Gayatri mantra is often respectfully and adoringly called Veda Janani, the mother of Vedas. Vedas are supersensuous knowledge, beyond mortal senses, revealed to Rishis who saw them as Truths through Jnana-chakshus, ie divine eyes powered by knowledge. The aim of the chanter of the Gayatri is to reveal this divine knowledge to him and to his group, which might as well refer to the entire human race. This knowledge is hidden to his senses, hence he needs divine aid to perceive the knowledge.
The fact that this knowledge exists and is hidden to normal human senses, is attested to by several Vedic references. The Purusha Sooktam which proclaims the grandeur of the Supreme Purusha, in it's very first verse states... "that Purusha, after encompassing the entire universe...extends still beyond". The Rishi of the Purusha Sooktam states "I have seen this Supreme Purusha, radiant like the Sun, and entirely beyond all darkness". So this Purusha exists and could be perceived, provided one has the means to see Him. Those who are able to see this transcendental truth, become Rishis. They express the truths they perceive, through divine poetry which has come to us in the form of Vedas, Upanishads and epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata and the Puranas. Even such poetic stalwarts like Kalidasa are great examples of what Rishis divine inspiration can create.
Sri Krishna in the 11th Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita reveals his Supreme form to Arjuna. He enables Arjuna with Divyam Jnana Chakshusham, to help him see the divine God. The God's splendour is shown incomparable. It is mightier than a thousand Suns blazing together.
So we humans could not perceive this ever-existent Lord through the senses available with us. Still, we do perceive the Sun radiating his light regularly and unceasingly, benefitting the entire universe. And the Sun as pervaded by the Supreme Lord, is the best guiding light we have for us, the best indicator of the glories of the Lord. So, even as we meditate on the Sun's divine rays, we seek to address that light which makes the Sun shine, to reveal to us the divine truth that is, however, beyond the material Sun.
The Katha, Mundaka and Swetaswatara Upanishad repeats "Where that divine light shines in it's glory, there the Sun does not shine, nor the moon or the stars, nor the fire. One who sees that divine light, also sees it as pervading and activating the entire universe. There is nothing in this material universe that does not owe it's energy to this divine light.
In the Ishavasya Upanishad, the Rishi says - the face of Truth is hidden by a Golden Covering, the material Sun. He beseeches to the Lord to reveal the Truth to him, by removing the outer covering. This is for "satyadharmaya dhrishtaye" - to understand divine Truth and Dharma.
The way to to address the divine Lord is to surrender ourselves fully to Him and make ourselves open towards receiving His divine grace. To pray to That Supreme Lord with a full heart, to meditate on His sin-dispelling divine rays, as the Gayatri mantra advises us. The Gita says, even if one is the worst of sinners, this path would surely help him perceive the Truth too.
As the Mundaka upanishad says, the relation between the chanter of the mantra and the divinity (Savita) is like between two birds, always inseparable, and adorning the same tree. Their only difference lies in the fact that the divine One does not immerse himself in worldly activities, instead he is immersed in his own supreme glory... "like a great emperor" according to Sankaracharya.
So why should we know this supersensuous Truth, the glory of the emperor? The Upanishadic Rishis praise the benefits one accrues when he perceives the Truth. The most significant benefit is the crossing over of Death. One becomes immortal since one becomes united with the divine. And one becomes fearless. One significant verse says "Na bibhethi kadachaneti". Even the heaviest danger or sorrow becomes like child's play to him who has, by God's grace, perceived this Divine Truth.
The Bhagavad Gita concurs "yam labdhva chaparam labham manyate nadhikam tatah yasmin sthito na duhkhena gurunapi vicalyate". Once he has perceived that Truth, then established in it, he does not see any other thing as as a better gain than that, and thus established in that truth, he remains unruffled, even when faced with the heaviest of sorrows.
Vasudevasutam Devam Kamsa chanooramardhanam
Devakee paramanandam Krishnam Vande JagadGurum
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