13 August 2013 - QA 4

Can ladies chant Gayatri mantra?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes. Nowhere it is said that ladies cannot chant.
It is unfortunate that somewhere in the middle ages, these rights of women were taken away. We have reinstated this in the Ashram. Many ladies are learning.

See it was a male dominated society. The men thought that if ladies do Gayatri Mantra, it will bring them a lot of power; healing power and sankalpa Shakti. Whatever they wish for those things will start happening. So the men said, 'No our wives are already powerful, we don’t want to make them more powerful. So we won’t let them chant the mantra'.
This is why only a small section of people kept this as a highly guarded secret.
Even yoga and pranayama was not taught to common people because it brings so much mental power. It also increases the power of the spirit in a person. And that is why they kept it as a big secret, not letting everybody know it, learn it, or practice it. But we said no way, this belongs to mankind.
So whatever faith one is, religion one is, everyone should be benefit from pranayama, meditation, and chanting.

In many hospitals nowadays, they are using Om chanting.
In Madras, in the hospital, they are chanting Om to get rid of many illnesses. The chantings are very powerful.