Gayatri Mantra: The Sacred Rhythm

I recently taught a very special 1-day teleclass on the Gayatri Mantra. The Gayatri mantra is a powerful tool for helping us come into greater contact with our Soul, with the essence that we are. My work with mantra and specifically the Gayatri mantra over the last 28 years has really been a dialog of the Soul, and I often talk about how in Luminous Soul we learn how to come into connection with our Soul, and then live from that perspective on a daily basis.

The Gayatri mantra is considered the most sacred mantra in all of India, second only to the healing sound OM. OM is the primordial sound of your own Soul.

The actual name of the Gayatri is Savitri Gayatri Mantra and derives from the Rg Veda, verse 3.62.10. The Rg Veda is the oldest form of Sanskrit that we have access to today and the Savitri Gayatri is found in this ancient text. Veda comes from the root Vid-to know and means science. Rk means pulsation. When the ‘K’ in Rk meets with the ‘V’ in Veda it changes to a ‘G,’ therefore Rk Veda becomes Rg Veda. The Rg Veda reveals the science of pulsation and vibration, which is what we do in Sanskrit, we study vibration through mantras.

What’s the big deal about vibration? The big deal about vibration is that it is always new. Your essence is in vibration and pulsation. When you get your self into what we call a ‘vibrational experience’ you start to feel your self in a whole different way than you normally do. We all tend to move about in the world as if we are the body and the mind and nothing more. The various yogic systems each offer tools to support the student in gaining access to the rishi vision, which leads to clarity and understanding. Feeling your self as vibration is one of the tools of the sound yogis.

In ancient times, rishis found that when we direct energy inward vibrating the vocal chords in particular ways it has an effect both inside and outside. One of the pillars of the Luminous Soul Method is to study prana, energy. By chanting and meditating you begin to direct energy up. When you direct energy up your attention also moves upward and that upward movement of your focus is the beginning of awareness.

The Savitri Gayatri Mantra was realized within the context of the Rg Veda, which is the science of pulsation, knowledge and light. Therefore the Savitri Gayatri is a reflection of that light essence. After chanting the Savitri Gayatri, we feel lighter and start to entrain with the vibration of light.

Savitri Gayatri Mantra

OM
bhur bhuvah svah
tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yo nah pracodayat

***
Earth Atmosphere Heaven
We meditate on the sacred light of the luminous source.
May that guide our intentions.

Savitri Gayatri starts in the second line. The first line; bhur bhuvah svah means earth atmosphere, heaven, and these are called Vyahriti. Vyahriti means a sacred utterance. By saying bhur bhuvah svah you are preparing the way for this mantra to be received, this sacred configuration to enter your life.

The earth which is the physical plane, the atmosphere which is the inter-space, and the heavens which is a higher aspect of your self; may all layers of you pay attention. May this verse be received on all these different levels.

Then the Savitri Gayatri begins…

© 2014 Luminous Soul/Sanskrit Studies & Manorama

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