Meaning of “Gayatri Mantra” in English for all class students

Gayatri

Om bhur bhuvah svah

Tat savitur varenyam

Bhargo devasya dhimahi

Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat Om

The proper word order is: Om bhuh bhuvah svah/ (vayam) savituh devasya tat varenyam bhargah dhimahi yah nah (asman) dhiyah pracodayat  om.

The meaning of the words is : bhuh — the earth, the human plane; bhuvah — the plane of existence between heaven and earth, the world of beings who are in between the gods and humans; svah — heaven; vayam — we savituh — of savita, that is, of the sun; tat — that; varenyam — adorable; bhargah — light; dhimahi — we meditate; devasya savituh —of the god Savita, that is, of the sun god; yah — who; nah —our; dhiyah — power of understanding, intelligence; pracodayat — may he direct.

The meaning is — “We meditate upon the effulgent light of the sun, who is the creator of the earth, the interspace, and heaven. We pray that He may direct our faculty of intelligence.”

Note : Om is the symbol of Brahman. When one chants a sacred mantra, he should recite Om at the beginning and end in order to remember Brahman.

After their sacred thread ceremony, brahmin boys are required to meditate on the effulgent light of the sun as the symbol of Brahman, the bestower of knowledge. These “twiceborn” boys, once they are grown up and their intellects  have developed, will be able to understand after some explanation that the consciousness present in all living beings — plants and animals, ghosts and spirits, indra, Candra, Varuna, etc. as well as the limited power of understanding that is found in all sentient beings have all been derived from Brahman, the creator of the universe. By meditating on the light of the sun at the three sacred hours of sunrise, noon and sunset, the minds of the boys become fixed on the thought of the effulgent light. Then they can meditate on Brahman as the embodiment of knowledge in the form of effulgent light. Then they will be able to understar0 that Savita, the sun, actually stands for Brahma, the creator of the universe. That is why Swamiji has translated the Gayatri as he did, for the sake of spiritual seekers – “We meditate on the self-effulgent light of the Creator. May he direct our intelligence.”