Among all the chants and slokas which the devout Hindus follow, Gayathri Mantra is considered to be the mother of all mantras. This preeminent mantra has many unique aspects associated with it, said Thirukkudanthai Dr. Venkatesh in a discourse. The Gayathri Mantra is imparted to the young brahmachary as the pinnacle of the upanayanam ceremony. While all mantras are chanted while the chanter is observing upvas, Gayathri mantra is imparted after the child is fed in a ceremony known as Kumara Bhojanam. This is to establish that the Gayathri Matra, being the mother of all mantras, cannot behold the child being hungry.
Another unique feature is that the father transmits the mantra to the child during the initiation, while all other mantras are always imparted by acharyas. The mantra starts with an invocation wherein the supremacy of the paramatma over jivatma is first acknowledged. Then the Lord, the Creator’s, omnipresence is recognised as is the fact that He is the controller of all cosmic activity. Then the mantra evokes the luminescence emanating from the Lord and beseeches that light to remove the darkness engulfing the mortal minds. Darkness in this context is all the thoughts of materialistic pursuits and worldly desires which engulf one’s mind and prevents the same from realising the presence of the Lord. Chanting the Gayathri mantra regularly clears one’s mind of negativity and undesirable thoughts and focuses the same on the luminescence of the Lord.
