Gayatri mantra

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Gayatri ( Sanskrit . F., गायत्री, gāyatrī , the feminine form of gāyatra (hymn)) denotes the most important Vedic hymn in Hinduism , the Gayatri mantra . Likewise, Gayatri is the meter in which the mantra was written. It also addresses Savitri (m., Savitṛ ), the aspect of the sun, which is why this mantra is also called Savitri (f., Sāvitrī ). What is meant is not the physical sun in our firmament, but the sun of truth in the spiritual firmament.

Gayatri Mantra.tif
Gayatri

meaning

This extremely popular mantra, according to tradition the “mother of the Vedas”, is the daily prayer for many Hindus , which is not addressed to a personal deity, but to the sun as a visible representation of the Most High. In addition to praise, it includes a request for spiritual enlightenment . Savitri is the creator of the universe (the root su means: give birth, lose strength, drive, etc.). He is the Supreme Divine in his immobile posture as Creator and He dismisses and stimulates all forms to exist. He is the spiritual sun at the highest point of creation, spread out like an eye in heaven (Rig Veda I 22.20) and it is He whom we imagine in the celestial body of the sun on the physical plane of our universe. He is the sun of truth, the only source of light and life and the goal of lifelong devotion and the object of repeated visions of the seers of the Vedas (I.22.20).

origin

Whereas in the past only believers from higher castes were allowed to recite the mantra, today almost all Hindus pray it, mostly in chant form. However, it is a special duty for members of the Brahmin caste where the boys are officially introduced to the special mantra in the Upanayana , the initiation rite between the sixth and twelfth year. From now on, devotional recitation at dawn, at noon and at dusk is part of the daily routine. It should not only promote special spiritual powers, but also remove spiritual impurities.

The Gayatri mantra is composed of a line from Yajurveda and verse 3.62.10 of the Rig Veda . In addition to the Vedas, innumerable references to holiness and mystical significance can be found in many other Hindu scriptures, the Upanishads as well as in the Bhagavad Gita and in later literature.

Gayatri is all of being. The language is Gayatri because it is the language that sings and that overcomes all fear . (Chandogya Up. III.12.1.-6)

In the Bhagavadgita (10:35) Krishna identifies with the highest mantra:

"... by the meter I am Gayatri ..."

The author of these twenty-four syllables of the Gayatri mantra is said to be the seer Vishvamitra , of whom it is said in the Puranas that he was the first of a total of twenty-four Rishis who fully grasped the meaning of the mantra.

Over time, the mantra became personified. The goddess Gayatri , wife of the creator god Brahma, is considered to be a personal embodiment .

translation

Due to the complexity, the lines contain several levels of meaning, which leads to very different translations.

The original in Devanagari In transcription
ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः। auṃ / oṃ bhūrbhuvaḥ svaḥ।
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं। tatsaviturvareṇyaṃ।
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि। bhargo devasya dhīmahi।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्॥ dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt॥

Literally the mantra can be translated as follows:

The first line, which comes from the Yajurveda, means:

Om , earth (bhūr), air space (bhuvaḥ), heaven (svaḥ)!

The rest of the Rigvedavers 3.62.10 was translated by the Indologist Karl Friedrich Geldner (1852–1929) as follows:

We received this excellent light from the god Savitri, who is supposed to stimulate our thoughts .

However, this says little about what Hindus mean by the words of the mantra today, some 3000 years after the verse was written. Apart from the fact that its sound alone is considered effective, every word of it is often related to God, the goddess or the divine. The god Savitri is no longer just a name for the sun, but rather, in its meaning "life giver", a name for the life-giving divine in general. The same applies to the other words. A translation from this Hindu understanding reads:

Om, we meditate on the splendor of the venerable divine,
the source of the three worlds, earth, air space and heavenly regions.
May the Supreme Divine enlighten us so that we may know the highest truth.

Another is:

Let us meditate on the Om, the original sound of God from which the three realms
the coarse-earthly ( bhur ), the finer-ethereal ( bhuvah ) and the finest-heavenly ( svah ) have emerged.
Let the highest, indescribable, divine being ( tat ) (for keeping excellent =) worship ( Varenyam ), the creative,
life-giving power that manifests itself in the sun ( savitur ).
Let us meditate ( dhimahi ) on the radiant light ( bhargo ) of God ( devasya ), which destroys all darkness, all ignorance, all vices.
May this ( yo ) light our ( close ) Geist ( dhiyo ) enlighten ( pracodayat ).

An English translation by S. Krishnamurthy reads:

We meditate upon the radiant Divine Light
of that adorable Sun of Spiritual Consciousness;
May it awaken our intuitional consciousness.

Singing (chanting) the Gayatri mantra

The ideal times to chant the mantra are three times a day: at dawn, at noon, and at dusk. These times are known as the three sandhyas; Morning, noon and evening. It is said that the greatest benefit is obtained when the mantra is chanted 108 times. If there is little time, you can sing it 3, 9 or 18 times.

Gayatri as a component

In Indonesian Hinduism ( Bali , Tengger ) the Gayatri mantra is the first stanza of the mantra Trisandya , the daily prayer of the Hindus there.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Amar Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Page 990 right, Verlag KP, ISBN 81-89755-34-X
  2. ↑ http://www.mysticknowledge.org/Japa_Yoga__A_Comprehensive_Treatise_on_Mantra-Sastra__By_Swami_Sivananda.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.mysticknowledge.org/Japa_Yoga__A_Comprehensive_Treatise_on_Mantra-Sastra__By_Swami_Sivananda.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.learnsanskrit.org/tools/sanscript
  5. ↑ [1]
  6. ↑ after the English version from Om, Gayatri and Sandhya by Svami Mukhyananada, Ramakrishna Math

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