'Gayatri Mantra', the ultimate Vedic prayer to awaken the intellectual powers of a person, first found its reference in the 'Vedas' believed to be the storehouse of all Divine Knowledge and the most ancient scriptures known to mankind. The universal prayer is addressed to the Sun God, addressed as 'Savitha' as the Life-Giver on Earth. Goddess Gayatri or Annapurna is believed to be the Mother-God that animates all Life. Considered to be the essence of the Vedas, Gayatri Mantra fosters and hones the knowledge-yielding faculty of a person. The four 'Mahavakyas' or ultimate sentences of Gayatri Mantra, is a sacred mantra that demonstrates the unity that underlies multiplicity and manifoldness in creation.
The essence of the Mantra can be stated as follows - 'Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life, Remover of pain and sorrow, The Bestower of happiness, Oh! Creator of the Universe, May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light, May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.'
The individual words and characters of the Mantra have a meaning of their own than can be defined as follows:
Om: The primeval sound that represents Brahma,
Bhur: The physical world that embodies the vital spiritual energy or 'Pran',
Bhuvah: The mental world and destroyer of all sufferings,
Swaha: The celestial and spiritual world that embodies happiness,
Tat: That or God, referring to transcendental Paramatma (Ultimate Spirit),
Savithur: The Bright Sun or the Creator and Preserver of World,
Varenyam: Best or most adorable,
Bhargo: Destroyer of all sins,
Devasya: Divine Deity or Supreme Lord,
Dheemahi: We meditate upon and take in,
Dhiyo: The Intellect,
Yo: The Light,
Nah: Our,
Prachodayath: Inspire or Enlighten.
Meaning:
We meditate on the glory of the Creator;
Who has created the Universe;
Who is worthy of Worship;
Who is the embodiment of Knowledge and Light;
Who is the remover of all Sin and Ignorance;
May He enlighten our Intellect.
Thus, we can say that Gayatri Mantra basically consists of three parts:
1. Praise,
2. Meditation, and
3. Prayer.
While chanting the mantra, we first praise the God or the Divine Power, meditate upon it in all reverence and then finally pray or make an appeal to the God awaken and strengthen the intellectual powers of a person. The Mantra is said to be the embodiment of all deities and is certainly not associated with any particular religion or sect, time, place or person. While Om, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Swaha, Thath, Savithur, Varenyam, Bhargo and Devasya are said to be its nine colors or praise of the Divine, Dheemahi is related to meditation and Dhiyo, Yo, Nah and Prachodayaath are said to be the parts of the prayer aspects of the mantra.
The individual words and characters of the Mantra have a meaning of their own than can be defined as follows:
Om: The primeval sound that represents Brahma,
Bhur: The physical world that embodies the vital spiritual energy or 'Pran',
Bhuvah: The mental world and destroyer of all sufferings,
Swaha: The celestial and spiritual world that embodies happiness,
Tat: That or God, referring to transcendental Paramatma (Ultimate Spirit),
Savithur: The Bright Sun or the Creator and Preserver of World,
Varenyam: Best or most adorable,
Bhargo: Destroyer of all sins,
Devasya: Divine Deity or Supreme Lord,
Dheemahi: We meditate upon and take in,
Dhiyo: The Intellect,
Yo: The Light,
Nah: Our,
Prachodayath: Inspire or Enlighten.
Meaning:
We meditate on the glory of the Creator;
Who has created the Universe;
Who is worthy of Worship;
Who is the embodiment of Knowledge and Light;
Who is the remover of all Sin and Ignorance;
May He enlighten our Intellect.
Thus, we can say that Gayatri Mantra basically consists of three parts:
1. Praise,
2. Meditation, and
3. Prayer.
While chanting the mantra, we first praise the God or the Divine Power, meditate upon it in all reverence and then finally pray or make an appeal to the God awaken and strengthen the intellectual powers of a person. The Mantra is said to be the embodiment of all deities and is certainly not associated with any particular religion or sect, time, place or person. While Om, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Swaha, Thath, Savithur, Varenyam, Bhargo and Devasya are said to be its nine colors or praise of the Divine, Dheemahi is related to meditation and Dhiyo, Yo, Nah and Prachodayaath are said to be the parts of the prayer aspects of the mantra.