A PEEP INTO THE GAYATRI MANTRA

A PEEP INTO THE GAYATRI MANTRA

The full moon day of the month of Sravana of the lunar calendar every year is celebrated as the day of ‘Upakarma’. It is the day when all the Brahmins put on the new sacred thread discarding the old one and perform GAYATRI chanting. They are expected to chant the mantra 108 times normally and 1008 times the next day! GAYATRI mantra is one of the oldest and most powerful of the mantras and is revered as ‘ maha mantra’. One who fixes and establishes it firmly in his mind is assured of a happy life. It protects the individual who chants it with faith and devotion and hence is called Gayatri! “ gayantam trayate iti Gayatri.”

Gayatri is called as the ‘ Vedamata’ of all the Vedas, Rig, Yajur, sama, and Atharvana Vedas. The mantra is composed of 24 syllables arranged in triplets of 8 syllables each. This metrical arrangement is called ‘tripathi’ and also Gayatri chandas. The mantra is from the Rig Veda (mandala 10:16:3). Om signifies the Pranava emanating from prana. The letter A indicates sound starting from the navel and emerging from the throat. The letter U represents it rolling over the tongue while M ends the sound on

the lips! The three avasthas of waking, dreaming, and  sleeping are indicated by the letters A U and M respectively! Pranava is thus the primordial sound symbolizing the universal Absolute.

In chanting the vyahrutis, ‘Bhu’, ‘Bhuvah’ and ‘Suvah’ the chanter meditates on the glory of God that illuminates the three worlds. ‘Savitur’ in the mantra is not the ordinary Sun but the ultimate light of wisdom. ‘Bhargo stands for illumination. The three vyahrutis represent the following as per the deeper meaning: ‘Bhu’ stands for earth, the past, morning, tamas,and the gross body. ‘Bhuvah’ represents the atmosphere, the present,  the noon, rajas, and the subtle body. ‘Suva’ shows space beyond the atmosphere, the future, evening, satwa, and causal body!

“ Gayatri is described as having five faces. The first is Om. The second is ‘Bhur Bhuvah Suva’. The third is ‘tat savitur varenyam’.The fourth face is ‘Bhargo devasya dhimahi’ The fifth is ‘Dhiyo yonah prachodayat’. The Five faces represent five pranas. Life forces protect the five pranas in man.When intelligence and intuition are developed, she is Gayatri.When life forces are protected she is the guardian deity Savitri. When speech is protected she is Saraswathi. Thus she is called ‘ sarvadevata swarupini’ the embodiment of all devas” explains Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba (sss vol 16,06,March,1983)The meaning of the Gayatri mantra is “ we meditate on the adorable glory of the radiant Sun; may he inspire our intelligence”

Every brahmin bachelor and the family man, after his ‘upanayana’, has to perform ‘Sandhyavandanam’ thrice a day, in the morning, afternoon and the evening. But it is observed more in the breach than in the observance. It is pity that the brahmin community has lost its glory fascinated by the attraction of modern life, customs and manners. According to the  pramana it is a terrible sin not to know Sandhyavandanam or perform it daily as he is considered impure and unfit for any karma. Whatever karma he does will not bear any fruit. According to the pramana he shall suffer a punishment called ‘tamisra’ in the underworld or hell! He will be considered as a sudra during his lifetime! He will be reborn as a low animal. Our ancestors thus considered Gayatri in such great respect and esteem. The brahmin is called ‘ dwija' which means twice born. He gets his second birth only after Gayatri upadesa or Brahmopadesa by his father! Only then he is qualified to perform religious rituals and other karmas. Let us protect our dharma and follow the footsteps of our ancestors as far as possible!