13 August 2013 - QA 3

Dear Gurudev, the participants aspiring to do the Vedic Wisdom course want to know more about the Gayatri mantra and Sandhyavandanam. Can you please talk about this.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: You know life is three states of consciousness – waking, dreaming and sleeping. When waking state ends and dreaming state begins; when dreaming state ends and sleeping state begins, and when sleeping state ends and waking state begins, at these junction points something fantastic happens. What is that? You get a glimpse of that which is beyond the three.
Mind can experience only these three, but when it stops, you somewhere experience a state which is neither waking nor dreaming nor sleeping. And that is so Divine. And that is the basis of all of creation. A glimpse of that state is what is called Yoga.

Now, what does it do, it removes all fears and it gives a bigger dimension to life.
We think that life is my body, my mind, etc., no! There is much more to life than this.
This experience, i.e., transcending the thought and the emotions and going to another level of stillness, that is called Sandhya. Vandan means adoring that inner state.

When do you usually do Sandyavandanam? When there is transition. When the Sun is rising, the whole creation is undergoing a transition. When the Sun sets again there is a transition . So usually sunrise, sunset and the noon time, you just sit and meditate and do pranayama.

The Gayatri mantra is one of the greatest prayers mankind has.
What does it say? Let me soak in the Divine, and let the Divine destroy all my sins. The Divine light that burns all sin, let me adore and soak in that Divine light. And let the Divinity inspire my intellect.
See, all our actions happen through our intellect, right? Thoughts come and then you act. So you pray to the Divine to bring good thoughts into your mind. You pray to the Divine, 'Take over my intellect. Inspire my intellect'; dhiyo yonah prachodayat.
Dhi means intellect. May my intellect be guided by, kindled by, and inspired by you (Divinity).

When right thoughts come, your action will always be right. When intuitive thoughts come, your actions will be fruitful. So praying for the best thought. Let my mind, my whole life energy be soaked in Divinity. That is it.