Gayatri is the equal partner of the sun and the mantra for prana, with three forms. In the early morning, Gayatri is a little girl. At noon she is a young woman in her prime. In the evening she is a wise, old woman. The colors used for Gayatri are red in the morning, yellow at noon, and grey at night.

The nature of Gayatri changes according to the time of the day. In the early morning she is innocent and childish, in the afternoon she is charming and beautiful and in the evening she is full of wisdom. These are also the description and characteristics of prana. The Gayatri mantra represents the entire form of prana; therefore it is the mantra for prana vidya. It has twenty four syllables.

Om bhoor, bhoor svaha
Tat saviturvareneyam
Bhargo devasya dheemahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat.

There are Gayatri mantras for Ganesha, Brahma, Vishnu, Narsimha, Garuda, Rudra, Nandikeshwara, Gopal, Parassurama, Dakshinamurti, Guru, Hamsa, Hayagriva, Tantrika, Brahma, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Shakti, Annapurna, Kalika etc. According to the Upanishads there are thirty-four Gayatris and a complete reference to these can be found in the Narayana Upanishad.

The actual meaning of Gayatri is that which frees the senses. Gayatri mantra is like the rising sun on the horizon of human consciousness, illuminating not only the external world but the also the inner world. Vishvamitra is the composer of the Gayatri mantra. It appeared first in the Rig Veda. It is also known as the Savitri mantra.

The mala used for chanting the Gayatri mantra is the crystal mala of 108 beads.
Devi Honouring Shakti.

From the teachings of Swami Satyananda Saraswati. 1983.

Aim Hrim Klim