Gayatri

[Guest guest]

Further to earlier request by Dinakaranji about suitability of use of Gayatri

Mantra by women.

Replies he received:-

 

Vivekananda Centre <vivekananda

06 September 1999 16:33

Re: Gayatri

 

 

Dear Jay,

 

I have received a couple of replies for my query. I am including them below.

 

No. 1:

 

``I have never heard of such a thing. Anyone who is initiated is given

Gayatri Mantraa by the Guru irrespective of caste, colour, age, sex.

 

Recitation of Gayatri Mantraa burns the sins of an individual.

 

When the diety itself is represented in women form then how can women be

debarred frm reciting it.''

 

_ Anurag Goel

 

No. 2:

 

Dear Sh.Dinakaran,

 

Hari om !

 

Ref. your mail regarding prohibition of women for chanting Gayatri Mantra in

some Mutts & Ashrams. Well ! I am not a spokesman of any of these Ashrams or

Mutts, but I can certainly share with you my understanding & perceptions in this

matter.

 

The Vedas which have revealed to us this great mantra do not prohibit the

women folk from chanting it. This prohibition which is practiced or suggested in

some places is certainly of a later origin, which the authors of this mantra

obviously did not share. The reason for this prohibition could be that in some

places the Yagnopavita was later given only to boys & not the girls. There have

been two schools of thought in this regard. One professes that Yagnopavita

samskar should be done only of boys, while there is another school of thought

which professes giving it to girls too. If the Yagnopavita is done for girls

too, then it is obvious that they could very well chant the Gayatri too.

 

The Harita-dharma Sutra says that there are two kinds of women.

1) Brahmavadini, and 2) Sadyovadhu. The former use to devote her life for

the pursuit of Brahma-vidya, while the latter entered the Gruhasta Ashram. The

first one was allowed Yagnopavita, agni-sewa, veda-adhyayana, and even

bhiksha-atana. The Sadyo-vadhu was also given Yagnopavita, but at the time of

Vivaha. Even Manu accepts doing of all the samskars for the women, but with a

slight difference. Apart from these pramanas there are various other pramanas

also which do not share the prevalent perceptions.

 

The tradition of prohibiting women for various religious practices is

certainly of a later origin, and could be either because of some social factors

of those times, or absence of traditions of right education. They have no

scriptural sanction and therefore deserve to be rejected & changed.

 

With love & om,

 

Swami Atmananda