The Gayatri Mantra and its Relevance to Human Vitality

The Gayatri Mantra and its Relevance to Human Vitality

- Dr Dhan Kalvakolanu


The Gayatri Mantra Japa, or Sandhya Vandanam as it is popularly known, is a ritual performed 3 times a day by Hindu men. A young boy, who starts practicing the Sandhya Vandana after a proper initiation on an auspicious day, ( i.e. after the Upanayana Sanskara) is defined as a Vatu. Thus from day one of the Upanayana sanskara the Vatu is suggested to perform this ritual every day until his demise. Typically, this Sanskara is performed when the child is close to completing 7 years of age. Although prescribed for every one in the society, during the last millennium it became an exclusive ritual for men born in the Brahmin families. In the recent years a gradual decline has been occurring in this practice in even these families. In the modern generations it has become even fashionable to say ‘who cares’ and ‘what would I get form the practice of old ritual!’ It is also seen by some people as a religious ritual performed only by the elderly who stay home. In some families it has become a clearance certification for getting married. Why did this occur? Why have we left Sandhya Vandanam practice? If one introspects into this issue, two answers emerge: 1) No one including the father who introduces the mantra to child, and the priest who administers the process clearly explains its significance and value to the Vatu. 2) Sometimes people who perform this daily ritual do not know the science behind this practice and fail to explain when asked about it. In this article I will expand the science behind this practice. I would hope that at the end of this reading, at least some of our younger generations appreciate the beauty of it and make a habit to perform this ritual.

The Sanskrit thesaurus defines “ Gayatri ” as “ gAynatam trAyasE yasmAt gAyatrI tvamta tasmrithah”, which means a song that protects the person consistently by repeating it. Gayatri is associated with goddess in the Vedic literature. She is described as a mother with 5 heads and 24 appendages, who protects the person chanting this mantra. When read superficially, this description sounds absurd and does not make sense. It is very unlikely that there was and will be a person with such a structure. However, if we can take a look at this from a different angle, it makes a better sense. According to the Hindu belief our bodies are made up of 5 materials, Pancha Bhuta, i.e. earth, air, fire, water, and space. The word earth refers to the organic nature of the body. Our body is constituted by organic materials such as proteins, nucleic acids, fats and carbohydrates. The term ‘Air’ refers to oxygen, without which we cannot even survive for few seconds. The importance of fire cannot be ignored at all. All physical actions, impulses and reactions require a source of energy (agent that fires up) preserved in the forms of chemical bonds.

The fire or energy in human body is in the form of Adenosine Tri-Phosphate (ATP), whose synthesis and destruction are essential for our physical actions, lack of which leads to death. Oxidative Phosphorylation, many refer this as aerobic Respiration, is a biochemical mechanism by which our bodies convert the raw materials (such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats) into usable energy in the form of ATP. A by-product of energy creation is the generation of wastes like carbon dioxide and urea, which unless cleared from the body can be lethal. The lungs, blood, heart, liver, and kidney play a central role in this process. Water not only participates as an ingredient in the biochemical reactions but also as a medium of transportation for nutrients, waste products, blood cells, hormones, and toxic substances that are either created in our body or accidentally ingested. Hence, the energy creation process is tightly connected to our survival. The space also plays an equally important role in our survival. For example, the entire gastro intestinal system, bloods vessels, lymph nodes, gall bladder, milk glands, heart, lungs, urino-genital system are full of spaces without which no food can be ingested and digested, no gland will secrete the enzymes, no intake of air can occur through lungs, no blood can be pumped, no milk will be available for the nourishment of babies, no germ cells (sperms and ova) produced and no immune response will occur. Thus, earth, air, fire, water, and space are not imaginary objects and they are intimately tied to our survival. The 5 heads of Gayatri, therefore, represent these five essential materials. In fact the description of Gayatri correctly includes “Mukta vidruma Hema neela dhavala chaayai Mukhair threekshanai, yukamindu nibaddha ratna makutam”. Hema (golden during sunrise and sunset) is the color of space; Neela (blue) is the color of our earth, which provides air, water and food; theeskhana (energy intensity) is the character of fire; Dhavala (clear, and not to be confused with white color in this context) is the character of water; and Indu (cold, a characteristic of the Moon) represents breeze or air. These characters are also consistent with descriptions of Taittiriyopanishad, which, when talking about human body, clearly states, “Pankam kritvA idagum sarvam’’ (everything that lives is made up of five physical materials).

The next issue about Gayatri’s description- what do those 24 appendages correspond to? They represent the 24 nodal points in the human body that govern its movements, reflexes, and behavior. Each of the letters in the Gayatri mantra is specifically chosen to have a correct influence on the body and its behavior. For each of these nodes twenty four mudras (postures) have also been described. Therefore, the mantra clearly states, “chaturvimshathi mudravai gayatryah supratishtita| iti mudra najAnAti GayatrI nishphalA bhavet|” means Gayatri should be invoked into the body by using the 24 postures, failing which the repetition of the mantra will have no effect. These postures will be taught by the “Guru” at the time of Upanayana sanskara.

Before we go further let us consider the Gayatri mantra from the philosophical perspective.

There are two varieties of gAyatri : 1) the Tripada and 2) Chatushpada. We will primarily deal with the former which is more popular and frequently used.

“Om Bhur Bhuva Svaha Tat Savitur Varenyam Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi Dhiyo yonah Prachodayat”

These words mean:
OM :- The word that is God
BHUR :- God who is eternal
BHUVAHA :- God who is the creator
SVAHA :- God who is Independent
TAT :- That eternal God
SAVITHUR :- That creative principle of light manifested through Sun
VARENYAM :- That Supreme God propiated by the highest Gods
BHARGO :- That light that bestows wisdom, bliss and everlasting life
DEVASYA :- The light of that effulgent God
DHEEMAHI :- we mediate
DHIYO :- May our intellect
YO NAHA :- Be directed by that lord
PRACHODAYAT :- Towards Illumination

This can simply be written as:
“thou my supreme lord, my innermost SELF, mayest thou open my mind and make it receptive to comprehend the deep meaning of thy word OM and enable me to purify my mind so as to unlock the door to wisdom! May my consciousness be free to experience that pure and immaculate awareness, and be able to abide in that absolute SELF. May all my propensities be erased to make me ready for the holy immersion into the supreme taintless immutable SELF.” Although the above version is used in the vedic practices, the main Gayatri mantra is contained in the following 3 lines. Hence, it is called the Tripada gayatri.

“Tat savitur varENyam“
“BhargO dEvasya dhImahi”
“Dhiyo yOnaha prachOdayAt”

Each of these lines is derived from the rig, yajur and sama Vedas, respectively. Each line has 8 letters or matras. Put together these have 24 letters representing the 24 nodes in the body. I will describe the relevance between the nodes and the letters in a later section. When uttered properly each of the words makes specific sounds. Sound has a tremendous impact on our responses. For example, some sounds make us happy, and others make us jump, dance, hum, swing, sway etc. Some sounds terrify us. These represent bodily responses to exogenous sounds. Similarly, internal organs like growling stomach (when hungry), gushing blood (though silent to our ears), flatulence from intestines, nasal exudates when cold, sneeze, heart beat and murmurs, gasping from lungs, crackling of joints also cause sounds. These are part of our homeotic responses and make a statement about our physiology. Generation of each of these sounds requires a proper functioning of biochemical mechanisms, which in turn are dependent on our metabolic state. As said earlier, our metabolism is controlled by five materials, earth, air, fire, water and space. If excess water (in the form of secreted fluids) accumulates in the lungs, it impedes air exchange in the lung alveoli. If air is not exchanged properly blood will not be purified and heart will not obtain purified blood (less oxygen). If the heart cannot pump oxygenated blood to organs, organs fail to exert their functions, become dysfunctional, and in extreme cases become paralytic. In a similar manner, if organic matter (fat material in the form of LDLs) accumulates in the arteries, impedes blood flow, and oxygen supply and hence a failure of organ functions. It also prevents the excretion of toxic materials. Thus, a state of equilibrium (balance) between the levels and dynamics of the “five materials” significantly impacts the status of our health. It should be noted expunging irritating chemicals or allergens, excretion of waste materials (urine and feces, phlegm) are also essential parts of this cyclical response. The body parts controlling all these responses should be lubricated or kept in a state of working condition in order for our survival. The cyclical periodic utterance of the Gayatri mantra ensures maintains the balances of these dynamics and in turn is believed to promote longevity. Lastly, the final word in the mantra “ prachodayat” refers to the activation of the body and mind. Gayatri is compared to our “mother” because no one else in this world wishes the best health, wealth and longevity for you than your own mother. Gayatri is also described as PrANAyAma. This is a compound word generated out of two words PrANa and AyAma. Sanskrit dictionaries define the former as life, energy, power and air and the latter as sustaining, extending, and controlling. Together, the word PrANAyAma can be explained as- “life extending” or “life sustaining”. Materially speaking “ PrANAyAma/ Gayatri Japa” can be summarized as a set of breathing exercises combined with muscle expansion and contraction and sound-initiated toning of body parts that impact our vitality and disease free survival over a longer period”. Three times in a day at equally spaced time points the humans are advised to go through this exercise of repeating the mantra(avartana or repeating cycle) at least 1008 times each time with appropriate periodicity. Like small amounts of saving of money at regular intervals enriches one’s retirement account, periodicity of this exercise enhances the vitality. Like the spaced movements of reeds on paino tunes and makes appropriate sound, like the gentle and periodic movements of ones fingers along the length of the strings on a Veena or Sitar generates melodious music, proper application of the Gayatri Mantra generates incredible vitality over time. This does not happen in one day, week or a month. It takes years of regular application. Unfortunately, neither the technique of this exercise nor its timing, and the scientific rationale behind it are explained to the user (known as Sadhaka in Sanskrit). A simple unfocused repetition of this mantra alone at variable frequencies and positions does not yield proper results. This is one of the primary reasons for abandoning the practice of Sandhya Vandana. How does one apply this? Sit straight up (no bending of backbone) on the floor facing the sun. With the right thumb close right nostril and slowly breathe in the air (for 10 seconds). As you breathe in, tighten the rectal and guteal (buttock) muscles, draw in your abdomen (stomach or belly) and then close the left nostril with the last of two fingers of your right hand. Staying in this position one should chant the Gayatri mantra (should take about 24 seconds, one letter for each second) and then slowly release the air through right nostril. Repeat the above again and again for 1008 times without moving or changing the position. A cyclical application of this technique over a longer period of time enhances vitality. I have been mentioning the nodes in the body stimulated by the frequent utterance of the Gayatri mantra, under the conditions of regulated breathing cycles.

Here is a list nodes:

1. Tat: toes
2. Sa: feet
3. Vi: calf
4. Tu: Knee
5. Va: heart
6. rE: rectum and gluteum
7. Ni: testes
8. Yam: waist
9. Bha: navel
10. RgO: stomach
11. dE: breast areas
12. Va: Chest
13. Sya: throat
14. DhI: facial muscles
15. Ma: jaws
16. Hi: Nasal tip
17. Dhi: Eyes
18. yO: eye brows and temple
19. yO: head
20. naha: forehead
21. pra: backside
22. chO: left side of the head
23. da: right side of the head
24: yAt: top center of the head

Among the available alphabet of 52 letters in the Sanskrit language only specific ones and their
combinations were chosen because, when one utters these words correctly, the resulting sound waves travel to the right part of the body in time and space and stimulate the target regions. All other combinations of alphabets have been found not to yield the full beneficial effects of PrANAyAma. The voice box in our throat is central to the generation of these sounds. Therefore, it should be lubricated and trained to utter these sounds properly, prior to the PrANAyAma. Hence the Sadhaka needs to perform Achamana (restricted in take of water 3 times) with names like Keshavaya swaha, nArAynaya Swaha, mAdhavAya Swaha……. Shri Krishnaya namaha. Interestingly, these names are also exactly 24, which again correspond to the letters mentioned above. A change in the order of utterance of these words and letters also does not yield proper results.

Why is PrANAyAma superior to regular breathing?

In normal breathing, inspired air is not distributed uniformly. In the erect posture the unit volume of lung is greater in the lower and upper parts. In normal breathing after a particular degree of stretching or even before this, stretch receptors (situated in the alveolar walls) are stimulated and send message to the respiratory centre so that exhalation starts. But in PrANAyAma we continue the phase of inhalation with our strong voluntary control so that lungs are expanded considerably and the walls of the alveoli are stretched to the maximum. Thus the chest continues to get expanded under cortical control. The stretch receptors are thus trained to withstand more and more stretching. This helps us to hold the breath for a longer period. The duration of Kumbhaka (in take) is gradually increased by the practice of PrANAyAma so that the respiratory centre is gradually acclimatized to withstand higher and higher CO2 concentration in the alveoli and the blood. This way an optimal utilization of inhaled oxygen occurs in our body. The chemo receptors, located in the medulla oblongata near the entry of the 9th & 10th cranial nerves, are sensitive to the amount of CO2 in the blood. The CO2 stimulates these chemo receptors which in turn send the impulses to the respiratory centre. The respiratory centre which would have otherwise started exhalation is now helpless against the strong voluntary control from the cortex. So in a way we are training these chemo receptors to tolerate more and more tensions and CO2 during Kumbhaka. The peripheral chemo receptors which are sensitive to lowered O2 level in the blood, would also send powerful stimulation to the respiratory centre to start exhalation. As the CO2 goes on accumulating Kumbhaka the chemo receptors report it promptly to the pneumotaxic centre which in turn tries to stimulate expiratory centre. PrANAyAma has been shown to yield benefits in curing asthma and other bronchial disorders. It may also help breath well under hypoxic conditions, such as mountain tops or if one gets caught up in fire accidents. Regular PrANAyAma prolongs disease-free survival. More importantly, it stimulates metabolic rate and helps to burn excess calories. From the economic stand point, one does not need to spend money on the purchase and maintenance costs of costly exercise equipment. One note of caution to reader: in addition to the application of PrANAyAma technique, the Sadhakas should stay away from irregular feeding habits and undue in take of high calorie diets. This is one more reason why some Sadhakas obtain sub optimal results with the Gayatri mantra Japa. Thus, unless PrANAyAma is combined with dietary regulations, one would not derive full benefits of it.


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