How Chanting Gayatri Mantra Can Benefit Your Brain

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My mom said she belongs to Aryan’s family. What a big deal? India is the place where Aryans migrated from central Asia and settled with their cattle. I poured all of my ‘historical wisdom’. “Not those ones. We are the one who chants ‘ The Gayatri Mantra’ in all special and auspicious occasions”, mom emphasized.

She was right. I remember the marriage ceremonies, birthdays, and festivals like Holi, and Diwali. Family members would gather around a pyramid-shaped altar or “havan- kund” filled with sandal and other high-quality woods. Which when fired filled the house with a pleasing aroma and smoke. Near the altar, a plateful of mixture filled with various herbs known as ahuti (havan samagri) used to be kept.

We were told to pick the mixture with our two fingers, the middle and the ring finger and a thumb to make the offering over the fire in the midst of chanting of Gayatri Mantra. The process was repeated 108 times, till the smoke in the room made us children suffocating. My grandfather, after completing the rituals, told us that if you chant Gayatri Mantra regularly, you will have a sharper brain.

“Elders always exaggerate about the things they want us to do. Eat green vegetables to get eagle’s eyes, drink full cream milk to run like a cat, eat ghee for a sharper brain…the long list of things”. I used to deliberately ignore their overrated pieces of advice.

SEE ALSO: I Erased Anxiety Through Mindfulness: Here’s How I Did It

The Science of mantra

However, what our family elders believed years back is now proved by science! Not just one thing, much current research is now based on those years-old phenomena. Recent AIIMS research made a huge turbulent among the ocean of people in India. Mantras can be defined as “meaningful linguistic instruments of mind”. These have melody and a well-designed mathematical precision in their construction and that their influence on the reciter and listener is similar to that is observed in people around the world listening to their beloved music that lacks lyrics.

Scientists have put forward a theory that memorizing ancient mantras could increase the size of brain regions associated with cognitive function. In a study led by neuroscientist and postdoctoral researcher Dr. James Hartzell, the brain’s massive grey matter density and cortical thickness were found to increase in those who had learned and routinely recited the Sanskrit texts for the past decade.

How to chant the Gayatri Mantra

Gayatri Mantra can be considered as the prayer that awakens and liberates the soul. It is famously mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna tells Arjun, “I am the Gayatri.” This directs us to the Krishna consciousness and tells us that chanting the mantra can help us come closer to the divinity.

The methods and places for reciting the mantra may vary. If you are a student or a learner working towards your own mental wellness, it’s important to shut your eyes and do your chanting precisely words by words, while understanding their meaning and essence. However hard it may feel to concentrate, not very late you will feel its mysticism.

Lets Dive Deep into the Gayatri Mantra

• ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः

• तत्सवी- तुवरण्यम

भर- ्गो देवसयाह धीमही

धियो यो न: प्रचोदयात्-

The Pronunciation

• Aum

Bhuh Bhuvah Svah

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Tat Savitur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi

Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat

Meaning

“O Divine mother (the creator), our hearts are filled with darkness. Please make this darkness distant from us and stimulate enlightenment within us.”

5 Ways Chanting Gayatri Mantra Can Impact Our Life

Mental and physical benefits from chanting Gayatri mantra are numerous. Its regular recitation along with yoga and meditation can “elevate and elate” us tremendously. Anything is possible to achieve with a fit mind and body. When our brain is ‘super-fit’ and body ‘super-active’, we are no less than superhumans.

These are a few benefits we can experience from chanting Gayatri Mantra just for a week only-

Increases calmness

You can feel the magic of Gayatri Mantra in calming your mind. Each word, beginning from the ohm does wonder. Serotonin “the happiness hormones”, is secreted to set you stress-free and optimistic.

Eliminates the feeling of depression

With a calm mind, the feeling of depressions almost vanish. An optimist person is less likely to be depressed. In the treatment of depression, Vagus Nerves is brought to stimulate. With the chanting of Gayatri Mantra, same nerve vibrates inevitably which then helps to eliminate depression.

Beautifies inside out

Reciting the Gayatri Mantra, along with making you feel serene, leaves an eternal effect on your persona. There is a noted increase in blood circulation around the skin. This increased circulation helps to flush out toxins and oxygenates your skin well to give it a younger and radiant look.

Your Mantra for concentration

Another great benefit of the Gayatri mantra is that you can develop your concentration and memory power to a great extent. The vibration which is created by the chanting of this mantra is directly working on the three upper chakras of your body- the crown, the third eye, and the throat chakra, and therefore it is helping your brain, eyes, sinuses and lower head. Concentration and memory power are sure to improve with this powerful mantra.

Improved personal and family Life

This may sound like an exaggeration!

In India, Goddess Gayatri is a form of Annapurna- ‘provider of food’. This is the reason why chanting the Gayatri mantra ensures bringing prosperity, wealth, food, shelter, and overall fulfillment in your life. Your life could steer towards happiness and positivity with the recitation of the Gayatri mantra.

For all these reasons this mantra has great relevance between the soul-mates. So if you are married or soon to be married, it can be your “life success mantra” too.

Wrapping up

In a nutshell, chanting of mantra (especially those in Sanskrit), may be limited to a particular occasion and associated with a specific community. Their relevance for the human creed is omnipotent. The form, language, and acceptance too may change geographically. Mantra and hymns are not merely collections of few words. They are the ‘scientific tools’ to help us understand the origin and purpose of our existence in this universe.