Gayatri Mantra

Om Bhur Bhuvah Swah| Tat Sat Vitur Vareniyam||

Bhargo devasaya dhimahi| dhiyo yonah prachodyat||

You can see my video blog on this here.

This is the famous gayatri mantra. It is from the Rig Veda (but also appears in many upnishads, bhagvad gita, manusmriti. If you grew up in a Hindu household, or nowadays, even if you attended a yoga class, you would have been exposed to it.

It is a mantra that is said over and over again as part of traditional Hindu ceremonies. I have been repeating it since I was a child. So I was curious about its meaning and implications.

As I read about it and understood it, my appreciation for it grew tremendously. It is not a prayer to get wealth, good health or even general benevolence of the gods. It is a very specific prayer to correct everything at the root. The brilliance of the mantra is recognizing what is the root!

First, let me give you a quick translation. For example, S. Radhakrishnan translated it as

“We meditate on the effulgent glory of the divine Light; may he inspire our understanding”

Gayatri mantra has broadly four parts:

Om Bhur Buvah Swah–These are the three descriptors of the omnipresence of God. This phrase appears in many places in Vedas and Upnishads. It means the creator of the earth, netherworld and heavens. It also signifies the physical world, consciousness, and bliss.

Second part is Tat Savitur Vareniyam. This means that Sun (Savitur) God that is worshipable or worthy of adopting. Sun signifies the ultimate giver of life and has a primary place in Vedic literature.

Third part is Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi. This translates to “enlighten everyone’s intention.”

Swami Vivekananda translated Gayatri Mantra in a very similar way. He said  it as “We meditate on the worshipable power and glory of Him who has created the earth, the netherworld and the heavens and who directs our understanding.”

However, there is the fourth part of the mantra–”Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat.” This translates that intention is the primary cause of all else. The intention is what propels everything else.

Gayatri Mantra has a deep meaning. So here is my translation, extending Swami Vivekananda’s translation

“We meditate on Sun God who has created the earth, the nether world and the heavens and who is worthy of worship. May He enlighten everyone’s intention; for intention propels  everything.”

The prayer is important for two reasons: One it recognizes that everything begins with an intention. Thoughts, words and eventually actions all grow out of the seed of intention. So the only thing we must pray for is that the seed of everything is pure and good.

The second reason, I find this prayer important is that it is not giving up on the role of action in human life. It recognizes the value of karma. It is not asking for wealth, health or even knowledge. No miracles are sought. It is simply meditating on the seed. The prayer recognizes that once the seed is right, we have to do the remaining work using this instrument of the body.

So when you say the Gayatri mantra, meditate on the fact, what is the primal cause and where it comes from. Before you act, you verbalize the action in words or in your mind. Before you verbalize, you think about the words. But even before you think, you have the seed of intention. And we pray that the God will make it such that it is in synchronization of this world–bhur buvah svah (earth, sky and the heavens). This again simply means the golden rule–let our intention be such that we do not hurt anyone, help all and live a worthy life fulfilling our purpose in life.