The Gayatri Mantra

Om Bhur bhuvah svahah
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo Devasya dheemahi
Dheeyo yo nah prachodayaat

Just as the Sun annihilates darkness, so does the Gayatri

Mantra destroy ignorance. The Gayatri Mantra invokes the power

and radiance of the Sun to energize all earthly life, to destroy

our sins and to reveal the Supreme Self to us.


In a loose translation that cannot possibly do justice to the

original,  it implores:

OM, O Lord! You are the all pervading

Source of Light, Sustainer, Protector and Bestower of Happiness,

Kindle, Enlighten and inspire our Intelligence to possess Eternal Qualities.

  

The Gayatri Mantra is the essence of the three Vedas. It is the Vedas simplified. The more one contemplates and meditates upon the Gayatri, the more complexities are revealed to one.

AUM
Supreme Lord
BHUR
Protector of the earth, the material sheath, The Life-breath of the Universe.
BHUVAH
One of the meanings is "the sky". The Lord who pervades and eliminates all miseries.
SVAHAH 
 One of the meanings is "the heavens". He is all Bliss and blesses His devotees with happiness.
TAT
That (That Thou Art)
SAVITUR
The SUN, Creator, Preserver and Self Luminous, the central mantra of the Solar Science.
VARENYAM
Most fit to be worshipped. Most choice-worthy.
BHARGO
The burning splendor of the Sun that dispels ignorance, and therefore sorrows and miseries.
DEVASYA
The "Deva", The God,  He who is All Bliss, The Joyful One, The Shining One, The Revealer of All Glory
DHEEMAHI 
 We meditate upon Him
DHEEYO YO NAH
Who our intelligence and Wisdom
PRACHODAYAAT
Inspires
          
 
The Gayatri Mantra was traditionally given from the Guru Master to the disciple, while standing mid-stream. Look at the darkness. Visualize the sun rising. Offer water to the sun.

The story goes that once the Devas, the Shining Ones, wanted to learn the secrets of the Universe.  Since learning about the scientific aspects,  'atoms' and suchlike, did not quite work out, they went to the Lord. The Lord gave them the Rig Veda, The Yajur Veda and the Sama Veda to study. After a couple of eons of study, the Devas lost their patience and wanted to quit. The Lord urged them not to give up and decided to teach them the essence of the three Vedas in the three parts of the Gayatri Mantra:

Essence of Rig Veda Tat savitur varenyam
Essence of Yajur Veda Bhargo devasya dheemahi
Essence of Sama Veda Dheeyo yo nah prachodayaat
                     
The more the Devas practiced and contemplated upon the Gayatri, the more complexities were revealed to them. So they lost patience again and  went to the Lord to make it simpler still. So the Lord gave them the essence of the three segments, in the three words:

Bhur, Bhuvah, Svahah

The Devas spent a a few cycles of Creation, probably a quadrillion human years, pondering upon the utterances of the Lord, but became impatient again and urged the Lord to make it simpler yet. So He Said "All right,  I'll make it simpler".

    And He taught them AUM



The great western thinker, Arthur Koestler, had once said that

the Gayatri Mantra has the power of a thousand atomic bombs, and

the famous scientist J.B.S. Haldane wrote: "The Gayatri Mantra should be carved on the doors of every laboratory of the world".

(some of the text has been adapted from www.dalsabzi.com)

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