reg Baranyasam

[Guest guest]

Narayana Narayana

 

Dear Sri Keshavan,

 

Accept my humble pranams. Indeed, you have asked a very genuine

question. To answer this, we

should see the Sree Vaishnava view of the Gayatri Mantra. The

word "Tat" refers to Sriman

Narayana. The verse "Tat shabda Vachakam Sriman Gayatryartha

iteeritaha", means that Sriman

Narayana himself is referred to as "tat", and that itself is the

meaning of Gayatri. Further,

it is said that "Savituh", or the illustrious sun, is the embodiment

of Sriman Narayana. This also

represents the omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence (also

called "sarvajnatva",

"sarvaatmakatva", and "sarva shakthyatva") of Sriman

Narayana. "Varenyam" refers to one who is

fit to be praised by everyone, i.e., Sriman Narayana himself. This

represents the universal

Lordship of Sriman Narayana (also called as "Jagat

swamitva"). "Bharga" refers to the

divine effulgence that illumines and pervades the three worlds,

while "Devasya" too refers to the

Lord Almighty Sriman Narayana. These lines of the Gayathri Mantra

represent the divine qualities

of Sriman Narayana ("Ananta Kalyana Guna"). "Dheemahi" signifies the

contemplation that we place

upon this supreme being. It also symbolizes the "sharanaagathi" verse

of the Sri Vaishnavas'

"Dvaya Mantra", representing it through "Saranam Prapadye" . Thus, it

makes up one of the two

"Mantra ratna"s, which says "Sriman Narayana Charanau Saranam

Prapadye", meaning that we

surrender to the lotus feet of the almighty lord Sriman Narayana.

That is the reason why the

Gayatri mantra is considered as the most sacred of all mantras by the

Sri Vaishnavas. Krishna,

in the Bhagavat Gita, says, "Na Gayatrya paramo mantram", which means

that there is no other

hymn or mantra more sacred than the Gayatri mantra. This is the

overall view of the Sri

Vaishnava-interpretation of the sacred Gayatri mantra.

>From this, the relevance of chanting Gayatri is quite clear.