story/ Gayatri Japa and its Meaning

[Guest guest]

Thank you Sri Ramji for your post (given below after my story). This comes

at an opportune time as on , there has been some discussion of

mantras. I am reminded of my own childhood and will share the following

story.

 

Hindus are taught the Gayatri at an early age as soon as the child learns to

speak. This is the first mantra that I remember hearing and memorizing when

I was around 3 or so. It is held in much esteem of course and is said to

bring knowledge, wisdom, and purity. It is also meant to increase

intelligence and offer general protection as well. I had deep faith in

Gayatri and my first attempts at meditation consisted of simply reciting it

over and over again with a focus on the forehead. I used the Gayatri mantra

for everything, even for escaping punishment at school when I did not do my

homework!

 

One day, when I was around 11-12 or so, I had not done my homework when I

went to school. I wanted to test whether the Gayatri was effective or not

and so I made the following experiment. I thought that whenever I have not

done the homework and I recite the Gayatri, the teacher never calls on me

and I am protected. But how do I know that teacher may not call on me today

whether I recite the Gayatri or not. So I decided not to recite and to

experiment to see what would happen.

 

Well the teacher asked all children who had not done their homework to come

out in front of the class. I sat in my seat pretending that I had done my

home work. The children who had not done their home work were taken care of

first. They were beaten by the teacher using a cane (this was typical in

India of the 1960s). After the teacher satisfied himself that everyone who

had not done the work had been thoroughly beaten and was sobbing

appropriately and repenting he started randomly calling on the rest of us. I

was sitting there pretending I had done my homework and not reciting the

Gayatri as this was my experiment to test the Mantra. The teacher was

calling on other students for a while and I thought I was escaping. About 15

minutes before the class ended, the teacher called on me! I was quite

stunned! Stammering, I confessed that I could not answer as I had not done

the work. The teacher then asked me why I had not come out earlier to accept

my punishment for not doing my homework. I had no answer to that.

 

The teacher decided to make an example of me and called me in front of the

class. For the next 15 minutes, I received quite a beating from the teacher.

He decided to give me triple that of the other students and used his hands

as well to slap me repeatedly (as if the cane was not enough by itself)! On

top of the physical pain, the humiliation was quite bad.

 

I learned many lessons that day. One of them was "Do not test your Mantra!"

:-).

 

Love to all

Harsha

 

 

Ram Chandran [ramvchandran]

Wednesday, August 16, 2000 12:48 PM

Advaitin List

Gayatri Japa and its Meaning

 

 

Hari Om:

 

Those who belong to the Yajur Vedic Traditions,

observe today, Gayatri Japam. Yesterday was the

Upakarma day - the first day to begin the study of

Yajur Veda. This tradition has been observed from the

Vedic time period and is widely observed by the

followers of Yajur Veda Traditions. This year, the

Upakarma day was the same for the observers of both

Rig and Yajur Vedic traditions. The Gayatri Japam is

typically recited for 1008 (or 108) times. The

Upakarma and Gayatri Japam are considered most

important for unmarried youngsters who are entrusted

with the responsibility of learning the Vedas.

 

Gayatri Japam and Meaning

=========================

 

Aum bhoor bhuwah swaha,

tat savitur varenyam

bhargo devasaya dheemahi

dhiyo yo naha prachodayat.

 

Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life, Remover of pain

and sorrow,

The Bestower of happiness, Oh! Creator of the

Universe,

May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light,

May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.

 

Word for Word Meaning of the Mantra

Aum = Brahma ; bhoor = embodiment of vital spiritual

energy(pran) ; bhuwah = destroyer of sufferings ;

swaha = embodiment of happiness ; tat = that ;

savitur = bright like sun ; varenyam = best choicest ;

bhargo = destroyer of sins ; devasya = divine ;

dheemahi = may imbibe ; dhiyo = intellect ; yo = who ;

naha = our ; prachodayat = may inspire ; Meaning of

Gayatri Mantra

 

Rishis selected the words of various Mantras and

arranged them so that they not only convey meaning

but also create specific power through their

utterance. Gayatri Mantra inspires wisdom. Its meaning

is that "May the Almighty God illuminate our

intellect to lead us along the righteous path". All

the problems of a person are solved if he/she is

endowed with the gift of righteous wisdom. Once

endowed with far-sighted wisdom, a man is neither

entangled in calamity nor does he tread the wrong

path. A wise man finds solution to all outstanding

problems. Only those persons who do not think

correctly find difficulty and take wrong steps due to

foolishness. Chanting of Gayatri Mantra removes this

deficiency. The teachings and powers incorporated in

the Gayatri Mantra fulfill this purpose.

 

Hindus believe that righteous wisdom starts emerging

soon after the recitions (Japam) of this Mantra is

performed. Try chanting the Gayatri Japam silently and

attain the eternal peace!

 

Om Peace! Om Peace! Om Peace!

 

Ram Chandran