The Scientific meaning of Gayatri Mantra

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."

Posted bySainathat10:53 AM8 comments:

Sunday, October 29, 2006

The Sceintific meaning of Gayatri Mantra

The proper site from where I got this is http://www.adwaitjoshi.com/gayatrimantra.php . However, I have added a bit more of explanation from my angle in the end.

A while back I got an article in mail which had the scientific meaning of Gayatri Mantra. Gayatri Mantra is supposed to provide immense energy. Women were not supposed to enchant this since they were already considered an epitome of energy. But in Kaliyug soul has no gender and hence women can enchant this mantra.

Gayatri mantra has been bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic dharma. This mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Veda-Mata, the mother of the Vedas. The literal meaning of the mantra is:

God! You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Almighty.
You are all Light. You are all Knowledge and Bliss.
You are Destroyer of fear; You are Creator of this Universe,
You are the Greatest of all. We bow and meditate upon your light.
You guide our intellect in the right direction.

The mantra, however, has a great scientific import too, which somehow got lost in the literary tradition. The modern astrophysics and astronomy tell us that our Galaxy called Milky Way or Akash-Ganga contains approximately 100,000 million of stars. Each star is like our sun having its own planet system. We know that the moon moves round the earth and the earth moves round the sun along with the moon. All planets round the sun.

Each of the above bodies revolves round at its own axis as well. Our sun along with its family takes one round of the galactic centre in 22.5 crore years. All galaxies including ours are moving away at a terrific velocity of 20,000 miles per second. And now the alternative scientific meaning of the mantra step-by-step:

Om bhur bhuvah swah:
Bhur the earth, bhuvah the planets (solar family), swah the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (rotations Per minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second.
This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast-moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om. The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it too their colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time, hence it is set (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever-revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said, "Omiti ekaksharam Brahma", meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om, which contains only one syllable (8/12). This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers nada-Brahma a very great noise), but not a noise that is normally beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound Udgith musical sound of the above, i.e., heaven. They also noticed that the infinite mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles/second was generating a kinetic energy= 1/2MV2 (Newton's second law) and this was balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah, which means the body (vapu) or storehouse of energy (prana).

Tat savitur varenyam:
Tat that (God), savitur the sun (star), varenyam worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific person. Hence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realize) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., sound Om and light of suns (stars).
A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the riverbank just by drawing a triangle. So was the scientific method suggested by Vishvamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under.

Bhargo devasya dheemahi:
Bhargo the light, devasya of the deity, dheemahi we should meditate. The Rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do Japam of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra) . This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realize it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled. Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under.

Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat:
Dhiyo (intellect), yo (who), nah (we all), prachodayat (guide to right Direction). O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path.

Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra:
The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om, (the name of formless God.) That God (tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing / respect (varenyam). We all, therefore, should meditate (dheemahi) upon the light (bhargo) of that deity (devasya) and also do chanting of Om. May He (yo) guide in right direction (prachodayat) our (nah) intellect (dhiyo).

So we notice that the important points hinted in the mantra are:-

1) The total kinetic energy generated by the movement galaxies acts as an umbrella and balances the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence it was named as the Pranavah (body of energy). This is equal to 1/2 mv2 (Mass of galaxies x velocity)

2) Realizing the great importance of the syllable OM, the other later date religions adopted this word with a slight change in accent, viz., amen(in Christianity) and Ameen(in Islam).

3) The God could be realized through the saguna (gross), upasana (method), i.e.,
(a) by chanting the name of the supreme as OM and
(b) by meditating upon the light emitted by stars (suns).

My Further analysis:
As we all know, Sound is a longitudinal wave and thus cant be created in the absence of matter (i.e. air or water) or in just Vacuum. So, what exactly did sage VishwaMitra hear?
My answer goes like this: Each object having any mass has a particular and unique resonant frequency. It is at this frequency at which the object will vibrate when force is applied on it. When the resonant frequency of 2 bodies close to each other match then vibration in one will cause vibration in the other too. This will cause efficient transfer of energy from the vibrating body to the inert one. This applies to the earth, Sun and the Milky Way Galaxy and any other thing, which has mass. But still no sound unless there is matter.

Stephen Hawking wrote in his "Brief History of Time"; when the Big bang theory is analyzed taking into consideration Einstein's theory of relativity and the diminishing Doppler shift observed by Edwin Hubble; it can be understood that 95% of the mass of the Universe is filled with what scientists call 'Dark Matter'. It's the remaining 5% mass that composes the all the stars and galaxies. This also explains the diminishing speed of expansion after the Big bang. This matter is called 'Dark' since its presence and effect on all other observable bodies such as stars and galaxies through gravity and the Strong Nuclear force (2 out of the 4 forces defined by Einstein) can be observed. Yet we haven't been able to directly detect the presence of this matter.
My understanding is that when Vishwamitra's mind reached the frequency of resonance of the Milky way, he was able to hear the vibrations made by it in the presence of the otherwise undetectable 'Dark' Matter. In this equilibrium he then acts as the receiver of energy from the Milky Way. He then declared that it was these vibrations that he felt physically (not through ears) and mentally as the sound of 'OM'(that's why it has only one syllable) . That is why he asks as to pray for the lights of the Stars (Suns or Savitur) and the Sound of OM(we have to try reaching that resonant frequency to receive the energy). No wonder Gayatri Mantra is declared as the giver of immense energy (Energy of 100,000 Suns-greater than any nuclear bomb).
Here, there is a beautiful demonstration of the unification of in depth physics, mathematics and spirituality into one form. The form of the formless God.

Gayatri (Sanskrit: gāyatrī) is the feminine form of gāyatra, a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn. It can be:-
• The name of a Vedic poetic meter of 24 syllables (three lines of eight syllables each or 3 padas of 8 syllables ), see Vedic meter.
• Any hymn composed in this meter.
This is just the Tip of the IceBerg. Let there be light.

The Vedic scriptures have pronounced that
ANY PERSON WITHOUT SHUKRANU IS BARRED FROM RECITING THE GAYATRI MANTRA. What is Shukranu in a person ? Shukranu is the Karaka tatva of Shukra & Swatva in a Human being , whose grossest form in the Human Body is what Science terms as Sperms in a Male body AND Eggs in a Female body.
Any person devoid of these ( i.e EUNUCHS ) are barred from reciting this mantra.

Women and Gayatri mantra -- Always allowed.
Nice writeup on Scientific meaning of Gayatri mantra, except for the Women NOt allowed part. Read this.
Q. Are women entitled to take up Gayatri Sadhana?
Ans. For countering the oft-repeated arguments against women's right to Gayatri worship, let us try to understand the basic principles of ancient Indian culture. It propounds a global religion, for the entire humanity. Nowhere does it support the illogical inequalities based on differentiation of caste, sex etc.
The code of conduct in Hindu religion assigns equality of status to all human beings in all respects with unity and compassion as its basic tenets. Thus, the abridgement of natural human civil and religious rights of women is, therefore, not in conformity with authentic Indian spiritual tradition. On the contrary, Hindu culture regards the female of human species as superior to its male counterpart. How could then the wise sages of India deprive the women of practice of Gayatri Sadhana? The spirit of Indian ethos is totally against any such discrimination. Gayatri is accessible to every individual of human species. Any thought or belief contrary to this concept is sheer nonsense and should not be given any importance.
Q. What are the basic reasons for the antiwomen stance of some sects in India?
Ans. During the medieval period there occurred overall degeneration and corruption in Indian society. Resources and power were usurped by a handful of corrupt rulers who ruthlessly exploited the poor and the downtrodden to fulfil their coffers and maintain a high style of living. It was the period of high tideof corrupt practices. Bonded labour, keeping concubines, abduction, feudal wars, mass-murders and so many other vices took deep roots in the society. The scholars dependent on the feudal lords were force, or to write and insert spurious verses in the ancient scriptures to please their masters .Women, too, could not escape this oppression.

"Hindu culture regards the female of human species as superior to its male counterpart." Very true indeed since are bestowed with the power and will not just to create but to nurture life after creation till it can stand byitself. Thus as I mentioned Women were not supposed to enchant the gayathri manthra since they were already considered an epitome of energy. But in Kaliyug, soul has no gender and hence women can enchant this mantra. We(men) are supposed to be at the receiving end of energy from them. Thats why "gāyatra", a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn is taken in its the feminine form Gayatri. Its obvious that the sages cant deprive women of this sadhana since in Hinduism Women themselves can be sages. Thats why the word "Rishi" the sanskrit word for sage, doent have any gender. It only means "wise being" or "the ultimate self". In the Rig Veda hymn 10.121,the source of "all powers and existences, divine as well as earthly,"is identified as a golden embryo (hiranyagarba),but it is water which "gave birth to worship".And in hymn 10.129,creation begins with emptiness taking the shape of an egg and then,"through heat and desire, the One evolves and somehow becomes a creative duality,male and female." These two hymns contain the concerns of Hindu philosophical fertility:heat and desire,duality,water and other facillitators of birth.Goddesses are not only strongly associated with but often personify and embody the forces of nature,or prakrti.In the Devi-mahatmya,Devi is called "the supreme,original,untransformed prakrti,"and Ganga Mata is both "Nature (prakrti) supreme" and the embodiment of sakti(energy),specifically "the creative energy that generates and continues to activate the universe."

Please dont confuse this topic with Women's rights among Hindus. That is a totally diffrent line and would be diverting the topic. We must 1st undersatnd what is said before countering it.

As you are into Gayatri Mantra, you should NOT miss the
Greatest Resource on Gayatri Mantra on Earth

www.awgp.org and www.akhandjyoti. org are great resources for books, articles, audio lectures and web based vidoes on Gayatri mantra.

The website is of All World Gayatri Parivar, whose Founder was Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya, who has made Gayatri a Household name all over the world.

Books in English: http://www.awgp. org/gamma/ LiteratureEnglis h
- Gayatri Sadhana- why and how?
-Gayatri Sadhana- Truth and distortions
- Super Science of Gayatri
- Eternity of Sound and Science of Manta

Article: The Meaning of Gayatri Mantra Encompasses the Teachings of
All Religions
http://www.awgp. org/gamma/ GayatriAndYagnaG ayatriMantra

Vidoes:
Super Science of Gayatri In English (4 minutes 49 seconds)
http://video. google.com/ videoplay? docid=-279365096 3730274216

Gayatri MahaVidya Video Lecture in Hindi (58 minutes 10 seconds) (The Greatest Mantra of all ages and all times, Gayatri Mantra. The Super Science of Gayatri being explained by Adarniya Dr. Pranav Pandya.)

http://video. google.com/ videoplay? docid=1046779328 614882965

Gayatri Mantraki Vyakha ( Audio Lectures in Hindi by Pt. Shri Ram
Sharma Acharya)
http://www.awgp. org/gamma/ AudioGurudev


Books in Hindi: http://www.awgp. org/gamma/ LiteratureHindi
- Gayatri ka Vaigyanik Adhar
- Gayatri ka Shakti strot- Savita Devta

Books in Gujarati: http://www.awgp. org/gamma/ LiteratureGujara ti
-Gayatri Mahvigyan

Posted bySainathat1:06 AM21 comments:

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Abha Iyenger : Could you give us the essence of the Gayatri Mantra in your view?

CS: There are many interpretations of the Gayatri Mantra. My own way of understanding and loving the essence of this prayer is as follows,

"We meditate on that most adorable, desirable and enchanting lustre and brilliance of our Supreme Being, our Source Energy, our Collective Consciousness, as manifested by the Sun..who is our creator, inspirer and source of eternal Joy. May this warm and loving Light inspire and guide our mind and open our hearts."

posted by Bhavesh Jhaveri  # 12:41 PM 0 Comments