DIVINE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES OF GAYATRI MANTRA CHANTING

Immanuel Kant was a very great German philosopher. He has written many priceless books on philosophy. In one book at the very end (gist) he wrote: I fear 2 things in this world. The first is that every night when I gaze at the vast dark sky I wonder how omnipotent that cosmic power is who created these innumerable stars, galaxies, planets etc. In fact one can never even imagine with our limited intellects as to how all these were designed and created. When I compare my (Kant) frail intellect with that of the omnipotence of the one who created this gigantic cosmos I feel so inferior in size and thus am full of fear.

The second fear factor of mine encompasses around the fact that when I perform some action which is unwholesome I hear a voice in my conscience telling me to refrain from acting undesirably. This inner voice is so potent that it virtually ‘bosses’ over me. When I seriously ponder over this fact I realize that my inner voice is so much more powerful than my frail intellect.

Kant writes that he fears both the above facts mentioned and concludes that the omnipotent one who has created this cosmos and the one who speaks clearly in my conscience are one and the same. But since I fail to find any scientific proof of this and also since my intellect fails to accept what I say I too ultimately do not accept this fact. Most definitely Kant could not accept this truth because the frail human intellect can only argue and counter argue. It is only the subtle experience that can deepen our faith and make it unswerving.

Indian Rishis of yore laid emphasis on deep subtle experiences rather than inference. That reality which Kant renounced because it was mere inference for his intellect had been experienced directly by Rishis of India eons back. Gayatri Mantra has bestowed this divine experience to millions of devotees in the world history. This becomes very clear when we dive deep into the meaning of Gayatri Mantra. Bhuha, Bhuvaha, Savaha correspond to earth, interstellar space and other world (Dhruva Loka) and they are created by God who is Om manifest (divine sound). We all meditate on its divine light. Why do we meditate? How are we related to it? The answer is because it is “Dheeyo Yona Prachodayaat”. Meaning it divinely inspires our intellect/brain. Therefore that cosmic principle which creates this cosmos is also the divine inspirer of our intellect. There is not even an iota of a difference as far as both these Divine Powers are concerned. That divine truth which was an inference for Kant was an experiential truth for Rishis who are the seers (Dhrishtaa) of the Gayatri Mantra.

If one reflect more seriously on Gayatri Mantra’s meaning 3 precepts emerge. 1) “Saviturvaraynyam Bharga”-that radiant divine light is worth aspiring for and is a power that destroys our sins (God principle). 2) “Dheeyo Yonaha”-the intellectual principle of a living being or Jeeva. 3) “Prachodayaat”-The inspiring relationship that unites God and ones intellectual power. One is the centre of the entire cosmos (God-macro) and the other is the centre of individual life (living being-micro). The third is that principle (Prachodayaat) that unites God and a living being.

Gayatri Mantra is that Divine Power which destroys man’s lowly state from its very roots, it washes of all our taints and sins and after overcoming all satanic principles in man’s psyche it replaces them with divine principles in full flow. Even criminals, dacoits and other individuals of lowly thinking hear a voice within to abstain from performing heinous acts. The voice clearly tells them that not only will society be harmed by their dastardly act but that they themselves (criminals etc) will be harmed n-fold more. Hence they are advised from within to refrain from such demeaning acts. But because man is so enticed by material pleasures he refuses to listen to his inner voice and hence foolishly acts despicably. A Gayatri devotee hears this inner voice very clearly and powerfully. In the initial stages of Gayatri meditation a devotee maybe unable to act explicitly in accordance with this voice due to weak penance and yet know for sure that this devotee due to strong self introspection realizes deeply his inner lack. And this realization is a very strong and gigantic step on the ladder of reaching material and spiritual success ethically. Majority of the times people are totally unaware of their inner lack and tainted state due to the veil of spiritual ignorance and blindness. If they fail to even realize that mental taints exist how will they even think of removing them? As against this the more a devotee of Gayatri matures spiritually the more these mental taints are experienced by him/her with greater clarity. His or her focused soul constantly places these taints in a mirror like fashion in front of their mind’s eye to perceive clearly. And finally a day comes when mature Gayatri aspirants are induced by this inner divine guidance to destroy these taints from their very foundation. A very dire situation seems very tough to surmount by a layman but for a true Gayatri devotee these situations do not appear very dire or frightful. This is because Gayatri Mantra chanting reduces the experience of the gross aspect of the cosmos and augments its subtle perception in the aspirant’s pure and focused psyche. The more ones subtle perception augments the more divine energies manifest in the soul. These divine powers in turn help the devotee to fight his/her mental taints successfully and thus they are eradicated. The more ones spiritual powers manifest a day comes when man ascends from mediocrity to supreme greatness. This verily is the true goal of Gayatri devotion and meditation and can be experienced by anyone in the world provided one performs these spiritual practices whole heartedly.

Due to devoted and regular Gayatri Mantra chanting a divine light manifests in ones psyche which dispels our inner spiritual darkness. Just as soap washes off the dirt on our clothes and just as a broom removes dust in our homes similarly Gayatri Mantra is that divine ‘soap’ washes off our mental taints. Gayatri is such a divine miraculous ‘broom’ that it removes all taints, shortcomings, attachments, likes, dislikes etc from the ‘room’ of our psyche. It is only when our psyche becomes sacred and taintless that God comes and eternally occupies it. Gayatri Mantra based spiritual endeavor (Sadhana) is like an invitation card which helps sanctify and focus ones mind and intellect so that God/Self Realization is attained by the devotee.