Spirituality

Universal Prayer of Gayatri Mantra: Meaning and benefits

During our childhood days, all of us have seen superman movies. Whenever Superman feels defeated and weak during the fight with evil forces, what does he do? He takes a flight beyond the clouds, bathing in the Sun’s rays. He absorbs the radiance of the Sun and comes back to the fight on earth, feeling all mighty. 

Do you know that there is a mantra that does the same for you, the superman, or the wonder woman hidden deep within you? You don’t need superpowers or have to take flight beyond earth to experience this. All you need is to close your eyes, chant the mantra, and feel the same radiance illuminating your subconscious. Thousands of Indians do this every day, and the mantra is known as the Gayatri mantra.   

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

Aum Bhur Bhuvah Svah Tat Savitur Varenyam Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat॥

“We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may She enlighten our minds.”

This is one of the most known Sanskrit mantras on this planet. This mantra is a hymn dedicated to illuminating our intellect. It’s a six thousand-year-old verse recited by millions of spiritual practitioners worldwide. It is believed that the great sage Vishwamitra composed this mantra, which was included in Rigveda- one of the first texts known to humankind.  

Gayatri mantra is a prayer to the supreme being, in the form of Gayatri, which stimulates our minds, and empowers us. Like the Sun wakes up everyone in the morning, this mantra, this prayer to the supreme intellect, awakens our deep intelligence. 

Decoding the Mantra

Aum is the primordial sound representing the supreme Divine. Also known as the Pranav mantra, Aum is the Beej mantra which has seeds of all the mantras of the universe.

‘Bhur Bhuvah Svah’ are the different forms of Gayatri, which mean the Divine’s past, present, and future state, which is constant. Thus, these three words represent the three states of being. 

 Savitur is the Divine radiance of the divine Sun. 

 Varenyam means to adore, love, and respect. 

 Bhargo translates to the internal illumination of the soul

 Devasya means the divine grace

 Dhimahi is, we contemplate 

 Dhi means the intellect

 Yo translates to who

 Nah means ours, or our collective consciousness

 Prachodayat means we are praying or requesting.

 Benefits of Chanting Gayatri Mantra

Vibrations arising due to the chanting of the Gayatri mantra are known to stimulate the body’s top three chakras- heart, throat, and crown chakra. These chakras are known to improve focus and the power of resolution of the mind. Hence, chanting this mantra increases concentration. 

 -Every day, chanting this mantra loudly regulates the breathing pattern. It yields more oxygen to the lungs and leads to flushing the toxins out of your lungs. 

 -Chanting the Gayatri mantra synchronises breathing, resulting in improved blood circulation, and pumping adequate quantities of blood to the heart. It keeps the heart rate and blood pressure regulated. When paired with meditation, you get a healthy mind and body.

 -When you continuously chant the Gayatri mantra, it pushes your mind to focus on one thing- the mantra. This helps your mind divert itself from the negativities in life and concentrate on positivity. 

 -Gayatri mantra has particular nodes. When you chant the mantra, it initiates a particular movement in the mouth, involving the tongue, cheek, teeth, throat, and lips. This pressure creates vibrations, resulting in the release of neurotransmitters for the proper stimulus of these vibrations. These stimuli keep the neurons in the brain in working condition and healthy. 

 -Hypothalamus is the part of the brain which controls our immunity. Apart from calming down the mind, the Gayatri mantra is known to stimulate immunity, helping you fight a disease. 

 The Gayatri mantra’s beauty is that it doesn’t belong to any particular religion. Everyone can chant it. With the busy life, more and more people are experiencing anxiety, panic attacks, and episodes of depression. Gayatri’s mantra helps fight depression, anxiety, and mental stress.   

Practising the Gayatri Mantra

There is immense power in the mantras when chanted correctly. Every word has a particular meaning, and hence, one should chant it only after thoroughly understanding what every word means. Even though it is a universal mantra and could be chanted anywhere, you should adhere to some ground rules while doing so.

Gayatri’s mantra is an expression of gratitude. We are requesting the divine illumination to empower our intellect for the betterment of the world, and hence, devotees should chant it with all the mind, heart, and soul combined.  

Vedas say that, like every human being, time also has three qualities. Sattva (pure), Rajas (passionate), and Tamas (inaction or lack of knowledge). From four am to eight am and from four pm to eight pm is considered the Sattvik time zone. Eight am to four pm is considered Rajasik, and from eight pm to four am is considered as Tamasik time zone as per Vedas.

Sattva is the best quality and emotion in humans when it comes to practising spirituality, and so does the timezone. Hence, experts say that the Gayatri mantra should be practised between 4 am to 8 am or from 4 pm to 8 pm.   

One thing that must be understood here is that mantras are not just vibrations. They have a profound deep meaning embedded in them. Also, one must realise that every mantra is not for everyone to chant. Please keep in mind that everyone has unique spirituality, personality, and life experiences. One mantra cannot fit all, and therefore it is crucial to seek guidance from spiritual experts to understand whether the particular mantra is meant for you or not.

So, before you incorporate this great Gayatri mantra into your spiritual practice, we suggest seeking advice from an experienced spiritual practitioner about how, when to chant it, and whether you should or should not chant it. We hope you have gained some new insight into the importance of the Gayatri Mantra.Please subscribe to our mailing list to stay connected and receive information about spirituality. In case of any queries, please write to us at info@chamundaswamiji.com. You can check out our YouTube channel Chamunda Swamiji where you can learn Tantra, Mantra, Yantra, and Meditation from His Holiness Shri Chamunda Swamiji.