Scientific meaning of Gaytri Mantra

GAYATRI MANTRA
scientific meaning of Gaytri Mantra
Gayatri mantra has been bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic dharma.This mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Ved-Mata, the mother of the Vedas.

"Om-bhur bhuvah swah
Tat savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dheemahi;
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat. "

The literal meaning of the mantra: O God! You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Almighty. You are all Light. You are all Knowledge and Bliss. You are Destroyer of fear, You are Creator of this Universe, You are the Greatest of all. We bow and meditate upon Your light. You guide our intellect in the right direction. The mantra, however, has a great scientific importance too, which somehow got lost in the literary tradition. The modern astrophysics and astronomy tell us that our Galaxy called Milky Way or Akash-Ganga contains approximately 100,000 million of stars. Each star is like our sun having its own planet system. We know that the moon moves round the earth and the earth moves round the sun along with the moon. All planets round the sun. Each of the above bodies revolves round at its own axis as well. Our sun along with its family takes one round of the galactic center in 22.5 crore years. All galaxies including ours are moving away at a terrific velocity of 20,000 mile s per second.

And now the alternative scientific meaning of the mantra step by step:

(A) OM BHUR BHUVAH SWAH:
Bhur the earth, bhuvah the planets (solar family), swah the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (rotations Per minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second. This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast-moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om. The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it to other colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time, hence it is set (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said, "Omiti ekaksharam brahma", meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om, which contains only one syllable (8 / 12). This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers nada-brahma a very great noise), but not a noise that is normally heard beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound Udgith musical sound of the above, ie, heaven. They also noticed that the infinite mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles / second was generating a kinetic energy = 1 / 2 MV2 and this was balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah, which means the body (vapu) or store house of energy (prana).

B. TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM:
Tat that (God), savitur the sun (star), varenyam worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific person.Hence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realize) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., Sound Om and light of suns (stars). A mathematician can solve an equation x2 + y2 = 4; if x = 2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the riverbank just by drawing a triangle. So was the scientific method suggested by Vishvamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under: -

C) BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI:
Bhargo the light, devasya of the deity, dheemahi we should meditate. The rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do japa of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra). This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realize it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled. Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under:

D) DHIYO YO NAH PRACHODAYAT:
Dhiyo (intellect), yo (who), nah (we all), prachodayat (guide to right Direction). O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path. Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra: The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om, (the name of formless God.) That God ( tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing / respect (varenyam). We all, therefore, should meditate (dheemahi) upon the light (bhargo) of that deity (devasya) and also do chanting of Om. May He (yo) guide in right direction (prachodayat) our (nah) intellect dhiyo. So we notice that the important points hinted in the mantra are:

The total kinetic energy generated by the movement of galaxies acts as an umbrella and balances the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence it was named as the Pranavah (body of energy). This is equal to 1 / 2 mv2 (Mass of galaxies x velocity2). 2) Realizing the great importance of the syllable OM, the other later date religions adopted this word with a slight change in accent, viz., Amen and Ameen.

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Agama  -  From Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia

By Shankara Bharadwaj Khandavalli



Agamas and Tantras are a vast collection of knowledge and form a major portion of spiritual literature and practices. Like the Veda, they have come down through Guru-Sishya parampara, in oral traditions. Agamas form the base for many of the popular as well as specialist aspects of Hinduism.



The word Agama means 'that which has come to (us)'. Tantra means 'that which protects with detail'. Sruti, the eternal word, is said to be of two forms – Nigama (Veda) and Agama. Two kinds of texts, Agama and Tantra are in general grouped under the same class of literature.



There are three main classes of Agamic/Tantric texts Vaishnava Agamas, Saiva Agamas and Sakta Tantras, though not limited to these. The Vaishnava and Saiva texts are generally called Agamas, while the word Tantra in general applies to Sakta texts. However, technically Tantra is a part of Agama and owing to the centrality of Tantra the two words are used often interchangeably.



Agamas expound a variety of subjects and could be called the guides to a huge range of Hindu practices. They contain

Manuals for worship

Methods for salvation, Yoga

Devata, Yantra

Prayogas using various mantras

Temple Building, Town planning

Iconometry

Domestic practices and civil codes

Social/Public festivals

Holy Places

Principles of Universe, Creation and Dissolution

Spiritual Philosophy

Worlds

Austerities

And many other interrelated subjects.




Aspects of Agama

Agama deals with three phenomena, Mantra Yantra and Tantra.



Mantra

Mantra is the sound-form of God-form and is often used synonymously to Devata. It is the means/basis for both Yantra and Tantra.



Yantra

Yantra is basically a contrivance, charged with the power of a mantra. It could be a geometric shape as in case of devata yantra or just any instrument as in case of an astra. It is the tool. The nature of Yantra depends on its purpose sought to be served.



Each devata is said to have a Yantra, a specific geometric shape that represents the nature of devata and a world model. For temporary purposes and worshipping, it could be drawn on clean floor with turmeric or some other powder, or for installations it could be carved on metal plates. The Yantra is worshipped and charged with corresponding mantra. It is treated like the devata, and is worshipped as the devata. The worship of yantra includes the worship of presiding Devata along with the consort, associate and subordinate Devatas and is an elaborate ritual consisting of propitiation of each of those.



Tantra

Tantra is the practitioner’s manual. It combines mantra, yogic methods and philosophy (Tatva-Mantra samanvaya). It elaborates procedures that a sadhaka should follow, at each stage of his sadhana.



Mantra, Yantra and Tantra are closely knit. Mantra is the energy. Yantras are geometric shapes that define the workings of various kinds of energies. Tantra deals with the philosophy and methods for redirecting and channelizing the energies to guide the spiritual evolution of the sadhaka.



Thus Tantra is the primary subject in Agamic literature. The word Tantra is in general used to refer to practices, and the subject dealing with those practices is called Tantra Sastra. To bring the spiritual knowledge of scriptures into the practitioner’s experience through well defined and time tested practices, is the essence of Tantra Sastra. For this reason, Tantra Sastra is variedly called Pratyaksha Sastra (the science of real experience), Sadhana Sastra (the science of spiritual practice) and Upasana Sastra. It has four parts or padas, jnana, yoga, kriya and carya.



The Four Padas

Jnana Pada

Jnana pada deals with worldview and spiritual philosophy. It explains the nature of universe, cause of phenomenal world, creation and dissolution, eternal and transient principles of nature, the nature of self, the philosophy of binding and liberation.



Yoga Pada

Yoga Pada specifies methods for getting into experience the knowledge that Jnana Pada expounds. It contains the procedures to be followed, through which the individual consciousness can be united with the eternal consciousness whose nature is infinite bliss. Yogic sadhana is of two forms, Antaranga (inner) and Bahiranga (external). Their purpose is to purify one’s mind, words and deeds. One can bring about the evolution of the entire being through these two kinds of practices, through which the divine principle that pervades existence is realized. The purpose of Tantra Sastra is not to simply realize the divine, but to make life an instrument of the divine, to make every action follow the divine will. That is affected when the individual consciousness is united in the eternal consciousness. Yoga Pada expounds the methods for achieving that, based on Yoga Sastra and the science of consciousness.



Yoga is of different kinds, Laya, Kundalini and Mantra. The primary emphasis of Tantra Sastra is Kundalini Yoga, and the secondary emphasis is on Mantra Marga that forms basis for invoking the energy required for pursuing Kundalini Yoga. Faith and Devotion give the necessary support for the practitioner, to remain perseverant in the path.



Kriya Pada

Kriya Pada deals with the religious aspect such as temple construction, domestic and temple rituals, pilgrimage. It also gives procedures for worship, ritual codes and the ingredients of worship.



Carya Pada

Carya Pada contains the austerity, code of conduct, regulations to be followed during Diksha.



Agamas are primarily used by three religions – Vaishnava, Saiva and Sakta.



Classification of Agamas

Vaishnava Agamas

The Vaishnava Agamas regard Vishnu as the supreme Godhead. They are said to have come from the mouth of Vishnu Himself. There are hundreds of Vaishnava Agamas. Boradly they could be classified as Panacratra and Vaikhanasa. Pancaratra, as the name suggests, involve a five-fold ritual schedule. There are about 200-225 Pancaratra texts. Vaikhanasa agamas are taught by Vikhana to his disciples like Marichi and Bhrigu.



A few Vaishnava Agamas: Isvara, Ahirbudhnya, Narada, Hayasirsha, Paushkara, Satvata, Jnanamrita sara.



Saiva Agamas

Saiva Agamas hold Siva as the supreme Godhead. There are 28 Saiva Agamas and they could be classified into two classes: 10 Siva bheda and 18 Rudra bheda Agamas. Further, the 28 are classified into four classes: Kapala, Kalamukha, Pasupata, Saiva. The last kind (Saiva) is further classified into two subclasses – Kasmira Saiva and Siddhanta Saiva. Kasmira Saiva is in vogue in the North and Siddhanta Saiva in South India. Each Saiva Agama has supplements/additional fragments called Upa-Agamas.



A few Saiva Agamas to mention: Kamika, Vira, Kirana, Parameswara, Swayambhuva.



Sakta Tantras

Sakta Agamas hold Sakti as the supreme Godhead. These Tantras are of two kinds, Vama and Dakshina. There are said to be 64 Sakta Agamas, but the number could be much more. Many of these are in the form of Siva-Sakti conversations.



A few Sakta Agamas to mention: Kularnava, Rudra Yamala, Brahma Yamala, Vishnu Yamala, Maha Nirvana.



Veda and Agama

Agamic literature has many parallels to the Vedic texts; however the major difference is that in the Vedic discipline the different texts are classified based on the subjects they deal with. The various subjects like grammar, etymology, meter, phonetics, poetry, analysis, astronomy-astrology, ritual codes, moral codes, social organization, and consciousness studies are organized into different texts and arranged in a hierarchy as the ancillary texts of the Vedic discipline. Agamic texts in contrast, though they deal with various disciplines of knowledge, are primarily meant to be guides for practitioners. Many of the above subjects are referred to directly and indirectly, without expounding them but taking them for granted (for example grammar and etymology, chandas, varna-ashrama dharma etc) clearly making them part of the indigenous knowledge system rather than a parallel or equivalent knowledge system.



To draw a parallel between the subjects commonly dealt in the Vedic and Agamic texts,



1.The Jnana Pada of Agamic texts can be considered equivalent to the Upanishad portion of Veda and the Vedic Darsanas. However, the summary of spiritual philosophy of Veda is seen at the end of the Veda and in the worldviews based on the Veda, which shows evolution from Karma to Jnana. In Agamic texts it is the other way, the philosophy forms the basis for practice.

2.Kriya-Carya can be considered equivalent to the Srauta-Smarta portions of Kalpa, in that they prescribe the ritual code and general codes respectively. The temple and individual worship prescribed in Agama are equivalent to Srauta and Grihya rituals respectively. The temple itself is regarded as a replica of Yaga Sala.