May 31, 2017

Gayatri Mantra: a prayer to SHE

I heard Deva Premal's version of the Gayatri Mantra recently after not hearing it in ages, and strongly felt to have it on while working on SHE FIRE. So I looked up the meaning (added below). So apt!

Even if you don't understand the words, you can feel in your Soul that they are deeply honouring, expressing deep love...for that which is inside us, for that which created us, and life all around us.

Source of all of the below info

"Gayatri is the Mother of all scriptures (Vedas). She is present, wherever Her name is chanted. She is very powerful. The One who nourishes the individual being is Gayatri. She bestows pure thoughts on anyone who worships Her. She is the embodiment of all Goddesses. Our very breath is Gayatri, our faith in existence is Gayatri. Gayatri has five faces, they are the five life principles. She has nine descriptions, they are ‘Om, Bhur, Bhuvah, Swah, Tat, Savitur, Vareñyaṃ, Bhargo, Devasya’. Mother Gayatri nourishes and protects every being and she channelizes our senses in the proper direction. ‘Dhīmahi’ means meditation. We pray to her to inspire us with good intelligence. ‘Dhīyo Yonah Prachodayāt’ - We beseech her to bestow on us everything we need. Thus Gayatri is a complete prayer for protection, nourishment and finally, liberation." [‘My Dear Students’, Vol 3, Ch 2, Mar 19, 1998]

The Gayatri Mantra is a sacred chant, a universal prayer.

Om Bhur Bhuvaḥ Swaḥ Tat-savitur Vareñyaṃ Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi Dhiyo Yonaḥ Prachodayāt

Word meaning:

Om: The primeval sound;

Bhur: the physical body/physical realm;

Bhuvah: the life force/the mental realm

Suvah: the soul/spiritual realm;

Tat: That (God);

Savitur: the Sun, Creator (source of all life);

Vareñyam: adore;

Bhargo: effulgence (divine light);

Devasya: supreme Lord;