The Gayatri Mantra is one of the most powerful Mantras dedicated to the Mother of the Vedas and the Goddess of the five elements Gayatri, also known as Savitri. ... The reason why Goddess Gayatri holds such an esteemed position is that she represents infinite knowledge.

What happens when we chant Gayatri Mantra?

The Gayatri mantra has a very soothing effect when chanted. It creates vibrations which aligns the chakras in your body allowing the flow of energy from the chakras. ... By meditating on this mantra, you will connect with mother nature and feel the universe as one with your body and soul.

The Gayatri Mantra inspires wisdom in us. The Gayatri Mantra will protect you from harm wherever you are traveling, working, or at home. Chanting acts to raise not only your vibration but also the space in which you chant and will bring peace to your body, mind and soul.

Brings down the stress level: Mantras spreads positivity, it is an ancient practice that helps in calming the mind and soul. Scientific studies have shown that chanting mantras can reduce anxiety. Increases concentration and sharpens memory: Chanting helps in concentration and focus on a single task.

Yes listening to mantra benefits you almost same as chanting it your self, but mostly on your mind. Chanting has benefits to your body and mind both. The rhythm and the tune of mantra, gives you some vibrations in your body and brings peace to mind and even reduces tension and stress.

What is Gayatri Mantra?

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

Gayatri is the one who glides through the three states of consciousness joyfully, playfully, effortlessly and lightly, as though it were a song. When we 'sing through' something, it means it is not a burden for us. 'Gayanti traayate iti gayatri'. The Gayatri mantra affects all the three states of consciousness, jagrut (waking), sushupt (deep sleep), swapna (dream) and the three layers of existence adhyatmik, adidhaivik and adibhautik.  Traya also refers to the taapatraya or the ailments (taapa) that adversely affect the body, mind and soul: the body by physical ailments, the mind by negativity and restlessness in the soul. The Gayatri Shakti (energy or field of vibration) enables one to transcend and be unaffected by the tapatraya's.

Letters in Gayatri Mantra

The Gayatri mantra has 24 letters corresponding to the 24 vertebrae of the spine. The backbone is what provides support and stability to our body. Similarly, the Gayatri mantra brings stability in our intellect.

 

What is Gayatri Shakti?

The Gayatri Shakti is the energy field which is a culmination of three energies: Tejas (radiance), Yashas (victory) and Varchas (brilliance). When you chant the Gayatri mantra, these energies manifest in you and you also gain the power to bless. These same energies are transmitted to the one receiving the blessings also.

 

Tejasvi Bhuyasau - May you be radiant 

Varchaswi Bhuyasau - May you be brilliant 

Yashasvi Bhuyasau - May you be victorious

 

All seeds have the potential to become a tree. Some are cognised and are available to us like the bija mantras. Some are fully expressed, where the fruit is also expressed, like the Gayatri mantra. A seed contains all the development of a sprawling tree. Similarly, these syllables of the Gayatri mantra contain within a nutshell all the possibilities of creation.

 

Before thought becomes a word, it is a subtle vibration, unexpressed, beyond the cognition of the mind. When the mind is unable to cognize, it dissolves and moves into the meditative space. This is how mantras enable one to transcend the mind and move into meditation. It is not necessary to understand the meaning of the mantras to experience its benefits. For e.g, even the sounds of laughter or crying can cause a shift in our consciousness. Similarly, the energy field created by the sound vibrations of the mantras elevate our consciousness and allow us to be established in that serene, pure, infinite state of our Being.

Benefits of Gayatri Mantra

The chanting of Gayatri mantra sharpens the intellect and brightens the memory. A new mirror reflects clearly, but over time, dust gathers and it needs cleaning. Similarly, our mind becomes tainted with time, the company that we keep, the knowledge we receive and our latent tendencies. When we chant the Gayatri mantra, it is like deep cleansing, so that the mirror (the mind) reflects in a better way. Through the mantra, the inner glow is kindled, the inner plane is kept alive. One gains brilliance in both the inner and outer worlds.

 

Significance of Gayatri Mantra

In the Vedic tradition, a child is first initiated to the highest knowledge - the Gayatri mantra. After that, all other forms of education are given. It is said in the scriptures that women are also eligible to learn the Vedas and chanting the Gayatri mantra. The ideal time to chant is the transitory hours of dawn and dusk. The times when the sun has set but it is neither dark nor light and when the night has passed and the day is yet to begin. In these moments, the mind also enters an altered state of consciousness. The moments belong neither to the previous state nor the next. It is the right time to be focused on the Self instead of being caught up in changes or movement. In these hours, the mind can easily be confused and slip into inertia, lethargy, negativity and so on or be elevated and move into a meditative state radiating positivity. Chanting the Gayatri mantra rejuvenates the mind and maintains it in an elevated and energized state.

Gayatri Mantra

The Gāyatrī Mantra, also known as the Sāvitri Mantra, is a highly revered mantra from the Rig Veda (Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. Gāyatrī is the name of the Goddess of the Vedic Mantra in which the verse is composed. Its recitation is traditionally preceded by oṃ and the formula bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ, known as the mahāvyāhṛti, or "great (mystical) utterance". The Gayatri mantra is cited widely in Vedic and post-Vedic texts, such as the mantra listings of the Śrauta liturgy, and classical Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Harivamsa, and Manusmṛti. The mantra and its associated metric form was known by the Buddha, and in one sutra the Buddha is described as "expressing their appreciation" for the mantra. The mantra is an important part of the upanayana ceremony for young males in Hinduism, and has long been recited by dvija men as part of their daily rituals. Modern Hindu reform movements spread the practice of the mantra to include women and all castes and its use is now very widespread. It is considered one of the most important and powerful Vedic mantras.

Text

The main mantra appears in the hymn RV 3.62.10. During its recitation, the hymn is preceded by oṃ (ॐ) and the formula bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ (भूर् भुवः स्वः). This prefixing of the mantra is properly described in the Taittiriya Aranyaka (2.11.1-8), which states that it should be chanted with the syllable oṃ, followed by the three Vyahrtis and the Gayatri verse. Whereas in principle the gāyatrī mantra specifies three pādas of eight syllables each, the text of the verse as preserved in the Samhita is one short, seven instead of eight. Metrical restoration would emend the attested tri-syllabic vareṇyaṃ with a tetra-syllabic vareṇiyaṃ.

The Gayatri mantra is, in Devanagari:

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

In IAST:

Oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ

tat savitur vareṇyaṃ

bhargo devasya dhīmahi

dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt

– Rigveda 3.62.10

Dedication

The Gāyatrī mantra is dedicated to Savitṛ, a Vedic Sun deity. However many monotheistic sects of Hinduism such as Arya Samaj hold that the Gayatri mantra is in praise of One Supreme Creator known by the name AUM (ओउ्म् ) as mentioned in the Yajur Veda, 40:17.

Translations

The Gayatri mantra has been translated in many ways. Quite literal translations include:

·                     Swami Vivekananda: "We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may She enlighten our minds."

·                     Monier Monier-Williams (1882): "Let us meditate on that excellent glory of the divine vivifying Sun, May he enlighten our understandings."

·                     Ralph T.H. Griffith (1896): "May we attain that excellent glory of Savitar the god: So may He stimulate our prayers."

·                     S. Radhakrishnan:

·                     (1947): "We meditate on the effulgent glory of the divine Light; may he inspire our understanding."

·                     (1953): "We meditate on the adorable glory of the radiant sun; may She inspire our intelligence."

·                     Sri Aurobindo: "We choose the Supreme Light of the divine Sun; we aspire that it may impel our minds." Sri Aurobindo further elaborates: "The Sun is the symbol of divine Light that is coming down and Gayatri gives expression to the aspiration asking that divine Light to come down and give impulsion to all the activities of the mind."

·                     Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton: "Might we make our own that desirable effulgence of god Savitar, who will rouse forth our insights."

More interpretative translations include:

·                     Ravi Shankar (poet): "Oh manifest and unmanifest, wave and ray of breath, red lotus of insight, transfix us from eye to navel to throat, under canopy of stars spring from soil in an unbroken arc of light that we might immerse ourselves until lit from within like the sun itself."

·                     Shriram Sharma: Om, the Brahm, the Universal Divine Energy, vital spiritual energy (Pran), the essence of our life existence, Positivity, destroyer of sufferings, the happiness, that is bright, luminous like the Sun, best, destroyer of evil thoughts, the divinity who grants happiness may imbibe its Divinity and Brilliance within us which may purify us and guide our righteous wisdom on the right path.

·                     Sir William Jones (1807): "Let us adore the supremacy of that divine sun, the god-head who illuminates all, who recreates all, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, whom we invoke to direct our understandings right in our progress toward his holy seat."

·                     William Quan Judge (1893): "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."

·                     Sivanath Sastri (Brahmo Samaj) (1911): "We meditate on the worshipable power and glory of Him who has created the earth, the nether world and the heavens (i.e. the universe), and who directs our understanding."

·                     Swami Sivananda: "Let us meditate on Isvara and His Glory who has created the Universe, who is fit to be worshipped, who is the remover of all sins and ignorance. May he enlighten our intellect."

(Om - Para Brahman (entire universe); Bhur - Bhuloka (Physical Plane); Bhuvah - Antariksha (space); Svah - Svarga Loka (Heaven); Tat - Paramatma (Supreme Soul); Savitur - Isvara (Surya) (Sun god); Varenyam - Fit to be worshipped; Bhargo - Remover of sins and ignorance; Devasya - Glory (Jnana Svaroopa ie Feminine/Female); Dheemahi - We meditate; Dhiyo - Buddhi (Intellect); Yo - Which; Nah - Our; Prachodayat - Enlighten.)

·                     Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati (founder of Arya Samaj): "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."

·                     Kirpal Singh: "Muttering the sacred syllable 'Aum' rise above the three regions, And turn thy attention to the All-Absorbing Sun within. Accepting its influence be thou absorbed in the Sun, And it shall in its own likeness make thee All-Luminous."

24 Letters of Gayatri mantra

Gayatri mantra has 24 letters. They are 1.tat, 2.sa, 3.vi, 4.tur, 5.va, 6.re, 7.ṇi, 8.yaṃ, 9.bhar, 10,go, 11.de, 12.va, 13.sya, 14.dhī, 15.ma, 16.hi, 17.dhi, 18.yo, 19.jo, 20.naḥ, 21.pra, 22.cho 23.da and 24.yāt.

 

When counting the letters, the word vareṇyam is treated as vareṇiyam which is the original form of the mantra in the Vedic language before the forced ex-post application of sandhi rules in the much more rigid Classical Sanskrit language.

 

Textual appearances

Vedic and Vedantic literature

The Gayatri mantra is cited widely in Vedic and post-Vedic texts, such as the mantra listings of the Śrauta liturgy, and cited several times in the Brahmanas and the Srauta-sutras. It is also cited in a number of grhyasutras, mostly in connection with the upanayana ceremony in which it has a significant role.

 

The Gayatri mantra is the subject of esoteric treatment and explanation in some major Upanishads, including Mukhya Upanishads such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the Shvetashvatara Upanishad and the Maitrayaniya Upanishad; as well as other well-known works such as the Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana. The text also appears in minor Upanishads, such as the Surya Upanishad.

 

The Gayatri mantra is the apparent inspiration for derivative "gāyatrī" stanzas dedicated to other deities. Those derivations are patterned on the formula vidmahe - dhīmahi - pracodayāt", and have been interpolated into some recensions of the Shatarudriya litany. Gāyatrīs of this form are also found in the Mahanarayana Upanishad.

 

The Gayatri mantra is also repeated and cited widely in classical Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Harivamsa, and Manusmṛti. 

Buddhist corpus

In Majjhima Nikaya 92, the Buddha refers to the Sāvitri (Pali: sāvittī) mantra as the foremost meter, in the same sense as the king is foremost among humans, or the sun is foremost among lights:

 

aggihuttamukhā yaññā sāvittī chandaso mukham; Rājā mukhaṃ manussānaṃ, nadīnaṃ sāgaro mukhaṃ. Nakkhattānaṃ mukhaṃ cando, ādicco tapataṃ mukhaṃ; Puññaṃ ākaṅkhamānānaṃ, saṅgho ve yajataṃ mukhan.

 

The foremost of sacrifices is offering to the sacred flame; the Sāvittī is the foremost of poetic meters; of humans, the king is the foremost; the ocean’s the foremost of rivers; the foremost of stars is the moon; the sun is the foremost of lights; for those who sacrifice seeking merit, the Saṅgha is the foremost.

 

In Sutta Nipata 3.4, the Buddha uses the Sāvitri mantra as a paradigmatic indicator of Brahmanic knowledge:

 

Brāhmaṇo hi ce tvaṃ brūsi, Mañca brūsi abrāhmaṇaṃ; Taṃ taṃ sāvittiṃ pucchāmi, Tipadaṃ catuvīsatakkharaṃ.

 

If you say you brahmin are, but call me none, then of you I ask the chant of Sāvitrī, consisting of three lines

in four and twenty syllables.

Usage

Upanayana ceremony

Imparting the Gayatri mantra to young Hindu men is an important part of the traditional upanayana ceremony, which marks the beginning of study of the Vedas. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan described this as the essence of the ceremony, which is sometimes called "Gayatri diksha", i.e. initiation into the Gayatri mantra. However, traditionally, the stanza RV.3.62.10 is imparted only to Brahmin boys. Other Gayatri verses are used in the upanayana ceremony for non-Brahmins: RV.1.35.2, in the tristubh meter, for a kshatriya and either RV.1.35.9 or RV.4.40.5 in the jagati meter for a Vaishya.

Mantra-recitation

Gayatri japa is used as a method of prāyaścitta (atonement). It is believed by practitioners that reciting the mantra bestows wisdom and enlightenment, through the vehicle of the Sun (Savitr), who represents the source and inspiration of the universe.

Brahmo Samaj

In 1827 Ram Mohan Roy published a dissertation on the Gayatri mantra that analysed it in the context of various Upanishads. Roy prescribed a Brahmin to always pronounce om at the beginning and end of the Gayatri mantra. From 1830, the Gayatri mantra was used for private devotion of Brahmos. In 1843, the First Covenant of Brahmo Samaj required the Gayatri mantra for Divine Worship. From 1848-1850 with the rejection of Vedas, the Adi Dharma Brahmins use the Gayatri mantra in their private devotions.

Hindu revivalism

In the later 19th century, Hindu reform movements spread the chanting of the Gayatri mantra. In 1898 for example, Swami Vivekananda claimed that, according to the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita, a person became Brahmin through learning from his Guru, and not because of birth. He administered the sacred thread ceremony and the Gayatri mantra to non-Brahmins in Ramakrishna Mission. This Hindu mantra has been popularized to the masses, outside of Brahminic culture through pendants, audio recordings and mock scrolls. Various Gayatri yajñas organised by All World Gayatri Pariwar at small and large scales in late twentieth century also helped spread Gayatri mantra to the mass.

Indonesian Hinduism

The Gayatri Mantra forms the first of seven sections of the Trisandhyā Puja (Sanskrit for "three divisions"), a prayer used by the Balinese Hindus and many Hindus in Indonesia. It is uttered three times each day: 6 am at morning, noon, and 6 pm at evening.

Popular culture

·                     George Harrison (The Beatles): on the life-size statue representing him, unveiled in 2015 in Liverpool, the Gayatri mantra engraved on the belt, to symbolize a landmark event in his life (see picture).

·                     A version of the Gayatri mantra is featured in the opening theme song of the TV series Battlestar Galactica (2004).

·                     A variation on the William Quan Judge translation is also used as the introduction to Kate Bush's song "Lily" on her 1993 album, The Red Shoes.

·                     Cher, the singer/actress, in her Living Proof: The Farewell Tour, in 2002-2005, sang Gayatri mantra while riding a mechanical elephant. She later reprised the performance during her Classic Cher tour in 2017 (see picture).

·                     The Swiss avantgarde black metal band Schammasch adapted the mantra as the outro in their song "The Empyrean" on their last album "Triangle" as a Gregorian chant.

·                     The film Mohabbatein directed by Yash Chopra which came under controversy when Amitabh Bachchan recited the sacred Gayatri Mantra with his shoes on leading some Vedic scholars in Varanasi to complain that it insulted Hinduism.