Saturday, January 12, 2008

Mantra

The Gayatri Mantra is a highly revered mantra in Hinduism, second only to the mantra Om. It consists of the prefix :oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ ॐ भूर्भुवस्वः, a formula taken from the Yajurveda, and the verse 3.62.10 of the Rigveda (which is an example of the Gayatri mantra). Since all the other three Vedas contain much material rearranged from the Rig Veda, the Gayatri mantra is found in all the four Vedas. The deva invoked in this mantra is Savitr, and hence the mantra is also called Sāvitrī. In Atharva Veda, the Gayatri mantra is different from the regular Gayatri mantra.

By many Hindus, the Gayatri is seen as a Divine awakening of the mind and soul, and within it a way to reach the most Supreme form of existence, and the way to Union with Brahman. Understanding, and purely loving the essence of the Gayatri Mantra is seen by many to be one, if not the most powerful ways to attain God.

[edit] Text

See Sanskrit for details of pronunciation.

* In Devanagari:

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ।
तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं ।
भर्गो देवस्य धीमिह ।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

* In Malayalam:

ഓം ഭൂര്‍ ഭുവ: സ്വ:।
തത് സവിതുര്‍വരേണ്യം।
ഭര്‍ഗോ ദേവസ്യ ധീമഹി।
ധിയോ യോ ന: പ്രചോദയാത്॥

* In IAST

oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ
(a) tat savitur vareṇyaṃ
(b) bhargo devasya dhīmahi
(c) dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt

* Pronunciation in normal Latin Alphabet

Om bhoor bhuva swahah
tat savi tur varenyam
bhargo dey vasya dhi mahhi
dheeyo yoh na pracho dayaht

There is also a long form of the mantra. This can be found in 'Gayatri: The Highest Meditation' by Sadguru Sant Keshavadas or the works of his disciple Thomas Ashley-Farrand (Namadeva).

[edit] Translation

* Ralph T.H. Griffith (1896):

(a, b) "May we attain that excellent glory of Savitr the God:"
(c) "So may he stimulate our prayers."

Word-by-word explanation:-

* om The sacred sound, see Om.
* bhū 'earth'
* bhuvas 'atmosphere'
* svar 'light, heaven, space'
* tat 'that'
* savitur of Savitr the god' (genitives of savitr-, 'stimulator, rouser; name of a sun-deity' and deva- 'god' or 'demi-god')
* varenyam 'Fit to be worshipped' varenya- 'desirable, excellent'
* bhargo 'Glory Effulgence' (radiance, lustre, splendour, glory)
* devasya 'of God'
* dhīmahi 'may we attain' (1st person plural middle optative of dhā- 'set, bring, fix' etc.)
* dhiyaḥ naḥ 'our prayers' (accusative plural of dhi- 'thought, meditation, devotion, prayer' and naḥ enclitic personal pronoun)
* yaḥ prachodayāt 'who may stimulate' (nominative singular of relative pronoun yad-; causative 3rd person of pra-cud- 'set in motion, drive on, urge, impel')

Other translations, circumlocutions and interpretations:

* Hinduism.About.com

The "Ultimate Reality/Divine light", that adores the three worlds and experiences
The "Ultimate Reality/Divine light" that illuminates the three worlds and experiences with its divine grace
We contemplate on the "Ultimate Reality/Divine light", and request "It" to enlighten our intellect
(Three regions "{Earth}, {space between Earth and heaven} and {heaven}", also implies the three experiences "physical, mental and spiritual", also implies three time regions "present past and future" )

* Valerie J. Roebuck (2003):

We meditate on the lovely
Glory of the god Savitr
That he may stimulate our minds

* Kavikratu Tattva Budh [1]

"Almighty Supreme Sun impel us with your divine brilliance so we may attain a noble understanding of reality."

* Gayatri Pariwar

"O God, Thou art the giver of life, the remover of pain and sorrow, the bestower of happiness; O Creator of the Universe, may we receive Thy supreme, sin destroying light; may Thou guide our intellect in the right direction."

* William Quan Judge [2]

"Unveil, O Thou who givest sustenance to the Universe, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, that face of the True Sun now hidden by a vase of golden light, that we may see the truth and do our whole duty on our journey to thy sacred seat."

* Kurma Purana, "freely translated" by Swami Vivekananda [3]

"'We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may He enlighten our minds.' Om is joined to it at the beginning and the end."

11 comments:

Unknown said...

add this orkut.............

AdurableHeart (Cassandra Nicholson) said...

I wonder why the commonly accepted translations are not more literal...Thank you so much for sharing, friend!

Anonymous said...

I prayed every morning when i studied in DAV college but never knew the meaning.Thanks Sainath

Sainath said...

@Subi @Cassandra @ambiator : Thanks, if possible please share it with people who might need the knowledge.

Nanditha Ram said...

great translations! thanks

Govind Prasad Bahuguna said...

That is really brilliant of you to have explore the real import of Gayatri mantra.This is basically the celebration of Nature which gives the light air and water for human sustenance.The modern man is ignoring nature,going away from nature and has taken to pretensions.Nature is essentially the manifestation of God.Gayatri is recited thrice or it has been composed of the three Vedic dispensation Rig,Sam and Atharv Ved.The sumum bonum of vedic cult.

prasad said...

thank u...

prasad said...

thank u...

Siddharth Bargate said...

Gayayri mantra lekhan sadhana also great to improve life.Visit Gayatri mandir of Gayatri pariwar for more details.

Siddharth Bargate said...

Gayayri mantra lekhan sadhana also great to improve life.Visit Gayatri mandir of Gayatri pariwar for more details.

Anonymous said...

Dr.Howard Steingeril, an american scientist, collected #Mantras, #Hymns and invocations from all over the world and tested their strength in his Physiology Laboratory.
Gayatri Mantra produced 110,000 sound waves per second.
This was the highest and was found to be the most powerful hymn in the world. Though the combination of sound or sound waves of a particular frequency, the Mantra is claimed capable of developing specific spiritual potentialities.
The Hamburg university initiated research into the efficacy of the Gayatri Mantra both on the mental and pysical plane of CREATION... The GAYATRI MANTRA is broadcast daily for 15 minutes from 7 P.M. onwards over Radio Paramaribo, Surinam, South America for the past two years, and in Amsterdam, Holland for the last six months.
Material and Physical Benefits:
Bestows attractive personality.
Develops the power of speech.
Wards off poverty and insufficiency.
Forms a protective halo around the person.
Brilliance in the eyes is noticed.
Wards off dire influences, unfavorable circumstances and dangerous situations.
Activates internal centers in the body.
The beeja mantras in the mantra activates nerve fibers and glands.
The vibrations when chanting spread in the environment, attract similar positive atoms and return to its origin (the person who is chanting) filling him with this gathered positive energy.
Regular chanting keeps the person and his family always in prosperity and plenty.
The following traits develop: bravery, wellbeing, love, wealth, brilliance, stronger immunity, sharp intellect, perfect control over senses, devotion, retention, attracts life force, increases penance, farsightedness, awakening, improves productivity, makes one cheerful, idealistic, courageous, full of wisdom and removes selfishness and promotes service mindedness.
The atmosphere around that person is calm.
A person chanting Gayatri Mantra for 108 times daily can never have a demeaned life. It is always a blissful life.
Subtle and Spiritual Benefits:
Gayatri Mantra develops a sacred and focused psyche.
Gayatri Mantra grants 8 forms of siddhis (powers) and 9 forms nidhis (attributes) and several subsets of these called riddhis.
Gayatri Mantra allows one to positively influence the environment and to use divine energy for welfare of the world.
Gayatri Mantra allows to develop Divine magnetism.
Ignorance, infirmity and inadequacy are removed through Gayatri Mantra.
Gayatri Mantra makes one a magnetic personality.
Gayatri Mantra develops a feeling of peace, makes one aware of a new power that is working within them.
Gayatri Mantra makes a person take interest in noble deeds.
When a mistake is committed, makes one immediately recognize it, feels sorry for it & takes corrective action not to repeat it.
Develops intuition and gets an inkling of future events before they happen.
Develops ability to read minds.
Ability to influence people and plant good thoughts in them.
Regular practice makes anything uttered by that person comes true and materializes itself.
Sees Divine light in everything around.
A person can transfer a part of their spiritual energy to others.
"Om Bhoor Bhuwah Swah, Tat Savitur Varenyam, Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi, Dhiyo Yo Nah Pra-chodayaat !"
"It's meaning: God is dear to me like my own breath, He is the dispeller of my pains, and giver of happiness. I meditate on the supremely adorable Light of the Divine Creator, that it may inspire my thought and understanding."

Jai Gayatri Maata. Listen to Gayatri Mantra 108 times daily using this free app and have a pleasant health & life.

https://goo.gl/hfE4qw