Power of the Gayatri Mantra is beyond imagination

 

The beautiful Panchamukhi Gayatri idol installed in Prasanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi. 

Gaayantham Thraayathe Ithi Gayatri

The Gayatri mantra is considered as one of the most powerful, all-encompassing and comprehensive mantras. Commonly, it is said,

Sarva Roga Nivaarini Gayatri (Gayatri Mantra is the reliever of diseases),

Sarva Duhkha Parivaarini Gayatri (Gayatri Mantra wards off all misery),

Sarva Vaancha Phala Siddhi Gayatri (Gayatri Mantra is the fulfiller of all desires).

Those apart, the mantra also ensures that bad thoughts do not arise in one’s mind. It filters thoughts to allow only good and noble ones. It also increases one’s focus and concentration abilities. 

The Gayatri Mantra was discovered by Sage Viswamitra. It was the same Sage Viswamitra who initiated Sri Rama. It is a Universal Mantra and can be chanted by anyone, irrespective of religion, nationality, gender, caste, creed or race. In fact, as Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (Swami) puts it, this mantra can be chanted at any place and any time. 

There are innumerable instances, public and private, where Swami has dilated on the power and potency of the Gayatri Mantra. One thing He always says is,

“Gaayantham Thraayathe Ithi Gayatri. (Gayatri is that which protects and redeems the chanter of the mantra.)”

Though I have heard and read this multiple times, the enormity of that statement hit me when I read an incident from the book, “Avatar’s Prescription” by Dr. M. Vijai Kumar (MD, DA). This book is a collection of experiences of this venerable doctor who has done free medical service for over four decades. It is the story of his association with Swami and the guidance he has received from his Guru and God. It is on page 109 of the book that he reveals this incident which makes our jaw drop in awe about the power of the Gayatri Mantra. 

Bhagawan Baba chanting the Gayatri mantra. Play 

it as you read the article. You will get the merit of

hearing the Gayatri Mantra a few times atleast! :)

The accident in 1985 that could have a different ending

In the year 1985, Dr. Vijai Kumar and several others were with Swami in an interview. Swami was speaking to all the assembled people. However, He seemed to evince lot of interest in talking with a six year old girl seated on her mother’s lap. The girl was asking Swami many questions in rapid succession and Swami was answering all of them with great patience and love. After a while, Swami gifted her with a photograph of Himself. Now, the girl wanted to know whether to put the picture in a big frame and hang it on the wall or put it in a small table-top frame.

“Put it in a small table-top frame...” Swami answered.
“Swami, where should I keep it? Should I keep it in my bedroom or in the living room?”
“Dear one, keep it on the window sill in your house - the one where there is direct sunlight. Then you can view it from your study table and well as from the living room,” Swami revealed in His omniscience.

The conversation went on and soon, the child seemed to be the sole focus for Bhagawan. All the while, the mother was sobbing silently but uncontrollably. Swami allowed her to cry. Everyone in the interview room were amazed at this unique interaction and were wondering why the mother was crying.

As if to appease everyone’s curiosity, Swami informed them in a very soft voice that the girl’s father had traveled on board “Air India Kanishka”.

Picture taken of the aircraft involved, Kanishka, landing at London Heathrow Airport on 10 June, less than two weeks before its destruction 

It dawned on everyone that the girl’s father had died in the tragic terror attack and the explosion that occurred onboard the Air India flight enroute to India from Canada, off the western coast of Ireland. No doubt Bhagawan was filling the void for that girl by sharing His fatherly love. Swami also materialised vibhuti and gave it to the little girl. Towards the end of the interview, Swami turned towards Dr. Vijai Kumar and said in a matter-of-fact manner,

There were more than 250 passengers onboard Kanishka. Even if one had chanted the Gayatri Mantra, the accident could have been averted.”
Everyone in the interview room sat in silence absorbing the profundity of the statement.

Many are the escapes that people have had by chanting the Gayatri Mantra. One of the most thrilling narratives of the same is the near-death experience of Sri Devesh Srivastava, the brother of Dr. Sailesh Srivastava (a teacher in Swami's school and university at Puttaparthi).

The powerful Gayatri

Swami says, “Gayatri Chandasaam Matha (Gayatri is the mother of the Vedas)”. He goes on to explain that one can either peel and eat multiple fruits to derive nutrition and strength or one can drink mixed-fruit juice. “Gayatri Mantra is the fruit-mix concentrate”, He adds. It embodies all the 4 Mahavakyas (great statements) of the Vedas. However, there are certain conditions that must be met to unlock the mantra’s great powers. Swami says that:

1. The person chanting the Gayatri mantra should not do it casually; it must be done with complete faith and reverence.
2. To ensure reverence, one must have purity. Purity comes from speaking the truth and having the unity of thought, word and deed.

If one is interested in receiving directly from Swami about the Gayatri mantra, this comprehensive page on the power and potency of the mantra will be a good read. Better still, if one has twenty minutes to spare for the potential to redeem one’s life, the video below (with subtitles in English) where Swami is lovingly instruction a little boy on the Gayatri Mantra can be seen.

This is an exclusive video of Swami teaching about the Gayatri Mantra

in an interview session (which took place at Kodaikanal in1989).

The Sai Gayatri

Personally, I chant the Sai Gayatri and firmly believe it to be as potent as the Gayatri Mantra. The story of how this mantra came about is also very interesting. The occasion was Christmas eve, the 24th of December 1977. The place was the Sathya Sai Mandir in Brindavan, Whitefield, near Bangalore. The assembled audience consisted of a group of students and faculty members of the Sri Sathya Sai College as well as a number of visiting devotees. It was in the glorious presence of Swami himself that a great vedic scholar Pandit Sri Ghandikota Subrahmanya Shastry was inspired to announce Sri Sathya Sai Gayathri, the mystic formula devoted to Sri Sathya Sai.
He announced it as follows:

Om Saayeeshvaraaya Vidhmahe
Sathya Dhevaaya Dheemahi
Thannassarvah Prachodayaath

The meaning of this is:
"I know through Gurus and Shastras (and by direct experience) that Sai is God Himself: He is Bhagavan and Iswara. I meditate on this form in my heart with all my mental faculties. He is the embodiment of truth, divinity, universal consciousness and one who pervades all the worlds. I pray to such a Saiparameswar to direct our intellects to engage in auspicious and righteous activities. I meditate on this great form."

(This Sathya Sai Gayathri, like other Gayathris, is on par with Veda Mantra or mystic formula. It has 24 letters; it consists of three lines, each with eight letters. Such a composition has unique properties. According to Maharishi Vararuchi, the numerology of all letters adds up to 108. That is why recitation is to be done 108 times; to realize the full effect of Siddhi - which is signified by the 108th number, i.e. Meru or the tassel of a rosary or Japamala. Ashtottara Sata Nama - the 108 name-chanting leads to the realization of God, which is the goal.)

I always keep chanting the Sai Gayatri in my heart. After this story however, I am sure that my chanting will be more focussed, serious and thrilling.

May God bless us with the wisdom to accept the Supreme Word on faith and enjoy the experience of the realization of our faith.

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