Gaayathree mantra is a sacred Vedic prayer to illuminate the intelligence.
OM BHUR BHUVA SWAHA
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASYA DHEEMAHI
DHI YO YONAH PRACHODAYAT
Oh Mother, who subsists in all the three Kaalas: Time – Past, Present and Future, in all the three lokas: Lokas- Heaven, Earth and Lower Regions and in all the three gunas: Gunas – Attributes: Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas.
I pray to Thee, to illumine my intellect and dispel my ignorance just as the splendorous sunlight dispels all darkness.
I pray to Thee to make my intellect serene and bright and enlightened.
Gaayathree is described as having five faces.
The first is “Om”.
The second is “Bhurbhuvassuvah”.
The third is: “Thathsavithur Varenyam”.
The fourth is “Bhargo Dhevasya Dheemahi”.
The fifth is: “Dhiyo-yo nah Prachodhayaath”.
The Gayatri may be considered as having three parts: (1) praise, (2) meditation, and (3) prayer.
First the Divine is praised, then It is meditated upon in reverence, and finally an appeal is made to the Divine to awaken and strengthen the intellect, the discriminating faculty of
man.
This mantra is the embodiment of all deities. It is not related to any particular sect, caste, idol, or institution. It is said to embody nine
“colours”: (1) Om (2) Bhuh (3) Bhuvah (4) Suvah (5) Thath (6) Savithur (powers) (7) Varenyam (8) Bhargah (9) Dhevasya.
“Dheemahi” is related to the meditative aspect. “Dhiyo-yo-nah prachodayaath” relates to the aspect of prayer.
The mantra as a whole thus contains three aspects: descriptive, meditational, and prayer.