Awakening to the Gayatri Mantra - Rolf Sovik 

Morning and evening, dawn and dusk, keep time for us, reminding us of the passing moments and calling us to make a journey back to ourselves. Thus, the Vedas sing, "O pair of divine powers, Dusk and Dawn, come neat….. Like two boats, take us across." Among yoga practitioners these morning and evening transitions have long been used to meditation. In ancient times, for example, seekers rose early, bathed, performed their rituals, and silently recited mantras. In the evening the day’s fatigue was washed away with another period of meditation. This pattern of morning and evening practice persists even now.

In Sanskrit, the word sandhya indicates a juncture, and for this reason the meditation process performed in the morning and evening junctures of the day is called the sandhya meditation. There are many ways to practice this, some dating from Vedic times, and portions of these practices continue to be observed throughout modern India and other parts of the world. In this way, elements of devotion and introspection are woven into the daily lives of millions. And since morning and evening practice is uplifting to the mind and heart, new students of yoga find nourishment in it as well.

At the heart of many sandhya rituals is the gayatri mantra. Like the light of the early morning sun, which sweeps away the darkness of the night as it illumines the landscape, the gayatri mantra is purifying and enlightening. It is said that it embodies the collective wisdom of the entire Vedic revelation.

The Three Worlds

The gayatri mantra is found in the Rig Veda (3.62.10). It takes its name in part because it is written in a meter called the gayatri meter: Twenty-four syllables divided into three lines of eight syllables each. But the word gayatri also means "she who protects the singer" (from gai, to sing and trai, to protect). Thus, Gayatri is a name of the Divine Mother, she who protects her children and leads them toward self-realization.

The gayatri mantra reads:

tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yo nah prachodayat

When the mantra is recited in meditation, however, an additional line is added at the beginning. This line contains the sound Om, followed by three short seed sounds called the three maha vyahritis ("great utterances"): bhur, bhuvah, and svah. Thus the complete mantra as it is used in meditation is:

"Yoga International" (May, 2003) published by the Himalayan International Institute, Rural Route, 1, Box 1130 Honesdale, Pennsylvania 18431, USA.

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