Gautama See NYAYA-VAISHESHIKA.
Gayatri Mantra
Gayatri is a VEDIC MANTRA to the Sun; it is chanted
each morning by twice-born Indian men—those
who have been invested with the sacred thread,
whether BRAHMINS, KSHATRIYAS, or VAISHYAS. In
later times Gayatri was sometimes considered the
wife of BRAHMA.
The mantra is from RIG VEDA (3.62.10) to the
god of the Sun SAVITRI. Some think it the most
important Vedic mantra. It translates: “OM, Earth,
Sky, Heavens! May the most excellent effulgence
of the Sun-god (Savitri) inspire higher conscious-
ness.” Orthodox Indians chant the mantra three
times during the day, in the morning, at noon, and
at night. Gayatri is technically a Vedic meter with 24
syllables—considered the most elegant of meters.
Currently, a movement and ASHRAM are orga-
nized around the healing benefit of repeating the
mantra. It operates as Gayatri Pariwar in HARID-
VA R, India.
Further reading: Sadguru Sant Keshavadas, Gayatri:
The Highest Meditation, 2d rev. ed. (Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass, 1990); I. K. Taimini, Gayatri: The Daily
Religious Practice of the Hindus, 2d ed. (Wheaton,
Ill.: Theosophical Publishing, 1974); Bhagavati Sri Sri
Vijayeswari Devi, Sri Gayatri: The Inner Secrets Revealed,
2 vols. (New York: Sri Matrudevi Visvashanti Ashram
Trust, 2002).
Gayatri Pariwar, Haridwar See GAYATRI
MANTRA.
Ghose, Aurobindo See AUROBINDO, SRI.
Gitagovinda
Gitagovinda (KRISHNA in songs) is a SANSKRIT poem
written by the 12th-century poet JAYADEVA. Made
up of 12 chapters containing 24 songs, the Gitago-
vinda traces the passionate love affair of the young,
handsome cowherd Krishna and his married lover
RADHA, a young woman who also herds cows
(GOPI). Both sacred and profane, the work details
the love play of the fickle god with Radha, Radha’s
pain in separation from him, his eventual pain in
separation from her, and their passionate reunion.
In theological terms, Radha is the devotee who
seeks God, tastes the sweet pleasure of mystic
union, and then is abandoned only to have the
love renewed in further mystical experience. In
later Vaishnavite theology Radha was seen as an
extension of the fullness of the divine, who was
(mysteriously) both identical and separate from
him. Radha, then, becomes the energy of Krishna
that allows him to experience and impart joy.
This explains why in Gitagovinda god himself is
seen to yearn for the devotee (Radha) in parting.
Krishna needs the devotee nearly as much as the
devotee needs Krishna.
Gitagovinda is a masterpiece of Sanskrit
literature that was very influential among the
Vaishnavites of Bengal. It was considered to be
CHAITANYA’s favorite work, and stories tell of his
relish for the songs of this book. It also influenced
the Vaishnavite Sahajiyas, a tantra-influenced sect
that saw sexuality as an expression of Krishna’s
liaisons with Radha. The Sahajiyas esoteric prac-
tice joined a man with a woman not his wife as
part of the realization of the mysterious union of
Radha and Krishna.Further reading: Barbara Stoler Miller, ed. and trans.,
Love Song of the Dark Lord: Jayadeva’s Gitagovinda
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1977); Lee
Siegel, Sacred and Profane Dimensions of Love in Indian
Traditions as Exemplified in the Gitagovinda of Jayadeva
(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1978).goddess
The worship of the goddess in India probably began
in Neolithic times. There are several figurines fromgoddess 167 J