Like many people The Gayatri mantra [sung by Deva Premal] was my first experience of spiritual music and I was like a thing possessed hoovering up any Kirtan CD I could find. It is now my “go to” mantra and I often find myself slipping into chanting it silently in moments of stillness.
It is taken from the Rg Veda an ancient yoga text and it also appears in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. It is 24-syllables long and is dedicated to Savitur a sun deity. Gayatri herself is a goddess also known as Savitri or Vedamata [mother of the Vedas] and is the female form of Savitur.
Om bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ
tat savitur vareṇyaṃ
bhargo devasya dhīmahi
dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt
OM The Primitive Sound
BHUR — the physical world
BHUVA — the mental world
SVAHA — the celestial, the spiritual world
TAT — That, God; Transcendental Paramatma
SAVITUR — the physical sun but also the Creator, Preserver, the Divine
VARENYAM — more adorable, lovely
BHARGO — shine, effulgence
DEVASYA — resplendent, supreme Lord
DEEMAHI — we meditate on
DHI YO — intelligence, understanding, Intellect
NAH — Nah: our
PRACHODAYAT — enlighten, guide, inspire
It can be translated more generally in many ways. My favourites are
“We meditate on the Spiritual Splendour of that supreme and Divine reality, source of the physical, astral and celestial spheres of existence. Allow that divine being supreme to illuminate our intellect, so that we can realize the supreme Truth.” and
“We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may She enlighten our minds”
t’s a lovely reminder to me that there is a divine light a spark in all living beings, and it is that divine light which connects us all no matter what individual challenges we may be facing. We are all one and that light illuminates the universe.