Posted on: 13 Dec 2010
[Evening Message] People give a lot of importance to the Gayatri mantra without realizing the true concept of it. When the actual concept is not realized, the misunderstanding misleads the people to negative results and their desired results are not at all touched. There are three subsequent steps in the spiritual path. The first step is knowledge (jnana yoga) by which you first realize the true information about the goal and its address. Then, you will also realize the true path for reaching the goal. Then, you will also realize the true status of yourself. All these three realizations constitute the triad (Triputi) of information about the goal (Jneya), path (Jnana) and the aspirant (Jnata). You must realize that your goal is the unimaginable God, who came down in human form before you in the time of your generation and He is called as contemporary human incarnation. He is called as 'Datta' meaning the unimaginable God given to you in imaginable and visible human form. Hence, every contemporary human incarnation is Datta only for the corresponding human generation. He is called as 'Guru Datta' because His main program is to preach the true spiritual knowledge, which alone can give you the true direction in your spiritual journey. The second component is the path, which is practical service to the contemporary human incarnation, which was done by Hanuman to Rama and by Gopikas to Krishna. The third component is your real status, which is to know that you are not already God and that you are only a part of the imaginable creation. The second stage is devotion, which is theoretical inspiration and emotion that is required to implement your love on God in practical service to contemporary human incarnation. The third step is the sacrifice to God in the form of practical service without aspiring any fruit in return. You must realize that service to God itself is the fruit and there cannot be another fruit for the fruit.
Case of High Level Devotees
In the second step of devotion, which is generated after having the true knowledge of goal, path and yourself, the inspiration necessary for practical service is built up. The true knowledge itself builds up the basis of devotion. People of high level are inspired by the true knowledge itself and implement the service. Mandana Mishra was inspired by the true knowledge given by Shankara through debates for several days. He was inspired by the knowledge and implemented the third step of service by following Shankara as His disciple and servant. He recognized Shankara as the contemporary human incarnation of God through the true knowledge alone. He never gave any importance to the miracle performed by Shankara in entering the house through closed doors. He recognized Shankara as God through the true knowledge explained in excellent way. The Veda says that the true knowledge (Satyam Jnanam…) and its explanation in an excellent way (Prajnanam...) are the two inherent characteristics of God for identification. Therefore, miracles are not the inherent characteristics of God since they are performed by demons also. Actually, miracles are also inherent characteristics of God only, but they cannot be taken as the identity marks since demons also get those miracles from God through rigid penance. The jewels donated by the king to a beggar cannot be the identity marks of the king and the beggar should not be misunderstood as king through these jewels. When you see the jewels with a beggar, you will remember only the king since such precious jewels can never be earned by the beggar. Similarly, when you observe a miracle performed by an evil person, you must recognize God through those miracles since no imaginable human being can have the unimaginable powers. The existence of unimaginable God is proved by the unimaginable miracles only and thus, even demons and evil persons are participating in the propagation of the fundamental concept of the spiritual knowledge. God gives these miracles to evil persons also due to this good side. The demons and evil persons will be punished for misusing the miracles on the wrong side. The inspiration developed by the true knowledge of the human form of God is the step of devotion, which lies in between knowledge and service.
Case of Ordinary Devotees
The case of ordinary human beings is different. They need sometime for the full-fledged development of the second step. They need the revision of knowledge again and again. Knowledge can be communicated in three ways viz. the Yajur Veda in the form of prose, the Rig Veda in the form of poetry and the Sama Veda in the form of songs. The first grade people like Manadana Mishra are inspired by the knowledge communicated through prose itself. The second grade of people requires poetry for communication and revision. The third grade covering majority of human beings require songs as the medium. The poetry and song act as side dishes as attraction of language for the main dish, the knowledge. People, who realize the value of medicine, can take the bitter medicine directly. But, majority requires a sugar coated pill of bitter medicine. Therefore, the information about God given in prose itself attracts the learned people. The ordinary core of people requires poetry and songs. Therefore, the best side dish is the song. The side dish is nothing but attraction of language. The Lord said that the song is best attraction of language (Vedaanaam Samavedosmi…). The word 'Gayatri' means the song of God, which protects the singers (Gayanmtam trayate iti...). The attracting information about God conveyed through the best attraction of language, which is song, should be considered as the best way of revision of knowledge for majority of ordinary human beings. 'Mantra' means the revision of knowledge of God (Mananaat iti...). The knowledge of God conveyed through song happens to be the best method of revision. This is the concept of the word 'Gayatri Mantra'. Thus, 'Gayatri' means the meter in which a poem is composed and is sung with the attractive tune or rhythm. It is said that Gayatri means the meter only, which is the mode of song (Gayatri chandah). Gayatri does not mean a deity. The deity is said to be God only (Savitaa devataa). 'Savitaa' means the creator. The three threads put on the boy in the thread marriage denote the three qualities, which constitute the creation. It conveys the concept that you should worship the unimaginable God through an imaginable item of the imaginable creation only. The three qualities (Satvam, Rajas and Tamas) exist in any human being. The living beings other than human beings consist Rajas and Tamas only because knowledge (Satvam) is absent in them. Therefore, the three qualities indicate that God should be worshipped through the human form only. When you express your love on the contemporary human form through songs, each song is 'Gayatri Mantra'. The language can be your mother tongue. The language should be the vehicle of communication of the meaning. Singing in languages like Sanskrit is of no use since the meaning is not realized by you. The climax of the tragedy of Hinduism is to chant some hymn in unknown language without any trace of singing and to call that as 'Gayatri Mantra'!
'Gayatri' means the song of God that protects all the human beings irrespective of caste and sex (Gayaan traayate iti). Thus, Mantra is any song of God that attracts your mind provoking you to sing again and again so that the knowledge conveyed by it is constantly revised. Today, people chant some hymn of the Veda present in a meter called 'Gayatri' without any trace of singing and which does not attract your mind to repeat and revise the knowledge again and again, is considered as 'Gayatri Mantra'! In view of the actual concept, it cannot be treated as 'Gayatri Mantra'. The foolish priests stamp such hymn as 'Gayatri Mantra' and further say that females and other castes are not eligible for it. First of all, what you say as 'Gayatri Mantra' is not 'Gayatri Mantra' at all in view of its actual concept. This is the first mistake. The second mistake is to deny such false 'Gayatri Mantra' to ladies and other castes. 'Gayatri' means any song of God in any mother tongue that protects any soul (Gaya) irrespective of caste and sex. The third mistake is to treat 'Gayatri Mantra' as a female deity, which actually means singing on God in any convenient language. The fourth mistake is to deny 'Gayatri Mantra' to females for which a female deity is super-imposed and reject all the female souls as not eligible. Thus, the actual concept is totally buried and a chain of misinterpretations have buried the true concept resulting in blind tradition of ignorance.