In Trinidad and Tobago, the month of December is dedicated to Christmas. Although there is no unanimity amongst Christians that Jesus was born on December 25, the western world has, over the centuries, established religious, commercial and cultural events that form part of this national celebration.
In multi-cultural and multi-religious T&T, we Hindus have established our own annual cycle of religious and cultural observances. We form part of the Christmas celebrations but at the same time, we observe certain of our own religious practices that have been brought by our ancestors who came from India to Trinidad, as indentured labourers, beginning in 1845.
For more than forty years, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha and its Pundits’ Parishad dedicate one Sunday every December, and the entire day chanting what we regard as the most powerful mantra in all of Hinduism – The Gayatri Mantra.
A mantra is a word or string of words, when repeated, become an aid to concentration to devotees in meditation. Mantra is a Sanskrit word that signifies a sacred utterance that has psychological and spiritual power.
On Sunday, December 11, pundits will participate in a twelve-long hour repetition of the Gayatri Mantra. Venue was the specially constructed Gayatri Mandir on the grounds of the headquarters of the Maha Sabha at St Augustine; this structure is unique in its design and construction.
The pundits sit in a circular fashion around a raging fire called the “Havan Kund”, and at the end of each chant, they pour ghee into the fire, reciting the word, “Swaha”. This chant is repeated non-stop for twelve hours and many gallons of homemade ghee are offered into the fire.
This constant repetition of a mantra at an altar (bedi) is called a “Jaap” and performing this act and using the Gayatri prayer either verbally or mentally, is regarded as the most powerful Hindu act of worship.
The Gayatri Mantra itself is in Sanskrit and first appears in one of the original scriptures of Hindus called the Rig Veda. The Romanised version reads:
Om bhur bhuvah svah
Tat – savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi
Dhiyo yo nah pracodayat.
Hundreds of books and thousands of web pages are currently dedicated to the meaning of this mantra that is associated with the Sun God Savitri.
In a book titled Yatharath Geeta, The Geeta of True Perspectives, Swami Adgadanandaji Maharaj writes about the power of yagya (community worship).
The Swami writes, “The body is cured by medicines, but worship is the remedy of the soul, the beginning of worship is the beginning of self-cure.”
Tulsidass, author of the popular version of the Ramayan in Trinidad, writes in his masterpiece, “Ultimate bliss is granted to the man who has perceived God as well as to the man who has been noticed by God.”
And Lord Krishna, in Geeta (Gita), “If a realised sage just cast a glance at a devotee, the refinement of yog is transmitted into the life breath of the lucky soul. All beings that live are animated by the Sun – by God who is subject to Himself alone.”
And Lord Krishna continues, “Since light is life or breath, it is ordained that the Supreme Spirit can be attained only by the regulation of life breath. Transmission of pious instincts into early man is deemed part in knowledge of yog to the Sun…”
Ancient Hindus have long ago discovered that life on planet earth is influenced by the planets above and our calendar of events reflects their impact on all living things. To the Hindu, the Sun is the source of life, and the image of a half-naked sadhu standing in the river Ganges, in water waist-high and offering handfuls to the Sun, captures our reverence to that life-giving planet.
When the pundit is initiating his young “chela”, he draws the initiate close to him and whispers into his ear the Gayatri Mantra to be used daily. According to Devasthanam, “The Gayatri Mantra is traditionally whispered into the ear of a young boy in a ceremony called the Thread Giving Ceremony (upanayana), which is one of the rites of passage followed, by Hindus.”
In addition, the Gayatri Mantra is repeated during daily prayers performed by many Hindus three times a day, while facing the sun; at sunrise; at noon and at sun set. It is also common to recite the Gayatri as part of a Havan or to recite it in a collective way in temples or homes.