Gayatri Mantra Sadhana
Om bhur bhuvah swaha
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat.
Download 108 repetitions of the Gayatri Mantra with Rev Padma Devi (click here)
PDF version of Gayatri information for download (click here)
Introduction & History
The Gayatri Mantra has been recorded in the Rig Veda, which was written in Sanskrit according to historians about 2500 to 3500 years ago or possibly even earlier. The mantra itself may have been chanted for many centuries or millennia before that. It is said to be the Mother of the Vedas, or the essence of the Vedas.
For ages, this beautiful prayer has been mysterious to the Western mind and was out of reach even for most Hindus. It was a well-guarded secret, withheld from women and from those outside the Hindu Brahmin community until relatively recent times.
The Gayatri Mantra has been chanted unbroken for over 1,000 years at one ashram in India. When we chant the Gayatri we enter into that great river of devotion that has been flowing through thousands of years.
Meaning
Today, the Gayatri is chanted, meditated to, and sung around the world with reverence and love. It is often compared to The Lord’s Prayer in significance and impact and it is considered to be a deity in its own right – Mother Gayatri – the mother of All.
The Vedas say the Gayatri mantra purifies both the one who chants and the one who listens. It is said that this sacred prayer spirals through the entire universe from the heart of the chanter, appealing for peace and divine wisdom for all. And that is why it is chanted as part of our within the Heart Of Living Yoga tradition and perhaps why it has a special affinity with our lineage.
Om bhur bhuvah swaha
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat
There is no real absolute word for word translation, but here are a few ideas of its intention.
1. The eternal, earth, air, heaven That glory, that resplendence of the sun May we contemplate the brilliance of that light May that light inspire our minds.
2. May the divine light of the Supreme Being illuminate our intellect, to lead us along a path of righteousness.
3. We meditate on the glory of the Creator; Who has created the Universe; Who is worthy of worship; Who is the embodiment of Knowledge and Light; Who is the remover of sin and ignorance; May You open our hearts and enlighten our intellect.
4. O Self-effulgent Light that has given birth to all the lokas [spheres of consciousness], who is worthy of worship and appears through the orbit of the Sun, illumine our intellect.
Invocation
There is a longer version of the Gayatri Mantra with an Invocation which is more profound and which you can hear on the recording of 108 Gayatri Mantra Sadhana which is available in our online Shop.
Here is the invocation -
OM BHUR,
OM BHUVAHA,
OM SWAHA,
OM MAHAHA,
OM JANAHA,
OM TAPAHA,
OM SATYAM,
OM TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASYA DHIMAHI
DHIYO YONAH PRACHODAYAT
According to the Vedas, there are 7 realms or planes of existence, each more spiritually advanced than the previous one. This invocation begins by harmonising with each of them.
They say that through spiritual awareness and development, we can progressively move through these realms and ultimately merge with the Supreme Being.
Many Buddhist teachings also refer to these 7 realms. By chanting this beautiful mantra, Divine spiritual light and energy is infused in each of our 7 main chakras and connects us through them to these 7 great spiritual realms of existence.
When and How to offer Gayatri Mantra Sadhana
The twilight hours—morning and evening—call us to become still and make the journey back to our inner selves. That is why the Vedas sing: “O pair of divine powers, Night and Dawn, come near…like two boats, take us across.” In ancient times spiritual seekers rose early, bathed, performed their rituals, recited mantras, and sat in meditation. Then in the evening they washed away the day’s fatigue with another period of meditation. Even today, among yoga practitioners, the morning and evening transitions are still the traditional meditation hours.
We can also perceive a moment of stillness at noon, when the sun is high overhead and if we watch we will notice that nature seems to pause and become still – this is also a good time for us to pause, become still and invite meditation to arise.
Meditation that is performed at these junctures of day and night is called sandhya meditation (in Sanskrit, the word sandhya indicates a juncture or a doorway). Sandhya meditations infuse the daily lives of millions with a sense of devotion and introspection. Like the early morning light sweeping away the darkness as it illumines the landscape, sandhya meditation purifies, enlightens, and nourishes the mind.
For this reason, we invite you to enjoy the 108 Gayatri Sadhana meditation at the beginning or end of the day. It takes about 1 hour to chant the whole mala (108) with the invocation and closing peace chants.
As you sit to begin your Gayatri Sadhana, let all awareness draw to your heart centre, feeling expansion and ease there, invite mind to drop into this space and feel it arrive as consciousness unites in the heart and a smile flows to your face.
Resting in the blessing of the infinite heart, connect with the inner Sun, the golden sun of the heart, the Divine Light within – and now begin to chant the Gayatri.
Please feel free to use the recording download for as long as it is helpful, or use your own mala for counting 108.
40 Day Gayatri Sadhana
After a while of chanting Gayatri, you begin to feel a great benefit from chanting this beautiful ancient mantra, and so if you would like to, we invite you to join us in the 40 Day Gayatri Sadhana practice.
This is a very traditional practice, which can be started at any time of the year – but you can also begin it to coincide with special times in your life or anniversaries of special events.
A large number of our sangha are supporting each other (by text, phone or together in person) in this 40 day experience. It should be chanted out loud for 40 days without a break – and if you do have a break, you will know what you need to do!
The transformational benefits of this 40 Day Gayatri Sadhana are beyond words … so we invite you to discover them for yourself – and those around you, who will probably notice its effects first.
The Blessing of Gayatri
When we chant this way, we are not chanting for ourselves, but for all beings everywhere, in all times.
When we chant mantra, we are in the quantum foam, the place of all possibility, we are beyond time and space - we are in the heart of God.
May all blessings flow through you, through your own divinity - to us all.
Om Shanthi Shanthi Shanthii
In addition to Padma Devi’s introduction to the Gayatri Mantra above, we are very happy to share this one from ShanthiMayi, a spiritual teacher Padma knows from Rishikesh. This is taken from her website, https://www.shantimayi.com/gayatri-mantra
The Mantra means:
Throughout all realms of experience,
‘That’
essential nature illuminating existence,
is the adorable
One.
May all beings perceive through
subtle and meditative intellect,
the magnificent brilliance
of enlightened awareness.
The Gayatri is
an Ancient Vigil
People all over the world are chanting this deeply moving prayer at this very same time. No matter what time of day or night you may chant, there are others chanting the mantra too. Gayatri is an ancient vigil surrounding the planet. The Gayatri Mantra is one of the keynotes for the transformation of consciousness and is an identical vibration to the vital force in nature. The mantra is chanted in its original language, Sanskrit. It is one of the oldest prayers known to humanity: its sentiment is as ancient as light. This prayer appeals to the highest wisdom, to the brilliance of the cosmos, to illuminate a realization of our true nature.
The appeal requests that we become subtle and receptive to divine wisdom.
To chant the Gayatri Mantra purifies the chanter.
To listen to the Gayatri Mantra purifies the listener.
This sacred prayer spirals out through the entire universe from the heart of the chanter, appealing for peace and divine wisdom for all.
The balanced qualities
of the Gayatri Mantra
The Gayatri is a perfectly balanced mantra, yin and yang. The body or text of the Gayatri Mantra is feminine, and her message or invocation is masculine. Gayatri is the mother of the Vedas and this means the mother of all knowledge. She appeals to the masculine Savitur, which is said to be the radiance of perception and intelligence. This radiance, which is everywhere and in every experience, is likened to the radiance of our solar sun. In other words, all of the knowledge of the intricate ways of existence is contained within the syllables of the mantra. So too is the means and vehicle with which to go beyond worldly knowledge.
The Gayatri Mantra’s vibration
and influence on the physical body
Silently thinking or speaking or chanting the Gayatri Mantra influences the physical body, clears the emotional body, leading one to the inner heart (*1). Our energy-centers, levels and rhythms are activated by the measure of breaths that are drawn in through the nostrils and released during recitation of the Gayatri Mantra (even during silent repetition) (*2). This balances electromagnetic rhythm and energy currents in the body with prana. Prana is an undetectable life force energy similar to orgone (*3).
During recitation, all elements of the mantra are in use: even the breath is a precision instrument. It all works together, like an orchestra and the conductor. The breath, voice, meditation and intention efficiently and effortlessly function (like the sun efficiently and effortlessly shines.)
The Gayatri teaches
the chanter her secrets
By chanting the Gayatri Mantra, the mantra itself reveals the teachings within it. The Gayatri is flawless and whole. The Gayatri Mantra regenerates unobstructed perception in the same way that crops are renewed. For example, wind carries seeds onto the terrain. In time, and by the right conditions, wild flowers and wheat inherit the fields. Again and again an unobstructed flow, season after season. The Earth propagates her seeds and in turn the seeds flourish, grow and produce another generation. The mantra works like that: it’s seeded into your being by your chanting.
The mantra expresses and propagates its blessings within the fields of consciousness. Gayatri’s meaning is like the good season that prospers the Earth. Fruit comes forth again and again. Like a surrendered seed is carried by the wind, we too surrender our intention into the universal intention and the Gayatri flowers in places and at times that we may or may not be aware of. Gayatri is like the power in the sun. How can we really speak about such a thing? Is it comprehensible at all? Any definition that you hear may be compared to defining just one grain of sand upon infinite shores. A definition can never indicate the immense significance and intensity of this great mantra.
The Gayatri is a
pearl from the depth
It is a jewel among the treasures that have been handed down from generation to generation. To be initiated into this sacred mantra is a great privilege. The sound or even the thought of the Gayatri verse sets grace in action as we recognize the fortune we have in our life to live our highest ideals.
This Jeweled Gayatri
Initiation is a privilege for us
There was once a time when the Gayatri Mantra was not spoken outwardly: it was repeated only in silence or whispered on the tip of the tongue. This method of chanting is a very subtle and powerful way to repeat the mantra. There was a time when women did not chant the mantra. There was also a time when only the Brahmin priests and no others chanted the Gayatri Mantra.
Today everyone has the privilege to chant the Gayatri Mantra – and what an honor it is. It seems that the change came when the world events began to turn towards a darker time. Now millions of men, women and children from every walk of life repeat and chant this beautiful and powerful invocation. Because of its universal appeal and content, this mantra cannot rightfully be associated with a particular religion. The Hindus were the guardians of the Gayatri. It was they who taught it and propagated it throughout the world. You could say that the Gayatri Mantra is their offering to the spirit of humanity and the awakening of all beings. However, the scope of Gayatri’s invocation is universal and transverses all borders of secular religion.
Mantra is the
matrix of existence
Sparkling in the sunrise and clinging to the fields, the morning dew appears by mantra. Then again it disappears by mantra, in the heat of the noonday sun. Everything that appears and disappears, in all of existence, does so by the power of precise sound vibration, pitch, length and tone... by a mantra.
The Gayatri Mantra is a vibration that sets up a condition of subtle receptivity and opens our way to the unconditional Truth. Like the buzzing of a bee contributes to the full web of experience, so too, the chanting of the mantra contributes to the full matrix of existence.
Notes
*1: Not only the well-known chakra system but all energy and rejuvenating centers are activated by the sound of the Gayatri.
*2: The mantra works in a multitude of ways which align the energies, magnetic currents, biochemistry and brainwave patterns on a very subtle level. Immediately or in time, one will notice the wonderful effect.
*3: According to Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957) the universe is permeated by a primal, mass free phenomenon that is called ‘orgone energy.’