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Gayatri Mantra is
the embodiment of all forms of Spirit and does not belong to any
particular sect of worship nor is it restricted to a certain community.
It is universal in its scope. It contains in it the culture of no
particular society, but the culture of humanity itself. The Gayatri is
a treasure and heritage that belongs to Everyone without exclusion.
Om bhur bhuvah
svaha
tat savitur varenyam
bargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yonah prachodayat
Let us honor the
unity
of Divine Spirit
that pervades all realms of existance:
the earth, the atmosphere and the
heavens.
May That most brilliant Divine
Light
protect us, sustain us
and illuminate our consciousness
that we might
realize
our
inherent goodness,
our inborn divinity
and our unity with All That Is.
By this knowledge may our actions be inspired.
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| Om |
Sound
as the basis of creation, Brahman Unity of all that is visible and
invisible |
| Bhur |
The
gross: earth, existence, physical body |
| Bhuvah |
The
subtle: atmosphere, prana, subtle body |
| Svaha |
The
causal: heaven, Atman, the soul, causal body |
| Tat |
That:
Brahman (The Ultimate Reality is simply referred to as "That"
because it defies description through speech or language.) |
| Savitur |
The
protector, Savitri, equated with the luminous, life-giving energy of
the sun |
| Varenyum |
Supreme
Consciousness that inspires adoration |
| Bhargo |
Goodness,
radiance, luster, illumination, destroyer of ignorance |
| Devasya |
Divine
radiance or grace |
| Dhimahi |
Meditation
or knowledge of the Absolute |
| Dhiyo |
Buddhi,
intellect |
| Yonah |
Our
actions
|
| Prachodayat |
Inspire |
The mind perceives
diversity. The intellect or Buddhi, realizes unity. Gayatri
mantra explores this underlying unity in the diversity of things. It's
through this vision of unity that we perceive divinity and sanctify our
lives. Atman is one, but the forms that it indwells are many.
Our lives are the
embodiment of three gunas: rajas, tamas and satva: action,
inaction and balance. These three attributes can also be applied to
time. Within a 24-hour day each of the gunas typically spans eight
hours.
Traditionally, the
Gayatri is chanted twice a day, during sandhya, the conjunction
of two stages of time (basically sunrise and sunset). Sunrise is called
pratah sandhya and sunset is known as madhyanna
sandhya.
| 4
a.m. – 8 a.m |
satvic
time |
balance |
sacred
time (pratah sandhya) |
| 8
a.m. – 4 p.m. |
rajasic
time |
activity |
work |
| 4
p.m. – 8 p.m. |
satvic
time |
balance |
sacred
time (madhyanna sandhya) |
| 8
p.m. – 4 a.m. |
tamasic
time |
inactivity |
sleep |
It
is during satvic
time or sandhya that we undertake our sadhana or spiritual
practices. By these practices we sanctify our lives. Chanting the
Gayatri at least three times in the early morning and three times in
the evening is said to take care of all the ill effects of the day's
karma. Clearly, by allowing time for spirit before the activities of
the day, we are more conscious in our actions during the day. By
allowing time for spirit at the end of the active day, we can more
fully release the fruits of our actions and enter into restorative
sleep.
Before the sun
rises, everything is enveloped in darkness. Just as the rays of the sun
dispel this darkness, the chanting of Gayatri dispels darkness and
ignorance.
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