An insight into Gayatri Mantra

Introduction

Gayatri Mantra is the most sacred and widely chanted mantra than any other vedic mantras. The mantra got its name as it is written in, "Gayatri Chandhas" (meter). This chandhas has 3 padas (lines) and each pada has 8 syllables with a total of 24 syllables. Speaking of other meters, most of Bhagavat Gita is written in "Anustubh" Chandhas. Each poem has, 4 lines and each line has 8 Syllables for a total of 32 syllables in a stanza (padyam). Vedic poets when wanted to convey more profound tatvam, used to switch chandhas from lower to higher meter in the middle of poetry. Note, this is just by adding a few more syllables. Sanskrit is an amazing and powerful language!

The Dakshina murthy stotram is written in "Shardula Vikridita" Chandhas. This one has 4 lines and each line has 19 syllables. This is one of the longest meters and hence packed with such a profound tatvam. Besides these, there are a few other prominent ones such as Ushnuk, Brihati, Trishutbh, Jagati and etc. That's about the types of chandhas in a nut shell.

Now, the Gayatri Mantra per its chandhas rules should only have 3 lines. But we know that it has 4 lines. The reason is that the first line, "OM Bhoor Bhuvas Suvaha" is added at the beginning of the mantra which is not actually part of the mantra. The significance of this line will be discussed in detail after 'introduction'. The rest of the 3 lines were actually taken from Rig Veda. Rig Veda is the oldest veda that has hymns in praise of Indra, Agni, Vayuvu and Sun gods. From a few hundreds of hymns for Savitr devatha (Sun god), 3 were taken out and the Gayatri Mantra was created.

We now know that, Gayatri Mantra was created taking verses from Rigveda in praise of Savitr devatha (Sun god). Hence the Gayatri Mantram ought to be for worshipping Sun god. Isn't it? But, we think of goddess Gayatri Devi when we chant the mantram. Why is it so?  So, when we do "Upasana" of the Mantra, to make it easier for our minds to focus/concentrate, our vedic rishis gave it a form, "Gayatri Mata'. But, the mantra itself is on Sun god.

Now, the question here is, why Sun? Do Hindu's worship a ball of fire? The answer is NO. The Sun is an embodiment of "Light"; and the light symbolizes "JNANAM". Jnanam is Daivam ("Pragynanam Brahma"). So Hindu's worship Eshwara in the form of Sun as he is symbolically a 'Jnana Pradata'. Likewise, Hindu's worship Eshwara in the form of Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesh, Durga, Kaali for their specific powers.

"OK, does this mean...Hindu's worship multiple gods, is Hinduism a polytheistic religion?" This is a general misconception among other religions about Hinduism. The answer is a NO. Just as how, the water, manifests in different forms like a, river, lake, waterfall, ocean, well, pot; so also, Hindus worship only one formless god (Eshwara) whose power is manifested in many forms (Shakti Swaroopaalu). Shiva is one manifestation, Vishnu is another; Ganesha, Durga and so on.

"Why do Hindus worship multiple gods and why even do the idol worship?"

Hinduism also says that god is supreme, one, and formless. This universe (jagat) is truly a manifestation of godliness as everything here is so perfect to support creation, sustenance and end of creation (Layam). It is very hard for a common man to comprehend and feel this 'Daiva Shakti'. So, our very smart vedic rishis introduced the concept of Deities and Idol worship.

Sage Jaimini, disciple of Veda Vysa, was the one who, during 'Purva Mimamsa' (first inquiry into the purpose of Vedas) conceived all the 'Vedavihita Karma' (karma taught in vedas) such as pooja, abhishekha-yagadulu and the rituals to various deities.  Each of these deities, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Durga and so on, possess a specific set of powers that belong to 'one formless god'. Hence these deities are actually the Shakti Swaroopas with a form so that even a common person could easily relate/connect to the power of almighty. Another thing that our very thoughtful rishis did was to give these Shakti Swaroopas a human like form so that it is very easy for everyone to feel the existence of god. The connection can now be made very easily with pooja, dhyana, japa.

Other religions too have some kind of form worship. For instance, christians wear 'cross' and cross themselves. It symbolizes Christ's sacrifice, compassion and love towards mankind. Muslims with a thought-form of Mecca in their mind turn in that direction when praying (Namaz). 'Forms' are used widely. A soldier salutes to his national flag as it symbolically represents his nation. Respect to the flag is respect to the country. Exactly the same way, worshiping idols is actually worshiping the formless eshwara.

Coming back, every bit in a deity’s form (Roopu Rekhalu) symbolically represents the already manifested power of God that we see and experience everywhere in this universe.  Unfortunately, we tend to focus more on the form and rituals than understanding and implementing the Tatvam behind it...which is the sole purpose of a God-form. Otherwise, why do we need a God-form? Think about it!

Gayatri Mantra - Slokam 1

OM BHUR BHUVAS SUVAHA

This line is added to the Gayatri Mantra and is not part of the mantra. But, it is very very profound. This is meant to be used during "invocation". Before taking a deep dive into the line, let's see, what and why of "Invocation".

Any mantra or sloka begins with Omkaram. It is called "VYAHRTHI". Vyahrti simply means, Uccharana (pronunciation). In Hinduism any ritual, prayer, pooja, japa, hoomam, yagnam, etc is done with a Bhavana (thought) that eshwara is present with you at that time of that kriya. For example, at the beginning of pooja we do "Avahana" and at the end "Udvasana". Omkaram when chanted at the beginning of pooja, japa, dhyana, mantras and even yoga, invokes eshwara into the kriya.

One question here is, isn't eshwara omnipresent and all pervading? Then why "invocation"? Reflect on this example, you have an ipod that has all the songs that you want to hear. You can only hear them when you turn on the ipod and press "play".  Isn't it? Likewise,  invocation opens up the channel between you and eshwara to establish a live connection.

How can OM invoke eshwara? OM aka Pranavam is a single syllable which is made of 3 sub-syllables. A(అ)-kaara, U(ఉ)-kaara, M(మ్)-kaara. 

There are several interpretation of these sub-syllables. The following is from most renowned gurus. 

A(అ) - Denotes, creation of the world (jagat). When this syllable is said, one’s mouth is open wide and the prana vuyu  is at it's peak. Symbolically, the bigger the creation, the greater the parana vayuvu required.

U(ఉ) - Denotes, sustenance of the world. When this syllable is said, one’s mouth is not open as wide.  Slowly and steadly prana vayu passes out thru the mouth. Symbolically, once creation takes place, only a little prana vayu is needed to thrive.

M(మ్) - Denotes, Layam of the world. When this syllable is said, one’s mouth is closed, there is no prana vayu. Prana vayuvu is needed for surivival. This symbolizes destruction of the creation (layam). I encourage you to say the 3 syllables to understand the above explanation better.

Hence chanting OM before the beginning of anything invokes one, who is the, "Srusti, Sthithi, Laya" Karakudu or simply Eshwara.

“BHUR BHUVAS SUVAHA”  is called “MAHA VYAHRTHI".  Note, OM is VYAHRTHI, this is MAHA (great pronunciation). This is one of the reasons what makes the Gayatri Mantra, a MAHA MANTRA. We will uncover it as we move along. These are actually 3 Lokas, BHUHU BHUVAHA SUVAHA, of the  Sapta (7) Lokas.The rest are being, MAHAHA, JANANHA, TAPAHA, SATYAM

BHUHU means Bhoolokam, 

SUVAHA means Swargalokam

BHUVAHA means Antariksha (space) which is everything in between Bhoomi and Swarglokam. 

Due to Sanskrit Sandhi, 

   BHUHU becomes BHUR. 

   BHUVAHA becomes BHUVAS 

  SUVAHA remains as SUVAHA. 

Hence it is, OM BHUR BHUVAS SUVAHA

In north India, SUVAHA is said as SVAHA. Hence, in north Indian temples you often hear priest chanting it as SVAHA. SUVAHA is native to south India. Both are correct and the same.

Hence, the first line is meant to invoke, the 'Sruhsti, Sthithi, Laya Karakudu' or Eshwara in the 'entire Universe' before the begin of, chanting the actual Gayatri Mantra. Again, one of the reasons this mantra is so great and sacred is because of this MAHA VYAHRTHI...BHUR BHUVAS SUVAHA. No other Mantra has it.

Gayatri Mantra - Slokam 2 & 3

TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM

BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI

Sanskrit slokas at times are jumbled. To understand their meaning it requires unjumbling the words as follows:

DEEMAHI TAT  VARENYAM BHARGO DEVASYA SAVITUR

DHEEMAHI - We meditate on

TAT           -  That  (We mediate on that)

VARENYAM - Sacred. One and only one. Unique. (We mediate on that sacred)

BARGO     -  Light. (We meditate on that sacred light)

DEVASYA  -  Eshwara (We mediate on that sacred light of Eshwara)

SAVITUR   -  Savitha means Sun, Savitur means, "of Savitr devatha".

So it is:

"We meditate on that sacred light of eshwara in the form of Surya Devatha"

Please pay close attention to this above line. It says, "We Meditate (DHEEMAHI)". So, although an individual chants this mantra, it is on behalf of the entire mankind. This is the other reason why this Mantra is the most sacred and Maha Mantra. 

Gayatri Mantra - Slokam 4

DHIYOYONAHA PRACHODAYATH

This line also need to be unjumbled and needs breaking the words (breaking Sandhi) to understand the meaning better:

DHIYOYONAHA when sandhi is broken it becomes, DHIYAHA YAHA NAHA. So when unjumbled:  

YAHA PRACHODAYATH NAHA DHIYAHA

 YAHA                   -   May he (he, the sun god who is the manifestation of Eshwara )

 PRACHODAYATH -   Illumin or Enlighten (May he enlighten)

 NAHA                   -   Our (May he enlighten our)

 DHIYAHA             -    Minds (May he enlighten our minds )

  

So it is, "May he Illumin or enlighten our minds". Again, please pay attention to "our minds". It doesn't say that enlighten the mind of the one who is chanting. 

The Literal Meaning

 ”We meditate on this light of Eshwara who is manifested in the form of Savitr devatha. May he (Sun or Eshwara) enlighten our minds with Jnanam"

The Inner Meaning

As Krishna says in Gita, "AGNANENAVRUTAM JNANAM TENA MUHYANTI JANTAVAHA". Which means, we're all actually Jnanis. But we're ignorant as our self is veiled by  AJNANM and thus stuck in illusions and delusions. Now what is AJNANAM or Illusion. It is identification of the "SELF" that says, "My Body, My House, My Family...My..My...My". Reflect on this real life situation. If you ask a 65 year old man about his life experiences thus far, those are broadly classified into either "Sukham" or "Dukham". Due to ignorance we all seek for Sukham not realizing that Dukham (Dwanda) invariably follows it. 

JNANAM is simply seeking "ANANDAM" (unconditional happiness) that which is without a dwanda, unlike Sukham and Dukham. The best way to seek JNANAM is, "Do things in your life out of happiness instead of for happiness".

That said, now,  think about this. If the prayer is about seeking JNANAM for entire humanity (not My...My.. stuff) and not at all individual-centric, how come it could be... a secret, can't be discussed openly, men or brahmins can only chant, females or other varnas (caste) should not chant. It is like a loving mother saying to her kids that, " I have a very yummy dinner prepared for you kids, it is highly nutritious and beneficial for your well being. But your eldest brother can only enjoy it; and the rest... forget about eating, you can't even know what it is". How can a mother be so cruel to her children, aren't children all equal? Here mommy is like our Vedic Rishis who created the Gayatri Mantra and the kids are us, the humanity and the beneficiaries.

Another important aspect here is, we're chanting the Gayatri Mantra for JNANAM for humanity as discussed under "Inner Meaning". Aren't these restrictive perspectives of the mantra contradicts what is truly sought when chanting the Mantra?

PLEASE THINK ABOUT IT.

Gayatri Mantra is very suitable for a Sadhaka to do Atma Vicharana (Self Inquiry) which is usually done in privacy. This is how the restrictive perspectives and misconceptions of the mantra might have evolved from.

As guru says, Gayatri Mantra can be chanted irrespective of gender, religion, caste or creed. Also, there is no restriction on when or what time it should be chanted. It can be chanted anytime, anywhere, high or low tones, outward or in ward.

This very very Important. The correct way of chanting Gayatri Mantra is with SWARA using, regular, low and high pitch as shown below. Without Swara it is considered incorrect as the meaning is altered.

Please note that the last line actually pronounced as, DIYOYONAFH PRACHODAYAT.

When VISARGA (AHA sound) joins with PAKARA sound, the syllable should be pronounced as "FH", per Sanskrit grammar rules.

Please click on the following audio click. Sa-Swara Gayatri Mantra chanting in the voice of Sri Swami Tattvavidananda.

Gayatri Mantra with Swara

HARI OM