The Gayatri Mantra is a universal prayer.  It is one of the oldest and most powerful Sanskrit mantras and is dedicated to Savitri, the deity of the five elements.  The Gayatri Mantra has three parts, praise, meditation, and prayer. 

First, the Divine is praised, then it is meditated upon in reverence, and finally, an appeal is made to the Divine to dispel the darkness of ignorance and to awaken and strengthen the intellect.

Chanting the Gayatri Mantra purifies the mind and confers devotion, detachment, and wisdom. It will protect you from harm wherever you are – at work, home, or traveling.

Westerners have investigated the vibrations produced by this mantra and have found that, when it is recited with the correct accent as laid down in the Vedas, the atmosphere around becomes visibly illumined. So, Brahma Prakāsha, the Divine Effulgence, will descend on you and illuminate your intellect and light your path when this mantra is chanted.

It is essential to recite the Gayatri Mantra at least three times daily and typically recommended once each during the morning, at noon, and in the evening. This will serve to reduce the effects of the wrongful acts one does every day. It is like buying goods for cash, instead of getting them on credit. There is no accumulation of karmic debt (the result of the action) since each day’s karma (action) is atoned and erased for that same day by reciting the Gayatri Mantra.

When you bathe, your body is being cleansed; let your mind and intellect also be cleansed by chanting the Gayatri Mantra.  Make it a point to chant the Gayathri Mantra when you bathe as well as before every meal, when you wake from sleep, and when you go to bed. And also repeat Shanthi (peace) three times at the end of the chant, for that repetition will give peace to the three entities in you – your body, mind, and soul.

Gayatri is the bestowal of all that is beneficial. If the mantra is chanted, various kinds of powers will merge into one.

“Sarva Roga Nivaarini Gayatri” (Gayatri is the reliever of all diseases).

“Sarva Dhukha Pariharini Gayatri” (Gayatri wards off all misery).

“Sarva Vaancha Phalashri Gayatri” (Gayatri is the fulfiller of all desires).

–Sri Sathya Sai speaks