There are many ancient and modern interpretations
of the words in the gAyatrI mantra. In this video we will look at the meanings
as mentioned in gAyatrI hrdayam, which is a conversation between sage yAjnyavalkya and
lord brahma. While there is one main gAyatrI mantra, there
are also many OTHER gAyatri mantras associated with individual gods and goddesses. There is also a longer version of the gAyatri
mantra, used for prANAyAma. If we wish to understand any of these mantras,
the three key words to focus on, are vidmahE, dhImahi and prachOdayAt. In this video, let's look at all these versions
of gAyatri mantra along with their meanings. The Sanskrit Channel is an effort to explore
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below. Before we proceed to learn the meaning, it
is true that chanting mantras, and using yantras, in a wrong way, over a long period of time,
WILL cause harm. This is one of the main reasons why it is
important to get initiated by a guru. I'll make a different video on why and how
any kind of sAdhana without proper initiation causes harm.However that doesn't mean we have
to restrict ourselves from learning the meaning, and understanding the significance of these
widely misunderstood concepts. gAyatri mantra get's its name from the chhandas,
or the meter which holds it. gAyatri chandas, has three lines in it, with
8 syllables each. Be it ANY version of the gAyatrI mantra, it
has to follow this rule of three lines, and 8 syllables. gAyatri is considered as the most sacred of
all meters in Sanskrit grammar. It is praised as the mother of knowledge,
"gAyatrI chandasAm mAtA". One fourth of the entire rig veda, is composed
in gAyatri Chandas itself. As learnt in our previous video, before uttering
a mantra, we start with remembering it's corresponding sage, meter, divine entity and usage. asya shrI gAyatrI mantrasya, vishwAmitra rShiH,
gAyatrI chandaH, savitA dEvatA, japOpanayanE viniyOgaH
Let us NOW focus on the WORDS of the gAyatrI mantra. Om bhUH bhuvaH svaH tat savtiuH varENyam bhargaH
dEvasya dhImahi dhiyaH yaH naH prachOdayAt when uttered together, and recited in a specific
tune, you get the right way of chanting the mantra. I'll present that towards the end of the video
when we are completely aware of the individual words and their meanings. OM, is the primordial sound. A combination of sounds corresponding to creation
maintenance and destruction. The word bhUH represents bhU lOka, the material
world in which we live. bhuvaH respresents the anatariksha lOka, which
is the space in which the material world exists. svaH represents svarga lOka or a higher plane
of existence.These need not just mean they represent three different worlds similar to
earth. They also have a physiological significance,
and represent how gross or subtle WE perceive life within our own self. The word lOka itself comes from the root word
lOchana, meaning that which we see. There are 14 such planes of existence which
are recognised in the body and in the cosmos. In this version of the mantra, three of them
are prominently mentioned. We also notice that these three are mentioned
in an increasing order of subtlety. The reason behind this special mention, called
as vyAhrti, is to set the direction of one's energies from gross to subtle. The next word we need to understand, is dhImahi,
which means "we meditate upon". What do we meditate upon? tat bhargaH which means that brilliance. We meditate upon that brilliance. What kind of brilliance? varENyam bhargaH, highest kind of brilliance.Whose
brilliance is this, dEvasya of the divine entity;of which divine entity savituH varENyam
bhargaH, of the divine entity who gave birth to life as we know it. Why do we meditate on it? prachOdayAt, so
that it may propel, or drive. drive what ? nah dhiyaH, meaning our minds. In which direction does it propel ? That has
already been set by the vyAhriti,bhUH bhuvaH svaH from gross to subtle direction. Let's now do an anvayakrama, or a re-ordering
of words to understand the meaning easily, :
dhImahi tat varENyam bhargaH savituH dEvasya- We meditate upon the highest brilliance of
the source of life. yaH prachOdayAt naH dhiyaH . Which may propel
our minds. bhUH bhuvaH svaH from the material world to
subtler planes of existence. This concept in depicted as a wall frame by
ReSanskrit in this magnificent artwork. You can hang this on your wall as a constant
reminder of the gAyatri mantra and it's meaning, do check out the link to it in the description
below. The longer version of gAyatri mantra adds
a few more layers of subtlety to both the planes of existence, and the divine entities
of the mantra. In the beginning, it adds other higher planes
of existence, which are MahaH, JanaH, TapaH and satyam. Along with the inital 3 vyAhritis, these 7
higher planes of existence also have a correlation with the 7 chakras of kundalini tantra. This from of the mantra ends with the words
om ApOjyotIrasOmrtam brahma bhUrbhuvaHsvarOm. This denotes further divine entities of aapaH,
rasaH, amrtam and brahmA. It says all of these and the three lokas are
within the sound OM itself. This longer mantra is mentioned in taittiriya
aranyaka of Yajurveda, and is used during sandhyA vandana and prANAyAma. The shorter version is used for japa, or chanting. Other gAyatri mantras are also composed of
similar words. For example gAyatri mantra for hanumAn is
AnjanEyAya vidmahE vAyuputrAya dhImahi, tanno hanUmAn prachOdayAt, meaning We realize the
son of anjanA dEvi, and meditate on the son of the god of winds, vAyu. May lord hanUmAn propel us forward. here, vidmahE, means we realize or know.
and for goddess lakshmi, it is AUM mahAdEvyai cha vidmahE vishNu patnyai cha dhImahi tannO
lakShmIH prachOdayAt ॥ We realize the form of mahAdEvi, and meditate upon the form of
Lord VishNu's wife. May goddess lakshmi propel us forward. There are many such gAyatri mantras for individual
dieties, all with the same root words vidmahE, dhImahi and prachOdayAt. Now, i am going to chant the gAyatrI mantra
with a clear pronunciation, and tune. Please use this only to refine your practise,
and not as an initiation to start practising the gAyatri mantra on your own.As i mentioned
before, prolonged wrong utterance of these mantras CAN cause harm. Om bhUr bhuvaH svaH tat saviur varENyam bhargo
dEvasya dhImahi dhiyO yO naH prachOdayAt. Some of the common mispronunciations are an
alpa prANa ba, instead of a mahAprANa bha. It makes a lot of difference to the sound,
and meaning.It is not bargo, and buvaH, it is bhargo and bhuvaH. This is the same with da and dha. It is not dHEvasya, it is dEvasya. and it
is not dImahi, it is dhImahi.It is not diyO yO naH, it is dhiyO yO naH.A few people have
difficulty pronouncing sa, one needs to be careful not to utter it as dEvashya, it is
dEvasya. So one needs to be mindful of the differeces
between ba and bha, da and dha, and sa and sha in this mantra. Also in the word svaH, there is no "u" sound. It is not suvaH, it is svaH. Finally the beginning of the sound prachOdayAt,
can have a slight utterance of "fa" sound, because of the expulsion of air, due to the
visarga before it.like dhiyO yO nafprachOdayAat. If naH and prachOdayAt are uttered separately,
the "fa" sound will be absent. I hope you enjoyed watching this video. If you wish to support the production of more
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where we explore hidden gems, in the Vast world of diverse sanskrit literature. See you in the next video, namaskaram
