Value Of Gayatri Mantra
What is a Gayatri mantra, It is a jewel among the treasures that is handed down from generation to generation. To be initiated into this sacred mantra is a great privilege. The sound or even the thought of the Gayatri’s verse sets grace in action. Those who are called by her are initiated into her power by the Master.
The Gayatri Mantra is first recorded in the Rig Veda (iii, 62, 10) which was written in Sanskrit about 2500 to 3500 years ago, and by some reports, the mantra may have been chanted for many generations before that. Gayatri Mantra is a highly revered mantra in Hinduism, second only to the mantra Om. Since all the other three Vedas contain much material rearranged from the Rig Veda, the Gayatri mantra is found in all the four Vedas. The deva invoked in this mantra is Savitr, and hence the mantra is also called Savitri.
Gayatri Devi the Goddess:
Originally the personification of the mantra, the goddess Gāyatrī is considered the veda mata, the mother of all Vedas and the consort of the God Brahma and also the personification of the all-pervading Parabrahman, the ultimate unchanging reality that lies behind all phenomena. Gayatri Veda Mata is seen by many Hindus to be not just a Goddess, but a portrayal of Brahman himself, in the feminine form. Essentially, the Goddess is seen to combine all the phenomenal attributes of Brahman, including Past, Present and Future as well as the three realms of existence. Goddess Gāyatrī is also worshiped as the Hindu Trimurti combined as one. In Hinduism, there is only one creation who can withstand the brilliance of Aditya and that is Gāyatrī. Some also consider her to be the mother of all Gods and the culmination of Lakshmi, Parvati and Sarasvati.
Gāyatrī is typically portrayed as seated on a red lotus, signifying wealth. She appears in either of these forms:
- Having five heads with the ten eyes looking in the eight directions plus the earth and sky, and ten arms holding all the weapons of Vishnu, symbolizing all her reincarnations.
- Accompanied by a white swan, holding a book to portray knowledge in one hand and a cure in the other, as the goddess of Education.
The Mantra:
“OM Bhur-Bhuvah-Svah.
Tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasva dhimahi.
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat”
Gayatri Mantra’, the ultimate Vedic prayer to awaken the intellectual powers of a person, first found its reference in the ‘Vedas’ believed to be the storehouse of all Divine Knowledge and the most ancient scriptures known to mankind. The universal prayer is addressed to the Sun God, addressed as ‘Savitha’ as the Life-Giver on Earth. Goddess Gayatri or Annapurna is believed to be the Mother-God that animates all Life. Considered to be the essence of the Vedas, Gayatri Mantra fosters and hones the knowledge-yielding faculty of a person. The four ‘mahavakyas’ or ultimate sentences of Gayatri Mantra, is a sacred mantra that demonstrates the unity that underlies multiplicity and manifoldness in creation.
The essence of the Mantra can be stated as follows – ‘Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life, Remover of pain and sorrow, The Bestower of happiness, Oh! Creator of the Universe, May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light, May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.’
The individual words and characters of the Mantra have a meaning of their own than can be defined as follows:
Om: The primeval sound that represents Brahma,
Bhur: The physical world that embodies the vital spiritual energy or ‘Pran’,
Bhuvah: The mental world and destroyer of all sufferings,
Swaha: The celestial and spiritual world that embodies appiness,
Tat: That or God, referring to transcendental Paramatma (Ultimate Spirit),
Savithur: The Bright Sun or the Creator and Preserver of World,
Varenyam: Best or most adorable,
Bhargo: Destroyer of all sins,
Devasya: Divine Deity or Supreme Lord,
Dheemahi: We meditate upon and take in,
Dhiyo: The Intellect,
Yo: The Light,
Nah: Our,
Prachodayath: Inspire or Enlighten.
Thus, the Gayatri Mantra can be translated as follows:
“We meditate on the glory of the Creator;
Who has created the Universe;
Who is worthy of Worship;
Who is the embodiment of Knowledge and Light;
Who is the remover of all Sin and Ignorance;
May He enlighten our Intellect.”
Thus, we can say that Gayatri Mantra basically consists of three parts:
1. Praise,
2. Meditation, and
3. Prayer.
While chanting the mantra, we first praise the God or the Divine Power, meditate upon it in all reverence and then finally pray or make an appeal to the God awaken and strengthen the intellectual powers of a person. The Mantra is said to be the embodiment of all deities and is certainly not associated with any particular religion or sect, time, place or person. While Om, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Swaha, Thath, Savithur, Varenyam, Bhargo and Devasya are said to be its nine colors or praise of the Divine, Dheemahi is related to meditation and Dhiyo, Yo, Nah and Prachodayaath are said to be the parts of the prayer aspects of the mantra.
‘Gayatri’ is not actually the Goddess, which sounds surprising but she is held in equal reverence because she is the mother of the Vedas or Divine Knowledge. The other two forms of Gayatri are Savitri and Saraswathi and these three are said to be present in everyone, in which – Gayatri is said to be the one to control the senses of a person, Savitri controls the Prana or the Life Force of a person and Saraswathi controls Speech of a person. Thus, the three together represent the purity in thought, word, and deed. In the same order, Gayatri is said to enhance one’s intelligence and intuition by recitation of the mantra, Savitri is said to protect the life forces and Saraswati is said to guard one’s speech.
The deity Gayatri is said to be ‘Panchamukhi’ (having five faces). These five faces are actually the five senses guarded by her or alternatively, five ‘pranas’ of life forces protected by her as Savitri. The concept of Savitri being the deity to control life forces stems from the legend that Savitri was the devoted wife who was so pure and loved her husband so much that she succeeded in bringing her husband back to life by forcing Yama, the God of Death, to return his ‘Prana’ or Life Force. It is said that Gayatri Mantra acts as a third eye of a person that opens up a whole new world of spiritual realization and attaining Brahma.
It is said to have power to protect one from any possible harm. Even the science-minded Westerners have found that the correct recitation of Gayatri Mantra in the right accent as described in the Vedas produce certain vibrations that make the surrounding atmosphere visibly illumined, which is described as the ‘Brahmaprakasha’ or Effulgence of the Divine by more staunch believers. As prescribed by the Vedas, Gayatri mantra must be chanted at least three times a day during morning while taking bath, noon before eating lunch and evening at the time of sunset to cancel out all the sins that one may have done all through the day unknowingly. However, it is best to recite Gayatri period during the ‘Satwik’ or ‘pure and serene’ period during the day from 4 am to 8 am and 4 pm to 8 pm. The Gayatri Mantra should be recited while meditating upon the fact that everything is within oneself and thus, we should keep and develop confidence in the Self.
The Use of Mantra:
Sri Aurobindo, in Hymns to the Mystic Fire, wrote:
“We have to invoke the gods by the inner sacrifice, and by the word call them unto us – that is the specific power of the Mantra, – to offer to them the gifts of the sacrifice and by that giving secure their gifts, so that by this process we may build the way of our ascent to the goal… We give what we are and what we have in order that the riches of the Divine Truth and Light may descend into our life.”
In his book Sâdhanâ, Srî Swâmi Shivânanda wrote:
“Of all the mantras, the supreme and the most potent power of powers is the great, glorious Gâyatrî Mantra.
It is the support of every seeker after Truth who believes in its efficacy, power and glory, be he of any caste, creed, clime or sect. It is only one’s faith and purity of heart that really count. Indeed, Gâyatrî is an impregnable spiritual armor, a veritable fortress, that guards and protects its votary, that transforms him into the divine, and blesses him with the brilliant light of the highest spiritual illumination.
… It is universally applicable, for it is nothing but an earnest prayer for Light, addressed to the Supreme Almighty Spirit.
… This single mantra, repeated sincerely and with clear conscience, brings the supreme good.”
GANESH KAVACHAM REMIX
GANESH STUTI
Linga Puranam - The Birth of Nandi !!
Linga Puranam describes the birth of Lord Nandi. There was a sage named Shilada who underwent severe penance to have a boon - A child with immortality. Lord Indra pleased of the austerities of Shilada, appeared in front of him to offer a boon. After hearing the request of Shilada and his desire to have an immortal child, Lord Indra suggested him to pray to Lord Shiva who could provide the boon, nobody else could provide such a boon.
Sage Shilada continued his penance for thousand years. He was totally immovable for many years, so the termites settled on his body and slowly started to build up their nest.Finally, his whole body was covered up by them. The insects started to eat his flesh and imbibed his blood. At last, only bones remained. Lord Shiva appeared in front of him and provided the boon for an immortal child. Lord Shiva proclaimed that He himself will be born as his child. Moreover, Lord Shiva provided Sage Shilada his old form with a single touch.
Sage Shilada performed Yagna and a child appeared from the sacrificial fire. The child had three eyes and four arms and he was holding a Trident and a Mace in both hands. His body was claded in armour made out of diamonds. The celestial dancers and singers performed on this auspicious occasion and the deities showered flowers on the child. The boy was named 'Nandi' - who brings joy.
Shilada brought the child home, immediately the boy lost his divine appearance to an ordinary child. The child completely forgot all about his birth. Sage Shilada was worried about the sudden change. He devoted his time for the bringing up the child, his education etc..By the age of seven the boy was well versed in Veda and all sacred texts.
One day the two deities - Mitra and Varuna visited Sage Shilada. At the first sight of the boy, they commented : Though the boy had all auspicious signs, he would have a very short life. The boy woulld not live after the age of eight. Sage Shilada was mortified at this remark. Nandi could not bear his father's sorrow, he began to pray to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva appeared before him and blessed him. Lord Shiva adorned the boy with a necklace around his neck which he was wearing, and made him immortal. Lord Shiva blessed the child and declared that he would be worshipped along with Him . Immediately the boy got all the divine powers, three eyes and ten hands. Soon He was adopted as the child of Goddess Parvati.
Lord Shiva's companions are known as 'Ganas'. Lord Ganeshwara is the Leader of his army and Nandi is also treated as one amongst them.
Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Hara Sankara !!
Om Tryambakam - The LIfe-Giving Prayer
A TALE OF THREE CITIES
Sivaayanamaha.
Today marks an auspicious day ofSaint Ramalinga Adigal and also a very great day
of Lord Murugar.All Muruga devotees throng Arupadaiveedu on foot itself and
offer pooja to Lord Muruga.
The day is in addition to mark Thirunavukkarasa Nayanmaars sister THILAKAVATHY
AMMAIYAARs day also,who's life narrated A real sisters affection and brothers
welfare taken in to her account.I wished to put her story and it ;lead me to
present the following now.
Please go through and Be Blessed by the Almighty.
Anbudan
Sivayanamaha
A Tale of Three Cities, Thiruvadigai
In this life of ours we so often get entangled in the three impurities of
bondage, namely, Ego, Karma and Maya. Once caught in the web, we hardly get to
come out or even worse, realise that we are caught in the illusion at all. This
is when the divine seeks to help us out of the trouble that we have put
ourselves into. To destroy these three impurities requires a strong willed
belief that we are indeed nothing more than puppets in the cosmic act of
puppetry. It is this realisation along with the divine grace which can burn
these illusions and grant eternal bliss to us.
Taaraka was a great asura king. He was a devout Shiva bhaktha and regularly
performed Shiva pooja. However, the bad blood that came along the long lineage
of Asuras was there in him too. He wanted power and invincibility. Through a
series of severe penance he won the grace of Shiva. When Shiva appeared before
him to grant his boon Taaraka very cleverly demanded that he could be killed
only by a son of Shiva and no one else. Shiva too granted this boon and
disappeared. Since Shiva had no sons at that time and Sati had immolated
herself at Daksha’s yagna, Taarakasura was overjoyed that he had tricked the
lord to grant him immortality. The story of Kumara who was born to Shiva and
Parvathi, to kill Taarakasura is what Skandhapurana details about.
Now the asura Taaraka had three sons, Vidhyunmaali, Taarakaksha and
Kamalaaksha. They too were staunch devotees of the lord. But like their father
their love for power and immortal life saw them too going into severe tapas
towards Brahma. For thousands of years they meditated on one leg, inhaling only
air. Brahma, the easiest to please of the Trimurthis rushed down to them and
agreed to grant their boons.
“Sons of Tara, what is it that you seek? Ask and it shall be given.”, pronounced
Brahma.
The asuras asked in unison, “We seek immortality. Death should never befall us”.
“That, I am afraid is not in my power. Ask for something else.”
“Then, Oh mighty creator”, began the asuras, “Grant us two boons. The first
being that no one in this creation of yours should be stronger than us.”
“That is fine.”, granted Brahma.
“And grant us three forts, one made out of gold, one of silver and one of iron.
These three forts should be able to fly and go to anyplace that we desire. The
forts will be separate from one another and will come together only very
rarely. Only a single arrow which can bring all the three forts together and
burn them will result in our destruction. This is our wish.”
Brahma, though startled at this strange request, granted the wish and
disappeared.
Maya, the danava architect was commanded by Brahma to build the three cities.
Maya built three beautiful cities, filled with palaces and divine space
chariots. The golden fort was built in the heavens and was occupied by
Taarakaksha. The silver one was built in the skies and went to Kamalaaksha. The
iron fort was built on earth and was inhabited by Vidhyunmaali. The forts
floated around the worlds causing no hindrance to anyone at all.
The complaint of the saints
The devas however did not like this at all. They were jealous and afraid of the
Tripuras (three cities). They ran and complained to Brahma, who just looked at
them meekly. It was because of his very boon that the three cities existed at
all. Shiva too turned his face away stating that the asuras had not performed
anything wrong and hence could not be punished for no reason at all. The devas
finally resorted to Vishnu and begged him to show them a way out.
Vishnu, the preserver, smirked lightly. “If they have not yet performed any
sins, don't we just have to make them do some?”, he suggested coyly.
The devas stared back in confusion. Vishnu smiled again and with his powers he
created a man. The man had a shaven haed and wore faded clothes. In his hands
he carried a water pot. The man approached his creator, with a piece of cloth
covering his mouth and asked, “Master, what are my orders?”
“You, who have been created by me will learn a new religion and preach the
same. I will be your guru and teach you the religion. You will believe that
there is not swarga and no naraka. The religion will strongly deny the fact
that the rewards and punishments for your acts will be meted out after death.
The very religion will be against the vedas and all its messages. You will then
go and preach this religion to the Tripuras to take them away from the path of
good deed. That will give us an excuse enough.”
Vishnu himself then taught the man and four of his disciples the intricacies of
the new formed religion. They then resorted to forests near the Tripuras and
started teaching the religion. Since Vishnu himself had trained them, their act
was pretty convincing. Even Narada got confused and adapted the new religion.
In fact, Narada was the one who carried the news of this new religion to the
court of Vidhyunmaali. Hearing the greatness of the religion from Narada
himself, Vidhyunmaali took lessons from the teachers and converted to the
religion. His two brothers soon followed suite.
As they started practicing the tenets of the new religion, they forgot the
message of the vedas. They acted rashly and started waging wars against the
devas. They stopped worshipping the sacred linga, the salagrama and other
symbols of Hinduism. Day by day their atrocities increased.
Knowing that the time was ripe, Vishnu and Brahma led a delegation of devas to
Kailasha to petition for the destruction of the Tripuras. “Mahashiva”, they
prayed, “the deeds of the Tripuras have gone beyond the limit of tolerance.
They no longer tread the path of righteousness. It is high time they are
destroyed.”
Tripura Tandavam
The temple town of Thiruvadigai near Banrutti in Cuddalore district celebrates
this destruction of the Tripuras by Shiva. The temple is presided by
Veeratteswarar and is another of the Ashta Veeratta Sthalas. The goddess goes
by the name of Tripurasundari, who had accompanied Shiva on the destruction of
the Tripuras. Swami is also known as Tripuraari, Tripuranthaka Moorthi and so
on. It is a paadal pettra sthalam and has been graced by the presence of Appar
and his sister Thilagavathi Ammaiyar.
It was here that Appar got his name Thirunavukkarasar. Appar was born in a
village named thiruvamoor near Thiruvadigai. He was a staunch follower of
Jainism, while his sister remained a Shaiva and worshipped Veeratteswarar
continuously. Once Appar suffered from severe stomach ache. No amount of
mantras from the Jain Monks could alleviate the pain. The suffering on the
other hand increased with time. Appar was taken to his sister in Thiruvadigai
and he begged her to cure him.Thilagavathi Ammayaarran into the sanctum and
taking some holy ash rubbed it onto Appars stomach and asked him to ingest
some. The moment the vibhuti entered his mouth, the ache vanished leaving
absolutely no trace at all. Appar immediately realised the greatness of the
temple and became a Shaiva at once. He sang his very first pathigam on the Lord
of Thiruvadigai and thus was born Thevaram, the sacred Shaivite hymn. Extremely
happy with his song Shiva gave him the title Navukkarasar (King of tongues).
Appar stayed at Thiruvadigai and with his sister performed the
Uzhavaarathondu or the cleanup of the temple. To this day the temple remains
sparklingly clean.
The Story of Thirunavukkarasar
The temple also sports the soolatheertham. It is believed that people who drink
water from the theertham will be cured of ulcers, stomach aches and any
gastrointestinal disease. The temple is itself built like a chariot to
commemorate the chariot that Shiva had ridden on for the Tripura Samharam. The
practice of having car festivals at temples also originated at this place. It
is also believed that Raja Raja Chola modeled the famous Brihadeeswara temple
at Thanjavur after this temple. The shadow of the gopuram at Thiruvadigai does
not fall on the ground at any point of time.
Thiruvadigai is the only veeratta sthala to be graced by the Thevara moovar of
Appar, Sundarar and ThirugnanaSambandha r. The sanctum has a beautiful
shivalinga. Behind the linga is a stucco work depicting the marriage of Swami
and Ambal. Shiva gave darshan to Appar in his Thirumana Kolam (Married form) at
Thiruvadigai and hence a lot of marriages are solemnised in the temple
premises. The sthala by itself happens to be a thirumana kshetra like Madurai,
where the goddess is located to the right of Parameshwara.
The Ratha like Sanctum
A popular belief exists that the lord of the place delivers his devotees from
Ego, Karma and Maya, the three impurities of mortal beings. People who come to
the temple with Aanava (the ‘I’ factor) do not get to return again. Such is the
power of the temple. Temple protocol demands that the devotees remain with
their heads bowed to the lord. While applying the sacred ash, one has to bend
his head and do so to represent the fact that we are submitting to him
full-heartedly.
There are two main festivals in the temple. The appar thiruvizha takes place in
the month of Chithira and lasts for 10 days. It celebrates the curing of
Appar’s disease and the Darshan given by Maheshwara to him. The second one
takes place in Vaikasi and is the brahmotsavam of the temple, when the Tripura
Samhara is acted out and grand scale poojas take place.Apart from these,
Karthika Somavaram, Thiruvadhirai and Pradhoshams also see a large gathering of
devotees.
Thiruvadigai is a place worth a visit by any human being. As was said earlier,
it is only with the destruction of the three impurities of the mind does divine
bliss come to us mortals. And what better place to seek for the same than where
the Lord had symbolically destroyed them himself.
Thiruvadigai is located very near to Cuddalore, Pondicherry and Banrutti and is
easily accessible by road and rail.
Preparations for Samharam
Maheshwara smiled and promised that he would destroy the Tripuras. He ordered
the devas to prepare for the war. Shiva then made the earth his chariot. The sun
and the moon became the wheels of the chariot. The devas then stationed
themselves in the various parts of the chariot. Shiva then took up the Meru
mountain as his bow and used Vasuki, the king of serpents as the bow string.
Vishnu himself became the fatal arrow and Agni became the tip of the arrow. With
Brahma driving the chariot and the four vedas as the horses, Shiva climbed into
the chariot. At once, the wheel hub broke. Shiva realised that he had forgotten
to invoke Ganapathi. He got down from the chariot, prayed to his son and then
got on again. With the speed of light the chariot took off into space.
The Tripuras flew everywhere, trying to block the progress of the chariot,
protecting themselves. Shiva finally put the arrow, which was Vishnu, to his bow
and in a split second shot it at the Tripuras. The three forts were merged into
one and set aflame by the cosmic arrow. The demons had been destroyed and
everyone rejoiced.
Tripuranthaka Moorthi
Another version tells that when everything was ready for the destruction of the
Tripuras, the devas prided themselves on the fact that they were going to help
the lord in bringing about the end of the Tripuras. The lord too played along
with them until the very last moment. When the Tripuras came together, Shiva
just smiled and with the smile the three cities were left burning. A smile alone
was sufficient to destroy the cities and the devas were humbled of their egos.
It is believed that the Rudraksha emerged from the eyes of Shiva (Rudra- Shiva,
Aksha-eye) during Tripurasamhara. Along with the destruction of the Tripuras,
Shiva had destroyed the garva of the devas too.
The lord however revived the three asuras and made them his ganas. The preachers
of the new religion were sent away to the deserts to live there until the
beginning of Kali, when they would start their teachings afresh. Shiva than
danced his Tripura Natyam, to celebrate the destruction of the Tripura and to
console Saraswathi who was anguished that Brahma had been a charioteer. Everyone
was finally happy and they worshipped Shiva for his great feat of
Tripurasamharam. The lord too blessed everyone for the good times to come.
