Gayatri Mantra Around the World - Deva Premal

[Maia Gabrial]

What a catchy tune! Hope it lightens your day

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SlUsoWmso9U

[Earth Angel]

Gave me Goosebumps!!.......I have heard this somewhere before but can't recall.....thanks for sharing this

[Daozen]

I think Mantras are powerful higher dimensional tech.

I like this version too.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=nDnamSM3Z3s

[Maia Gabrial]

Beautiful, too, Daozen. Thanks for sharing it.

[Snookie]

I found both versions very uplifting and inspirational. Thank you both!

[meeradas]

On one 'auspicious' occasion,
automatically chanting this mantra over 1.5 hrs,
it 'reduced' the physical "me" to pure energy only [= body gone].

After that, i literally felt like being reset to "newborn".


Here's another version in non-song form (incl. what-it-means):

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=tGODzxGX7Ss

Also interesting in this regard:



[Thanks to AwakeInADream: https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...l=1#post604101]

[Earth Angel]

this song has now taken up residence in my brain which is fantastic because I have been trying to find a way to evict the Pistol Annie's from my head.......they are a country band my daughter listens to and although my husband and I have never been fans of country music this album has literally set up camp and runs on a loop through my head even when I sleep......I am now a believer that Country Music is being used to program us!!

this lovely song is now going through my head over and over and I LOVE IT! thank you thank you thank you!

[Nickolai]

In my opinion, the way she sang that is nice but the video is super stupid...))


Nickolai

¤=[Post Update]=¤

very Hindu and nice!

Thank you!

[Olam]

I discovered this mantra thru Stuart Wilde RIP , this version is my favorite of all, I play it when I need to clear things, even spaces.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=G3K-bqPf-S0

[Selene]

May I add this lovely version? A personal fave.....

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ty2XLidTzfc

You cannot get too much of this gorgeous song of the universe. A friend once described its sound as "molecules of pure joy...."

I agree.

Cheers,

Selene

[Daozen]

Imee Ooi has tons of great mantras.

On one 'auspicious' occasion,
automatically chanting this mantra over 1.5 hrs,
it 'reduced' the physical "me" to pure energy only [= body gone].

After that, i literally felt like being reset to "newborn".


Here's another version in non-song form (incl. what-it-means):

Now find a way to mix it with a few electric guitars and you've got a whole new music.

I'm seriously going to do some guitar ambient mantras when I get some free time. Flying Saucer Attack/Mogwai meets Imme Ooi.

[Luke Holiday]

Hello,

I have recently committed to a daily discipline of using this mantra during my daily 20 to 60 minutes morning walks/evening around a local baseball diamond for the past 3 weeks and I just had a unusually amazing experience.


Has anyone out there had any "experiences" related to this most revered of mantras?

Blessings Luke

[shaberon]

Yes, definitely. I would say that mantra is the next level of experience subsequent to what you might call a philosophical style of meditation.

There is not exactly a "the" Gayatri, because this only means a poetry meter. The one generally used is a form of Sun Gayatri. It has an extension called Vyahriti or Words of Fire, which, in generic terms, is the One Life emerging into seven planes of existence. So this one mantra, properly studied with the basics of Fourfold Om and how it relates to cosmology and astrology, is the stable basis.

The solar gayatri is said to only be used around sunrise or sunset. However, the same basic formula is used with any of them. So for instance if I do Sita gayatri, about the only thing that changes is the name.

Compared to an only introspective meditation, mantra is much more cleansing and powerful. Most of the ones I use are specifically Buddhist. But we accept that many of the non-Buddhist ones are valid; it is not very different. The kings of ancient Java saw Buddhism and Hinduism as different ways of doing the same thing, so they imported both institutions to get their finest degrees of magic, which mostly means mantra. So beyond the basics, different schools use different sets of mantra with some philosophical differences.

It is also a crucial or key meaning of divinity. The generic Indian word Deva is often translated as "god", although it specifically means "luminous being". If it possibly is useful as an instrument of enlightenment, it is Devata, which is Mantra Baddha or means it is bound to do whatever the mantra says. And so this is a bit different than general prayers requests to god, which could be granted or denied; it is more like sets of commands that are telling a freezer to freeze and a kettle to boil. It is like a humble, polite command, much like if I am at work and you nicely ask me to do something I do, it is pretty much automatic. The mantra is like adjusting a spark plug gap until the right power flows.

[Luke Holiday]

Hello Shaberon,
Thank you for sharing your great knowledge on this topic.

I am trying to gain a better understanding for what I am experiencing and would greatly appreciate your expertise. I have reposted your reply and have highlighted my questions as they came up while reading your words.

Posted by shaberon (here)
Yes, definitely. I would say that mantra is the next level of experience subsequent to what you might call a philosophical style of meditation.

There is not exactly a "the" Gayatri, because this only means a poetry meter. The one generally used is a form of Sun Gayatri. It has an extension called Vyahriti or Words of Fire, which, in generic terms, is the One Life emerging into seven planes of existence. So this one mantra, properly studied with the basics of Fourfold Om and how it relates to cosmology and astrology, is the stable basis. ( Question: stable basis for what exactly - (Personally I am just repeating the mantra in a happy tone/mood while walking and intermittently performing yogic (SRF) energization exercises).

The solar gayatri is said to only be used around sunrise or sunset. However, the same basic formula is used with any of them. So for instance if I do Sita gayatri, about the only thing that changes is the name. ( Personally, I am using the common solar mantra

Compared to an only introspective meditation, mantra is much more cleansing and powerful. Most of the ones I use are specifically Buddhist. But we accept that many of the non-Buddhist ones are valid; it is not very different. The kings of ancient Java saw Buddhism and Hinduism as different ways of doing the same thing, so they imported both institutions to get their finest degrees of magic, which mostly means mantra. So beyond the basics, different schools use different sets of mantra with some philosophical differences.

It is also a crucial or key meaning of divinity. The generic Indian word Deva is often translated as "god", although it specifically means "luminous being". If it possibly is useful as an instrument of enlightenment, it is Devata, which is Mantra Baddha or means it is bound to do whatever the mantra says. And so this is a bit different than general prayers requests to god, which could be granted or denied; it is more like sets of commands that are telling a freezer to freeze and a kettle to boil. It is like a humble, polite command, much like if I am at work and you nicely ask me to do something I do, it is pretty much automatic. The mantra is like adjusting a spark plug gap until the right power flows.

Question: Do you know what command is related to the Solar Gatriya ?

Blessings

Luke

[greybeard]

Ive been using the Gayatri for about twenty years also 108 repetitions Om Nama Shivia with beads.
If the woods are quiet during the walk I do the Gayatri out loud.

The mind is relatively quiet and nothing disturbs Self There is an awareness of normal likes and dislikes but not affected by this.

When Ramana Marshi was dying of cancer he was asked about the pain and he said "There is pain" He did not own it.
We have to be aare of such things --the boy needs care and attention as does mental stability.
Its a bit like looking after some one else.

Spiritual "progress" tends to be steady but slow.
There is encouragement from time to time--exceptional states of bliss.

Mantra important as is Self Inquiry -- meditation a must.

Chris

[shaberon]

Posted by Luke Holiday (here)
So this one mantra, properly studied with the basics of Fourfold Om and how it relates to cosmology and astrology, is the stable basis. ( Question: stable basis for what exactly - (Personally I am just repeating the mantra in a happy tone/mood while walking and intermittently performing yogic (SRF) energization exercises).

Question: Do you know what command is related to the Solar Gatriya ?

There are slightly different approaches.

What Chris is describing is legitimate although it is non-Buddhist.

As a stable basis, this perhaps could be called Grounding, or Ground. A mental or philosophical idea that is closer to the way nature works as a spiritual outpouring, instead of meaningless experiences of material phenomena. And so at first we are sort of withdrawing from a mostly sense-based, animalized grasping at things, and moving to a condition that is only mind-born, which begins to assume command of the way the body works.

Om is the first letter in Sanskrit but it is not really a letter, words are not made from it. The Om is a universal dawn or awakening. It is the motion from dark, still unconsciousness, into universally-radiated light and energy, which is the sun in the physical sense. But it is really two suns, or two fires, or two souls, since this visible sun is considered just a reflection of the more transcendent reality which exists in an absolute condition even beyond the destruction of the world or universe.

So Om is this universal awakening and cosmic breath or motion, but, we would say manifestation is more intricate. It is a process of one universal, homogeneous element being shaped and colored by consciousness. So the remaining letters and syllables of the alphabet are more like particulars, individual manifestations, different spheres of consciousness. That is how and why names and mantras are made a certain way.

The Puranic Mystery of the Sun is nevertheless the same and as important in Buddhism.

The way I take the associated Gayatri is not as the male god, Surya or Savitr, but as a daughter goddess, Savitri. She as Daiviprakriti is something like the most refined energy of living, loving consciousness that streams from the sun and potentially resides within man to some extent. In other words, she is not a philosophy, she is an energy that is palpable, tangible, that clears the mind and does healing. She looks one way at dawn and another at dusk, but is only one thing beyond appearances. Mantra causes yoginis to be born. All of the sounds, powers, experiences, auras, etc., are female; in philosophy, the male aspect is the perceiver/actor, and if you think about it--well, he will be there and do and be whatever he has to. The mysteries and initiations are all via the female aspect.

I would say Om and the Sun are pretty much a universal basis for any kind of spiritual seeker. You may or may not ever become a good healer, you might be a person who needs to deal with anger issues, or has a lot of karma, and so there are different reasons why to use slightly different sets of practices in the long run, but, the universals and basics are the same for anyone.

From my study of Sanskrit Buddhism, it has been possible to reconstruct what perhaps could be called the Ratnagiri system, and, from doing so, I find an extremely intricate blending of Earth and Sun, and that the major tantric practice went to goddess Marici, which is more or less a Buddhist name for Savitri. Once this fell into place, because I understand it in terms of inner meaning, the entire pantheon of five hundred or more deities makes perfect sense.

Most of what I know is constrained to Buddhism, which consists of a lifetime supply of various practices which all more or less stem from Savitri and lead to a grand magnification of her. Marici is a flash of illumination, like Athena, but the real Marici is a cosmic flash of light that shows all the Buddhas in the Ten Directions that a new Buddha has manifested in a world system. Therefor I do not plan on the basic concept of her going away any time soon, all she can do is get more intense.

The basic riddle of the sun says that his wife Samjna (Spiritual Perception) could not bear his heat and sexuality, so she went into hiding in the forest and sent in her sister Chhaya Samjna (Shadow or Terrestrial Perception) as a substitute. The Divine Artificer Viswakarman crucified the sun on his lathe and tried to shear off some of his radiance, but could only cut away 1/8 of it, which was used to make the Trident of Shiva and other items. That is why you can find pictures of Surya with his head blacked out.

Savitri or Marici is like the internal energetic dance related to the universal mystery. It is pretty much the same,whether one finds more value in the traditions of Visnu, Shiva, or Shakti--I am not very deeply into those, but, try to be informed about what they are and the similarities and differences to Buddhism. In India, there is, to some extent, simply a Sun Cult, and an even more mysterious one of Mars. However, I think the most ancient and central way of expressing it is Agni or Fire. When it is seen that way, it is almost identical to Buddhism; or, Sanskrit Buddhism is a set of practices that are actually subordinate to Agni.

[greybeard]

The Ultimate Secret of OM | Swami Sarvapriyananda

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=0iZ3GG5SYOo

[Luke Holiday]

I want to thank GB and Shaberon for sharing their wealth of knowledge on this topic. It was very helpful in helping me process what occurred along with the ensueing positive changes I continue to experience.

If anyone is considering implementing GM into a daily practice - I would have to say first hand that I am a strong advocate and would recommend it.

Just to add some perspective regarding my personal experience with the GM. I had already had a well established daily spiritual practice prior to stating the GM -consisting of clean diet, regular exercise, energization exercise, Wm hoff and or Kriya Pranayam, and daily mediation for 30-60 minutes.

But I have never felt this peaceful, calm, mentally clear, posture erect, I had massive spinal releases (these happened first), prior joint pain gone, needing far less sleep and when I do sleep it is very deep... extreme ability to focus with time sensation alteration - time appears to going by unusually fast.


Just to clear: I added GM chanting during 20-60 minutes walks around a baseball field every day for 21 days. I did notice that the chant would faintly remain repeating in the back of my mind during the day. I would then consciously pick up the chant prior to meditation - noticing that I was able get into a deep meditation state much quicker then I ever had before and was able remain in that far longer with a strong desire to return to meditation following.

Well, I hope that this sharing might aid the next person who is considering adding GM to their practice.


Blessings Luke

[shaberon]

Posted by Luke Holiday (here)
I did notice that the chant would faintly remain repeating in the back of my mind during the day.

So those of us with slightly worse habits might be able to recall an experience of a video game marathon, and you pass out, and dream you are still playing the game.

Mantra is pretty much the same thing, except instead of fictional characters in some limited setting, it is powers of nature in the universe. Used properly, it will give you those resonant echoes, waking, dreaming, whenever.

I was looking at "a" gayatri recently. This one is about Shiva's wife. Esoterically you will find it is the kernel of the Ratnagiri and Agni Buddhist system. It is also a very popular modern song. Compared to the Sun, Jataveda in the first line is equal to Vaisvanara and/or tantric male Savitr. Vaisvanara is Agni Vaisvanara, or, Agni Vishnu Man. The main idea of Vishnu is expands, and pervades all space, as divine consciousness. Agni Vaisvanara is the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad tradition of Yajnawalkya and Sita in Nepal, the historical precursors of Buddha. One of the main titles of Buddha is Vi-Buddha or Fully Expanded Buddha, called Sangyas in Tibet.

The reason it is meaningful to us and not just empty praise is because she is Tapas (verse two). In any Yoga, this is where the natural radiance of Om has produced heat in the body. So she is definitely not a philosophy, she definitely is something concrete and perceivable. That is why I, personally, do not pay much attention to the male/knower aspect like learning 1, 2, 3 instructions, because the female or goddess is the experienced energy and power; it is what you handle; it is what you do, or anything you sense or feel. It is direct.

This song is made of Seven Verses of Chapter Two of Mahanarayana Upanishad, followed by a few repetitions of Durga Gayatri. It is mostly Vedic, with a few Puranic touches and written in this form around 300 B. C. This is what we do to more than make up the gap of gender inequality as expressed in the OP. And so in verse two, you see Sharanam, Taking Refuge, which is the same as we do with Buddha. And in her gayatri, she is Katyayani Kanyakumari. Well the Kanyakumari is a Virgin Daughter--like an earthly equivalent of Savitri if we understand the solar gayatri can be feminized.

There is one Kanyakumari who lives at the very southern tip of India, and another, in Nepal, who is simultaneously a Hindu and Buddhist goddess.

And then in this song, if we said she is Shiva's wife, he is absent and she sure has a lot to do with Agni.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SFI6EUKWjio

Greenmessage translation:

जातवेदसे सुनवाम सोममरातीयतो निदहाति वेदः ।
स नः पर्षदति दुर्गाणि विश्वा नावेव सिन्धुं दुरितात्यग्निः ॥१॥
Jaatavedase Sunavaama Somam-Araatiiyato Nidahaati Vedah |
Sa Nah Parssad-Ati Durgaanni Vishvaa Naave[a-I]va Sindhum Durita-Aty[i]-Agnih ||1||

Meaning:
(We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
1.1: To that Jataveda (one from whom the Vedas are born) we press out the Soma (i.e. Invoke Her ardently); (We invoke that Jataveda) Who consumes by Her Fire of Knowledge (Veda) all the Adversities (within and without) (And frees us from the bondage of the world),
1.2: May that Agni (Fire of Durga) carry us over this Ocean of the World which is full of Great Difficulties and beset with great Perils; like a Boat (carrying one over a very rough Sea),

तामग्निवर्णां तपसा ज्वलन्तीं वैरोचनीं कर्मफलेषु जुष्टाम् ।
दुर्गां देवीँशरणमहं प्रपद्ये सुतरसि तरसे नमः ॥२॥
Taam-Agni-Varnnaam Tapasaa Jvalantiim Vairocaniim Karma-Phalessu Jussttaam |
Durgaam Devii[ngu]m-Sharannam-Aham Prapadye Su-Tarasi Tarase Namah ||2||

Meaning:
(We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
2.1: To Her, Who is of the colour of Fire (Agni Varna) and blazing with Tapas (Tapasa Jwalantim); Who was born of that Fire (of Tapas) (Vairochinim), and Who is worshipped through Fruits of Actions (Karma Phalas) (offered to Her Fire as oblations),
2.2: To that Durga, to that Devi, I take Refuge (Sharanam Aham) by falling at Her Feet (Prapadye); (O Mother Durga, I Prostrate before You) Please ferry me mercifully (over this Ocean of the World full of great Difficulties and Perils),

अग्ने त्वं पारया नव्यो अस्मान् स्वस्तिभिरति दुर्गाणि विश्वा ।
पूश्च पृथ्वी बहुला न उर्वी भवा तोकाय तनयाय शंयोः ॥३॥
Agne Tvam Paarayaa Navyo Asmaan Svastibhir-Ati Durgaanni Vishvaa |
Puush-Ca Prthvii Bahulaa Na Urvii Bhavaa Tokaaya Tanayaaya Shamyoh ||3||

Meaning:
(We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
3.1: O Agni (Fire of Durga), You Who are eulogized (for carrying one across this Samsara); Please ferry us (too), by carrying us (i.e. our Souls) over Your Auspicious Nature, and make us cross this World full of Great Difficulties (Samsara), ...
3.2: ... (and also spread Your Auspicious Nature over the) Land and Earth, (so that the Earth) becomes abundantly Fertile and Green (and we feel Your presence in external Nature); And fill us, (We who are) Your Children with Your Bliss (so that we feel Your presence internally),

विश्वानि नो दुर्गहा जातवेदः सिन्धुं न नावा दुरितातिपर्षि ।
अग्ने अत्रिवन्मनसा गृणानोऽस्माकं बोध्यविता तनूनाम् ॥४॥
Vishvaani No Durga-Haa Jaatavedah Sindhum Na Naavaa Durita-Ati-Parssi |
Agne Atrivan-Manasaa Grnnaano-[A]smaakam Bodhy[i]-Avitaa Tanuunaam ||4||

Meaning:
(We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
4.1: O Jataveda (one from whom the Vedas are born), You remove (grave) difficulties in all the Worlds; Please carry us like a Boat in this very difficult Ocean of the World (Samsara),
4.2: O Agni (Fire of Durga), our Minds are invoking You (ardently) like sage Atri (who continuously chants the mantras), and our beings are (now) filled with Your Consciousness (by continuously invoking You),

पृतनाजितँसहमानमुग्रमग्निँ हुवेम परमात्सधस्थात् ।
स नः पर्षदति दुर्गाणि विश्वा क्षामद्देवो अति दुरितात्यग्निः ॥५॥
Prtanaa-[A]jita[ngu]m-Sahamaanam-Ugram-Agni Huvema Paramaat-Sadhasthaat |
Sa Nah Parssad-Ati Durgaanni Vishvaa Kssaamad-Devo Ati Durita-Aty[i]-Agnih ||5||

Meaning:
(We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
5.1: (She is) the (Great) Fire Who is Invincible in Battle, and charges ahead in a Terrible manner conquering (the Enemies); We invoke Her together from the Highest Assembly (i.e. ardently invoke Her together with the greatest reverence),
5.2: May that Agni (Fire of Durga) carry us over this World full of Great Difficulties, by (charging ahead and) Burning to ashes the very difficult Enemies (within us) with Her Divine Fire,

प्रत्नोषि कमीड्यो अध्वरेषु सनाच्च होता नव्यश्च सत्सि ।
स्वां चाग्ने तनुवं पिप्रयस्वास्मभ्यं च सौभगमायजस्व ॥६॥
Pratnossi Kam-Iiddyo Adhvaressu Sanaac-Ca Hotaa Navyash-Ca Satsi |
Svaam Ca-Agne Tanuvam Piprayasva-Asmabhyam Ca Saubhagam-Aayajasva ||6||

Meaning:
(We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
6.1: You are lauded for spreading Bliss in the Sacrifice since ancient times (The Bliss resulting from killing the inner Enemies); You act as a Hota (Invoker of Bliss) by abiding as a New Maiden (Who is eternally young and free of decay) (in the Sacrificial Altar within the Hearts of the Devotees),
6.2: Your own Conscious Form, O Agni (Fire of Durga) is a source of Happiness (Bliss) for us, and a source of Welfare for our Sacrifice,


गोभिर्जुष्टमयुजो निषिक्तं तवेन्द्र विष्णोरनुसंचरेम ।
नाकस्य पृष्ठमभि संवसानो वैष्णवीं लोक इह मादयन्ताम् ॥७॥
Gobhir-Jussttam-Ayujo Nissiktam Tave[a-I]ndra Vissnnor-Anusamcarema |
Naakasya Prssttham-Abhi Samvasaano Vaissnnaviim Loka Iha Maadayantaam ||7||

Meaning:
(We offer our oblations to the Fire of Durga to cross over this very difficult ocean of worldly existence)
7.1: With Senses (i.e. Mind and Heart) Pleased (by Your Blissful Presence) and becoming Unattached (to the external world), we are Infused with Your (Devotion), O the Highest One; May we Follow (i.e. Immerse ourselves in) Your All-Pervading (Blissful Consciousness) ...
7.2: ... within the Spiritual Sky (Chidakasha), and dwell here in this Vaishnavi Loka (World of Your All-Pervading Consciousness), being Intoxicated (by Your Blissful Nature),

ॐ कात्यायनाय विद्महे कन्याकुमारि धीमहि
तन्नो दुर्गिः प्रचोदयात् ॥
Kaatyaayanaaya Vidmahe Kanyaakumaari Dhiimahi
Tan-No Durgih Pracodayaat ||

Durga Gayatri:
1: Om, (Let our mind contemplate) on Devi Katyayani to know Her (Conscious Form); (And then) Meditate on that Kanyakumari deeply (Who is the Universal Mother),
2: May that (Fire of) Durga awaken (our Consciousness).

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih

Om, (May there be) Peace, Peace, Peace


So this Gayatri is like a second gate. If we were to say the first, most general, or solar, gayatri is like an entry way beyond which people may use slightly different practices if they have anger, fear, cravings, etc., you are then in a kind of harnessing stage where the point is to get Tapas. And so if I meditate to know her conscious form, it means I gain heat and begin to understand it. This is the same in any Yoga Hindu or Buddhist. Burning off the fruits of one's actions is perhaps the way past this gate. It is considered of major importance in our school at least. Most of these verses are replete with clues of larger teachings like that. And so calling her Katyayani might slide by most people meaninglessly, but, since I have made some degree of familiarity, it is riveting. Mantra should also work like that, bubbles of it bounce up and down and join each other, and it oozes, or cooks, working like a spider on a web of light.

[greybeard]

One Translation of the Gayatri Mantra.

"The earth, the sky. the heavens.
That Divine effulgence, that we all adore.
I contemplate on your Divine Glory.
Please help me illumine my intellect."

Chris