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The Meaning of Gayatri Mantra |
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ThoughtRevolution -
Gayatri Mantra
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Rishis have selected the words of various Mantras and arranged them in such a way that they not only convey some meaning but their chanting also creates specific energies. Gayatri is a mantra which inspires righteous wisdom. It means that the Almighty God may illumi- nate our intellect, which may lead us on the righteous path. This is the most important prayer. All the problems of a person are solved if he is endowed with righteous wisdom. Having far-sighted wisdom, a man is neither entangled in avoidable calamity nor does he tread a wrong path. A wise man intuitively finds solutions to his problems. Those who lack this clear-sightedness find themselves always facing problems and ever living from crisis to crises. The worship of Gayatri mantra bestows the boon of righteous wisdom. The teachings of and the powers incorporated in Gayatri mantra fulfil this purpose. Right- eous wisdom starts emerging as soon as Jap of this mantra is taken up as a Sadhana.
Om bhurbhuvaha svaha tatsaviturvarenyam bhargo
devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat
Om Brahma or Almighty God
bhur embodiment of vital spiritual energy (Pran)
bhuvah destroyer of sufferings
svaha embodiment of happiness
tat that
savitur bright, luminous like the Sun
varenyam best, most exalted
bhargo destroyer of sins
devasya divine
dhimahimay imbibe
dhiyo intellect
yo who
nah our
pracodayat may inspire
In short it is a prayer to the Almighty Supreme God, the Creator ofentire cosmos, the essence of our life existence, who removes all ourpains and sufferings and grants happiness beseeching His divine graceto imbibe within us His Divinity and Brilliance which may purify us andguide our righteous wisdom on the right path.
A man gets imbued with divine qualities contemplating and meditatingon this meaning of Gayatri. One should contemplate on these feelingsdaily and regularly. Three prayer-filled meditations are given here whichshould be silently recited and projected on the mental screen throughimagination.
1. "The Almighty God, who is known as pranav pervades all thethree Lokas, viz, Bhooha-lok, Bhuvaha-lok and Swaha-lok. He isOmnipresent. The cosmos is physical manifestation of God who per-vades its each and every particle. I am seeing Him everywhere. Iwould always refrain from evil thoughts and evil deeds and performtrue worship of God by extending cooperation in promoting happi-ness, peace and beauty in this universe which is His creation".
2. "This (tat) God is extremely bright (savitur), most exalted(varenyam), devoid of sin (bhargo) and divine (devasya). I visualisethis Divinity within me, in my soul. By such contemplation, I ambecoming illumined, virtues are growing in all the layers of my being.I am being saturated with these virtues, these characteristics, of God."
3. "That God may inspire (prachodayat) our (naha) intellect, wis-dom (dhiyo) and lead us on righteous path. May our intellect, theintellects of our family members and of all of us, be purified and mayHe lead us on the righteous path. On getting righteous wisdom, whichis the greatest achievement and is the source of all the happiness in thisworld, we may be able to enjoy celestial bliss in this life and make ourhuman life purposeful."
We should contemplate and meditate on these three prayer-filled medi-tations slowly and pausing for a moment on each word and an imagi-nary picture of that word should be drawn in the mind.While contemplating upon the first meditation, it should be imaginedthat God pervades all the three Lokas, the earth, heaven and Patal(nethermost world). God should be visualised pervading these Lokasin the form of light, heat and electricity, life force (Pran) etc. This vastuniverse is the living physical image of God. The Sadhak should try tovisualise in his imagination a glimpse of the All-pervading Omni-presentGod just as was given to Arjun by Lord Krishna. He should imaginethat God is all around him and he is sitting in God's lap. It should bepondered how evil thoughts and evil actions could remain lodged inhis mind and body in the presence of the Omni-potent Divinity. He should imagine that each and every manifestation of this universalGodhead is adorable and that well being lies in selfless service of thisuniverse, this vast humanity and in beautifying God's creation.While reflecting on the second meditation, one should imagine theextremely bright and luminous, supremely exalted God adorned withall divine qualities, seated on the throne of Sadhak's heart. God canbe also visualised in the form of Virat Purush. (2) Ram, Krishna,Vishnu, Gayatri, Sarsvati etc. and (3) in the flame of a lamp. Godcan be meditated upon in male or in mother's form according toone's own sentiments. God is female as well as male. Gayatri Sadhaksprefer to meditate on the Almighty God in the form of Gayatri Mata.Brilliance, supreme excellence, utmost piety, purity and divine right-eousness should be visualised in the beautiful image of Gayatri Mata.It should be imagined that such a beautiful and virtuous divine powerpermanently dwells in the sadhak's heart and permeates all the poresof his body.
While thinking on the third meditation, it should be felt that the divinepower of Gayatri has caught the intellect and feelings of our head andheart and is guiding them on the path of righteousness. We are pure,concerted and enthusiastic and are getting attained to move in thedirection of righteousness with the grace of Gayatri Mata.These three kinds of prayer filled meditations embodied in Gayatriare symbolic of Gyan-yog, Bhakti -yog and karma-yog. In fact,contemplation of the meaning of Gayatri amounts to immersion in theTriveni of these three kinds of yog.
By such contemplation, the meaning of Gayatri Mantra is fully as-similated in the heart of the Sadhak. The result is that in a short timehis mind gets diverted from evil thoughts and evil deeds and he startstaking enthusiastic joy in righteous thinking and good actions. How-soever little this tendency may be in the beginning it is almost certainthat if the practice persists, the inner-self of the Sadhak becomesmore and more awakened and the ultimate aim of life draws closerand closer.
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