THE SCIENCE OF GAYATRI AND YAGNA

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Worshipping Gayatri preserves and enhances praana in a person. Gayatri – The

Goddess of Wisdom and Pure Intelligence According to Adya Shankaracharya,

giyate tatvamanaya gayatriti, meaning, “That (righteous intellect – ritumbharaa

pragnaa) through which the Supreme Being (God) can be known is Gayatri”.

Ritumbharaa pragnaa enables us to discriminate between truth and false, fame

and notoriety, good and bad, and right and wrong. The decision-making ability

conferred by ritumbharaa pragnaa is based on divine inspiration. In its

absence, a person cannot experience true happiness even though he may be

intelligent, clever, wealthy, talented, etc. These qualities help him in

accumulating materialistic wealth and power, but they also bring with them

tension, fear, doubts, greed, moha (attachment towards worldly objects and

people), bad habits, etc. Gayatri inspires the

brain to remain saturated with divine, virtuous (satoguni) qualities, which in

turn inspire a person onto the path of true well-being. Cultivating noble

thoughts and practicing righteous deeds safeguard and increase the person’s

strength. Gayatri Mantra Om bhoor bhuvah swah tat savitur varenyam bhargo

devasya dheemahi dhiyo yo nah prachodayat Its essence: Om – Brahma or

Almighty God bhoor – Embodiment of vital spiritual energy (praana) bhuvah –

Destroyer of sufferings svah – Embodiment of happiness tat – That savituh –

Bright, Luminous like the Sun varenyam – Best, Most exalted bhargo – Destroyer

of sins devasya – Divine dheemahi – May

imbibe dhiyo – Intellect yo – Who nah – Our prachodayat – May inspire In short

it is a prayer to the Almighty Supreme God, the Creator of entire cosmos, the

essence of our life existence, who removes all our sins, pains and sufferings

and grants happiness; beseeching His divine grace to inculcate within us His

Divinity and Brilliance, which may purify us and guide our wisdom on the

righteous path. Yagna In its gross form, Yagna is a spiritual experiment of

sacrificing and sublimating the havana saamagri (herbal preparations) in the

fire accompanied by the chanting of Vedic mantras. This is only the outer

physical process or ritual of Yagna, which has scientific importance and

beneficial effects. This agni-yagna when performed on a small scale is also

known as havan, homam or agnihotra. The meaning of Yagna is not

confined to this sacrificial ritual. It has a much wider and deeper meaning. The

word Yagna is derived from the Sanskrit verb yaj, which has a three-fold

meaning: worship of deities (deva-pujana), unity (sangatikarana) and charity

(daana). The philosophy of Yagna teaches a way of living in the society in

harmony and a lifestyle which promotes and protects higher human values in the

society, which is indeed the basis of an ideal human culture. Scientific

Aspects of Yagna The effects of Yagna include treatment of various diseases and

the removal of atmospheric pollution. Another prominent effect is parjanya

(sublime showers of vital energy and spiritual strength from the upper cosmic

planes). The four Vedas signify the philosophy of the eternity and

complementarity of Gayatri and Yagna in the divine creations. The Atharvaveda

deals

with the sound therapy aspects of Mantras. They can be used for the treatment of

the ailing human system at the physical, psychological and spiritual levels. The

Samaveda focuses on the musical chanting patterns of Mantras, and the subtle

form of Yagna. It defines Yagna as the process of mental oblation on the

surface of internal emotions, through the cosmic radiations of the omnipresent

subtle energy of sound. The Yajurveda contains the principles and the methods

of performing Yagnas as a part of the spiritual and scientific experiments for

global welfare. Experimental studies have shown that Yagna or agnihotra

creates a pure, hygienic, nutritional and healing atmosphere. Researchers from

the field of microbiology have observed that the medicinal fumes emanating from

the process of agnihotra are bacteriostatic in nature, i.e. they eradicate

bacteria and micro-organisms, which are the root causes of

illness and diseases. The following quotes by renowned scientists are

noteworthy: “Burning sugar and its smoke has a significant effect in purifying

the atmosphere. It kills the germs of T.B., measles, smallpox and cow-pox” –

remarks Prof. Tilward. A Russian Scientist named Dr. Shirowich mentions – “if

cow’s ghee is put into the fire, its smoke will lessen the effect of atomic

radiation to a great extent”. The following example further illustrates the

scientific benefits of Yagna. Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh, India) Gas Tragedy and

Agnihotra: The tragic incident occurred on the night of December 3, 1984 when

the poisonous MIC gas leaked from Union Carbide factory at Bhopal. Hundreds of

people died and thousands were hospitalized, but there were two families –

those of Shri Sohan Lal S. Khushwaha and Shri M. L. Rathore, living about one

mile away from the plant, who came out unscathed. These

families were regularly performing agnihotra (havan). In these families nobody

died, nobody was even hospitalized despite being present in the area worst

affected by the leakage of the toxic gas. This observation implies that

agnihotra is a proven antidote to pollution. (English Daily – “The Hindu” of

4th May 1985; news item under the heading ‘Vedic Way to Beat Pollution’.)

Gayatri Mantra in Religions The Meaning of Gayatri Mantra Encompasses the

Teachings of All Religions 1. Hindu: God is the eternal source of life-force;

Supreme embodiment of unalloyed bliss and Almighty destroyer of all worries and

vices. Meditate upon the preeminent radiance of His pious inspiring power that

will enlighten our intellect and motivate it towards the righteous path of

elevation. (Rigveda 3|62|10;

Yajurveda 36| 3; Samveda 1462) 2. Jew: ‘O’ Jehova (God) Guide me on the path

of religion (righteousness); Show me Thou way which is straight, noble and

perfect. (Old Testament-Prayers 5|8) 3. Shinto: ‘O’ Lord! Our eyes might see

indecent things and vices, but our hearts (inner minds) should be free from all

evils and impurities. Our ears might hear what is immoral and profane, but our

hearts should not perceive anything unholy or wrong. (Japanese Preaching) 4.

Parsi: That Supreme Master (Ahurmazda – God) is the Supreme King because of His

pure intelligence and truth. Executing altruist deeds in His name makes us

beloved of God. (Avesta 27|13) 5. Dao (Taoism): Dao (the Supreme-Self: God)

is beyond all perceptions and thoughts. Righteous conduct as per His

disciplines is an ideal religion. (Dao

Treatise) 6. Jainism: Revering salutations to all the Arhantas, the Siddhas,

the Acharyas, and the Upadhyays (all of whom are enlightened masters). Revering

salutations to all the saintly beings. (Invocation Prayer) 7. Buddhism: (For

ultimate peace and joy) Surrender to buddha – the enlightened awareness;

Surrender to dhamma – the inner righteousness; Surrender to Sangha – the

collective consciousness. (Diksha Mantra | Trisharanam) 8. Confucius: Must I

behave not what I like others behave not. (Notable Quotes) 9. Christianity:

‘O’ Father! Please do not put us under test; Save us from all sins and evils.

All the infinite power, noble prosperity and greatness is eternally Thine. (New

Testament ‘Matte’ 6|13) 10. Islam: ‘Ya Allah!’ We pray to you only

and need Thou help alone. Show us the righteous path – the path of those who are

blessed with Thou light and grace, and not the (wrong) path of those who are

unholy and worthy of Thy punishment. (Quran Sura: Al-Phatiha) 11. Sikh:

“Omkar” (God) is one. Thy name is the ultimate Truth. HE is the creator of

Nature, HE is Almighty, absolutely bright and brave. HE could be known only by

the blessings of a noble Guru (enlightened divine intellect). (Guru Granth

Sahib – Japujee) 12. Bhahai: ‘O’ Lord! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify

my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in thy hand. Thou art my

Guide and my Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a

happy and joyful being. ‘O’ God! I will not longer be full of anxiety, nor will

I let trouble harass me. I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life. ‘O’

God! Thou are more friend to me than I am to myself.

I dedicate myself to thee O Lord. (Abdu’l-Baha in “The secret of divine

civilization”) Call of the Time This is a crucial phase of grand

transformation of the era. Because of his ignorance and wrong and evil thinking

man has led the entire world to an edge of dreadful decline and devastation. The

only light of hope appears in –– purification of mind, awakening of righteous

wisdom, adoption of the noble path of sensitivity, benevolence, altruism and

collective elevation. Evolutionary impulse of Super consciousness, the dawn

of divinity alone could save the world and enable the arrival of the

Age-of-Truth. The devout spiritual endeavors of the Rishis (seers and sages of

all ages) have prepared the ground for this epochal awakening in the sublime

realms. We now have to sincerely attempt self-refinement and

self-transformation to let it descent in our minds, illuminate our inner-selves

and be expressed in our

deeds. What to do? How to go about? Practice devotional meditation for ten

minutes at least every morning with heartiest prayer of “Enlightened Wisdom and

Bright Future for All”. Mental enunciation (or chanting) of the Gayatri Mantra

(or its root-syllables “Om Bhur Buvah Swah”) or the name of the divine focus of

your faith would help the desired mental engrossment. As part of its Yug Nirman

Yojna – the mission of reconstruction of an era, the Gayatri Pariwar has

pioneered collective awakening, mental purification and training of the masses

for this sadhana based on spiritual practice of Gayatri Mantra japa and

meditation. People from all corners of the globe and from all faiths, creeds,

castes and social status, are welcome to participate in this unique experiment.

Courtesy: http://www.awgp.org/gamma/ With Sai love from Sai brothers -

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