Gayathri mantra is revived by Rishi Viswamithra from Rig Veda and other Vedas. The poetic meter of Gayathri mantra had 24 integrated words, starting “Tat Savitur” up to “Prachodayat”. To this the first few words of “OM Bhur Bhuva Swah” were added. This mantra is a plea to Lord Sun for purifying, strengthening and illuminating us on all levels. We also appreciate the Solar God for his radiance and nurturing. There is a component of meditation also in this mantra, wherein we meditate upon Him in reverence.
The Mantra
OM Bhu(r)-Bhuva Swah
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargho Devasya Dhimahi
Dhiyo Yona Prachodayaat
Literal Translation of the Words
OM : Supreme Parabrahman; AUM and ardha matra denote Jagrut, Swapna, Sushupti and Turiya states respectively.
Bhu(r) : Physical
Bhuva : Emotional
Swah : Mental
Tat : That
Savitur : Great God of radiance
Varenyam : Glorious splendour centred at Cosmic Mental plane, but also operating from Higher planes
Bhargho: Energy, power, brilliance, illuminating energy, radiance, light
Devasya: Yours, of that Savitur
Dhimahi: My buddhi. I Meditate on it.
Dhiyo - Mind
Yona - Mine
Prachodayaat - Illumine it (my mind)
Meaning of the Shanti Mantra
1. “OM Bhu(r)-Bhuva Swah”
To our Physical, Emotional and Mental planes, including the Causal plane, Lord Sun is providing us Himself. Thus, He affects our three states of consciousness, i.e., Jagrut (waking), Swapna (dream) and Sushupti (deep sleep).
2. “Tat Savitur Varenyam”
That Savitur is the great God of Radiance, who is glorious, with Divine splendour and is beyond just being a Physical God! He is also beyond the Physical, Emotional and Mental existence. He is centred in the Cosmic Mental and connected to even higher, to the Cosmic Intuitional and Cosmic Atmic, i.e, to the Galactic and the Universal Gods, respectively. He is also channelling Divine energies and blessings from them to our Intuitional and Atmic planes.
3. “Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi”
He has power, light, illuminating energy, radiance and prajna. I meditate upon Him. Direct perception on the Intuitional plane is Dhimahi.
4. “Dhiyo Yona Prachodayat”
Kindly illuminate my mind. Mind includes the Mental, Emotional, Energy and Physical bodies.
Sum up:
Apart from heat and radiation at the Physical level, we get prana from the Sun. The Sun directly illumines (provides prana to) our Physical, Emotional and Mental planes. He, the glorious, illumined one, is connected to the Cosmic levels. He is centred at Cosmic Mental, and further connected up! (Just as, our personality is extended from the Causal plane and also connected up; the Higher Soul is centred in the Buddhic plane but connected up; Planetary God is centred at Cosmic Emotional and connected up). So, He further channelises energy from the higher into our Buddhic and Atmic planes. He channels Intuition to the Intuitional plane from the Cosmic Intuitional plane, where Galactic God is centred (Akasha Ganga). He channels prajna to the Atmic plane from the Cosmic Atmic, i.e., Universal God, Parabrahman of Universe or Brahmanda! I meditate upon His splendour! I request Him to kindly illumine me!
Japa or chanting mantra is grander than Bhajans. Meditation is the most sublime of them all. You may practice all of them, nevertheless, meditation is the most exalted. Among the mantra chanting, Gayatri mantra is considered the most superior, potent and powerful because it has a component of meditation (Dhimahi) in it! Hence, understanding it, chanting properly with purpose and by meditating upon it, you may lead to understanding of the Self!
The Shanti Mantra of Mandukya upanishad appeals Vayu Deva, Lord Indra and also Lord Surya for energy and protection. Within the Solar God, everything manifests. He takes care of the entire Solar System. He is the provider. In Him we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). He is magnificent, highly developed and offers us the field for evolution, to help us progress on a physical Planet within the Solar System. Therefore, Gayatri Mantra is regarded next to OM chanting, for seeking protection, blessing, guidance, intuition and power; to become greater Divine servant of the Planetary God and to channel energy to Earth while being aligned with the group. Consequently, we must meditate upon Him.
He is also a manifested God. You can see Him. His physical form is radiating. Like you have a physical form which is radiating and blessing people, He also has a Physical body along with Emotional body, Mental body and a Soul at higher levels. His real form is in the Cosmic Mental plane and above. He is manifest as well as unmanifest! He is Pratyaksha Daivam.
Even physical science recognizes that energy comes from the Sun, life exists because of Him. He is powerful, radiating, illuminating and providing constantly! You meditate on Him, to become like him! Hence, you are supposed to be constantly radiating. He can be seen, but He has invisible spiritual radiance of many planes. He is connected to the Cosmic Atmic plane. In other words, He is connected to the Macro I am. We are the Micro I am.
Higher Inference of the Gayatri Mantra
From a higher standpoint, He provides energy to our Incarnated Soul and also channels energy for our Higher Soul and the Divine Spark. Thus, meditating on Him is a higher form of meditation. You can meditate between every 2 words of Gayatri Mantra. You lift up in the gap. At this higher level, Bhu represents the Incarnated Soul, Bhuva denotes the Higher Soul and Swah stands for Paramatma or Divine Spark. We can chant with this higher intention when we are centred in the Higher Soul or in the Intuitional plane. Then, we can say that below me, me and above me, kindly illuminate and guide to optimize my effort, gain freedom and bring down the Divine energies and blessings as a channel.
Importance of Maintaining a bigger Crown Chakra
According to the Holy Science, by Sri Sri Yukteshwar Giri, the yugas are connected to the distance of our Solar System from the Galactic centre. When closer to the Galactic centre, we experience Sat yuga. During this period, Sun channelises more energy from the Cosmic Intuitional plane, the plane of the Galactic God. Therefore, the Crown centre of the people, which is connected to the Intuitional plane, is bigger in Sat yuga. Consequently, in Kali yuga, the Solar System is farther from the Galactic centre and the Crown chakrams are smaller, making people appear dim with little intellect and as a result they are in a lower material condition.
However, by activating the Crown centre, irrespective of the yuga that we are in, we can experience the state of being in Golden age or Sat yuga. (Note: we are presently in the Ascending Dwapara yuga according to Sri Sri Yukteswara Giri, in his Holy Science). Practices such as, group activities, channelling meditations or prayers, nurturing, helping, sharing, healing, etc., can be used to activate the Crown chakram. By expressing love, you experience love and slowly greater Divine love and ultimately Love of God! You can experience Love of God substantially from Intuitional plane and higher!
In the Gayatri mantra, you are asking Lord Surya for power, intuition and illumination. This is comparable to rooting up. Lakshmi Gayatri mantra is used for rooting down, in order to perform action and for manifesting in the lower world. Like a bulb glows only by connecting to positive and rooting to Earth, similarly, you require both rooting up and rooting down to be a Divine servant of the Planetary God! We shall discuss Lakshmi Gayatri mantra in the next article.
You may join our online sessions to practice loving kindness meditations, such as, Planetary Peace Meditation, Metta Meditation or Great Invocation prayer to activate your Crown centre and channelize the Divine energies to the entire Mother Earth. You can also practice breathing exercises to calm your mind and strengthen yourself, Forgiveness Sadhana to let go of the past pain and experience a powerful guided Divine healing for physical and psychological health. These sessions are being conducted regularly @ www.facebook.com/ShriNJReddy. Timings: Morning 7.15 AM, Afternoon 1.00 PM, Evening 6.30 PM.
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