Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodyat
What is a Gayatri mantra, It is a jewel among the treasures that is handed down from generation to generation. To be initiated into this sacred mantra is a great privilege. The sound or even the thought of the Gayatri's verse sets grace in action. Those who are called by her are initiated into her power by the Master.
The Gayatri Mantra is first recorded in the Rig Veda (iii, 62, 10) which was written in Sanskrit about 2500 to 3500 years ago, and by some reports, the mantra may have been chanted for many generations before that. Gayatri Mantra is a highly revered mantra in Hinduism, second only to the mantra Om. Since all the other three Vedas contain much material rearranged from the Rig Veda, the Gayatri mantra is found in all the four Vedas. The deva invoked in this mantra is Savitr, and hence the mantra is also called Savitri.
Gayatri is typically portrayed as seated on a red lotus, signifying wealth. She appears in either of these forms:
1. Having five heads with the ten eyes looking in the eight directions plus the earth and sky, and ten arms holding all the weapons of Vishnu, symbolizing all her reincarnations.
2. Accompanied by a white swan, holding a book to portray knowledge in one hand and a cure in the other, as the goddess of Education.
