Your two eyes cannot reveal to you the magnificence and the majesty of the realm of the spirit. They are focused towards the objective world and its transient attractions. So the Gayathri mantra has been given to you as a third eye to reveal to you that inner vision by which you may realize Brahman.
Gayathri is a treasure you must guard throughout your lives. If you have not caught the sounds of the mantra correctly now, learn it from your parents or your family priest. Perhaps they may not know the Gayathri themselves, or they might have forgotten it through culpable neglect. Then I would ask them to learn it from you.
Never give up the Gayathri; you may give up or ignore any other mantra, but you should recite the Gayathri at least a few times a day. It protects you from harm wherever you are - traveling, working, ot at home. Westerners have investigated the vibrations produced by this mantra and have found that when it is recited with the correct accent as laid down in the Vedas, the atmosphere becomes visibly illumined. So the effulgence of Brahma will descend on you and illumine your intellect and light your path when this mantra is chanted. Gayatri is Annapurna, the Mother, the Sakthi that animates life. So do not neglect it.
- Excerpts from Discourse by Sathya Sai Baba, Upanayanam Day, Brindavan, 6-20-77
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Why do I feel so much about the holy Gayatri mantra?
One reason is that, despite the great variety in the various religions, sects and practices that are together called Hinduism, and despite the great conflict between many of them, they all continue to pay homage to this short, simple mantram. Probably it's the one, and only one point in which the various sects of Hinduism agree! To the greatness of this exalted mantra!
Another reason is that, despite the vicissitudes over several millenia, it has remained part of the glorious tradition of Sandhya Vandanam that is an integral part of ancient Vedic culture, medieval Puranic and Tantric culture, as well as of today's Hindu culture.
It finds mention in the Vedas, which even conservative estimates place between 3000-2000 BCE, and it finds mention in the Upanishads(circa 1000 - 500 BCE), as well as in the teachings of lord Buddha (6th Cent BCE), in the Grihya, Srouta Sutras of Apastamba, Baudhayana et al (8th Cent BCE), in the Manu, Yajnavalkya and many other Smriti works (uncertain date, but earlier than 4th-2nd BCE) as well as in the works of Kalidasa (circa 1st Cent BCE). So does it find mention with great vigour in the works of Banabhatta (7th Cent CE) as well as in that of Thyagaraja (17th Cent CE). And it is still being recited by countless people throughout the world. In this context, the efforts of Swami Vivekananda, Saint Dayananda Saraswati(of Arya Samaj) and of Pandit Sriram Sharma Acharya(All World Gayatri Parivar) in popularizing this holy mantra among people belonging to all religions, all castes, needs special mention.
Another reason is that, despite the vicissitudes over several millenia, it has remained part of the glorious tradition of Sandhya Vandanam that is an integral part of ancient Vedic culture, medieval Puranic and Tantric culture, as well as of today's Hindu culture.
It finds mention in the Vedas, which even conservative estimates place between 3000-2000 BCE, and it finds mention in the Upanishads(circa 1000 - 500 BCE), as well as in the teachings of lord Buddha (6th Cent BCE), in the Grihya, Srouta Sutras of Apastamba, Baudhayana et al (8th Cent BCE), in the Manu, Yajnavalkya and many other Smriti works (uncertain date, but earlier than 4th-2nd BCE) as well as in the works of Kalidasa (circa 1st Cent BCE). So does it find mention with great vigour in the works of Banabhatta (7th Cent CE) as well as in that of Thyagaraja (17th Cent CE). And it is still being recited by countless people throughout the world. In this context, the efforts of Swami Vivekananda, Saint Dayananda Saraswati(of Arya Samaj) and of Pandit Sriram Sharma Acharya(All World Gayatri Parivar) in popularizing this holy mantra among people belonging to all religions, all castes, needs special mention.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Greatness of Gayatri - A Story from Akbar Nama
An interesting episode is seen mentioned in an Islamic book "Akbar nama", the biography of Emperor Akbar.
When Akbar was ruling India, Birbal was his minister. Akbar and Birbal would often travel incognito to collect first hand information about the various happenings in the country. On one occasion, they noticed a brahmin going begging from house to house. Akbar pointed this out to Birbal. Birbal noticed the beggar and kept quiet. After reaching home he sent word for the brahmin to meet him.
When the brahmin called on Birbal, Birbal said, "O Brahmin - You collect your daily earnings through begging from me every day. However, in lieu of begging please chant Gayatri Japam during the three sandhya periods 108 times everyday". The brahmin agreed and after collecting the money from Birbal, started chanting Gayatri Mantra regularly. After a few days, he thought, why not increase the chanting to 1008 times, since he had a lot of time. Very soon, people started giving him charity in the form of food and cash. In this way the brahmin stopped going to Birbal's house for begging. His daily meditation earnt him the power to acquire knowledge, acquire an attractive personality and soon he transformed into a good expounder of knowledge. More and more people started coming to him and he became a well known personality. Birbal also heard about him. One day Birbal visited the brahmin and asked him why he had stopped coming to his house. The brahmin profusely thanked Birbal for putting him on the right path by guiding him at the right time.
One day Birbal mentioned to Akbar that a saintly person had come to town and Akbar promptly invited the person and honoured him. Birbal then asked Akbar whether he remembered this saintly person but Akbar could not recollect. Birbal then reminded Akbar about the brahmin beggar episode. Akbar after hearing this exclaimed " Oh! what a Change!" This episode appears in the Akbar Nama and brings out the virtue and greatness of the Gayatri Mantra.
When Akbar was ruling India, Birbal was his minister. Akbar and Birbal would often travel incognito to collect first hand information about the various happenings in the country. On one occasion, they noticed a brahmin going begging from house to house. Akbar pointed this out to Birbal. Birbal noticed the beggar and kept quiet. After reaching home he sent word for the brahmin to meet him.
When the brahmin called on Birbal, Birbal said, "O Brahmin - You collect your daily earnings through begging from me every day. However, in lieu of begging please chant Gayatri Japam during the three sandhya periods 108 times everyday". The brahmin agreed and after collecting the money from Birbal, started chanting Gayatri Mantra regularly. After a few days, he thought, why not increase the chanting to 1008 times, since he had a lot of time. Very soon, people started giving him charity in the form of food and cash. In this way the brahmin stopped going to Birbal's house for begging. His daily meditation earnt him the power to acquire knowledge, acquire an attractive personality and soon he transformed into a good expounder of knowledge. More and more people started coming to him and he became a well known personality. Birbal also heard about him. One day Birbal visited the brahmin and asked him why he had stopped coming to his house. The brahmin profusely thanked Birbal for putting him on the right path by guiding him at the right time.
One day Birbal mentioned to Akbar that a saintly person had come to town and Akbar promptly invited the person and honoured him. Birbal then asked Akbar whether he remembered this saintly person but Akbar could not recollect. Birbal then reminded Akbar about the brahmin beggar episode. Akbar after hearing this exclaimed " Oh! what a Change!" This episode appears in the Akbar Nama and brings out the virtue and greatness of the Gayatri Mantra.
Kanchi Periyaval teaches Brahmins the power of Gayatri Mantra
Once over forty brahmins from the area Vanniya Teynampet in Chennai came to have darshan of Maha Periyavaa. After their obeisance to the sage, they expressed their common mental agony: that brahmins were not able to go around in the area with respect as some atheists made fun and showed animosity whenever they came across the hair-tufts, sacred threads, and Vaishnavite marks that adorned the body of a brahmin. As he heard this, Periyavaa asked them, "Do you people do the Gayatri Japam every day?" There was silence. He advised them, "Continue to do the Gayatri Japam daily. Everything will be all right."
As advised, they started doing did Gayatri Japam daily. Within two months the situation changed to their complete satisfaction. They met Periyavaa happily and conveyed the news. Periyavaa said, "all the problems are due to your giving up Gayatri mantra. The power of Gayatri mantra is immeasurable."
(from the book Maha PeriyavaL - Darisana AnubhavangaL (part1, page 263), published by Vanathi Padhippaham)
As advised, they started doing did Gayatri Japam daily. Within two months the situation changed to their complete satisfaction. They met Periyavaa happily and conveyed the news. Periyavaa said, "all the problems are due to your giving up Gayatri mantra. The power of Gayatri mantra is immeasurable."
(from the book Maha PeriyavaL - Darisana AnubhavangaL (part1, page 263), published by Vanathi Padhippaham)
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Why is the Gayatri mantra japa suggested pre-eminent among mantra chants?
Because, any other japa (like Vishnu Sahasranamam, Hanuman Chalisa etc) when done after the Gayatri japa would lead to increased beneficial results. This is a common precept that one has to keep in mind always.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Self Doubts, Gayatri mantram and Raghu Vamsam by Kalidasa
The below is the repost of a message I sent to a group long ago.
Different people might encounter different obstacles in their Gayatri Japam. Some might find it difficult to adhere to a strict schedule of doing Sandhya vandanam on the twilight periods. For me, one of the main obstacles I face is in imagining the Savita, the worshippable, adorable Soul and to confine the infiniteness of God within my mind. When I think of it as the Paramatma pervading everything in the world, including all beings, including myself, it’s quite possible to intellectually grasp the idea, however visualizing it throughout the Japam is very difficult, rather impossible to me. Imagining it as boundless space etc, are not of much help. And due to this difficulty, all kinds of thoughts detrimental to the Japam come to the mind. Reading the Upanishads has helped me to some extent, as they comprise of the utterances of Rishis who have come face to face with the Truth of the Brahman. With a faithful reading of the Upanishads, I have been able to capture some of the ‘Bhavam’ of the Rishis which I could then take to my Japam.
But despite this, negative thoughts still keep plaguing my mind. Even after making Sandhya vandanam and Gayatri Japam a regular practice, I continue making silly mistakes in my decisions. I continue to experience a lot of negative thoughts like - self doubts, low confidence, rashness, and other mental bad habits…that can be said to be contrary to the state of the mind of a person who has been blessed with divine thoughts by God. Due to this, I often wonder whether Gayatri Japam has made any difference in me at all. When I compare my present state of mind with my mind as it was, say, 2 or 5 years back, I even wonder whether I have gone backwards in certain aspects. So the question is, whether Gayatri Japam has been helpful in any way? It’s important to me given the plenty of investment I have made in it in terms of time and effort. There was a time when I even had doubts on the general efficacy of the Gayatri mantram. I did extensive research on the topic – read every book on the topic I could lay my hands upon, researched countless websites in the internet. Every one of them proclaims the glory of the Gayatri mantram in effusive terms. It cannot be possible that all of them are mistaken at the same time, and it’s also ridiculous to think that all of them have ganged up together in some conspiracy to project the Gayatri mantram for some strange, nefarious purpose. So my thoughts were mostly like, there is something in ME that’s wrong, that makes me barred from the blessings of mother Gayatri. It could well be a lot of bad karma. But there I encounter a difficulty. When I think about my karma in this present birth, it’s something that is still in my memory. I know the good as well as the bad actions that I have voluntarily committed in this birth. Looking at my karma in this birth, I don’t see anything that could be so bad as to make me ineligible to receive divine blessings. But when it comes to the karma from past births, it’s not something that I am presently aware of. I can’t even imagine what it could have been. I find it illogical that some karma that I might have done in a past birth, of which I am not even aware of now, has to make me suffer in this birth. It is the ‘lack of awareness or loss of memory’ that is offending my sense of natural justice. To at least know about a past bad action is a primary necessity for ensuring that a person can use that knowledge so as to not repeat it in future, as well as to undertake suitable remedial measures to counteract that past karma and bring forth the divine soul within. One might think that the Gayatri mantram might be chanted for the purpose of sharpening the memory, and for bringing back the ‘lost memory of karma of past births’. But what if the past karma itself makes one’s chant useless to him?
Anyway all this is mere guesswork, given that we are ordinary mortals who at least now, don’t have a glimpse of our past lives nor of the future life, nor even of the present as we most often are immersed in thoughts about the past or the future. The point is such thoughts have been so very detrimental to my Gayatri Japam. When you start thinking that the mantram might be quite great, but well, you might not be good enough for the mantram, it can be difficult to muster the motivation and self discipline needed to follow a regular Sandhya worship schedule.
So it was like for me until recently when I again started reading the Raghu Vamsam (in Sanskrit) written by Kalidasa. I have read it several times before, and was especially inspired by the second Canto in it which I studied in College. Critics consider it the most glorious Canto in the whole work, depicting one of the all time great stories in Indian mythology. But this time when I read the work, it’s the first Canto that helped me solve my problem. The way Kalidasa begins the topic, where he expresses his self doubts in handling so vast and great a topic as the chronology of the Raghus, I found similar to some of my own self doubts. It also gave me an idea for solving my own self doubts and dilemma with the Gayatri mantram.
To explain my point, I give below some of the verses in the Raghu Vamsam 1st Chapter, along with a rough translation.
Vaagarthaaviva sampriktau vaagartha prathipathaye |
Jagathah pitharau vande Paarvathiparameshvarau || 1.1
United like word and meaning, are the parents of the whole world, Paarvathi and Parameswara. I bow down to them, seeking the understanding of the right words and meaning (to be used in this work).
---- See how the Bhavam is similar to the one in Gayatri mantram, where we seek ‘nah dhiyah prachodayaat’. In both, it is divine knowledge that is sought for. Just as the Savita worshipped in the Gayatri mantram is the creator of the whole universe, it’s the ‘Jagathah Pitharau’, parents of the whole universe, Paarvathi and Parameswara who are worshipped in the RV 1.1.
Kva sooryaprabhavo vamshah kva cha alpavishayaa matih |
thitheershuh dustharam mohaath udupenaasmi saagaram || 1.2
How great is the race descended from the Sun, and how small is my intellect with its limited range! I realize that my wish is like attempting to cross the ocean, so difficult to cross, in a fragile raft.
----- Oftentimes this is how I feel when I attempt to meditate on the infinite, boundless Paramatman, or Savita. No sooner than I attempt it, I become aware of my limited mind with all its inadequacies. I start thinking – how can I meditate on the creator of the whole universe, with a few words I utter in my Japam…how it can ever work…and other thoughts in a like manner.
Mandhah kaviyashapraarthi gamishyaami apahaasyathaam |
praamnshulabhye phalelobhaath udbaahuriva vaamanah || 1.3
Of dull intellect, and yet aspiring to fame as a great poet, I might well be derided by all. Like in the case of a greedy dwarf who attempts to pluck a fruit, which is accessible only to the tall.
Athavaa krithavaakdvaare vamshesmin poorvasooribhih |
manau vajrasamulkeerne soothrasyaivaasthi megatih || 1.4
And yet, in this race of the Sun, the ancient great men have already opened the way of speech with their work. I might still get access to it, as a piece of thread which can pass through a gem, in which a hole has been made already by a diamond.
---- This is the verse that has solved my problem. As a chanter of the Gayatrimantram, I have the blessings of the numerous Rishis of the bygone past, who have, each one of them, contributed to the welfare of the world and the power of the mantram by their selfless chanting. With my limited capabities, yet I am following a path treaded and blessed by great Rishis, who will also show me the right way. They themselves have prescribed the chanting of Gayatri mantram for all, and which includes this little me as well. All that I need to do is, to repose faith on their goodwill, seek their blessings and continue with my practice.
Sohamaajanmashuddhaanaam aaphalodayakarmanaam |
Aasamudrakshiteeshaanaam Aanaakaratha varthmanaam || 1.5
Kalidasa reassuring himself, continues, or rather starts his immortal epic... so I shall attempt to recite the tale of the race of.....Kings who were unblemished right from their births, whose efforts always met with success, who ruled the whole earth bounded by the oceans, whose chariots reached the heaven.....
------ I start thinking, inspired by the blessings of the great Rishis like Vishwamitra, Vasishta, Atri, Bhrigu etc, whom we remember daily as part of our Sandhya vandanam, as well as my father who originally taught me the mantram, let me mentally recite the great Gayatri mantram.....
Different people might encounter different obstacles in their Gayatri Japam. Some might find it difficult to adhere to a strict schedule of doing Sandhya vandanam on the twilight periods. For me, one of the main obstacles I face is in imagining the Savita, the worshippable, adorable Soul and to confine the infiniteness of God within my mind. When I think of it as the Paramatma pervading everything in the world, including all beings, including myself, it’s quite possible to intellectually grasp the idea, however visualizing it throughout the Japam is very difficult, rather impossible to me. Imagining it as boundless space etc, are not of much help. And due to this difficulty, all kinds of thoughts detrimental to the Japam come to the mind. Reading the Upanishads has helped me to some extent, as they comprise of the utterances of Rishis who have come face to face with the Truth of the Brahman. With a faithful reading of the Upanishads, I have been able to capture some of the ‘Bhavam’ of the Rishis which I could then take to my Japam.
But despite this, negative thoughts still keep plaguing my mind. Even after making Sandhya vandanam and Gayatri Japam a regular practice, I continue making silly mistakes in my decisions. I continue to experience a lot of negative thoughts like - self doubts, low confidence, rashness, and other mental bad habits…that can be said to be contrary to the state of the mind of a person who has been blessed with divine thoughts by God. Due to this, I often wonder whether Gayatri Japam has made any difference in me at all. When I compare my present state of mind with my mind as it was, say, 2 or 5 years back, I even wonder whether I have gone backwards in certain aspects. So the question is, whether Gayatri Japam has been helpful in any way? It’s important to me given the plenty of investment I have made in it in terms of time and effort. There was a time when I even had doubts on the general efficacy of the Gayatri mantram. I did extensive research on the topic – read every book on the topic I could lay my hands upon, researched countless websites in the internet. Every one of them proclaims the glory of the Gayatri mantram in effusive terms. It cannot be possible that all of them are mistaken at the same time, and it’s also ridiculous to think that all of them have ganged up together in some conspiracy to project the Gayatri mantram for some strange, nefarious purpose. So my thoughts were mostly like, there is something in ME that’s wrong, that makes me barred from the blessings of mother Gayatri. It could well be a lot of bad karma. But there I encounter a difficulty. When I think about my karma in this present birth, it’s something that is still in my memory. I know the good as well as the bad actions that I have voluntarily committed in this birth. Looking at my karma in this birth, I don’t see anything that could be so bad as to make me ineligible to receive divine blessings. But when it comes to the karma from past births, it’s not something that I am presently aware of. I can’t even imagine what it could have been. I find it illogical that some karma that I might have done in a past birth, of which I am not even aware of now, has to make me suffer in this birth. It is the ‘lack of awareness or loss of memory’ that is offending my sense of natural justice. To at least know about a past bad action is a primary necessity for ensuring that a person can use that knowledge so as to not repeat it in future, as well as to undertake suitable remedial measures to counteract that past karma and bring forth the divine soul within. One might think that the Gayatri mantram might be chanted for the purpose of sharpening the memory, and for bringing back the ‘lost memory of karma of past births’. But what if the past karma itself makes one’s chant useless to him?
Anyway all this is mere guesswork, given that we are ordinary mortals who at least now, don’t have a glimpse of our past lives nor of the future life, nor even of the present as we most often are immersed in thoughts about the past or the future. The point is such thoughts have been so very detrimental to my Gayatri Japam. When you start thinking that the mantram might be quite great, but well, you might not be good enough for the mantram, it can be difficult to muster the motivation and self discipline needed to follow a regular Sandhya worship schedule.
So it was like for me until recently when I again started reading the Raghu Vamsam (in Sanskrit) written by Kalidasa. I have read it several times before, and was especially inspired by the second Canto in it which I studied in College. Critics consider it the most glorious Canto in the whole work, depicting one of the all time great stories in Indian mythology. But this time when I read the work, it’s the first Canto that helped me solve my problem. The way Kalidasa begins the topic, where he expresses his self doubts in handling so vast and great a topic as the chronology of the Raghus, I found similar to some of my own self doubts. It also gave me an idea for solving my own self doubts and dilemma with the Gayatri mantram.
To explain my point, I give below some of the verses in the Raghu Vamsam 1st Chapter, along with a rough translation.
Vaagarthaaviva sampriktau vaagartha prathipathaye |
Jagathah pitharau vande Paarvathiparameshvarau || 1.1
United like word and meaning, are the parents of the whole world, Paarvathi and Parameswara. I bow down to them, seeking the understanding of the right words and meaning (to be used in this work).
---- See how the Bhavam is similar to the one in Gayatri mantram, where we seek ‘nah dhiyah prachodayaat’. In both, it is divine knowledge that is sought for. Just as the Savita worshipped in the Gayatri mantram is the creator of the whole universe, it’s the ‘Jagathah Pitharau’, parents of the whole universe, Paarvathi and Parameswara who are worshipped in the RV 1.1.
Kva sooryaprabhavo vamshah kva cha alpavishayaa matih |
thitheershuh dustharam mohaath udupenaasmi saagaram || 1.2
How great is the race descended from the Sun, and how small is my intellect with its limited range! I realize that my wish is like attempting to cross the ocean, so difficult to cross, in a fragile raft.
----- Oftentimes this is how I feel when I attempt to meditate on the infinite, boundless Paramatman, or Savita. No sooner than I attempt it, I become aware of my limited mind with all its inadequacies. I start thinking – how can I meditate on the creator of the whole universe, with a few words I utter in my Japam…how it can ever work…and other thoughts in a like manner.
Mandhah kaviyashapraarthi gamishyaami apahaasyathaam |
praamnshulabhye phalelobhaath udbaahuriva vaamanah || 1.3
Of dull intellect, and yet aspiring to fame as a great poet, I might well be derided by all. Like in the case of a greedy dwarf who attempts to pluck a fruit, which is accessible only to the tall.
Athavaa krithavaakdvaare vamshesmin poorvasooribhih |
manau vajrasamulkeerne soothrasyaivaasthi megatih || 1.4
And yet, in this race of the Sun, the ancient great men have already opened the way of speech with their work. I might still get access to it, as a piece of thread which can pass through a gem, in which a hole has been made already by a diamond.
---- This is the verse that has solved my problem. As a chanter of the Gayatrimantram, I have the blessings of the numerous Rishis of the bygone past, who have, each one of them, contributed to the welfare of the world and the power of the mantram by their selfless chanting. With my limited capabities, yet I am following a path treaded and blessed by great Rishis, who will also show me the right way. They themselves have prescribed the chanting of Gayatri mantram for all, and which includes this little me as well. All that I need to do is, to repose faith on their goodwill, seek their blessings and continue with my practice.
Sohamaajanmashuddhaanaam aaphalodayakarmanaam |
Aasamudrakshiteeshaanaam Aanaakaratha varthmanaam || 1.5
Kalidasa reassuring himself, continues, or rather starts his immortal epic... so I shall attempt to recite the tale of the race of.....Kings who were unblemished right from their births, whose efforts always met with success, who ruled the whole earth bounded by the oceans, whose chariots reached the heaven.....
------ I start thinking, inspired by the blessings of the great Rishis like Vishwamitra, Vasishta, Atri, Bhrigu etc, whom we remember daily as part of our Sandhya vandanam, as well as my father who originally taught me the mantram, let me mentally recite the great Gayatri mantram.....
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
GM As a Powerful Aid to Austerities
Gayatri mantra chant, mentally, pondering over it's meaning, can reconcile one with the absence or loss of material things. Hence purposeful chant of the holy Gayatri mantra is a powerful aid to austerities, including Yama, Niyama etc. It is no wonder that traditionally Brahmins were able to live on Uncha-vritti and yet steadfastly upheld the path of Dharma, for thousands of years. Whenever one is upset over lack or scarcity of something, one is well advised to resort to the holy Gayatri mantra to use it as an opportunity for austerity.
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