding faculty in man.
2. The Gayatri Mantra has been given to us as the 3rd Eye, to reveal the inner vision to us. By developing this inner vision, we may realize Brahman.
3. Gayatri Mantra is the reliever of all kinds of diseases, miseries and fulfiller of all wishes.
4. Gayatri Mantra is enough to protect the person who chants it, because it embodies all the Divine Potencies.

"Gayatri is the Mother of the Vedas and the destroyer of all sins. There is nothing more purifying on earth than the Gayatri Mantra. The Japa of Gayatri brings the same fruit as the recitation of all the Vedas with the Angas. This single Mantra repeated sincerely and with a clear conscience brings the Supreme Good, which is liberation or emancipation from the wheel of birth and death."
~ Swami Sivananda

Notes to remember

1. Gayatri Mantra is the most powerful mantra, and is considered to be the Mother of the Vedas. It is the personification of the Supreme God, the creator of this Universe. Therefore, this all-bestowing glorious Mantra should not be disclosed to anyone who does not desire to listen (or learn), who make fun of the Scriptures, who has no faith in God, and who is devoid of austerities. It also requires certain regulations to be followed and should be chanted properly with faith. For this reason, in the past, the Gayatri Mantra used to be handed down (or taught) only to a rightful person and only by a Spiritual Guru.
2. But in the present world of science and technology, there are other ways of acquiring knowledge. There is no need of searching for a Guru, as one can learn everything from the internet. So, one thing that is needed to be remembered (by present people) is, Gayatri Mantra (and any other mantras) should be given respect and full faith if one desires to learn them. Mantras themselves are very powerful. Even if we don’t feel anything by chanting them for a while, they will be producing very high vibrational energies that will have effect in the cosmos (body, mind and soul).
3. Any kind of mantra (especially Gayatri Mantra) should not be chanted loudly in inauspicious place and time, but mentally, it can be remembered anytime and anywhere.
4. Although Gayatri Mantra is supposed to be kept secret, anyone who desires to learn and who has full faith and devotion to God, can learn it (without disclosing it to others).
5. Mantra chanting doesn’t require any rules to be followed (unless it is done with ignorance and haste), but Mantra Japa should be done properly.
6. If the Gayatri Mantra is chanted, various kinds of powers will emerge into one. Hence the Gayatri Mantra should not be treated casually.
7. We should never give up Gayatri Mantra throughout our lives.