Gayatri Mantra - Benefits ,Origin, Pronunciation and Meaning

Gayatri Mantra is one of the most influencing mantras of Rigveda. This is the 10th mantras of 62nd sukta of 3rd Mandal of Rigveda.

Gayatri Mantra has exactly 24 Beejaksharas (Root Sounds Within it). These 24 sounds are split into 3 

lines with 8 sounds each. The power of a mantra lies in the arrangement of sounds in it.

Gayatri Mantra dispels negative mindsets that drain your energy repeatedly and moves us from darkness to Light. Gayatri Mantra is very beneficial for students (If they chant it every day). 

Origin of Gayatri Mantra 

The Origin of Gayatri Mantra has traced back to sage Vishwamitra's enlightenment. The first Chapter of Ramayana is called as Bala Kanda, it holds the life story of Sage Vishwamitra. Sargas 51 to 65 of Bala Kanda describe the life of Sage Vishwamitra and the struggles he had to face on his path of Enlightenment. It is narrated by King Janaka's (Father of Goddess Sita) minister Shatananda to Lord Ram.

Sage Vishwamitra was once a proud and valiant king of the Kusha Dynasty. As he was patrolling the country with an Akshauhini Sena (An Army of 21870 elephants, 21870 chariots, 65610 cavalry, and 109350-foot soldiers ) he came across Sage Vasishth's Aashram.

After enjoyed the hospitality of Vasishta, Vishwamitra was impressed with the divine cow named Shabala. That cow was the chief provider of sustenance in Vashishtha's Ashram.

Then Vishwamitra asked Sage Vasishta to trade that cow for enormous riches, But Sage Vasishta refused to do so. In his humiliation and in a rage to defeat Sage Vasishtha, he (Vishwamitra ) decided to become a Sage.

In his misguided journey towards enlightenment, Vishwamitra went through many obstacles. Vishwamitra repeatedly lost the energy he gathered and he tried many times to become a Brahma Rushi (Sage).

Finally, after many attempts, he was blessed with the knowledge of Brahma (Which pacified the need for revenge within him). Then Vishwamitra realized and offered the Gayatri Mantra to the entire world.

Meaning of Gayatri Mantra

The words in Gayatri Mantra, mention the brilliance of the God Sun, savitr, who is masculine is the source of life and It also denotes Devi Gayatri, the Mother Goddess, who is the embodiment of feminine energy, which gave birth to the cosmos. It also has a yantra, which holds three sounds corresponding to the three Goddesses, Kali, Laxmi, and Saraswati.

Few meanings of sounds from Gayatri Mantra- Om Is the sound of Divine. Bhu represents the Bhu Loka (Earth), Bhuvah means the Antariksha Loka (Space), Suvaha means Swarga Loka (The Higher plane of Existence). The word Loka means which we see. Dheemahi means we meditate upon. And so on. In simple language, the meaning of Gayatri Mantra is 

|| ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

"We Meditate upon the highest brilliance of the source of life, Which may propel our minds from the material world to subtler planes of Existence".

It is also true that chanting mantras in the wrong way over a long period of time will cause harm. However, that doesn't mean we have to restrict ourselves from learning or chanting the Mantra.