Om Bhur	bhuvah	swah
Dear God, You are the Giver and Sustainer of all life,	the Remover of all sorrows,	the Bestower of bliss
Tat savitur	varaynyam	bhargo
God, who always inspires us, the Creater of the Universe	You Alone are worthy of worship	You are the Supreme Radiance that enlightens us and removes our evil desires
devasya	dheemahi.	yo
You are the Divine Supreme Giver,	we meditate on Thee.	You who have all these qualities,
prachodyät	nah	dhiyo
Please inspire us, move forward	our	intellect so that we may be able to tell right from wrong and always follow the right path.

This mantra is called Gayatri (chant or sing) mantra because it’s chanting or singing with devotion, reflection on its meaning, and adoption of the message in one’s life leads to salvation, and attainment of God and bliss. This is the first and most common mantra from the Vedas learned by most Hindus. This mantra is included in three of the four Vedas. It is recited and chanted both as a daily prayer as well as on special occasions. The word Om, and this mantra are commonly used for silent chanting during yoga meditation. In this mantra God is described as the Supreme Being who gives us everything such as life, happiness and when we become deserving ultimately gives us bliss.  In addition, He removes our sorrows. Do your best and then learn to live with what you have; if your needs truly exceed that you have, then pray to God only and do not go begging before others. God fulfills our worthwhile wishes in His unique ways, sometimes by fulfilling the wish and at other times by giving the wisdom to deal with our circumstances. Also, be generous and share what you have with those who are less fortunate.

Next the mantra states, God is Savita—the Creator of the whole universe and all living beings. God has also given us birth and resides inside our soul (Rig Veda 10: 82: 7, Yajur Veda 17: 31, Atharva Veda 10: 8: 13). God as the inner voice to our soul is constantly inspiring us to follow the correct path and to do the right thing. The inner joy and inspiration that we feel when we do the right thing comes from God. He is the Supreme Radiance—Bharga that illuminates our soul and mind and takes us away from sins. When we make effort to get close to God—the Supreme Radiance, we are enlightened and our evil desires burn away. When we think evil thoughts or plan to do something wrong (lying, stealing, hate etc.) God creates doubt, fear, shame or an aversion in us toward such thoughts and behavior advising us to change our course because as Savita, Bharga and Deva—the Supreme Giver and Well-wisher, He always steers us towards the right path. However, this does not imply that God behaves like human beings and becomes angry or unhappy because of human follies. God is always Perfection and Supreme Bliss, who judges us based upon our karmas not because he favors one group of persons over the others in a prejudicial manner. The mantra goes on to elaborate that God—the Supreme Giver alone is worthy of worship and meditation, none else whereby we worship Him only.

What should we be seeking in prayer and meditation; wisdom, wealth or something else? Vedas say that while wealth is important and that we should earn as much as we can (Rig Veda 10: 121: 10), but when praying it is far more important to ask for wisdom, because wealth without wisdom can lead to one’s downfall. The word dhee refers to intellect with the power to discriminate and separate right from wrong, truth from falsehood, and propaganda from correct information. It also helps one understand moral responsibility and the need to act accordingly. Dhee is the intellect and wisdom that helps a person follow the path of virtue even when tempted to do otherwise.