A colleague of mine named Ms.Suchita Shetty on few occasions introduced me to ‘All World Gayatri Pariwar’ which has its headquarters at Haridwar called Shantikunj which has emerged as an epicenter of spirituality. AWGP was established in 1971 by Pandit Sriram Sharma Acharya, Shantikunj is a major attraction in Hardidwar among visitors in search of spirituality. I have attended few discourses by the Head of AWGP Dr. Pranav Pandya. He speaks clearly expressing every word and sentence in a precise, accurate and very scientifically. He had once spoken about limitless expansion of Universe and how we can contribute to the universe in our own little way. Chanting of Gayatri mantra bestows wisdom and enlightenment, through the light and warmth of the Sun (Savitr). Sun represents the source and inspiration of the universe.
Yagya is the fundamental process of manifestation of nature. In physical terms, Yagya (homam, havan or agnihotra) is a process of herbal sacrifices in holy fire aimed at the finest utilization of the subtle properties of sacrificed matter with the help of the thermal energy of fire and the sound energy of the mantras. Modern scientific research has also shown significant therapeutic applications of Yagya and also affirmed its potential in purification of environment.
The literal meaning of Yagya is selfless sacrifice for noble purposes. It means sacrificing ego, self-interest and material attachments to adopt rational thinking, humane compassion and dedicated creativity for the welfare of all living beings in the universe. The philosophy of Yagya teaches a way of living in the society in harmony, a living style to promote and protect higher humane values in the society – which is indeed the basis of the ideal human culture.
Approximately 15 crore people are volunteers of All World Gayatri Pariwar who selflessly promote and perform Gayatri Yagya in people’s homes. Gyatri Yagya is the source of fulfilling all desires. This appears to be true in view of the positive effects, at physical, mental and spiritual levels, of performing Yagya and ideal elevation of life by adopting the universal philosophy of Yagya in action. “Agni Mode Purohitam” The first revelation of Rig Veda of is said to have given knowledge of kindling fire to the first man on the earth. The knowledge of other powers of Nature is said to have descended afterwards. Fire and thermal energy are also the key sources of materialistic development. “Fire worship” is prevalent in one form or the other in almost every religion or cult. In Hindu religion and Indian culture, the sacrificial fire of Yagya is of auspicious importance.
Five Gayatri Upasaks (practitioners) performed Gaytri Yagya at my sisters’ home in Pune. The team was led by Mr. Jatin Dave – instrumentation engineer working at L&T, Adv. Gayatri Nayak practicing lawyer in Mumbai High Court, Mr. Hitesh Joshi – a senior scientist at BARC, Ms. Suchita Shetty – lecturer in Human Resource Management and Ms. Krishna Mahajan who is studying Hotel Management. Suchita Shetty was keen to perform one yagya for me and she finally did it. All of these youngsters are well placed, highly qualified people. They do not expect anything in return. At the end of yagya, Mr. Jatin Dave appealed all of us to sacrifice ego, any fear, and jealousy in the homam. The atmosphere at home turned serene and the herbs offered in the yagya made the surrounding aromatic. Mr. Dave sat in Padmasana for almost three and half hours. The other four uapsaks were doing their jobs with agility and so sincerely. I found all five of these sevaks very noble.
It is heartwarming to learn that the young Gayatri Upasaks of All World Gayatri Pariwar carry on a campaign called “Gruhe, Gruhe Gayatri Yagya Upasana” (Gayatri Yagya in each home). The main aim of which is to revive the Vedic Culture of Yagya to harmonize the ecological balance, purify the gross and the subliminal environment of Nature and life and effectuate creation of heavenly atmosphere on the earth. Under this project, the upasaks go to homes of people to perform the yagya and the expenses are bare minimum. All that they require is the bare minimum samagri (items or contents for yagya).
The power of sound vibrations is long since acknowledged in the field of science. These vibrations can penetrate the energy spheres at the subtle and cosmic levels. All the alphabets of the Sanskrit language are endowed with special vibrational powers, which set out harmonious wave patterns when pronounced. It is interesting to note that an American Scientist has established that recitation of Gayatri Mantra produces 110,000 sound waves per second. It purifies mind, it purifies environment. Till recently it was accepted that research into science can furnish answer to all of man’s problems. Today we find increasing number of diseases including malfunctioning of body organs due to increasing severity of pollution in the atmosphere. Experimental studies show that the incidence of physical ailments, sickness and disease are reduced in the houses, where the Yagya is regularly performed.
Recently AIMS (All India Medical Science) declared based on their research chanting of Gayatri Mantra quiets the mind. If a Gayatri Mantra is pronounced every day by making it a daily practice, it can increase the power of your mind. And the AIMS team also claims good effects in concentration and development in all areas of mind and body. This powerful mantra helps people get rid of all their problems and helps fulfill wishes. Out of all the mantras, Gayatri Mantra has most phenomenal powers.
I appeal all readers of this article to at least once in lifetime perform a Gayatri Yagya at your home to reap the rich benefits for mind and body.
