Magazine - Year 2004 - Version 1
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Language: ENGLISH
On the Auspicious Occasion of Gayatri Jayanti: Gayatri Mahima
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On the auspicious occasion of Gayatri Jayanti (May 29, 2004) we give below the excerpts of the introduction given by Shraddheya Dr. Pranav Pandya, Chief Editor, in the beginning of the episodes of the serial "Gayatri Mahima" being telecast by the national TV channel, Door Darshan, at10.00 A.M. on Sundays.
-Editorial Team
1.The opening invocation and the first component of Tripada Gayatri the first segment of the Gayatri Mantrasignifies implicit faith in the Divine Source of Existence. The underlying meanings of "Om Bhurbhuvah Swah" are "I believe in the existence of the Supreme Power which is Omnipresent; which is reflected in the limitless opulence of Nature. If I believe that God is omnisciently present, I will not feel, think and do anything wrong. I will always feel His presence in all dimensions of existence, perception and conception in the Bhuh, Bhuvah, Swah Lokas and therefore be mindful of what I do. Faith in the Almighty means faith in Divine Law of Karma. That means, I shall always remember that I have to reap as my destiny, what I sow as my karma (actions) today irrespective of whether someone is seeing it or not in the gross world. Divine consciousness force is pervading subliminally all around me, all the time; therefore, all my actions and thoughts ought to be pure, noble and altruistic. Such a devotee of Adya shakti Gayatri ultimately attains Immortality and Divine Bliss.
2. The first part of Tripada Gayatri guides us to Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti means devotion to the "Ishta", the divine ideal manifestation of God. Sincere devotion of Gayatri Mahashakti bestows divine intelligence, which leads to enormous talents and supramental attainments. Bhakti is practiced by Upasana. Upasana of God means sitting near an indwelling divinity. It naturally induces divine virtues within us. Anything kept near fire gets warm. If our devotion to Mahashakti Gayatri is true, at least a fraction of Her infinite universe of divine qualities would be inculcated in our inner self.
The immediate sign of this would be the liberation of our mind from all tensions, worries, stress, jealously and other vices and transmutation of our thoughts and sentiments. Upasana of Gayatri is practiced with meditation upon the soothing, bright glow of the rising Sun and associated emotional engrossment in the feeling of absorbing the divine radiance of God Savita (the sublime source of the subtle body of the Sun) into our being. A dirty drain also becomes pure and sacred by immersing in the holy Ganges. We also can become sinless and full of vibrant spiritual energy and pure joy.
The purifying brilliance (tejas) of Savita can sparkle in our beings and transform all darkness (ignorance) within us into effulgent light (Supreme knowledge). This is what is the gist of Gayatri Upasana. Millions of parijans of the Gayatri Pariwar have devoted themselves in this Upasana of Adishakti Bhagvati Gayatri.
3. The second component of Tripada Gayatri teaches us to awaken an ardent aspiration for spiritual seeking within us. The second segment of the Gayatri Mantra "Tatsaviturvarenyam, Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi" enfolds astonishing implications in it. Once our faith in God and the feeling of devotion has been deepened and firmly rooted within by sadhana-upasana in the first phase, there would be natural enlightenment of our inner-selves, emergence of the enlightened intelligence within us. This is what is prayed for here in the second phase "May the divine radiance of God Savita, which is the destroyer of all sins and ignorance, the tejas which embodies divine light, illuminate our being". God is regarded as an absolute ensemble of all virtues, preeminence, and righteousness. In this component of the Mahamantra it is prayed that the grace of God may awaken noble qualities in us. As the blotting paper absorbs water or ink completely, we should also learn to assimilate the divine qualities, the grace of Gayatri, the pre-eminence of Savita in our personalities. We should unite with divinity and become "tatsam" same as That. This is what spirituality is all about. What goes on in the name of religion or spiritual practices today is only lifeless ritualism. The essence of religion is to cultivate virtuous qualities, the characteristics of divinity in our lives, in our conduct, in our deeds.
4. Gayatri Mahamantra has three components. The first one takes us to Bhakti Yoga. The second teaches us Gyan Yoga. It guides us towards Sadhana. Sadhana means self-refinement, self-transformation through self-restraint and self-discipline. Inadvertently, in our ignorance, we continue accumulating a medley of evil and junk thoughts and animal urges. We must have conscious control over the flow of our thoughts. Once we practice this, our mind begins to concentrate on the focus of our meditation, our Ishtadev - be that Lord Ganesh, Yogeshwar Krishna, Shri Ram, Mahakaal Shiva or any other symbol of God. The second segment of the Gayatri Mantra inspires us to discipline and refine our thoughts. One, who has mastered the thinking process and attained the ability of positive, constructive, enlightened thinking has indeed perfected the art of living a fulfilling and purposeful life. Control over thoughts makes it easy to master our speech and all other sense organs and enables us to make constructive use of our time and resources. These four disciplines of thought, speech, time and resources are the key to all success in the material as well as spiritual domains of life. This is what is true Yoga. We as devotees of Gayatri should become true Sadhaks and achieve the supreme aim of human life.
5. We should well understand that focused Sadhana is the only certain means of "siddhi" supernormal attainments. If anyone has achieved anything worthwhile in this world, it has been accomplished through unflinching hard work and sincere endeavors tapa, coupled with mental discipline. These two are necessary for success in Sadhana. If Sadhana is practiced with sincerity and unflinching faith, one attains everything worthwhile for which he or she aspires. Be it material success, prosperity or spiritual upliftment; these "siddhis" are not showered indiscriminately. These are the end-results of corresponding Sadhana.
The Sadhana of Gayatri Mahashakti surely endows a devotee with majestic siddhis. Glorious success in the material and spiritual domains flow from the energy generated by this Sadhana in the inner recesses of our consciousness. It also bestows "Atma Gyan" the siddhi of ultimate self-realization, after which nothing remains to be known or attained. Gayatri Sadhana enables mental control and gradual awakening of the otherwise dormant powers of the higher and illumined ranges of the mind. It bestows the knowledge and potential of unifying individual consciousness with the cosmic and supra-cosmic realms.
6. The third component of Tripada Gayatri links us with the essence of "religiousness". Whatever be our faith or mode of devotion, understanding the truth of religion and hence following the righteous path this is what the third segment "Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayat" of the Gayatri Mantra exhorts us to aspire for. Dhiyah means intellect, Yah means That, Nah means our, prachodayat means inspire towards righteous path. It will not be an exaggeration to say that this gives the quintessence of all religions; and is the formula of the true universal religion of mankind. True religiousness indeed transforms selfishness into unbounded selflessness.
This is what is prayed for in the third segment of this Mahamantra "May the divine radiance of Lord Savita inspire and lead us towards the illumined path of righteousness". We should never think of any evil; never think of harming or hurting anyone in any way. Global welfare and bright future for all is what we should work towards and pray for. It is indeed this component of the Gayatri Mantra, which makes it a Mahamantra, the essence of the Vedic Dharma. In todays world of religious bigotry leading to communal conflicts of the worst kind, every human being should understand and mindfully live a meaningful and genuine religious life. May the inspirations of the third segment of the Gayatri Mahamantra awaken and enlighten the whole human race with the true import of religion.
7. Aradhana means altruist action for the welfare of all sentient beings. Gayatri Mahamantra is referred to as "Tripada" having three segments, three parts. It inspires divine devotion, spiritual seeking and religiousness. It illuminates our intellect and exhorts us towards the righteous path and teaches us to live an altruist life of selfless sharing and caring. We are born as human beings to nurture, guard and glorify this marvelous creation of God, Mother Earth and its children. This world is like a garden planted by God. Human greed and perversity have pushed this grand creation, the entire earth to edge of extinction; the very existence of life on Earth is in danger. It is an alarming situation. We should hurt no life form in any way. We should try our level best to nurture, to protect and beautify this magnificent creation of the Almighty. Eradication of selfishness, ignorance, infirmity, backwardness, etc should be our prime goal. Literacy, education, awakening and uplifting of the masses are the avenues through which we can practically express our gratitude toward the society, the nation, and the world at large. This is what is the call of the day. Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya, the seer-sage of this era has taught by example that self-enlightenment is the best service of the society. If each of us sincerely takes up the triple self-effort of upasana, sadhana and aradhana and thus become more and more selfless, altruistic and enlightened, it is bound to have its ripple effect and the dawn of the new Age of Truth, (a fulfillment of his Yug Nirman Yojna) will soon appear on the horizon of human consciousness.
8. Gayatri Mantra consists of 24 letters of Devnagri script. Its last word prachodayat appears to be the most remarkable in its meaning and impact. It means "Inspire us to take the righteous path". It is a prayer to God Savita, to divine mother Gayatri to illumine our intellect to follow the path of Light. This is what the radiance of Savita, the power of Gayatri bestows divine enlightenment. The moral anarchy, corruption and perversities of today are the outcome of the perverted collective human psyche. Sadhana of Gayatri Mahashakti activates within us the divine forces that would destroy all the demoniac powers and lead us into the golden Age of Truth.
9. Initiated by Sadguru, through Gayatri Sadhana one can attain enlightenment. Gayatri Mantra is also the Guru Mantra and Scriptures describe Gayatri Mantra as the Eternal Word. Proper initiation into Gayatri Sadhana under noble guidance of Sadguru is essential for divine accomplishments. Gayatri and Guru is essentially an inseparable pair representing the pre-eminent Eternal power of creation and Supreme Creator the combined spiritual inspiration and guidance - which purify the physical and subtle bodies of the Sadhak. Therefore protection and guidance of a Siddha Guru is essential for success in Gayatri Sadhana. Siddha Guru is one who has accomplished the feats of the great Vedic sages Vashishta and Vishwamitra. The physical presence of Sadguru is immaterial. Guru can guide from subtle and causal realms and elevate the consciousness of Sadhak towards the illumined realms of intuition and beyond. In Gayatri Teerth, Shantikunj, disciples are initiated into Gayatri Sadhana in the sublime presence of its patron - founders Sadguru Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharyaji and Mata Bhagwati Devi. Millions of elevated souls bear testimony to the miraculous effects of the Tap Sadhana of the Yug Rishi Couple.
10. The literal meaning of Gayatri Mantra is "We adore the Primordial Life-giving, Evil-destroying, Omnipresent Light of God embodied in our souls. May that Divine Radiance inspire our intellect to tread the righteous path". The occult vibrations generated by Gayatri Mantra Jap transmute the personality and lead the Gayatri Sadhak out of the darkness of ignorance into the Light of Supreme Knowledge. The deity of Gayatri is Savita the visible form of which is the rising Sun. Ardent prayers are offered to Savita Devata so that His life force may empower and illuminate our souls. "Suvati Prerayati Karma Vilokam iti Suryah" the divine entity that is perpetually engaged in altruistic Karma and inspires every one to become Karmayogi is called Surya. Gayatri Jap focused in meditation on the rising Sun is the key to paranormal attainments. According to Rishi Vishwamitra "Gayatri Sarvakamadhuka" "Gayatri fulfils all the desires". Therefore, all are invited to take up Gayatri Sadhana in right earnest to be able to accomplish the Supreme aim of life.
2. The first part of Tripada Gayatri guides us to Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti means devotion to the "Ishta", the divine ideal manifestation of God. Sincere devotion of Gayatri Mahashakti bestows divine intelligence, which leads to enormous talents and supramental attainments. Bhakti is practiced by Upasana. Upasana of God means sitting near an indwelling divinity. It naturally induces divine virtues within us. Anything kept near fire gets warm. If our devotion to Mahashakti Gayatri is true, at least a fraction of Her infinite universe of divine qualities would be inculcated in our inner self.
The immediate sign of this would be the liberation of our mind from all tensions, worries, stress, jealously and other vices and transmutation of our thoughts and sentiments. Upasana of Gayatri is practiced with meditation upon the soothing, bright glow of the rising Sun and associated emotional engrossment in the feeling of absorbing the divine radiance of God Savita (the sublime source of the subtle body of the Sun) into our being. A dirty drain also becomes pure and sacred by immersing in the holy Ganges. We also can become sinless and full of vibrant spiritual energy and pure joy.
The purifying brilliance (tejas) of Savita can sparkle in our beings and transform all darkness (ignorance) within us into effulgent light (Supreme knowledge). This is what is the gist of Gayatri Upasana. Millions of parijans of the Gayatri Pariwar have devoted themselves in this Upasana of Adishakti Bhagvati Gayatri.
3. The second component of Tripada Gayatri teaches us to awaken an ardent aspiration for spiritual seeking within us. The second segment of the Gayatri Mantra "Tatsaviturvarenyam, Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi" enfolds astonishing implications in it. Once our faith in God and the feeling of devotion has been deepened and firmly rooted within by sadhana-upasana in the first phase, there would be natural enlightenment of our inner-selves, emergence of the enlightened intelligence within us. This is what is prayed for here in the second phase "May the divine radiance of God Savita, which is the destroyer of all sins and ignorance, the tejas which embodies divine light, illuminate our being". God is regarded as an absolute ensemble of all virtues, preeminence, and righteousness. In this component of the Mahamantra it is prayed that the grace of God may awaken noble qualities in us. As the blotting paper absorbs water or ink completely, we should also learn to assimilate the divine qualities, the grace of Gayatri, the pre-eminence of Savita in our personalities. We should unite with divinity and become "tatsam" same as That. This is what spirituality is all about. What goes on in the name of religion or spiritual practices today is only lifeless ritualism. The essence of religion is to cultivate virtuous qualities, the characteristics of divinity in our lives, in our conduct, in our deeds.
4. Gayatri Mahamantra has three components. The first one takes us to Bhakti Yoga. The second teaches us Gyan Yoga. It guides us towards Sadhana. Sadhana means self-refinement, self-transformation through self-restraint and self-discipline. Inadvertently, in our ignorance, we continue accumulating a medley of evil and junk thoughts and animal urges. We must have conscious control over the flow of our thoughts. Once we practice this, our mind begins to concentrate on the focus of our meditation, our Ishtadev - be that Lord Ganesh, Yogeshwar Krishna, Shri Ram, Mahakaal Shiva or any other symbol of God. The second segment of the Gayatri Mantra inspires us to discipline and refine our thoughts. One, who has mastered the thinking process and attained the ability of positive, constructive, enlightened thinking has indeed perfected the art of living a fulfilling and purposeful life. Control over thoughts makes it easy to master our speech and all other sense organs and enables us to make constructive use of our time and resources. These four disciplines of thought, speech, time and resources are the key to all success in the material as well as spiritual domains of life. This is what is true Yoga. We as devotees of Gayatri should become true Sadhaks and achieve the supreme aim of human life.
5. We should well understand that focused Sadhana is the only certain means of "siddhi" supernormal attainments. If anyone has achieved anything worthwhile in this world, it has been accomplished through unflinching hard work and sincere endeavors tapa, coupled with mental discipline. These two are necessary for success in Sadhana. If Sadhana is practiced with sincerity and unflinching faith, one attains everything worthwhile for which he or she aspires. Be it material success, prosperity or spiritual upliftment; these "siddhis" are not showered indiscriminately. These are the end-results of corresponding Sadhana.
The Sadhana of Gayatri Mahashakti surely endows a devotee with majestic siddhis. Glorious success in the material and spiritual domains flow from the energy generated by this Sadhana in the inner recesses of our consciousness. It also bestows "Atma Gyan" the siddhi of ultimate self-realization, after which nothing remains to be known or attained. Gayatri Sadhana enables mental control and gradual awakening of the otherwise dormant powers of the higher and illumined ranges of the mind. It bestows the knowledge and potential of unifying individual consciousness with the cosmic and supra-cosmic realms.
6. The third component of Tripada Gayatri links us with the essence of "religiousness". Whatever be our faith or mode of devotion, understanding the truth of religion and hence following the righteous path this is what the third segment "Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayat" of the Gayatri Mantra exhorts us to aspire for. Dhiyah means intellect, Yah means That, Nah means our, prachodayat means inspire towards righteous path. It will not be an exaggeration to say that this gives the quintessence of all religions; and is the formula of the true universal religion of mankind. True religiousness indeed transforms selfishness into unbounded selflessness.
This is what is prayed for in the third segment of this Mahamantra "May the divine radiance of Lord Savita inspire and lead us towards the illumined path of righteousness". We should never think of any evil; never think of harming or hurting anyone in any way. Global welfare and bright future for all is what we should work towards and pray for. It is indeed this component of the Gayatri Mantra, which makes it a Mahamantra, the essence of the Vedic Dharma. In todays world of religious bigotry leading to communal conflicts of the worst kind, every human being should understand and mindfully live a meaningful and genuine religious life. May the inspirations of the third segment of the Gayatri Mahamantra awaken and enlighten the whole human race with the true import of religion.
7. Aradhana means altruist action for the welfare of all sentient beings. Gayatri Mahamantra is referred to as "Tripada" having three segments, three parts. It inspires divine devotion, spiritual seeking and religiousness. It illuminates our intellect and exhorts us towards the righteous path and teaches us to live an altruist life of selfless sharing and caring. We are born as human beings to nurture, guard and glorify this marvelous creation of God, Mother Earth and its children. This world is like a garden planted by God. Human greed and perversity have pushed this grand creation, the entire earth to edge of extinction; the very existence of life on Earth is in danger. It is an alarming situation. We should hurt no life form in any way. We should try our level best to nurture, to protect and beautify this magnificent creation of the Almighty. Eradication of selfishness, ignorance, infirmity, backwardness, etc should be our prime goal. Literacy, education, awakening and uplifting of the masses are the avenues through which we can practically express our gratitude toward the society, the nation, and the world at large. This is what is the call of the day. Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya, the seer-sage of this era has taught by example that self-enlightenment is the best service of the society. If each of us sincerely takes up the triple self-effort of upasana, sadhana and aradhana and thus become more and more selfless, altruistic and enlightened, it is bound to have its ripple effect and the dawn of the new Age of Truth, (a fulfillment of his Yug Nirman Yojna) will soon appear on the horizon of human consciousness.
8. Gayatri Mantra consists of 24 letters of Devnagri script. Its last word prachodayat appears to be the most remarkable in its meaning and impact. It means "Inspire us to take the righteous path". It is a prayer to God Savita, to divine mother Gayatri to illumine our intellect to follow the path of Light. This is what the radiance of Savita, the power of Gayatri bestows divine enlightenment. The moral anarchy, corruption and perversities of today are the outcome of the perverted collective human psyche. Sadhana of Gayatri Mahashakti activates within us the divine forces that would destroy all the demoniac powers and lead us into the golden Age of Truth.
9. Initiated by Sadguru, through Gayatri Sadhana one can attain enlightenment. Gayatri Mantra is also the Guru Mantra and Scriptures describe Gayatri Mantra as the Eternal Word. Proper initiation into Gayatri Sadhana under noble guidance of Sadguru is essential for divine accomplishments. Gayatri and Guru is essentially an inseparable pair representing the pre-eminent Eternal power of creation and Supreme Creator the combined spiritual inspiration and guidance - which purify the physical and subtle bodies of the Sadhak. Therefore protection and guidance of a Siddha Guru is essential for success in Gayatri Sadhana. Siddha Guru is one who has accomplished the feats of the great Vedic sages Vashishta and Vishwamitra. The physical presence of Sadguru is immaterial. Guru can guide from subtle and causal realms and elevate the consciousness of Sadhak towards the illumined realms of intuition and beyond. In Gayatri Teerth, Shantikunj, disciples are initiated into Gayatri Sadhana in the sublime presence of its patron - founders Sadguru Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharyaji and Mata Bhagwati Devi. Millions of elevated souls bear testimony to the miraculous effects of the Tap Sadhana of the Yug Rishi Couple.
10. The literal meaning of Gayatri Mantra is "We adore the Primordial Life-giving, Evil-destroying, Omnipresent Light of God embodied in our souls. May that Divine Radiance inspire our intellect to tread the righteous path". The occult vibrations generated by Gayatri Mantra Jap transmute the personality and lead the Gayatri Sadhak out of the darkness of ignorance into the Light of Supreme Knowledge. The deity of Gayatri is Savita the visible form of which is the rising Sun. Ardent prayers are offered to Savita Devata so that His life force may empower and illuminate our souls. "Suvati Prerayati Karma Vilokam iti Suryah" the divine entity that is perpetually engaged in altruistic Karma and inspires every one to become Karmayogi is called Surya. Gayatri Jap focused in meditation on the rising Sun is the key to paranormal attainments. According to Rishi Vishwamitra "Gayatri Sarvakamadhuka" "Gayatri fulfils all the desires". Therefore, all are invited to take up Gayatri Sadhana in right earnest to be able to accomplish the Supreme aim of life.
