Gayatri Mantra

Om bhur bhuva swah Tat savithur varenyam Bhargo devasya dheemahi Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat (A) Om bhur bhuvah swah: ‘Bhur’ the earth, ‘bhuvah’ the planets (solar family), ‘swah’ the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (Rotations Per Minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second. This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast-moving earth, planets and galaxies is ‘Om’. The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it to other colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time, hence it is 'sath'. (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said, "Om ity ekaksharam brahma", meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om, which contains only one syllable (Gita 8.13). This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers as ‘nada-brahma’ (a very great noise), but not a noise that is normally beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound ‘Udgith’ musical sound of the above, i.e., heaven. Tat savitur varenyam: ‘Tat’ that (God), ‘savitur’ the sun (star), ‘varenyam’ worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific person. Hence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realize) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., sound Om and light of suns (stars). A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the river bank just by drawing a triangle. (C) Bhargo devasya dheemahi: ‘Bhargo’ the light, ‘devasya’ of the deity, ‘dheemahi’ we should meditate. The rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do japa of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra). This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realise it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled. Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under: (D) Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat: ‘Dhiyo’ intellect, ‘yo’ who, ‘nah’ we all, ‘prachodayat’ guide to right direction. O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path.

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. All the problems of a person are solved if he/she is endowed with the gift of righteous wisdom. Once endowed with far-sighted wisdom, a man is neither entangled in calamity nor does he tread the wrong path. A wise man finds solution to all outstanding problems. Only those persons who do not think correctly find difficulty and take wrong steps due to foolishness. Chanting of Gayatri Mantra removes this deficiency. The teachings and powers incorporated in the Gayatri Mantra fulfill this purpose. Righteous wisdom starts emerging soon after Jap(recitation) of the Gayatri Mantra is performed.