Sri Sri Ravishankar on the GM

The Gayatri mantra is one of the greatest prayers mankind has. What does it say? Let me soak in the Divine, and let the Divine destroy all my sins. The Divine light that burns all sin, let me adore and soak in that Divine light. And let the Divinity inspire my intellect. See, all our actions happen through our intellect, right? Thoughts comes and then you act. So you pray to the Divine to bring good thoughts into your mind. You pray to the Divine, 'Take over my intellect. Inspire my intellect'; dhiyo yonah prachodayat. Dhi means intellect. May my intellect be guided by, kindled by, and inspired by you (Divinity). When right thoughts come, your action will always be right. When intuitive thoughts come, your actions will be fruitful. So praying for the best thought. Let my mind, my whole life energy be soaked in Divinity. That is it. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Sathya Sai Baba on the exalted GM 

Excerpted from an online article (Source : https://aravindb1982.blogspot.com/2018/01/power-of-gayatri-mantra-is-beyond-belief.html) 

It dawned on everyone that the girl’s father had died in the tragic terror attack and the explosion that occurred onboard the Air India flight enroute to India from Canada, off the western coast of Ireland. 

Towards the end of the interview, Swami turned towards Dr. Vijai Kumar and said in a matter-of-fact manner, "There were more than 250 passengers onboard Kanishka. Even if one had chanted the Gayatri Mantra, the accident could have been averted.”  Everyone in the interview room sat in silence absorbing the profundity of the statement. 

Many are the escapes that people have had by chanting the Gayatri Mantra. One of the most thrilling narratives of the same is the near-death experience of Sri Devesh Srivastava, the brother of Dr. Sailesh Srivastava (a teacher in Swami's school and university at Puttaparthi). 

Swami says, “Gayatri Chandasaam Matha (Gayatri is the mother of the Vedas)”. He goes on to explain that one can either peel and eat multiple fruits to derive nutrition and strength or one can drink mixed-fruit juice. “Gayatri Mantra is the fruit-mix concentrate”, He adds.  It embodies all the 4 Mahavakyas (great statements) of the Vedas. 

However, there are certain conditions that must be met to unlock the mantra’s great powers. 

Swami says that: 1. The person chanting the Gayatri mantra should not do it casually; it must be done with complete faith and reverence. 2. To ensure reverence, one must have purity. Purity comes from speaking the truth and having the unity of thought, word and deed.

To overcome issues with focusing, while chanting GM

 An email I sent to the Gayatri Parivar Yahoo group, over 11 yrs ago. 

While chanting Gayatri mantra, oftentimes I used to find myself

1) unable to focus on the spirit(meaning) of the mantra, as the mind was wandering hither and thither

2) unable to consistently do my spiritual activities due to various daily life hindrances

3) my chronic breathing problems interfered with my concentration

While experimenting with various ways on overcoming the above obstacles I found the below remedies helpful. Hence thought of sharing the same.

1) Prayers to Lord Ganesha (the God of obstacles) even a few minutes daily, asking him to help me overcome all kinds of obstacles in my spiritual practice, helped. But it has to be regular. Hence I've made it integral to my daily Sandhya worship. In fact, we do chant 'Shuklambaradharam...' which is a prayer to Ganesha only. While chanting the sloka we can pray to HIM to remove all kinds of obstacles and make us disciplined practitioners.

2) Hanuman Chalisa - I have found that chanting it gives me energy and drive to pursue intense spiritual activities. It's a truly powerful prayer. Sri Rama is the embodiment of Dharma and a worshipper of the Sun too. Hence I have found that prayers to Hanuman through hanuman chalisa asking him to give me strength, intelligence, knowledge (and avoidance of mistakes) and motivation towards overcoming all obstacles in my daily spiritual practice helped.

3) Chanting Aditya Hridayam stotra immediately after the Gayatri mantra chant has helped me overcome my breathing issues. It has also given me a lot of energy, vitality and drive.

May the blessings of divine mother Gayatri shine on us!

Regards,

Hari

Reciting the holy VSN, each time I visit a temple

For a long time I have been practising a unique Spiritual Sadhana - that of reciting the holy VSN in every temple as well as every place of scenic beauty that I visit.

From my study of the scriptures at a young age, especially of the Upanishads, Gita and the works of Sree Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda, I had formed a clear conviction that the entire world is nothing but Brahman alone, like a boundless ocean.

Brahman is the sole reality.  The variety we see in the universe is more or less like a shadow or minor part of that Brahman. The Upanishads give illustrations such as, the universe is like the Sun or the Moon, as seen reflected in small waterpools of mud.

Once a person acquires Chittasuddhi, he/she will be able to clearly perceive that Brahman, as the sole reality pervading everywhere. Many unimaginably Great Rishis of ancient and modern times have directly realized that Brahman. Vedic Rishis state "Vedahemetam Purusham Mahaantham".

So whenever I visit a temple, I will first identify a suitable corner to sit in, and then mentally bow to the omnipresent Brahman who is present there by default (even though invisible to me, since I am not presently endowed with spiritual perception), and recite the holy VSN, meditating on each naama as to a glory of that Brahman.

I don't recite the stotram seeking any worldly goals. I feel perfectly contented with whatever it is that the lord has blessed me with. I recite VSN only for the joy of connecting with that Brahman of supreme bliss. In some ancient temples there could be the presence of bodiless Siddhas too. While reciting, I seek their blessings too. 

Along with the recital, I will perform mudras like the Jnana, Sankha, Prana, Prithvi mudra. This way, I benefit in multiple ways, my time utilised well.  

Isn't nature a manifestation of the glory of the lord? So isn't it appropriate that we offer prayers to that Supreme One who created all this beauty for our eyes? Hence, I will also do this, in the places of scenic beauty I visit in my travels.

This practice has always given me great joy and peace. At the end of the japam, I might perhaps do a Pradakshinam in the temple, perhaps I might not. But I am not at all particular about getting "darshanam" of the deity, since I know that it is the same Brahman everywhere. What if I don't see the Vigraham with my eyes? Still he present in me, as well as everywhere near me. All that I need to do is to feel his existence everywhere. Asti Ityevopalabdhavyah (Katha Upanishad).

It doesn't matter which deity the temple is for - be it Shiva or Vishnu or Devi or whatever. All gods are forms of that Supreme One alone.

Visiting temples is primarily because I enjoy travelling and seeing places. As per Vedic astrology, mine is a Ubhaya lagnam, hence I will get maximum freedom and pleasure through travelling. Moreover, I tend to feel that temples are to a certain extent an extension of my home. I am allowed to sit, and spend some time there. It is something which I cannot expect to be allowed to do in another person's house. So I go to the temple, watch the people worshipping there, sit in my corner and recite VSN, just to enjoy myself.