The Gayatri Mantra
The Gayatri mantra is a popular Vedic mantra. Gayatri is the mythical goddess of dawn. She represents the Sun as it rises. This mantra is a supplication to God to help us in our life. The Gayatri mantra is described in the Vedas to be used in a ceremony called the sandhya vandanam. Sandhya vandanam is performed in the morning as the first prayer after one bathes. In the old days people went to the rivers or the large temple water tanks for their bath. After their bath and before leaving the river (or any body of water) devotees will perform sandhya vandanam. The Vedas give these instructions on how to perform sandhya vandanam:
Standing knee deep in water while facing the rising sun, water is collected with both palms together. Then the while chanting the Gayatri mantra the water is slowly poured back into the river. This is repeated three times.
A priest teaching his disciples how to do the sandhya vandanam by the banks of the Ganga.
The water may also be collected and poured back into the river in a vessel called the kamandalu. This mantra is also used during worship ceremonies in the temple and the home as well as a japa mantra. Following is the Gayatri mantra along with its translation in English. You can learn the soothing Gayatri mantra from the YouTube video below.
Aum bhur bhuvah suvaha,
tat savitur varenyam.
Bhargo devasya dhimahi.
Dhiyo yo nah pracodha yat.
–from the Rig Veda
Aum, Dear God, Thou are the giver of life, the bestower of happiness and the remover of pain and sorrow.
O Lord Creator of the universe, may we receive your sin-destroying light.
May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.
As you can gather from the meaning, this is an all-rounder mantra. When we chant this mantra we are asking for God’s blessings to rid us of difficulties and lead us on the path of wisdom so we make the right choices in our life. This is a highly effective mantra to add to our collection of prayers. Devotees from all walks of life and ages can learn this mantra. All the words of this mantra are simple to pronounce and there are many styles of chanting it. Some are melodious and others follow a strict rhythm as chanted by priests. You can learn any style of chanting. You can learn it from a priest or anyone who chants the mantra regularly or even learn it from a good audio recording.
The key to making this mantra chanting effective is to visualize its meaning (instructions following) as you chant.
When you chant the first line, Aum, bhur bhuvah suvaha tat savitur varenyam, visualise God blessing you with happy moments and keeping harm away from you.
As you chant the next line, bhargo, devasya dhimahi, visualise God sending you a ray of bright white light that cleanses your aura. Be in an apologetic mood as you chant and visualise this line.
On the final line, dhiyo yo nah pracoda yat, visualise God blessing you with a ray of bright yellow light that stimulates wisdom. From the spiritual perspective bright yellow is the colour of a purified intellect.
This is a good mantra to start the day with. That is why it is dedicated to the dawn of the day and incorporated in the sandhya vandanam ritual. Though this mantra can be chanted anytime during the day or night. There is no harm in this. If you would like to incorporate the sandhya vandanam ceremony in your routine, there is a modern adaptation that can be performed (taking into consideration that clean rivers near our homes are hard to come by these days). Below are the steps:
This sandhya vandanam is performed in your home shrine. You will need a few fresh flowers and a teertam cup (ceremonial water cup) with a spoon.
1. After you have had your bath prepare your home shrine by lighting the lamp and offering fresh flowers and incense. Then with your hands in namaskaram facing the deity of your choice say the first line (Aum bhur....varenyam). Standing facing the image of God is the same as standing facing the sun. The sun symbolizes God as the giver of life since the sun’s rays allows for life to exist on earth.
2. Before you chant the second line (Bhargo....dhimahi), take a spoonful of water and pour it into your right palm and hold it there. Then chant the second line. Water symbolizes cleansing of sin as per the meaning of this line. After chanting this line, let the water pour out of your hands and bring your hands together in namaskaram.
3. Close your eyes visualise the meaning of the third line as you chant it (Dhiyo....yat). In the original ceremony the meaning of the third line is symbolised by standing in a body of water, since any large body of water is a symbol of wisdom. Thus standing in the waters of the sea, lakes or rivers indicate our resolve that our actions be rooted in wisdom. This of course is impossible to replicate in any form in the home shrine except through visualization. Repeat this procedure three times.
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