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."