Posted on: 17 Nov 2020
[An online spiritual discussion was conducted on October 24, 2020, in which several devotees participated. Some of the questions of devotees answered by Swāmi are given below.]
[Śrī Jaisrimani asked: Swāmi, I used to strongly believe in the statement “Mānava seve Mādhava sevā, which means, “Service to man is service to God”. But when I donated something to some people, I know that few of them misused my donation. Hence, I do not feel like donating to people. I do not know any mantras or any rituals to worship. I know only the Gāyatrī Mantra. Then how should I do any service to God?]
Swāmi replied: Gāyatrī is only a mode of worship. It is not the name of any particular deity. Gāyatrī is also the name of a Vedic meter. The so-called Gāyatrī Mantra is the most famous mantra composed in that poetic meter and hence it is popularly called the Gāyatrī Mantra. The deity worshipped through that mantra is God (Gāyatrī chandaḥ, Savitā devatā, Paramātmā svarūpam). The actual Gāyatrī is worshipping God by singing any sweet song on God that attracts your mind, in any language. Gāyatrī is not confined to a particular gender or only to a few castes. There is no restriction at all on who can perform this real Gāyatrī and hence, it is universal.
A song attracts the mind more than a poem and the poem attracts the mind more than prose. The mind should be attracted to the song, which praises God, so that it becomes Sāma Veda, which is the greatest Veda (Vedānāṃ Sāmavedo’smi…—Gītā). The so-called Gāyatrī Mantra is called Gāyatrī only because it is in the Vedic meter called Gāyatrī. As such, it is not the real Gāyatrī. The real Gāyatrī is any sweet song in praise of God, sung in any language, including your mother tongue, such that it attracts your mind spontaneously, forcing you to repeat it again and again (mananam), even without any desire for the fruit. A mantra is any line of prose, poetry or song, in any language, that is in praise of God and which attracts your mind, forcing you to repeat it spontaneously (Mananāt trāyate iti mantraḥ). Gāyatrī is defined as any song on God, in any language, that attracts the mind, making you want to sing it again and again spontaneously (Gāyantaṃ trāyate iti Gāyatrī). All this is theoretical worship or asambhūti upasanā. Practical worship is known as sambhūti upāsanā. It includes the sacrifice of your work for God, which means serving God. It also includes the possible sacrifice of the fruit of your work, which is the sacrifice of your wealth to God. The Veda says that both the theoretical and practical types of worship are essential to get the grace of God (Yastadvedobhayam saha…).