On the Sandhyavandanam, part 2

This is in continuation with the earlier post.

In this post I want to share the broad meaning of the gaayatri mantra. I will not even attempt to go into the multiple meanings. I am not aware of them, and I am sure there are many. An interesting thing about Vedic mantras is the layers of meanings that come with most if not all of them. Vedic knowledge is also referred to as trayee vidya (त्रयी विद्या). One reason for this is the three layers of meanings present in these slokas. These are referred to as adhibhautika (अधिभौतिक​), adhidaivika (अधिदैविक​) and aadhyaatmika (आध्यात्मिक​). These correspond to aspects pertaining to living beings, cosmic forces and our own body.

Also related to this is why shaanti mantras end with shaantih, shaantih, shaantih (शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः). We are said to have three types of troubles - taapatraya (तापत्रय​), pertaining to the points mentioned above - those caused due to living beings (infections, bites etc.), due to cosmic/natural forces (earthquakes, floods etc.) and those that generate in our body itself (allergies, diseases etc.).

Now coming to the gaayatri. One meaning of the mantra which is commonly referred to as the gaayatri is the following:

We meditate upon that ultimate/superior radiance of Lord Savita, which energises our intelligence.

Now coming to the gaayatri that I mentioned everybody can chant (sarva chaitanyaroopaam...)

We meditate upon that primordial knowledge, she who is the embodiment of all consciousness/energy, she who energises our intellect.

If you notice, both have a similar meaning. It is not, "I pray", but "we pray". I had mentioned earlier, that a person who has had the upanayana samskaara (sacred thread ceremony) must perform sandhyavandanam for the sake of all creation. This is an illustration of that. Further, if we notice both the public gaayatri (sarva chaitanyaroopaam..) and the received (from a guru, today the purohita performing the ceremony) gaayatri  carry similar meanings. Let me reiterate that the received gaayatri must NOT be chanted by all, but by only those who wear the sacred thread. The public version is literally free-for-all.

Now what does it actually mean? We will analyse it in phases. I will talk about the general version.

1. The mantra extols the intelligence/consciousness/energy behind ALL creation. In this mantra we refer to the deity in the feminine gender. A sidenote for all the feminists out there. This is an example of the exalted position actually given to women in Hinduism. This deity is also referred to as vidyaa (विद्या), which is the opposite of avidyaa (ignorance). Now these two terms are related to maayaa, which I will talk about later. For now, let us simply say that we are referring to the deity as the ultimate knowledge. The mantra also refers to the deity as aadhyaa (आद्या). This is because the deity is the origin of all that was, is and will ever be in the entire creation.
2. Now, why should this ultimate consciousness energise our intellect? It actually means to energise the intellect to move in the right direction. To guide us onto the right path. It is only by our intellect/mind that we decide which path we take. Unless one is a psycopath or someone like that, an average human being has a well-functioning conscience which points out what is felt to be right or wrong. This is irrespective of what we ultimately end up doing. Via the mantra the practitioner or upaasaka (उपासक​) asks for his intellect to be guided such that he always chooses what is morally right and beneficial to him.

I will end this post here. In the coming posts, I will share my thoughts around concepts like karma and maayaa.

References: 

http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Adhibhautika,_adhidaivika,_%C4%81dhy%C4%81tmika
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gayatri_Mantra