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.
The Use of Mantra:
Sri Aurobindo, in Hymns to the Mystic Fire, wrote:
"We have to invoke the gods by the inner sacrifice, and by the word call them unto us - that is the specific power of the Mantra, - to offer to them the gifts of the sacrifice and by that giving secure their gifts, so that by this process we may build the way of our ascent to the goal... We give what we are and what we have in order that the riches of the Divine Truth and Light may descend into our life."
In his book Sâdhanâ, Srî Swâmi Shivânanda wrote:
"Of all the mantras, the supreme and the most potent power of powers is the great, glorious Gâyatrî Mantra.
It is the support of every seeker after Truth who believes in its efficacy, power and glory, be he of any caste, creed, clime or sect. It is only one's faith and purity of heart that really count. Indeed, Gâyatrî is an impregnable spiritual armor, a veritable fortress, that guards and protects its votary, that transforms him into the divine, and blesses him with the brilliant light of the highest spiritual illumination.
... It is universally applicable, for it is nothing but an earnest prayer for Light, addressed to the Supreme Almighty Spirit.
... This single mantra, repeated sincerely and with clear conscience, brings the supreme good."
The Invocation:
Chanting of the Gâyatr Mantra is often prefaced with either a short invocation or a long invocation and is often followed with a closing.
The following are examples of two common invocations. In either of the invocations, we begin the recitation of the Gâyatrî Mantra with an invocation using the sacred symbol Om to acknowledge and pay homage to the One who is beyond name and form.
Short Invocation:
This invocation is acknowledging and joyously celebrating that Om is bhûr, Om is bhuvas, Om is suvaha... Om is everything.
The terms bhûr, bhuvas, suvaha (mahâ vyâhritis) are invocations to honor the planes of our existence and to call to our aid the presiding deities of the three planes in which we live our ordinary life: the physical, astral and mental planes.
The three lokas (bhûr, bhuvas, suvaha) are the bîja (seed) mantrams of the devatâs called Agni, Vâyu and âditya who are being invoked to assist in our transformation.
Then Prajâpati reflected on the three lokas and from this reflection was born OM. As veins pervade all leaves, so Om pervades all sound. Verily all this is Om! Verily all this is Om!
The short preamble is simply these four words:
om bhûr bhuvas suvaha
click here to hear Sai Baba chant the Gayatri with short invocation.
The Sanskrit character that is transliterated as bh is a very earthy sound that virtually explodes from the diaphragm. Listen carefully to the Sai Baba recording. To learn to make this sound, try saying "who" while sharply pulling in the abdominal muscles and forcing the diaphragm upward.... then add the "b" sound and do the same with bhûr (pronounced "bhoor").
- Long Invocation:
As with the shorter version, this invocation is a recognition that there are many worlds, all empowered by the nameless, formless, birthless, deathless which is symbolized by om.... om is everything.
These seven lines of the long invocation are the seven lokas, or planes, of existence, and are used not only to recognize and honor the planes of existence, but also to call the presiding deities of those planes to aid in our transformation and realization:
om bhûhû om bhuvaha om suvaha om mahaha om janaha om tapaha om satyaM
This magnificent chant by Sreedevi Bringi is done in the ancient, traditional Vedic manner which has been handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.
The seven lokas, may be briefly described as:
bhûhû - earth, the physical world bhuvaha - astral/desire/breath, the world of becoming suvaha - mental, the world of thinking mahaha - causal, silent mind, the world of emotion janaha - world of creative generation tapaha - world of intuition satyaM - world of Absolute Truth
This recital of the lokas begins with the gross, physical world filled with separation and differences and then each, in sequence, becomes more refined, more transcendent, more unified, more all-encompassing.
The recitation of the lokas, done with intent and clarity, prepares one for the chanting of the Gâyatrî Mantra by harmonizing and attuning one with all the worlds.
Daily spiritual practice:
The beautiful rhythmic patterns, soothing ancient sounds and powerful intent make the Gâyatrî Mantra a magnificent part of daily spiritual practice.
The Gâyatrî Mantra combines the effects of mantric sound with the effects of a deep and profound prayer, resulting in a combination which is exceedingly potent.
As with all spiritual practices, this is a vehicle for intent. The stronger and greater the intent, the stronger and greater the results.
Spiritual progress does not succeed merely by means of intellectual reasoning or theoretical arguments, but rather by direct experience. If you would like a deeper understanding of the Gâyatrî Mantra, it is well and good that you should begin with an intellectual understanding of the words and the intent, but that is only a preliminary step leading to your own direct experience of That Which is beyond words.
Humble Submission and Selfless Unity:
Many of the greatest prayers, such as the Gâyatrî Mantra from the ancient rishis of India, the Fâtiha which was received by the prophet Muhammad, and the Lord's Prayer which was given to us by Jesus, all share some magnificent similarities, illustrating the highest and noblest principles of prayer.
In each of these great prayers, the opening lines are a humble recognition that there is a Greater Power, and that all that we receive comes from the will of that Greater Power. Such prayer is an act of humble submission to That Which is beyond our understanding.
And the final lines of each of these great prayers, in humble submission to a Greater Power, acknowledge the gifts of understanding and awakening which are continually bestowed upon all of mankind, even though so few are even aware of the gifts. This humble recognition of the gifts that are constantly showered upon us is an essential element of the highest spiritual practices that we have been given, leading us toward the understand that we can and should rise above our differences and divisions, emerging from our delusion of separation and becoming aware of the Light of Unity which already shines upon all of creation.
Resources:
Texts:
Gâyatrî, I.K Taimni, Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, 1974, ISBN 81-7059-084-1
Gâyatrî, Sadguru Sant Keshavadas, Motilal Bandarsidass, Delhi, 1978, ISBN 81-208-0697-2
A few on-line resources for the short form of the Gayatri Mantra:
http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/srilasridharamj/ssm_gayatri.html
http://www.vinnica.ua/~sss/gayatr_l.htm
http://sanskrit.gde.to/doczmisc_general/gaayatrimantra.html
The short excerpt of Sai Baba chanting with background and chorus is from the CD called Embodiment of Love, by Gianluca & Gabriele Ducros
