The Gayatri Mantra

  

AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA,
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI
DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT

My First Experience

As with most yogis, the first time I heard the Gayatri Mantra it was sang by Deva Premal. The recording I found was a live one YouTube….please take a minute to watch it.

I was in tears the first time I heard it. I think it was a combination of the Sanskrit words, her beautiful voice, watching her sing with her eyes closed like she was singing it to higher being and hearing the audience sing along with her. I watched that video over and over again. It didn’t take me long to memorize the words. I am sure the people at work thought I was crazy listening to the song repetitively.

Then I found some info on Deva Premal’s website about what the song means to her. When in her mother’s womb, her parents would sing the Gayatri Mantra to her as a welcoming song and she remembers that it was a nightly ritual before bed to sing the mantra with her father. Deva grew up with it and when she was around 20 years old she was inspired to write the mantra into a song. This song was so popular with the students in her chanting workshops that she taught, that she decided to record it along with some other mantras on a CD for reference and practice for her students. She recorded the CD in her mother’s apartment where she was born and where she chanted the mantra with her father so many years earlier. The CD sold in huge numbers and people from all over the world were requesting the CD to sell in their businesses. This was the start of her new life as a widely known musician. Her father must have been so proud of her!

Many years later her father took a turn for the worse and passed on at the age of 83. As quoted by Deva Premal on her website:

"I feel so grateful that I could be there until the moment of his death. We were singing the Gayatri Mantra to him until the end and so the circle is complete: He accompanied the beginning of my life with it and I the ending of his. I am also very touched by my family...how they were all joining Miten and I with the singing for him...”

Who or What is Gayatri?

Gayatri is the mother of the Vedas. The essence of the Vedas. Veda means knowledge and The Vedas are a large number of ancient texts from India. The oldest scriptures of Hinduism and Yoga philosophy.

 Gayatri is said to have domain over the five senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching. And if you chant the Gayatri Mantra, Gayatri will protect these five pranas in you.

Meaning

The Gayatri mantra has been given to you as a third eye to reveal to you that inner vision by which you may realize your True Self. It will descend on you and illumine your intellect and light your path when this mantra is chanted. Gayatri is the reliever of all diseases. Gayatri wards off all misery. Gayathri is the fulfiller of all desires. Gayatri is the bestower of all that is beneficial. If the mantra is chanted, various kinds of powers will emerge in one. Hence the Gayatri mantra should not be treated casually. The attitude of surrender will grow in us as we recite regularly the Gayatri mantra.

Like sunrise after the night, the Gayatri mantra dispels the darkness of ignorance. The rays of the Gayatri mantra illumine the mind and intelligence and promote knowledge, wisdom and discrimination. This Gayatri has the subtle power of removing evil tendencies and implanting virtuous habits.

Wow! That is pretty amazing! Thank you International Sai Organization. 

Where is this from?

It is said that ancient Rishis, composers of Vedic chants, selected the words of the Gayatri Mantra. It is mentioned in many ancient texts called the Upanisads. This Mantra is one of the oldest mantras known and is the most powerful. Krishna talks of it in the Bhagavad Gita. So really it is the most ultimate mantra of the all.

What do the words mean?

There are so many interpretations of the mantra but I like this one the best:

We contemplate the glory of Light illuminating the three worlds: gross, subtle, and causal.
I am that vivifying power, love, radiant illumination, and divine grace of universal intelligence.
We pray for the divine light to illumine our minds.

What does it mean to me?

So when I first found this mantra I really needed it. I needed to rekindle my faith in humanity. I was so bitter and unhappy that the normal meditations with music or a strong connection with my breath in asana practice wasn't doing it anymore. I heard this and my coldness melted and my hopes defrosted. I once again saw the buddha nature in everyone. It is very powerful! So when I need to be brought back to my True Self I will chant this mantra. When I have an urge to return to old thought patterns or bad habits I chant this mantra. I want to help inspire other people that are getting caught up in the nets of Samsara, I chant this mantra. It has become a huge part in my daily life and this has made a difference.

Silentpanic’s song

I won a wonderful opportunity to help a very talented band, Silentpanic, create a new song. And guess what will be in that song? The Gayatri Mantra, of course. I will post it on here when it is complete and give all the details about how I won this awesome gift. 

Can't wait to hear it!!!!

Namaste