Hari
OM
Application - that is what 'Workings-days' are about!
We are now undertaking basic technical
discourse on Vedanta. The text
forming the basis of these posts is 'Kindle Life'. Please do reread previous posts using the labels 'Workings-days' or
'Kindle Life'.
Ch. 28 गायत्री मन्त्र /gaayatrii maantra (cont'd). Today we enter an exploration of the
great Gaayatrii Mantra. For now, concentrate on assimilating the best
understanding you can. At the end of the exploration (and therefore this
chapter of KL), we will do a full practice of pronunciation and metre.
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| (c) ॐ YAM-yum |
A
great many of you will have heard this mantra at some point or other. It holds
an equivalent place in the canon of sanatana dharma as the Lord's Prayer of the
New Testament. Within sanatana dharma,
there is a concept that this great prayer was uttered by the Creator - which
many in the current age are inclined to disparage as exaggerated and over
imaginative. However, it is also a fact that even Western scholars, the greater
sceptics in this regard perhaps, by virtue of not having any emotional tie to
this idea, have themselves declared the Gaayatrii Mantra as one of the oldest
available hymns. Throughout all the twists and turns of history in sanatana
dharma, the strong oral tradition of Sanskrit has preserved the teachings and
this mantra, in particular, continues to wield compelling vibration in the
heart. It is not simply a belief, but an actual observation, that by repetition
of the Gaayaatri (with correct understanding of meaning), the ordinary,
negative tendencies in a human mind can be erased to a large extent. This, of
course, could be said of any dedicated prayer, given full focus and redirecting
the mind from its distractions.
This
mantra is never chanted for the purpose of material gains, physical or
otherwise. Its invocation concludes with an appeal to the Pure Consciousness to
illumine our heart even more. It is a prayer to the higher Self within us to
drop its veil so that we may enter the Purest Wisdom.
Gaayatrii
mantra is also called as Shavitrii mantra, which is in relation to the sun. The
term comes from the earliest Vedic literature and it is there that we find the
metre which is set in this first hymn of this type - there are to be found,
subsequently, many other gaayatrii to various aspects of the divine. This,
though, is THE Gaayatrii and considered the most important of all these
prayers.
Om
tat-savitur varenyam
Bhargo
devasya dhiimahi
Dhiyo
yo-naH prachodayaat.
Strictly
speaking, the omkara ( ॐ ) as also a precursor and not an actual part of the
chant; it has been placed, however, to ensure the eight-syllables required.
Traditionally, the last syllable '-nyam' of the first paada, is likely to have been clearly
pronounced as 'ni' then 'am'. However this usage may have been dropped, as all mantras of any variety within Samskritam are preceded with omkara and,
therefore, the syllable measure is satisfied.
Gaayatrii
mantra is from the Rig-veda and is found in third mandala (book), in the
sixtieth suutra (chapter - actually 'thread') and is the tenth mantra there.
Mantra is the term used for all prayers and hymns in Sanskrit literature and
refers to very specific rhythmic structure with potential for deep effects upon
the chanter. The 'seer' (Rshi) of the mantra is the saint, Vishvaamitra, who is
attributed with all the mantras of the third mandala of the Rig-veda. This
Gaayatrii is also found in both the Shukla (white) and Krshna (black)
Yajur-vedas.
The
mantra is dedicated to Sri SavitR - generally accepted to be representative of
the Sun. This makes sense, given that the Sun is responsible for life; it gives
all illumination to the world and this prayer is for illumination, albeit
beyond anything the physical Sun could actually provide. A translation of this
mantra would be, "We meditate upon the auspicious light of Lord Sun; may
that heavenly light illumine our thought-flow in our intellect." You will
find many variations of this interpretation but all saying essentially the same
thing… by opening our heart/mind to the teachings which bring the light of
knowledge, we ourselves will become enlightened.
Next
week, we shall learn a little more about the application of the prayer in the
tradition.
