Om is the essence of the whole creation. Om is the greatest mantra that has everything. And then Om expanded and became Gayatri. Gayatri is not a goddess having five faces and seated on a lotus. This was made a traditional belief much later by the people. Gayatri Mantra is the essence of the Vedas. There is no mantra greater than Gayatri. Gayatri Mantra says, “Let this intellect be guided and inspired.”
A powerful mantra
Is the Gayatri Mantra Only for Some?
In ancient times, the Gayatri Mantra was not given to everyone for one reason: because it is very powerful. People would think it is very powerful and if everybody became powerful by chanting the mantra, then the ruling kings would become weak. Also, they tried to avoid giving it to women. It was a male-dominated society and men were scared that if women practiced the Gayatri Mantra, they would attain enlightenment. Women tend to attain perfection sooner. This is wrong. This was not there originally. Men and women had equal rights. Sometime along the way, the priests, kings and ministers, in collusion, decided that only men should chant mantras. That is now a thing of the past. Both men and women can chant the Gayatri Mantra to purify their intellect.
Three types of intellect
The atma (Soul) is Shiva and our buddhi (intellect) is the manifestation of Mother Divine (Devi). The intellect is of three types:
- Sattvik
- Rajasik
- Tamasik
The intellect can be predominantly ruled by Satoguna, Rajoguna or Tamoguna. Life depends on our intellect (mati). If the intellect is Tamasik, then it becomes Kali (a violent form of the Mother Divine) and takes hold over Shiva (atma, the soul), and works towards destroying everything.
If the intellect is Sattvik, then it takes the form of Saraswati (the form of the Mother Divine associated with knowledge and wisdom) and if the intellect is Rajasik then it is Lakshmi (the form of the Mother Divine associated with wealth and prosperity).
So, as is the intellect, so are our actions.
There are some people who have a lot of negative feelings. They find fault in everything and try to prove everything as faulty or incorrect. Even if someone is doing very good work, they will find some fault or the other. Such an intellect is destructive in nature – Tamasik intellect.
A Rajasik intellect is the one that says – “I want this and I want that as well, and so one engages oneself and others into activities to acquire this and that.”
A Sattvik intellect is the one that is blissful, happy, contented, and intuitive; an intellect that is supportive of others, helpful to others, joyful, aware, and knowledgeable.
Gayatri means to go beyond; to transcend the three gunas. That is why we pray through the Gayatri, “Let this intellect be guided and inspired by something which is beyond the intellect, the Divinity.”
Transcending the gunas
First, we need to relieve ourselves of Tamoguna, by engaging in the activities of Rajoguna, and then we relieve ourselves from Rajoguna-driven activities and move up towards Satoguna. And eventually, we go beyond even Satoguna to realize the bliss and peace of the Supreme Consciousness which is Gayatri. That is why Gayatri is said to be the power that can destroy and overcome all sins and sorrows, and the chanting of which helps us overcome adversity.
Channeling the subtle ego
This moving from one guna to another can also become a vicious circle. We move from Tamoguna to Rajoguna, and then from Rajoguna to Satoguna. When we strive to hold on to the Satoguna, we come back into Rajoguna. And if we strive more in Rajoguna, we again fall back into Tamoguna. So we climb up only to go down once again, and this keeps happening. The root cause of this is aham (ego), which exists in a subtle form like an atom. To inspire and channel this subtle ego of ours, we have the Gayatri Mantra.
Prayer to God Himself
In the mantra, we say ‘Tat Savitur-Varenyam’. The word Savitur here refers to the Savitra Devta (a solar deity mentioned in the Rig-Veda and one of the twelve Adityas) considered to be responsible for the light of the Sun. But in this mantra, Savitra refers to Paramatma (Supreme Soul), the One who illuminates everything, purifies everyone and washes away all sins. So when we say ‘Savitur’, we are offering this prayer to God Himself, the Para-Brahman who is here referred to as Savitra.
That is the specialty of the Gayatri Mantra where we pray to that Divine Power and Supreme Consciousness which is present everywhere to dispel and destroy all our sins, and guide and inspire our intellect on the path of righteousness.
Prayer for everyone
So what is the best prayer?
“May this intellect of ours be inspired and guided to move on the path of righteousness!” And we need to pray that this happens for everyone, which means that may everyone’s intellect be guided and inspired. The Gayatri Mantra is a samuhik mantra – a mantra as a prayer for the benefit of everyone and not oneself alone.
If one person’s intellect goes in the wrong direction, and if you happen to be with that person, then his negative vibrations come to you too. When you sit day and night with someone who keeps saying negative things, then your mind also becomes anxious and restless with that negativity. And then, as a result of that, you do not experience joy and happiness.
In the last part of the mantra, it is said – “Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayat” meaning – “May everyone’s intellect be illumined with the light of the Divine”. It is not just praying for one person’s intellect alone to be illumined. It is to pray for the collective intellect, the intellect of every person to be freed from negativity and be illumined with the light of Divine. The mantra spells this out in plural and not in singular form.
We must pray every day that only good things come to our intellect. It is like how we sing the song ‘Sabko sanmati de Bhagwaan’ – that is, we pray to God to give everyone a righteous intellect.
Fulfillment in all levels of existence
Gayatri encompasses all the worlds of subtle creation also. Within our own bodies, there are so many worlds. There are seven lokas, the seven realms of creation.
- Bhu loka
- Bhuvas loka
- Svar lok
- Mahas lok
- Janas loka
- Tapas loka
- Satya loka
There are also seven energy chakras within our own body, each chakra being associated with a particular loka. There are also seven levels of our existence. Through the Gayatri Mantra, we pray that we progress and rise through the seven levels of existence to the Light of the Divine, and that we experience fulfillment and contentment in each of these seven levels. It is a prayer to be able to accept and become one with the eternal which is present everywhere.
For example, air is always present. When you take a deep breath in, you accept the air so totally. In the same way, the Chaitanya Shakti (the powerful Consciousness) is present around you everywhere and at all times. Gayatri Mantra helps you accept and become one with this wonderful consciousness around you with a deep sense of honor and total awareness.
What happens as a result of this?
All your sins are burnt to ashes, and you are cleansed. The word ‘Bhargo’ in the mantra means to cleanse all sins.
So through the Gayatri Mantra, we pray that “May I uphold and contain the Light of the Divine in my intellect, and may it illuminate all our minds and intellects and inspire us towards noble thoughts and actions”. This is the essence of the Gayatri Mantra.
