Aum bhur-bhuvah-swah tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dheemahi dhiyo yo nah Prachodayat.
Gayatri is in fact the name applied to one of the most well known Vedic hymn consisting of twenty-four syllables. This hymn is addressed to god Surya (sun) as the supreme generative force. Being translated this hymn means "We meditate on that glorious light of the divine Surya (Sun), may he, the lord of light, illuminate our minds". It is ordained that repeating this hymn again and again leads to salvation.
One who desires to attain heaven should recite it a thousand times each day. A man of the upper caste, who daily repeats the Gayatri hymn 3000 times for one month, shall be freed from guilt, however great.
Gayatri later came to be personified as a goddess. She is shown having five heads and is usually seated within a lotus. She is another consort of Brahma.
According to the myth one day Saraswati was late to arrive at the time when Brahma was to perform his sacrifices to gods. Brahma became very angry because his consort's presence was indispensable to complete the ceremonies.
Brahma asked the priest to fetch him any woman and wed him to her at the spot. Just in the neighborhood was found a very lovely shepherdess. In reality she was no other person than this Vedic hymn of Gayatri incarnated in the shape of that beautiful girl. Brahma immediately married that girl and kept her as his other wife together with Saraswati.
Brahma asked the priest to fetch him any woman and wed him to her at the spot. Just in the neighborhood was found a very lovely shepherdess. In reality she was no other person than this Vedic hymn of Gayatri incarnated in the shape of that beautiful girl. Brahma immediately married that girl and kept her as his other wife together with Saraswati.The five heads of Gayatri represent the four Vedas of ancient Aryans and the remaining one represents the Almighty Lord himself. In her ten hands she holds all the symbols of Lord Vishnu including mace, lotus, axe, conch, sudarshan, lotus, etc. One of the sacred texts explicitly reads, 'The Gayatri is Brahma, the Gayatri is Vishnu, the Gayatri is Shiva, the Gayatri is Vedas".
All sects of Hindus accept the importance of this hymn. Even the Arya Samajists, who do not believe in the worship of images and idols, proclaim this hymn as the most sacred one and in every prayer of theirs repeat the holy mantra to achieve success as well as salvation.
The Gayatri Mantra
The vedic form of the famous Gayatri mantra:
Aum bhur-bhuvah-swah tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dheemahi dhiyo yo nah Prachodayat.
bhargo devasya dheemahi dhiyo yo nah Prachodayat.
Summary of the Mantra:
May we meditate on the Glory of the Lord, the Remover of pains and sorrows, the Bestower of happiness, Who has created the universe, and Who is the embodiment of knowledge and light. May the Lord, enlighten our intellect in the right direction by destroying all our sins and ignorance.
Meaning of each letter in mantra:
---------------------------------OM = Almighty God
BHOOR = Embodiment of vital or spiritual energy
BHUVAHA = Destroyer of suffering
SWAHA = Embodiment of happiness
TAT = That (indicating God)
SAVITUR = Bright, luminous, like and sun
VARENIYAM = Supreme, best
BARGO = Destroyer of sins
DEVASYA = Divine
DHEEMAHI = May receive
DHIYO = Intellect
YO = Who
NAHA = Our
PRACHODAYAT = May inspire
Taken from:
http://www.onlinepuja.org/gods/goddess_gyantri.php
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