What is the Gayatri (Gayatri Mantra)?
The Gayatri (Gayatri Mantra) is one of the oldest mantras from the ancient Vedic scriptures, the Rigveda. The Gayatri Mantra is referenced and praised in the Baghavad Gita and several other Vedic writings. It is generally thought of as being amongst the highest and most powerful mantras of all.
The phrase bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ is known as the ‘Great Utterance’ – mahāvyāhṛti .
The meaning of the ‘Great Utterance’ which precedes the Gayatri Mantra (though it is often seen as part of the Gayatri Mantra) could be given as “May the light of God shine through me”. More literally, it is referring to the Sun (God) that it shines on earth bhūr, in the sky bhuvaḥ, and in the heavens (svaḥ).
The Gayatri mantra is often referred to as “the Mother of the Vedas”, the sustaining force that animates all life. The entire creation is Gayatri; the Gayatri is speech – for speech sings and protects this entire creation. The Gayatri mantra is a sacred prayer that fosters, sharpens and illuminates the mind. It brings recognition of the divine unity that underlies the multiplicity of life.
The Gayatri may be considered as having three parts: (1) praise, (2) meditation, and (3) prayer. First the Divine is praised, then it is meditated upon in reverence, and finally an appeal is made to the Divine to awaken and strengthen the intellect, the discriminating faculty of man.
The Gayatri Mantra
| ॐ | OM |
| भूर् भुवः स्वः | bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ |
| तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं । | tát savitúr váreṇyaṃ |
| भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि । | bhárgo devásya dhīmahi |
| धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥ | dhíyo yó naḥ pracodáyāt |
Note that váreṇyaṃ is often amended to vareṇiyaṃ to ensure that it meets the 8-syllable metre of the gayatri metre as else there would only be seven in that pada.
Translation of the Gayatri (Gayatri Mantra)
Ralph T. H. Griffith gives the literal translation of the Gayatri as follows:
“May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the god:
So may he stimulate our prayers.”
The Hymns of the Rigveda (1896).
There are numbers of other translations, mostly paraphrasing the literal meaning, in an attempt to render it in a more poetic form. ‘Savitr’ is often translated as the divine giver of life, symbolised by the Sun.
A version of the Gayatri Mantra by William Judge gives it as:
“Unveil, O Thou who givest sustenance to the Universe,
from whom all proceed, to whom all must return,
that face of the True Sun now hidden by a vase of golden light,
that we may see the truth and do our whole duty
on our journey to thy sacred seat”.
Another version of the Gayatri Mantra translation gives it as:
‘O Thou, Who givest sustenance to the Universe,
From Whom all things proceed, and to Whom all things return,
Unveil to us the face of the true Spiritual Sun,
Hidden by a disc of golden light,
That we may know the truth, and do our whole duty
As we journey to Thy Sacred Feet.
Courtesy: Sir Edwin Arnold
Practice of the Gayatri Mantra
When reciting or chanting the Gayatri (Gayatri Mantra), it is useful to focus on the words as one is facing the rising or setting sun. In some practices the Gayatri is also chanted at noon.
Feel the rays of the sun filling one’s being, which is the irradiated light of the true spiritual sun hidden behind (within) the physical sun (ie the ‘disc of golden light’).
Visualise rays of light purifying you and those around you, and energising all beings giving inspiration and enlightenment.
Why use the Gayatri (Gayatri Mantra) – What does it do for me?
According to Sai Baba, the following are the benefits of reciting the Gayatri Mantra:
- The rays of the Gayatri mantra illumine the mind and intelligence and promote knowledge, wisdom and discrimination. Chanting of Gayatri Mantra removes all obstacles in our path to increased wisdom and spiritual growth and development.
- The Gayatri will protect you and illuminate the atmosphere surrounding you.
- Chanted 3 times morning noon and night will serve to reduce the effects of the wrong acts one does every day.
- Gayatri is the reliever of all diseases, wards off all misery, is the fulfiller of all desires and the bestower of all that is beneficial.
- As the mantra is chanted, various kinds of powers will emerge in one. Hence the Gayatri mantra should not be treated casually.
- The attitude of surrender will grow in you as you recite it regularly.
- Like sunrise after the night, the Gayatri mantra dispels the darkness of ignorance.
- Gayatri subtly removes evil tendencies and implants virtuous habits.