Gayatri mantra consists of 24 letters. Each letter in this mantra has a great potential force.

Philology (the science of language i.e., sound) was born of the 14 sounds. With these 14 sounds that vibrated and emanated when Lord Shiva, in his happier mood, played on his favourite 'damaru' (a percussion instrument). With these 14 sounds (the sutras) as the basis, Panini, the greatest grammarian, wrote his Astadhyayi (or Maha Vyakarana), the greatest and the most important compilation on Sanskrit grammar. Many scholars have commented on his work and such commentaries alone are enough to constitute a large library. Similarly, all literature in various forms is the outcome of the 24 letters of Gayatri mantra only. While the Gayatri mantra is the sutra or source, the compilations with their branches and sub-branches are its extensive commentaries. The 24 letters of Gayatri Mantra and significance of each. The following table gives the 24 letters of the Gayatri spell and its relation to the power. 1. 'tat' - tapini - fruitfulness 2 'sa' - saphalata - valor 3 'vi' - visshwa - perseverance 4 'tur' - tushti - welfare 5 'va' - varada - yoga 6 're' - revati - love 7 'ni' - sukshma - wealth 8 'yam' - jnana - lustre 9 'bhar' - bharga - protection 10 'go' - gomati - wisdom 11 'de' - devika - subjugation 12 'va' - varahi - allegiance 13 'sya' - simhani - determination 14 'dhi' - dhyana - life 15 'ma' - maryada - time 16 'hi' - sphutaa - penance 17 'dhi' - medha - forecast 18 'yo' - yogamaya - alertness 19 'yo' - yogini - production 20 'nah' - dhanin - protection 21 'pra' - prabhava - idealism 22 'cho' - ushma - adventure 23 'da' - drishya - discrimination 24 'at' - niranjana - service. The 24 powers of Gayatri mentioned above awaken certain qualities, and along with this awakening one starts getting success and prosperity i.e., siddhi. Many feel that these benefits are showered by some God or Goddess. But in reality the development of the subtle force is within themselves. If they are able to know the subtle force working in them, they will realize that such benefits do not accrue of their own accord and that all of them are the results of the interplay of spiritual forces in them. Gayatri sadhana [The term sadhana means spiritual exertion towards an intended goal. The goal of sadhana is to attain some level of spiritual realization, which can be either enlightenment, pure love of God (prema), liberation (moksha) from the cycle of birth and death (Samsara), or a particular goal such as the blessings of a deity as in the Bhakti traditions.] or upasana is not blind faith, but a scientific process whose development and progress are sure to yield the desired fruits. The authors of the science of mantra say that whatever sound comes out from the mouth is the outcome of the interaction of various organs such as the wind-pipe, the tongue, the teeth, the lips etc. The different organs or parts of the mouth are interconnected with the various parts of the body through tubular organs known as nadi. In those areas of the body wherever the nadis are (the six Chakras are related to the sushumna nadi) there are lots of ganglia (granthis), and the effect of vibrations of different parts of the mouth (place of sound organs) have a pressuring effect on these ganglia. If ones talk is defective, it means that some of the ganglia are not functioning properly or effectively. Our body contains many ganglia of different sizes, some are seen and some of which are not seen. The spiritualists know what power is contained in each of the ganglia. The various sounds produced through the organs of the mouth have their effect on these ganglia; they cause the ganglia to activate and discharge their stored power. The wordings of the mantras are arranged on the basis of their sounds and intonations. The Gayatri mantra contains 24 letters, and all these 24 letters have a direct relation with the 24 ganglia in the human body. Our body can be compared to a sitar (a stringed musical instrument) with 24 strings. When the Ganglia are activated they energize the power that yields the right kind of knowledge. The repetition, recitation of Gayatri mantra produces notes which mingle with similar sounds existing in Nature or Prakriti.

Gayatri Mantra (the mother of the vedas), the foremost mantra in hinduism and hindu beliefs, inspires wisdom. Its meaning is that "May the Almighty God illuminate our intellect to lead us along the righteous path". The mantra is also a prayer to the "giver of light and life" - the sun (savitur). The Mantra (short form): AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA, TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT 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. Meaning of the Gayatri Mantra Aum = Brahma ; bhoor = embodiment of vital spiritual energy(pran) ; bhuwah = destroyer of sufferings ; swaha = embodiment of happiness ; tat = that ; savitur = bright like sun ; varenyam = best choicest ; bhargo = destroyer of sins ; devasya = divine ; dheemahi = may imbibe ; dhiyo = intellect ; yo = who ; naha = our ; prachodayat = may inspire Origin, Benefits and Chanting of the Gayatri Mantra The Vedas are widely considered to be the source of all true knowledge, the word "Veda" itself meaning "Knowledge". Gayatri Devi also gave to mankind the "Gayatri Mantra", also known as the "Guru Mantra" or the "Savitri Mantra". It is one of the oldest mantras, and generally thought of as being amongst the highest and most powerful mantras of all. This mantra is therefore often referred to as "the Mother of the Vedas". It appears in Yajur Veda - Chapter 36, Mantra (Verse) 3. Rishis selected the words of the Gayatri Mantra and arranged them so that they not only convey meaning but also create specific power of righteous wisdom through their utterance. The ideal times for chanting the mantra are three times a day - at dawn, mid-day, and at dusk. These times are known as the three sandhyas - morning, mid-day and evening. The maximum benefit of chanting the mantra is said to be obtained by chanting it 108 times. However, one may chant it for 3, 9, or 18 times when pressed for time. The syllables of the mantra are said to positively affect all the chakras or energy centres in the human body. The long form or the complete Mantra: The complete form (or long form) of the Gayatri Mantra contains an invocation to the seven spheres, followed by the traditional 24-syllable mantra that is most commonly chanted. The final part of the mantra is an invocation to the Goddess of light to illuminate our path as we move towards higher consciousness. AUM bhUH, AUM bhuvaH, AUM svaH, AUM mahaH AUM janaH, AUM tapaH, AUM satyam AUM tatsaviturvarenyM bhargo devasya dhImahi dhIyo yo nH prachodayAt.h. AUM Apo jyotiH rasomRRitaM brahma bhUR bhuvaH svar AUM..... AUM, the primordial sound, resides in all elements of the universe. It permeates the earth (-bhUH), water (-bhuvaH), fire (-svaH), air (-mahaH), ether (-janaH), intelligence (-tapaH) and consciousness (-satyam). We pay homage to Gayatri, the one who shines like the sun (tat savitur), the one who destroys all our sins through her everlasting and

effulgent light. Dear Goddess Gayatri, please illuminate our path towards our higher consciousness and lead us to our true purpose in life. Please shine your light (-jyotiH) in our path so we may partake of the everlasting nectar (rasomRRitaM) of brahman while chanting the primordial sound, AUM! The Gayatri Mantra is traditionally given from the Guru Master to the disciple, while standing mid-stream. Look at the darkness. Visualize the sun rising. Offer water to the sun. The story goes that once the Devas, the Shining Ones wanted to learn the secrets of the Universe. Since learning about the Scientific aspect 'atoms' etc. did not quite work out, they went to the Lord. The Lord gave them the Rig Veda, The Yajur Veda and the Sama Veda to study. After a couple of eons of study, the Devas lost their patience and wanted to quit. The Lord urged them not to give up and decided to teach the essence of the 3 Vedas in 3 fragments: Essence of Rig Veda Tat Savitur Varenyam Essence of Yajur Veda Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi Essence of Sama Veda Dheeyo Yonah Prachodayaat The more the Devas practiced and contemplated upon the Gayatri, the more complexities were revealed to them. So they lost patience again and went to the Lord to make it simpler still. So the Lord gave them the essence of the 3 segments, in the 3 words: Bhur, Bhuvaha, Svah The Devas spent a a few cycles of Creation, probably a quadrillion human years pondering upon the 'maha vyahritis' ie 'Utterances of the Lord' but became impatient again and urged the Lord to make it simpler yet. So He Said "All right I'll make it simpler" And He taught them AUM The great western thinker, Arthur Koestler, had once said that the Gayatri Mantra has the power of a thousand atomic bombs! The longer version of the Gayatri Mantra is only used for breathing exercises: Pranayam. It is not normally used for recitation. The version for recitation is the short version. Many foreign books do not know that the longer version is not used for chanting so they only give that version. It is not common in India since it is only used with breathing exercises. The longer version does not predate the short version. All versions appear in the Rig Veda. If you plan to do the Gayatri Mantra I suggest the short version. Gayatri Mantra was discovered by Sage Viswamitra. It was the same sage who initiated Sri Rama into the mysteries of Sun worship through the mantra Aditya Hrudayam. The Rishi for Gayatri Mantra is Viswamitra himself.. The Gayatri Mantra enabled Sage Viswamitra to use rare weapons which bowed to his will when the Mantra was repeated with faith. Through the powers he attained in this way, Viswamitra was able to create a counterpart of this Cosmos. VISVAMITRA King Viswamitra once while hunting in Himalayan forests reached a hermitage of Vasistha. The kings troops were hungry and tired. Vasistha welcomed the king and requested Kamadhenu, his wish-cow, to feed the king and his men. The king was amazed to see that the wish-fulfilling cow provided all the food needed by him and his army. King thought that such a cow could meet the needs of his army and palace staff. He therefore asked Sage Vasistha to give the wish-cow to him. Inspite of all the commands of the king, Sage Vasistha refused to give the Kamadhenu, saying this cow-of-plenty could be given only to that person who had realized Brahman or Truth. The Kings ego was hurt and he flew into a rage. He ordered his troops to forcible take Kamadhenu along. At the behest of Sage Vasistha the wish-cow produced thousands of celestial armed bodies that drove away the kings men. Kings powerful arrows were stopped by the Sages staff ( brahma-danda). King realized that all his position, power, wealth, army, weapons were of no consequence in front of the yogic powers of a Brahmrishi. Viswamitra decided to become Brahmrishi himself, renounced his kingdom and went to jungles in Himalayas for deep meditation on Cosmic Self. He did severe penance, tapasya and meditation and obtained great yogic powers. Indra, the head of the celestials, got frightened, thinking that Viswamitra might attempt to occupy his throne by his powers, sent a beautiful celestial nymph named Menaka to lure him and break his

meditation. Viswamitra fell victim to passion and a female child names Shakuntala was born to them. Viswamitra soon realized that lust had consumed all his yogic powers. He renounced Menaka and the child and once more started deep meditation. Viswamitra attained now higher spiritual powers. Indira once again sent another celestial nymph named Rambha , who tried to entice Viswamitra. Vishwamitras meditation was broken. Being aware of his past mistake, he became very angry on Rambha, and he uttered a curse, which turned her into a rock. But alas, Viswamitra consumed all his yogic powers in a moment of anger. First lust and now anger made him loose all his yogic powers. Indefatigable, he went higher in Himalayas and started doing severe tapasya (penance). During that time another King, named Trishanku approached family guru Sage Vasistha to perform a great fire-sacrifice which could help him reach the heaven with his earthly body and consciousness which the Sage refused. The king was angry and approached Viswamitra,. Viswamitra, who wanted revenge, took this as an opportunity to display his yogic powers. Viswamitra performed the fire-sacrifice and sent King Trishuku in body to the celestial region of Indira. They pushed him back. While falling to earth Trishunku cried and prayed to Viswamitra to save him. Viswamitra stopped Trishunkus fall and created a new stellar system for him. Viswamitra consumed all his yogic powers for his ulterior gain. Once agian he felt dejected and decided not to move from his meditation. When Viswamitras tough penance became successful, the Lord Bramha appeared before him and told him the He was pleased with his penance and he was now a Maharishi. However, to become Brahmrishi, Viswamitra had to be blessed by Sage Vasistha. Saying this Brahma disappeared. Now crowned as Maharshi, Viswamitra was frustrated at the very thought of going to Sage Vasistha for getting his blessings. Thinking that if he killed Vasistha, he could become Brahmrishi, he sneaked near the hermitage of Sage Vasistha and carried a huge rock to hurl on Vasisthas head. While waiting for an opportune moment, he heard Arundhati, wife of Sage Vasistha saying to her husband that since Viswamitra was such a great man, he should be blessed to attain the status of Brahmarishi. Sage Vasistha replied that he would do so once Viswamitra comes to him. Hearing this conversation, Viswamitra felt ashamed and threw the rock away and rushed towards Sage Vasistha and fell prostrate at his feet. Sage Vasistha told to Viswamitra " You have shown to the world that the human spirit is invincible and accepts no defeat. You conquered lust, anger, greediness, attachment and arrogance one by one through your austerities and meditation. The last barrier was jealousy. Now you have conquered that enemy also. Hail Brahmrishi Vishvamita!" As Sage Vasistha touched the brow center of Vishvamitra, his third eye opened and he saw the seven rhythms with which the cosmos was created. The sacred Gayatri-mantra with its seven vpahrtis or rhythms was revealed to him at that time. The Mantra has all the three elements that figure in the adoration of God - Praise, Meditation and Prayer. the first nine words represent the attributes of the Divine. "Dheemahi" pertains to Meditation. "Dhi yo yonah Prachodayat" is the Prayer to God to "confer on us all powers and talents" or "Awaken my Discrmination my Lord and guide me". The purpose of Gayatri Mantra is to illumine the intellect, since every human being is gifted with Reasoning Faculty which has to be kept alert and guarded from evil ways so that one can continue spiritual practices without hindrances and with faith and confidence in our journey to self realisation. Darkness is driven away and the Buddhi unfolds itself for spiritual advancement. Hence it sharpens the knowledge-yielding faculty in man. The aspirant is advised to chant the Gayatri Mantra during dawn, noon and dusk. At the dawn Gayatri appears as BRAHMSWAROOPINI - as Saraswati attributes - and wisdom is granted to the aspirant. During noon Gayatri appears as RUDRASWAROOPINI - as Durga attributes - and the aspirant is relieved of his distress. During dawn, Gayatri appears as VISHNUSWAROOPINI - and grants wealth and prosperity to the aspirant. Her three name are Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati. These three are present in each one of us. Gayatri is the master of senses, Savithri is the master of Prana or Life Force and Saraswati is the presiding deity of Speech. These three represents Purity in Thought , Word and Deed. One who practices purity and Harmony of Thought, Word and Deed will have Gayatri , Savitri and Saraswati residing in him. It can be recited with devotion for for one's spiritual and material benefit in all times by any human being in any part of the world. We do not have to be bound by three periods of time to

chant the Gayatri Mantra. Besides when we chant this Mantra during taking bath, we clean not only our bodies but are minds and intellects at the same time. After we finish chanting the Gayatri Mantra we should repeat "Santhi" three times because it will give us peace of mind to the three entities in us - body mind and soul. Each word of the Gayatri should be pronounced clearly and distinctly, without undue haste or hurry. It is also recommended that Gayatri Mantra should be chanted before meals as our food becomes an offering to the Divine, and also when we wake up from bed and when we go to bed. Gayatri Mantra must be mentally repeated with faith and love and without lip movement or sound. The benefits one derives is just beyond any calculations. Body and minds are cleansed. One develops peace of mind. Good health and good fortunes are also derived from chanting this Maha Mantra. In short it confers wisdom, prosperity, purity and liberation ... removes fears, wards off all misery and fulfill all desires. It is the bestower of all that is beneficial to the person who chants it with faith. Hence it should not be treated casually. To absorb the Mantric power, purity of life and an abstemious diet are essential. Brahmaprakasa (the effulgence of Brahman) will descend on us and will illumine our spiritual path since it embodies all the Divine Potencies.