Gayatri

Gayatri ( _sa. गायत्री, IAST|gāyatrī) is the feminine form of "IAST|gāyatra", a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn. It may refer to:

*In Hinduism, a goddess, as a representation of the Parabrahman.
*The name of a Vedic poetic meter of 24 syllables (three lines of eight syllables each).
*A famous mantra from the Rigveda, attributed to Vishvamitra, in this meter, dedicated to Savitṛ ("impeller", an epithet of the sun).
* A mantra dedicated to a god in this meter, patterned on the eponymous mantra of Vishvamitra, instances of which are in the Maitrayani Samhita and the Taittiriya Aranyaka.
*Any hymn composed in this meter.

Origin

Rishis selected the words of the Gayatri Mantra and arranged them so that they not only convey meaning but also create specific power of righteous wisdom through their utterance. The ideal times for chanting the mantra are three times a day - at dawn, mid-day, and at dusk. These times are known as the three sandhyas - morning, mid-day and evening. The maximum benefit of chanting the mantra is said to be obtained by chanting it 108 times. However, one may chant it for 3, 9, or 18 times when pressed for time. The syllables of the mantra are said to positively affect all the chakras or energy centres in the human body - hence, proper pronunciation and enunciation are very important. In general, Brahmarishi Vishwamitra is credited as the mantra-dhrishta(Mantra was revealed to him) of the Gayatri Mantra.Fact|date=June 2008

Gayatri Devi the Goddess

Originally the personification of the mantra, the goddess Gāyatrī is considered the "veda mata", the mother of all Vedas and the consort of the God Brahma and also the personification of the all-pervading Parabrahman, the ultimate unchanging reality that lies behind all phenomena. Gayatri Veda Mata is seen by many Hindus to be not just a Goddess, but a portrayal of Brahman himself, in the feminine form. Essentially, the Goddess is seen to combine all the phenomenal attributes of Brahman, including Past, Present and Future as well as the three realms of existence.Fact|date=February 2007 Goddess Gāyatrī is also worshipped as the Hindu Trimurti combined as one. In Hinduism, there is only one creation who can withstand the brilliance of Aditya and that is Gāyatrī. Some also consider her to be the mother of all Gods and the culmination of Lakshmi, Parvati and Sarasvati.Fact|date=July 2007

Though the goddess Gāyatrī is considered the "veda mata", there is no mention of goddess Gāyatrī in Vedas.

Gāyatrī is typically portrayed as seated on a red lotus, signifying wealth. She appears in either of these forms:
*Having five heads with the ten eyes looking in the eight directions plus the earth and sky, and ten arms holding all the weapons of Vishnu, symbolizing all her reincarnations.Fact|date=June 2008
*Accompanied by a white swan, holding a book to portray knowledge in one hand and a cure in the other, as the goddess of Education.Fact|date=June 2008

Gayatri Mantra

The Gayatri Mantra is a highly revered mantra in Hinduism (second only to the mantra Om) and Adi Dharm religion. It consists of the prefix ":IAST|oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ" _sa. ॐ भूर्भुवस्वः, a formula taken from the "Yajurveda", and the verse 3.62.10 of the "Rigveda" (which is an example of the Gayatri mantra). Since all the other three Vedas contain much material rearranged from the "Rig Veda", the Gayatri mantra is found in all the four Vedas. The deva invoked in this mantra is Savitr, and hence the mantra is also called Sāvitrī. In Atharva Veda, the Gayatri mantra is different from the regular Gayatri mantra.

"Gayatri Mantra" is devoted to God "Savitr". "Savitr" refers to Sun. Sun here does not imply the sun of our solar system. Rather it implies a Sun of all suns. Sun that is the source of eternal light that provides life, knowledge and enlightenment. Light that can illuminate the soul.

By many Hindus, the Gayatri is seen as a Divine awakening of the mind and soul, and within it a way to reach the most Supreme form of existence, and the way to Union with Brahman. Understanding, and purely loving the essence of the Gayatri Mantra is seen by many to be one, if not the most powerful ways to attain God.

Like all other "Mantras" of "Rigveda", "Gayatri Mantra" is full of praise for the God or "Savitr". The beauty of this mantra is that after praising the God, we have admitted that we do not know any better. We are seeking the knowledge to know Him better.

By Brahmos of the Adi Dharma religion, the Gayatri symbolises the pre-Aryan Unity of all forms of Godhead as Brahma "there is always infinite Singularity". [Official Brahmo Samaj website. http://www.brahmosamaj.org/ see also Indo-Aryan migration.]

Text

See Sanskrit for details of pronunciation.

*In Devanagari:: _sa. ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ।: _sa. तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं ।: _sa. भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।: _sa. धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

*In IAST:IAST|oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ:(a) IAST|tat savitur vareṇyaṃ:(b) IAST|bhargo devasya dhīmahi:(c) IAST|dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt

*In IAST Long Form:IAST|oṃ bhūr oṃ bhuvaḥ oṃ svaḥ oṃ maḥ oṃ janaḥ oṃ tapaḥ oṃ sat yaṃ:(a) IAST|oṃ tat savitur vareṇyaṃ:(b) IAST|bhargo devasya dhīmahi:(c) IAST|dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt

Translation

*Ralph T.H. Griffith (1896)::(a, b) "May we attain that excellent glory of Savitr the God:":(c) "So may he stimulate our prayers."

Word-by-word explanation:-
*"IAST|om" The mystical Om syllable.
*"IAST|bhū" "earth"prithvi"
*"IAST|bhuvas" "atmosphere"antariksha"
*"IAST|svar" "light, heaven"beyond antariksha"
*"IAST|tat" "that"
*"IAST|savitur IAST|devasya" "of Savitr, the god" (genitives of "savitr-", 'stimulator, rouser; name of a sun-deity' and "deva-" 'god' or 'demi-god')
*"IAST|varenyam" accusative of "varenya-" "desirable, excellent, fit to be adopted"
*"IAST|bhargo" "radiance, lustre, splendour, glory"
*"IAST|devasya" "divine"
*"IAST|dhīmahi" "may we attain" (1st person plural middle optative of "dhā-" 'set, bring, fix' etc.)
*"IAST|dhiyaḥ naḥ" "our prayers" (accusative plural of "dhi-" 'thought, meditation, devotion, prayer' and "naḥ" enclitic personal pronoun)
*"IAST|yaḥ pracodayāt" "who may stimulate" (nominative singular of relative pronoun "yad-"; causative 3rd person of "pra-cud-" 'set in motion, drive on, urge, impel')

Other translations, circumlocutions and interpretations:
* Valerie J. Roebuck (2003)::We meditate on the lovely:Glory of the god Savitr:That he may stimulate our minds

How to worship:The mother gayatri lives in the gayatri loka which is a planet like our earth though not visible through any scientific instruments available todate on our earth.Then how can we reach towards our divine mother our ancients saints,rishi vishvamitra found a simple method to reach towards our divine mother and get her blessings through Gayatri Mantra.The mantra asks wisdom from mother which is a necessity in today's stress full life.

*William Quan Judge [http://www.blavatsky.net/theosophy/judge/articles/commentary-on-the-gayatri.htm] :"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."

*Kurma Purana, "freely translated" by Swami Vivekananda [http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_1/vol_1_frame.htm] :"'We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may He enlighten our minds.' Om is joined to it at the beginning and the end."
* [http://www.awgp.org Gayatri Pariwar] [Official website of Gayatri Pariwar http://www.awgp.org/] [Gayatri Pariwar Vatika Shaktipeeth http://www.vatikashaktipeeth.com/] :"O God, Thou art the giver of life, the remover of pain and sorrow, the bestower of happiness; O Creator of the Universe, may we receive Thy supreme, sin destroying light; may Thou guide our intellect in the right direction."

ee also

* Upanayanam
* Saraswati

Notes

Further reading

*Sacinandana Swami: "The Gayatri Book.", Vasati Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-937238-05-0
*Acharya, Pt. Shriram Sharma, [http://www.awgp.org/english/books/super_science_gayatri.pdf "The Super Science of Gayatri"] , pdf file, 2000
*"Gayatri Sahasranam", Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Devi Mandir (ISBN 1-877795-57-7)
*cite book |title=Gayatri: The Highest Meditation |last=Sadguru Sant Keshavadas |year= 1978,2006|publisher=Motilal Bandarsidass Publishers PVT. LTD. |location=Dehli |isbn=81-208-0697-2 |pages=148 pages [http://www.templeofcosmicreligion.org/]

External links

* [http://flaez.ch/rv/rv.pl?nr=296&txt=shppgr#v10 RV 3.62.10] (flaez.ch)
* [http://wahiduddin.net/mantra/gayatri.htm A very complete article on the Gayatri Mantra, with notes regarding Sanskrit pronunciation]
* [http://www.gayathrimanthra.com/contents/gayathri/gayathrimanthram.html Meaning and explanation of the mantra and related audio files]
* [http://www.anandkebeechmain.com/gayatri.html A very simple meaning of Gayatri by Shri 108 Swami Parmanand Ji Maharaj]