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The Science of Gayatri & Yagna

Indian Culture is founded on the principles of Gayatri (the protector of vital life force, praana, and the Goddess of wisdom and pure intelligence) and Yagna (oblations made to the holy fire symbolizing noble deeds). Gayatri is revered as the mother and Yajna the father of Indian Culture.

Gayatri – The Protector of Praana (vital life force)

The scripture Aitareya Brahmana defines Gayatri as gayan praanan trayate sa Gayatri, meaning, “That which protects praana is Gayatri”.

• Praana means the source of liveliness, consciousness and vitality
• Presence of praana keeps us alive.
• A person having insufficient praana becomes weak, helpless, powerless and depressed.
• A person full of praana is enthusiastic, determined, courageous, patient and hopeful.

Worshipping Gayatri preserves and enhances praana in a person.

Gayatri – The Goddess of Wisdom and Pure Intelligence

According to Adya Shankaracharya, giyate tatvamanaya gayatriti, meaning, “That (righteous intellect – ritumbharaa pragnaa) through which the Supreme Being (God) can be known is Gayatri”.

• Ritumbharaa pragnaa enables us to discriminate between truth and false, fame and notoriety, good and bad, and right and wrong.
• The decision-making ability conferred by ritumbharaa pragnaa is based on divine inspiration.
• In its absence, a person cannot experience true happiness even though he may be intelligent, clever, wealthy, talented, etc. These qualities help him in accumulating materialistic wealth and power, but they also bring with them tension, fear, doubts, greed, moha (attachment towards worldly objects and people), bad habits, etc.

Gayatri inspires the brain to remain saturated with divine, virtuous (satoguni) qualities, which in turn inspire a person onto the path of true well-being. Cultivating noble thoughts and practicing righteous deeds safeguard and increase the person’s strength.

Videos on Super Science of Gayatri

Super Science of Gayatri In English (4 minutes 49 seconds)

Gayatri MahaVidya Super Science of Gayatri in Hindi (58 minutes 10 seconds) (The Greatest Mantra of all ages and all times, Gayatri Mantra. The Super Science of Gayatri being explained by Adarniya Dr. Pranav Pandya.)
Gayatri Hi Kamdhenu Hai In Hindi (54 minutes 43 seconds) (Ved Mata Gayatri ke vardano ka varnan, by Revered Dr. Pranav Pandya. He describes it in the most interesting and devout manner.)
Gayatri Mahavidya In Hindi (5 minutes 3 seconds)

Gayatri Mantra

Om bhoor bhuvah swah tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dheemahi dhiyo yo nah prachodayat

Its essence:

• Om – Brahma or Almighty God
• bhoor – Embodiment of vital spiritual energy (praana)
• bhuvah – Destroyer of sufferings
• svah – Embodiment of happiness
• tat – That
• savituh – Bright, Luminous like the Sun
• vareyam – Best, Most exalted
• bhargo – Destroyer of sins
• devasya – Divine
• dheemahi – May imbibe
• dhiyo – Intellect
• yo – Who
• nah – Our
• prachodayat – May inspire

In short it is a prayer to the Almighty Supreme God, the Creator of entire cosmos, the essence of our life existence, who removes all our sins, pains and sufferings and grants happiness; beseeching His divine grace to inculcate within us His Divinity and Brilliance, which may purify us and guide our wisdom on the righteous path.

Read more on Gayatri Mantra

Yagna

In its gross form, Yagna is a spiritual experiment of sacrificing and sublimating the havana saamagri (herbal preparations) in the fire accompanied by the chanting of Vedic mantras. This is only the outer physical process or ritual of Yagna, which has scientific importance and beneficial effects. This agni-yagna when performed on a small scale is also known as havan, homam or agnihotra.

The meaning of Yagna is not confined to this sacrificial ritual. It has a much wider and deeper meaning. The word Yagna is derived from the Sanskrit verb yaj, which has a three-fold meaning: worship of deities (deva-pujana), unity (sangatikarana) and charity (daana). The philosophy of Yagna teaches a way of living in the society in harmony and a lifestyle which promotes and protects higher human values in the society, which is indeed the basis of an ideal human culture.

Scientific Aspects of Yagna

The effects of Yagna include treatment of various diseases and the removal of atmospheric pollution. Another prominent effect is parjanya (sublime showers of vital energy and spiritual strength from the upper cosmic planes).

The four Vedas signify the philosophy of the eternity and complementarity of Gayatri and Yagna in the divine creations. The Atharvaveda deals with the sound therapy aspects of Mantras. They can be used for the treatment of the ailing human system at the physical, psychological and spiritual levels. The Samaveda focuses on the musical chanting patterns of Mantras, and the subtle form of Yagna. It defines Yagna as the process of mental oblation on the surface of internal emotions, through the cosmic radiations of the omnipresent subtle energy of sound. The Yajurveda contains the principles and the methods of performing Yagnas as a part of the spiritual and scientific experiments for global welfare.

Experimental studies have shown that Yagna or agnihotra creates a pure, hygienic, nutritional and healing atmosphere. Researchers from the field of microbiology have observed that the medicinal fumes emanating from the process of agnihotra are bacteriostatic in nature, i.e. they eradicate bacteria and micro-organisms, which are the root causes of illness and diseases. The following quotes by renowned scientists are noteworthy:

• “Burning sugar and its smoke has a significant effect in purifying the atmosphere. It kills the germs of T.B., measles, smallpox and cow-pox” – remarks Prof. Tilward.
• A Russian Scientist named Dr. Shirowich mentions – “if cow’s ghee is put into the fire, its smoke will lessen the effect of atomic radiation to a great extent”.

The following example further illustrates the scientific benefits of Yagna.

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh, India) Gas Tragedy and Agnihotra
The tragic incident occurred on the night of December 3, 1984 when the poisonous MIC gas leaked from Union Carbide factory at Bhopal. Hundreds of people died and thousands were hospitalized, but there were two families – those of Shri Sohan Lal S. Khushwaha and Shri M. L. Rathore, living about one mile away from the plant, who came out unscathed. These families were regularly performing agnihotra (havan). In these families nobody died, nobody was even hospitalized despite being present in the area worst affected by the leakage of the toxic gas. This observation implies that agnihotra is a proven antidote to pollution. (English Daily – “The Hindu” of 4th May 1985; news item under the heading ‘Vedic Way to Beat Pollution’.)

Videos about the Science of Yagna

In English Yagya Science Explanation (3 minutes 14 seconds) (The details of the science of Yagya, supported by rigrous experiments and evidence.)

In Hindi Yagya (6 minutes 5 seconds)

Videos in Hindi describing a few Yagnas

(Virat Vibhuti Gyan Yagya, Mahakal ki Chetna avatarit ho rahi hai. A glimpse of the All World Gayatri Pariwar.)

Virat Vibhuti Gyan Yagya Part 1 (56 minutes 3 seconds)
Virat Vibhuti Gyan Yagya Part 2 (38 minutes 56 seconds)

(Na Booto Na Bhavishyati, Mahayagya Ashwamegh MahaYagya held at Guna.)
Guna AshwaMedha Yagya Part 1 (55 minutes 51 seconds)
Guna AshwaMedha Yagya Part 2 (57 minutes 54 seconds)