Gayatri Mantra Om Bhoor bhuvah svah, Tat savitur varen (i)yam, Bhargo devasya dheemahi, Dhiyo yo nah prachodayaat. Swami Vivekananda says about this sacred mantra and its meaning as follows: There is a Mantra called the Gayatri. It is a very holy verse of the Vedas. ‘We meditate on the glory of that Being (Savitr - Sun God) who has produced this universe; may He enlighten our minds.’ Like all Vedic mantras, the Gayatri too was revealed to a Rishi or seer of Truth. It was revealed to Rishi Vishwamitra who became well-known for this. Rishi Vishwamitra was born as a Kshatriya in the Kushar dynasty and hence was initially known as Kaushika. He was a mighty ruler. But once during a confrontation with Brahmarishi Vasishta over the possession of an all-yielding divine cow Nandini, he lost his army and all other possessions. He realized that the valour of Kshatriya was not of much value and that real strength lay in the effulgence of Brahma Vidya (The knowledge of the Brahman or the Supreme Spirit), and thus Kaushika took to severe penance (Thapas) which finally revealed to him the sacred Gayatri Mantra. Then, Kaushika was conferred the ‘Brahmarishi status’ by Brahmarishi Vasishta himself. The following story is an example for the potential of the Sacred Gayatri Mantra Once, when Sage Vishwamitra was involved in severe penance, Indra, the King of Celestials panicked as he was uncertain of the Rishi’s intention. To be safe, he decided to hinder the rishi’s penance. He informed the Rishi that he would visit his hermitage (ashram) as a Guest. ‘Atithi Dhevo Bhava’ – It has been a practice in Bharat since Vedic times to worship Guests [even Surprise Guests or Atithis] as Gods and render them Good hospitality. So, in order to serve Indra, Sage Vishwamitra paused his penance and cooked food for Indra. He waited for Indra’s arrival to serve him hot food. But Indra did not turn up (It was Indra’s planned act to keep the Sage waiting and prevent him from resuming his Thapas). Later, Sage Vishwamitra realized that it was high time he resumed his penance and ‘chanted the Sacred Gayatri Mantra to keep the cooked food hot forever’ and then resumed his Thapas. Indra realized his error and begged forgiveness from Sage Vishwamitra.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 14:09:41 +0000
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