The Meaning of Gayatri Mantra

Rishis have selected the words of various Mantras and arranged them in such a way that they not only convey some meaning but their chanting also creates specific energies. Gayatri is a mantra which inspires righteous wisdom. It means that the Almighty God may illuminate our intellect, which may lead us on the righteous path. This is the most important prayer. All the problems of a person are solved if  he is endowed  with righteous wisdom. Having far-sighted wisdom, a man is neither entangled in avoidable calamity nor does he tread a wrong path. A wise man intuitively finds solutions to his problems. Those who lack this clear-sightedness find themselves always facing  problems and ever living from crisis it crises. The worship of Gayatri mantra bestows the boon of righteous wisdom. The teachings of and the powers incorporated  in Gayatri mantra fulfil this purpose. Righteous wisdom starts emerging as soon as Jap of this mantra is taken up as a Sadhana.
Om  bhurbhuvah swah  tatsaviturvarenyam  bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah  prachodayat
 Om!                Brahma or Almighty God
 Bhuh               embodiment of vital spiritual energy (Pran)
 bhuvah           destroyer of sufferings
 swah                embodiment of happiness
 tat                   that
 savituh           bright, luminous like the Sun
 varenyam       best, most exalted
 bhargo           destroyer of sins
 devasya         divine
 dhimahi         may imbibe
 dhiyo             intellect
 yo                  who
 nah                our
 prachodayat  may inspire

In short it is a prayer to the Almighty Supreme God, the Creator of entire cosmos, the essence of our life existence, who removes all our pains and sufferings and grants happiness beseeching His divine grace to imbibe within us His Divinity and Brilliance which may purify us and guide our righteous wisdom on the right path.

A man gets imbued with divine qualities contemplating and meditating on this meaning of Gayatri. One should contemplate on these feelings daily and regularly. Three prayer-filled meditations are given here which should be silently recited and projected on the mental screen through imagination.

1. “The Almighty God, who is known as pranav pervades all the three Lokas, viz, Bhooha-lok, Bhuvaha-lok and Swaha-lok. He is Omnipresent. The cosmos is physical manifestation of God who pervades its each and every particle. I am seeing Him everywhere. I would always refrain from evil thoughts and evil deeds and perform true worship of God by extending cooperation in promoting happiness, peace and beauty in this universe which is His creation”.
2. “This (tat) God is extremely bright (savitur), most exalted (varenyam), devoid of sin (bhargo) and divine (devasya). I visualise this Divinity within me, in my soul. By such contemplation, I am      becoming illumined, virtues are growing  in all the layers of my being. I am being saturated with these virtues, these characteristics, of God.”
3. “That God may inspire (prachodayat) our (naha) intellect, wisdom (dhiyo) and lead us on righteous path. May our intellect, the intellects of our family members and of all of us, be purified and may He lead us on the righteous path. On getting righteous wisdom, which is the greatest achievement and is the source of all the happiness in this world, we may be able to enjoy celestial bliss in this life and make our human life purposeful.”

We should contemplate and meditate on these three prayer-filled meditations slowly and pausing for a moment on each word and an imaginary picture of that word should be drawn in the mind.

While contemplating upon the first meditation, it should be imagined that God pervades all the three Lokas, the earth, heaven and Patal (nethermost world). God should be visualised pervading these Lokas in the form of light, heat and electricity, life force (Pran) etc. This vast universe is the living physical image of God. The Sadhak should try to visualise in his imagination a glimpse of the All-pervading Omni-present God just as was given to Arjun by Lord Krishna. He should imagine that God is all around him and he is sitting in God’s lap. It should be pondered how evil thoughts and evil actions could remain lodged in his mind and body in the presence of the Omni-potent Divinity. He should imagine that each and every manifestation of this universal Godhead is adorable and that well being lies in selfless service of this universe, this vast humanity and in beautifying God’s creation.

While reflecting on the second meditation, one should imagine the extremely bright and luminous, supremely exalted God adorned with all divine qualities, seated on the throne of  Sadhak’s heart. God can be also visualised in the form of Virat Purush. (2) Narasimha, Ram, Krishna, Vishnu, Gayatri, Lakshmi etc. and (3) in the flame of a lamp. God can be meditated upon  in male or in mother’s form according to one’s own sentiments. God is female as well as male. Vaishnavas prefer to meditate on the Almighty God in the form of Narayana/Vishnu. Brilliance, supreme excellence, utmost piety, purity and divine righteousness should be visualised in the beautiful image of Narayana. It should be imagined that such a beautiful and virtuous divine power permanently dwells in the sadhak’s heart and permeates all the pores of his body.

While thinking on the third meditation, it should be felt that the divine power of Gayatri has caught the intellect and feelings of our head and heart and is guiding them on the path of righteousness. We are pure, concerted and enthusiastic and are getting attained to move in the direction of righteousness with the grace of Gayatri Mata.

These three kinds of prayer filled meditations embodied in Gayatri are symbolic of Gyan-yog, Bhakti -yog and karma-yog. In fact, contemplation of the meaning of Gayatri amounts to immersion in the Triveni of these three kinds of yog.
By such contemplation, the meaning of Gayatri Mantra is fully assimilated in the heart of the Sadhak. The result is that in a short time his mind gets diverted from evil thoughts and evil deeds and he starts taking enthusiastic joy in righteous thinking and good actions. Howsoever little this tendency may be in the beginning it is  almost certain that if the practice persists, the inner-self of the Sadhak becomes more and more awakened and the ultimate aim of life  draws closer and closer.