Are you a spiritual practitioner wanting to increase your knowledge? Do you want to know the benefits of chanting Gayatri Mantra daily? You have come to the right place! The Gayatri Mantra is an ancient mantra, which was first realized by sage Vishwamitra and can often be heard around thousands of temples across the globe during the prayer timings.
While there are humongous amounts of information and factoids associated with the Gayatri Mantra, we have presented a concise amount of information for the ease of the reader. In this article, we are going to delve into the origins of the Gayatri Mantra, and its significance from the spiritual perspective. We are going to conclude by discussing the benefits of chanting Gayatri Mantra daily.
Introduction
The Gayatri Mantra is mainly used for two purposes, for conducting japa practices, and for spiritual initiations into the different schools of thought. The associated deity with the Gayatri Mantra is “Savita”, or the Sun God. The origins of the Gayatri Mantra can be traced back to Sage Vishwamitra, around the time of his enlightenment. He is known as the “mantra drashta”, or the person who realized the mantra, for the Gayatri Mantra.
Since then, many different versions of the Gayatri Mantra have been composed, with each of the different versions being associated to different deities. The original Gayatri Mantra is known to be really powerful, and has a lot of “sadhanas”, or practices for spiritual progress associated with it. The practices are not just limited to the Yogic School of thought, and the Gayatri Mantra finds a lot of usages in the Tantric School of Thought as well.
Power of The Gayatri Mantra
The power of a mantra lies in the arrangement of the sounds in it. Realizing the potential of the sounds, and then arranging them in a particular sequence which makes it conducive for human speech is a really tough job. The Gayatri Mantra, however, has been created in such a manner that chanting it is very potent for the human body.
A literal translation of the Sanskrit Chants of the Gayatri reveals that it attempts to access the highest form of energy known to mankind. This highest form of energy is also equated with the sun’s energy. The Gayatri Mantra should not be treated as a mere sentence which can be jumbled, reconstructed, or chanted with ill intentions. People have been known to lose their voices while incorrectly chanting the Gayatri Mantra. Below stated are some of the dangers associated with chanting the Gayatri Mantra incorrectly.
Dangers of Chanting the Gayatri Mantra
Incorrect chanting of the Gayatri Mantra can result in the loss of voice, or even the loss of vision in some cases. It can result in negative events being attracted to your life, and a deterioration of your relationship with the sun. One should always take special care in learning the correct pronounciations, along with the meaning of the Gayatri Mantra. The dangers of chanting the Gayatri Mantra, however, can be avoided if one follows the correct practices associated with chanting the Gayatri Mantra.
Tips for Correctly Chanting the Gayatri Mantra
Being one of the most potent mantras available to the majority of the population, caution and restraint is highly advised while beginning your practice of chanting the Gayatri Mantra. The best advice for someone looking to incorporate the Gayatri Mantra into their daily routine is to get a spiritual initiation, from a credible Guru, specifically for the Gayatri Mantra. You may need to go on a journey to the famous temples of India in your search for the perfect Guru for you.
If you are unable to make the efforts of finding a Guru for yourself at the moment, don’t worry! You can begin chanting the Gayatri Mantra without an initiation as well, but remember to follow all of the steps given below for ensuring that no harm comes to you:
- Learn the Correct Pronounciation of The Gayatri Mantra: You can start with watching YouTube videos for understanding the correct pronounciation of the Gayatri Mantra. Try to not repeat along with the mantra, but listen to it first, and learn the correct pronounciation step by step and slowly.
- Learn the Meaning Of The Gayatri Mantra: Chanting a mantra while knowing its meaning is said to increase the benefits attached with the chanting. Knowing the meaning of the Gayatri Mantra can even help with motivation and devotion at the beginning of your journey. Know that in the later stages, the sound is given more importance than the meaning of the Mantra.
- Learn the Proper Method of Chanting The Gayatri Mantra: You can do a preliminary online search to get a credible source explaining the process of chanting the Gayatri Mantra.
- Do not Chant the Mantra More Than 108 times Daily For The First Week: As the Gayatri Mantra is a very potent mantra, chanting it for longer durations at rapid pace can have potential side effects. To reduce the side effects associated with rapid chanting, constain yourself to chant only 1 mala, or 108 times daily.
- Do not Chant the Mantra More Than 324 times Daily For The Second and the Third Week: Like the previous point, constraining yourself in the first 3 weeks is crucial to allow the energy of the mantra to sync with you, which can ultimately allow you to proceed with daily chanting rituals.
Best Time for Chanting The Gayatri Mantra
Since the Gayatri Mantra is associated with the sun deity, it is advised to chant the Gayatri Mantra sometime during the day. The “Sandhya Kala”, or the 20 minute windows (before and after) for the sunrise and the sunset of the day are considered to be the best times for chanting the Gayatri Mantra. Due to a lack of time, you can proceed with chanting the Gayatri Mantra in the night as well, however, chanting the mantra at night is not considered to be as beneficial as during the day.
Chanting the Gayatri Mantra should be avoided between 12:00 AM to 3:00 AM. Chanting the mantra around this time is said to attract negative energy to your life. Chanting any mantra in general should be avoided around the time of midnight till 3:00 AM. Now that we have talked in detail about the process of chanting the Gayatri Mantra, let us now, finally, look at the benefits of chanting Gayatri Mantra daily!
Benefits of Chanting Gayatri Mantra Daily
Without any further ado, let us know talk about the different benefits of chanting the Gayatri Mantra. Below are 7 wonderful benefits of chanting Gayatri Mantra daily:
- Enlightens the Mind: From the translation of the mantra, it can be known easily that the Gayatri Mantra attempts to dispel the darkness present in the minds of the serious practitioner, and fill it up with the light of knowledge. Chanting the Gayatri Mantra enlightens the mind, and improves your memory power.
- Dispels Negative Mindsets: Chanting the Gayatri Mantra helps in dealing with depression, or any other mental illnesses that you may have acquired due to your social situations. The process is not instant, however, daily chanting of the Mantra helps in dispelling negative mindsets that you might be dealing with.
- Changes the Breath Pattern and Improves the Respiratory System: Chanting the Gayatri Mantra daily changes your breath pattern to become slower, and improves the respiratory system. In doing so, it also indirectly helps with high blood pressure issues.
- Provides Glowing Skin: Chanting the Gayatri Mantra increases the Ojas in our body, and provides glowing skin. An increased Ojas can also help with keeping your energy levels high throughout the day, and keeps the tongue bright pink.
- Improves Concentration: Chanting the Gayatri Mantra daily improves concentration. While chanting any mantra can have this effect, the Gayatri Mantra is specifically known for improving brain functions and has a profound effect on the mind.
- Brings prosperity: The Gayatri Mantra is also associated with Goddess Saraswati, who is known to be Annapoorna or the goddess of food. Therefore, reciting the Gayatri Mantra is believed to be highly auspicious, and beneficial for attracting wealth, abundance, and food in one’s life.
- Spiritual Progress Towards Enlightenment: Chanting the Gayatri Mantra daily helps in spiritual progress, and moving towards the final step of salvation, “moksha”, or enlightenment. This is the ultimate aim of any spiritual practice, and results in an individual being free from all forms of suffering. Leading a life of integrity is key for faster attainment of this goal.
Conclusion
The Gayatri Mantra is an extremely powerful mantra, which when used correctly can help with the fast tracking of your spiritual journey. As you continue on this path, remember to keep upgrading your knowledge, and be in the presence of people more experienced than you. Guidance from advanced practitioners always helps in improving your own spiritual journey.
With the benefits of chanting Gayatri Mantra daily laid out, this brings us to the end of our article. When chanting the Gayatri Mantra, remember to follow the tips which have been given above, so that you not fall prey to the dangers associated with the mantra. We hope that you were able to gain valuable insights from our article. If you like our content, please return to our website for more such interesting articles!