Gayatri Mantra & English text

[3bob]

link to mantra with English text/explanation

 

[Bodhicitta]

Many profound commentaries, such as the one by Shankara in his commentary on the Brihadaryanaka Upanishad, section 14.  Swami Madavananda's translation is good.

 

Here is a short simple, yet wise one, by William Q. Judge:

 

http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/path/v07n10p301_a-commentary-on-the-gayatri.htm

[s1va]

link to mantra with English text/explanation

 

 

Gayatri is a mantra for Sun (savita devatha), dedicated to Savitr .   I was taught that it should be chanted in the meter (chandas) 'Gayatri'.  I guess some how the chandas/meter became it's name later.  Such videos that bring Gayatri mantra to the attention of one and all, through youtube or music are done with good intentions.  But, this video sings Gayatri mantra as a song, ignoring the chandas/meter in which it has to be chanted, -- uses a different 'raga'.  Proper pronunciation of aksharas also seems to be missing.

More than the word meanings, the Vedic mantras produce the effect by their sound vibrations.  I am not going to take issues with  publishing this or any Vedic mantra in youtube.   All I want to say is,  If someone wants to publish it, let them do it right.  The books from Ramakrishna Mission are available to all.  They teach the right way to chant the mantra.

 

When the chandas is altered and it is made as a song, I wonder if the mantra will produce it's intended effect.  One of the rules that are laid out for chanting Vedic mantras, is they should not be sung as a song, expect the Sama Veda (ganam) which has it's own rules.

If not any help, I hope that these videos not cause any harm to anyone.

 

gAyantham thrAyathe ithi gAyatrI (i) thyapithIyathe !

 

gAyantham here does not mean singing.  It means to chant with love and bhakti.  Whoever chants with love and bhakthi, the gAyatrI mantra will protect (rakshA) them.  That was the reason the name came.

Edited February 17, 2017 by Cauvery

[dwai]

Gayatri is a mantra for Sun (savita devatha), dedicated to Savitr .   I was taught that it should be chanted in the meter (chandas) 'Gayatri'.  I guess some how the chandas/meter became it's name later.  Such videos hat bring Gayatri mantra to the attention of one and all, through youtube or music are done with good intentions.  But, this video sings Gayatri mantra as a song, ignoring the chandas/meter in which it has to be chanted, -- uses a different 'raga'.  Proper pronunciation of aksharas also seems to be missing.

More than the word meanings, the Vedic mantras produce the effect by their sound vibrations.  I am not going to take issues with  publishing this or any Vedic mantra in youtube.   All I want to say is,  If someone wants to publish it, let them do it right.  The books from Ramakrishna Mission are available to all.  They teach the right way to chant the mantra.

 

When the chandas is altered and it is made as a song, I wonder if the mantra will produce it's intended effect.  One of the rules that are laid out for chanting Vedic mantras, is they should be sung as a song, expect the Sama Veda (ganam) which has it's own rules.

If not any help, I hope that these videos not cause any harm to anyone.

 

I've made similar observations and when my friends ask me to teach them mantras, I teach them the correct meter, etc.

 

I love Shri M's explanation...

 

 

Let us now consider the word gayatri. Gayatri is actually the name of a particular form of Sanskrit shloka written in what is known as the gayatri meter. The gayatri meter consists of twenty-four syllables, aksharas, evenly distributed in its three padas, feet. Hence it is also known as tripada gayatri. (There are other meters which contain twenty-four syllables but their distribution is not as in the Gayatri.) There are other gayatri mantras too (see footnote 1); for example, the first vedic mantra itself is in gayatri meter. But the Gayatri Mantra, by virtue of its universal appeal, has appropriated for itself the name of the meter, so that any mention of this meter evokes the words of this mantra. Each foot of the Gayatri represents the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas. (The Atharva Veda has its own Gayatri.) In fact, it is mentioned in the Vedas: Gayatrim chandasma mata. Chandasma here means the Vedas and, therefore, Gayatri is the mother of all the Vedas.) Let us look at the mantra itself:

 

Aum Bhur Bhuvah Suvah

Tat Savitur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi

Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayat.

 

If you scan these lines, you will notice that the first line does not conform to the gayatri meter. It consists of the pranava, Aum, and maha vyahritis, the seven spheres of existence, beginning with the physical, bhuloka2, forming the first part of the mantra. The second part consists of the next two lines ending in dheemahi, it being metrically divided into two lines. The third part is the last line. This division into parts is not arbitrary; it represents the three stages of one’s unfoldment towards the Ultimate Consciousness. The first part prepares the spiritual background for the operation of the second and third parts. While the first makes the aspirant the upadhi, the right vehicle or receptacle, for the descent of the Supreme Consciousness, the second part intensifies his mental aspiration for it. But the attainment of the Ultimate Consciousness can only be through Divine Grace and this Grace is obtained through the self-surrender of the third part.

 

M, Sri (2012-02-12). Jewel in the Lotus: Deeper Aspects of Hinduism (Kindle Locations 2099-2106). Magenta Press. Kindle Edition. 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2017 by dwai

[3bob]

good point, btw. do you have a link that in your opinion gives a more proper pronunciation?

 

Speaking of "proper" as you well know there are several major sects and a great many sub-sects or schools in Hinduism and they are not all in agreement about what is proper or not.

Edited February 17, 2017 by 3bob

[dwai]

good point, btw. do you have a link that in your opinion gives a more proper pronunciation?

 

Speaking of "proper" as you well know there are several major sects and a great many sub-sects or schools in Hinduism and they are not all in agreement about what is proper or not.

 

Sanskrit is beautiful that way. it is hard to mis-pronounce it. Let me see if I can find an example of a proper version.

[s1va]

I made a mistake. I intended to type that 'Vedic mantras should not be sung as songs unless it is Sama Veda (which has it's own meters for singing)'.  Typing from phone, somehow "not" was left out.   I corrected now.  Not a good thing.  I should proof read before posting. 

 

dwai, thanks for posting Shri M's explanation.  It's beautiful.

 

Some say, the pranava and vyahritis are not part of the original Gayatri, and they skip line 1 from that quote above. Interestingly that first line is not in Gayatri meter as Shri M points out.  I read some good explanations stating why they are part of the Gayatri mantra.  Shri M has explained this beautifully.

The sandhya vandanam has proper invocation for all 3 parts of the Gayatri mantra.  All Vedic mantras have invocation.  First we remember the rishi(s), the seer(s) who gave the mantra, with some gratitude, then the chandas and then devatha.  

The details about the Gayathri invocation can be found on sandhya vandhanam books, like the small pocket edition books from Ramakrishna Mission.  It's available in English and several other languages.

Edited February 18, 2017 by Cauvery

[Aetherous]

I've read about some people saying that Gayatri requires the mudras in addition to the mantra...anyone here practice that way?

[dwai]

I've read about some people saying that Gayatri requires the mudras in addition to the mantra...anyone here practice that way?

 

The way I was taught is was to count on digits, which involves doing the fast iteration on my right hand and slower iterations on my left. So while the right hand goes through various mudras faster, the left hand holds the mudras longer.

 

There is also pranayama involved (nadi shodhan)

[Bodhicitta]

I think Shankara or maybe the Brihadaryanaka Upanishad itself mentions a fourth line or foot.  It seems to be esoteric, maybe silent - not sure.  Swami Chinmayananda gave the words out once.  

[s1va]

I think Shankara or maybe the Brihadaryanaka Upanishad itself mentions a fourth line or foot.  It seems to be esoteric, maybe silent - not sure.  Swami Chinmayananda gave the words out once.  

Can you please point out where Swami Chinmayananda mentioned these words?

[3bob]

Granted all of these details are of major import and impact, still the voice of a normal Man can not reach as far as the voice of a normal Deva can, and the voice of that Deva can not reach as far as the voice of a normal God can, and the voice of that God can not reach as far as the voice of the God of Gods can - yet intent of the heart is clearly seen and heard among all the realms and even if a detail is misplaced a being's true intent does not go unnoticed.

Edited February 19, 2017 by 3bob

[s1va]

Granted all of these details are of major import and impact, still the voice of a normal man can not reach as far as the voice of a normal Deva can, and the voice of that Deva can not reach as far as the voice of a normal god can, and the voice of that god can not reach as far as the voice of the God of gods can - yet intent of the heart is clearly seen and heard among all the realms and even if a detail is misplaced a being's true intent does not go unnoticed.

True.  'tue intent' should guide and open the doors further ahead, bringing clarity.

[Bodhicitta]

Can you please point out where Swami Chinmayananda mentioned these words?

 

 

No, my memory is not good.  He may have only mentioned its existence, not quoted it.  It requires Initiation and may be beyond words, as Swami Krishnananda comments:

 

Etad evam padaṁ veda. athāsya etad eva turīyaṁ darśatam padam: Generally, people do not know that there is any such thing as the fourth foot of Gāyatrī. Nobody chants the fourth foot. It is a mystical appendix, as it were, to the normal chant. The fourth Pada is not given in its entirety in the original text for some unknown reason. Parorajāsé-sāvadon is the fourth Pada, which is beyond all Rajas. But the Upaniṣhad tells us that this fourth foot is very important. It is something like the Amātra aspect of Prāṇava, the soundless aspect of Om which is spiritual in its nature, which is Consciousness in its essentiality. Some such thing is the character of this fourth foot of Gāyatrī. While the three feet of Gāyatrī may be said to comprehend everything that is temporal, the fourth foot is non-temporal. It represents an absolute state. It is a special feature of this mystical aspect of Gāyatrī recitation into which very few people are initiated. Generally, initiation is not given into the fourth foot, but is only given in the three feet. Turīyaṁ darśatam padam: 'The fourth foot is apparently visible', really not visible. One cannot understand what this fourth foot is. As I mentioned to you earlier, you cannot understand what fourth dimension means. To us it is only a word without any sense, but it conveys every sense and every meaning from its own point of view. Likewise is this fourth foot of the Gāyatrī Mantra which is apparently visible, says the Upaniṣhad, but really not visible to the eyes, which means to say that its meaning is not intelligible to the mind. It is something very mystical. Parorajā parorajāsé-sāvadon is the fourth Pada. 'It is above the dust of the earth. It is superior to all that is manifest as creation. It is not material at all, and therefore it is called Paroraja.' It is super-physical. Ya eṣa tapati: 'The one that shines before us', the Sūrya, or the sun, is the supreme reality, the great superintending power, the deity behind this fourth foot of Gāyatrī. He has to be meditated upon through the recitation of the fourth foot.

[s1va]

No, my memory is not good.  He may have only mentioned its existence, not quoted it.  It requires Initiation and may be beyond words, as Swami Krishnananda comments:

 

Etad evam padaṁ veda. athāsya etad eva turīyaṁ darśatam padam: Generally, people do not know that there is any such thing as the fourth foot of Gāyatrī. Nobody chants the fourth foot. It is a mystical appendix, as it were, to the normal chant. The fourth Pada is not given in its entirety in the original text for some unknown reason. Parorajāsé-sāvadon is the fourth Pada, which is beyond all Rajas. But the Upaniṣhad tells us that this fourth foot is very important. It is something like the Amātra aspect of Prāṇava, the soundless aspect of Om which is spiritual in its nature, which is Consciousness in its essentiality. Some such thing is the character of this fourth foot of Gāyatrī. While the three feet of Gāyatrī may be said to comprehend everything that is temporal, the fourth foot is non-temporal. It represents an absolute state. It is a special feature of this mystical aspect of Gāyatrī recitation into which very few people are initiated. 

 

Vimalanda talks about what he calls as real Gayatri on the book Aghora II written by Dr. Robert Svoboda.  This sounds something like what you have described as the fourth pAda.  He says, it is quite dangerous, if given indiscriminately to one and all, it can cause immediate and dangerous harm.   I will get the book and post his words on this subject.

Obviously, he did not give out this mystical part of Gayatri in his book.  He says, he never gave it to anyone.