Gayatri Mantra

There are many different mantras for many different purposes. Some are ordinary and some are considered Mahamantras. Two Mahamantras that immediately come to mind are the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, which is considered the Yuga Dharma, and the Gayatri mahamantra.(Gayatri-Mantraratha-dipika)

Lord Shri Krishna in the Bhagavad Geeta (BG 10:35.) says: " Amongst the chanted mantras, I am the Gayatri"

Of the hymns in the Säma Veda I am the Brihat-säma, and of poetry I am the Gäyatri. Of months I am Märgashirsha [November-December], and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring.

PURPORT
................In Sanskrit, there are definite rules that regulate poetry; rhyme and meter are not written whimsically, as in much modern poetry. Amongst the regulated poetry, the Gäyatri mantra, which is chanted by the duly qualified brähmanas, is the most prominent. The Gäyatri mantra is mentioned in the Shrimad-Bhägavatam. Because the Gäyatri mantra is especially meant for God realization, it represents the Supreme Lord. This mantra is meant for spiritually advanced people, and when one attains success in chanting it, he can enter into the transcendental position of the Lord. One must first acquire the qualities of the perfectly situated person, the qualities of goodness according to the laws of material nature, in order to chant the Gäyatri mantra. The Gäyatri mantra is very important in Vedic civilization and is considered to be the sound incarnation of Brahman. Brahmä is its initiator, and it is passed down from him in disciplic succession. (Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Bhagavad Gita 10:35. purport.) It is also stated, "....of poetry I am the Gäyatri verse, sung daily by brähmanas."(ACBSP. 12th August 1976. Evening darshan. Tehran, Iran)

Srimad Bhagavatam 11:16:12. also confirms:

Among the Vedas I am their original teacher, Lord Brahmä, and of all mantras I am the three-lettered oMkära (AUM). Among letters I am the first letter, “a,” and among sacred meters I am the Gäyatri mantra.

And our samstaka-acharya has said; "So you are being accepted as qualified brähmana, but keep your qualification. Then your life will be sublime. Keep your life. Yes. So this is a chance given by the Päncharätrika system. It doesn’t matter how he is born. Nobody is responsible for his birth, but everyone is responsible for his work. So you work like a brähmana, like a Vaishnava, and chant Hare Krishna, and chant this Gäyatri mantra, and your life will be sublime. So don’t neglect it. You are being initiated according to the order of our predecessors, Caitanya Mahäprabhu........" (Srila A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. 25th May 1969. Initiation lecture excerpt. New Vrindavan, USA.)

So it is considered that among all the sacred mantras India has seen since times immemorial, Gayatri is among those still held in the highest esteem and all our sacred texts and books hold a unanimous view that for Brahmins no other mantra is greater than Gayatri.

What is a Mantra ?
A mantra is a very very brief prayer or a salutation to a deity that is supposed to grace the devotee if chanted for a fixed number of times regularly. In general all the mantras require to be chanted 108 times but Gayatri can be chanted even 10 times. A mantra is packed with supernatural powers with a lot of hidden meaning though outwardly it may look very simple. Therefore both the giver of a mantra (the instructor or the guru) and the receiver (the shishya) should first deserve and understand their respective positions. Otherwise a mantra will become impotent bringing no results at all.

Gayatri Mantra :
Although all the mantras in Rigveda are the holy words of which none can be considered high or low in respect of power and potence, the Gayatri has a special place in the Vedic literature. We come across this mantra in the Third Mandala as the tenth mantra in the 62nd Sukta. The sage is Vishwamitra and the metre is Gayatri and the deity of the mantra is the most gracious one - Savita, the sun-god or the presiding deity of the sun. Because of 'sandhi' or the combination of words in the mantra the name of the deity Savita, is hidden and many of us will be surprised to-day if we state that the deity to whom the mantra is addressed is Savita, an ancient god of India.

Vishwamitra was a kshatriya by birth but became a Brahmin later (which was considered to be an achievement of the highest order those days, when money was not the yard stick) by chanting only the Gayatri Mantra. Therefore, even to-day this is one mantra that is taught without any exception to a Brahmin vatu at the time of thread ceremony.

Three Dimensions :
Gayatri mantra has three dimensions. The metre in which it is composed is called Gayatri, i.e. three lines with eight letters each and this is the smallest metre in the poetry of Rigveda and all other metres are the extension of Gayatri Metre with more letters and more lines. Therefore in respect of prosody Gayatri is regarded as the Mother of Prosody.

Lord Brahma's Consort :
Lord Brahmha, the Creator's consort is Gayatri and as she is supposed to be the Mother of Vedas, before one chants the Gayatri, one has to invoke her blessings. Here again Gayatri Mantra is regarded as the Mother of Vedas as the mantra is supposed to be the tiniest condensation of all the four Vedas. As stated earlier, the deity of the mantra is Savita who gives strength and energy to all the living beings from morning till evening everyday during the course of the sun.

Chanting :
While chanting Gayatri Mantra "Om" is prefixed and in addition to it there will be three more words, "Bhoo, Bhuva and Swaha" which are called "vyahriti" indicating, the Earth, the Firmament and the Heaven to suggest that the Lord Almighty is pervading all these three regions (worlds). In simple words, the mantra proper states, "We meditate upon the adorable glory and the brilliance of Lord Savita to stimulate our mental power of the highest order. "(Dhee shakti is supposed to be the greatest mental power any human being can think of, as it is the basis of enlightenment.)

OM bhuur bhuvaH svaH tat saviturvareNyam
bhargo devasya dhiimahi dhiyo yo naH prachodayaate |

OM. I adore the Divine Self who illuminates the three worlds -physical, astral and causal; I offer my prayers to that Supreme God who shines like the Sun. May He enlighten our intellect.

This mantra is considered to be the greatest of all Mantras. Those who repeat this mantra with devotion develop a brilliant intellect. This Mantra grants health of body and mind, and also success, peace, prosperity and spiritual enlightment.

Hear the correct swara for the brahma gayatri HERE

The founder of this Gayatri mahamantra (invocation to the Lord or meaningful prayer to the Lord) is sage Vishwaamitra Rishi. He was born a king, and after loosing battles after battles with sage Vasistha by using various arms and ammunition, he prayed to the Lord for many many years and attained a higher degree of knowledge with the title "Rajarshi" meaning, even being a king, he also attained a high level of knowledge of the Lord; but he wanted to attain the same level as Vasistha, that is to become a "Brahmarshi" "knowler of Brahma", ie, the one who sees in everybody else the same Lord; simply put, the one who loves everybody equally and acknowledges that the Great universal power called by different names is ONE SINGLE ENTITY known by many names to describe Him.
After lot more study, practise, he finally attains that knowledge and is one among the "Saptharshis" "7 great knowledgeable and realised teachers".

The prayer "Gayatri Mantra" is addressed to the Lord Sooryanarayana, or "Sun God"; Sun is the everyday visible (exception North/South poles!) power of that Universal Power/Lord and is the LIFE SUSTAINING POWER FOR ALL, PLANT, ANIMAL AND HUMAN LIVES.

"Regarding the Gayatri Mantra, to say it silently is also chanting. Every mantra is recommended to be uttered silently, but specifically this Maha (Hare Krishna) Mantra can be chanted both ways: loudly and silently. The meaning of the first Mantra is ``I meditate on the sungod who is maintaining the three worlds.'' Savitur is the name of the sungod, but the greatest savitur is Krishna. Therefore it is meditation on Krishna who is the master of all the cosmic manifestation." (Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. 2nd November 1969. extract of letter to Mandali Bhadra dasa, Tittenhurst, England)

dhyeya sadA savitr maNDala madhyavartI
nArAyaNaH sarasijAsana sanniviSTaH
keyUravAn makara kuNDalavAn kirITI
hArI hiraNmaya vapuH dhrta zaGkha cakraH

 "One should meditate on the form of Lord NArAyaNa situated in the sun globe. He is seated on a lotus, with golden bracelets, crown, shark earrings; he is golden in complexion, and holds the shankha and chakra in his hands."

oM AyAtu varadA devI
akSaraM brahma saMmitam
gAyatrIM chandasAM mAtedaM
brahma juSasva naH

 "May GAyatrI devI, bestower of benedictions, eternally the absolute truth come at this time of chanting. GAyatrI devI, who is glorious in the Vedas, the source of all meters, the source of all living entities, be kind to us."

ojo' si sahosi balamasi bhrAjo' si devAnAM dhAmanAmAsi vizvamasi vizvAyuH
sarvamasi sarvAyurabhi bhUr

 "You are unborn, you are strength, you are victory. You are the abode of the devatas, You are the universe and the life of the universe. You are everything and the life of everything. You are supreme."

You all know that early morning without fail everyday He rises and if we have slept well in time in the previous night, we too automatically get up or our sleepy nature quickly departs, and we are "up and about" "fresh"; when your parents ask you to do some ticklish maths or science study just before bed-time, you would say " I will do it tomorrow morning when I am fresh or my brain is clear!"

1. So we pray to Him "I pray for clear and steady mind, without doubts about what my teachers and parents teach"

2. I pray that I do not unnecessarily get angry just because something being told is not agreeable to me at my present state of knowledge; I will analyse it without passion( impartially) and accept it.

3. Just as the brilliant rays of sunshine/sunrays brighten up the whole world/universe, I pray the Lord expands my knowledge base and fills any vacuums (dark spots) of "ignorance" with the Light of Knowledge, through my teachers and parents/friends teachings, by observing good practice, etc. A room may be in total darkness for 100 years, but the instant a candle or a lamp is lit in that room, it does not take 100 years for the "darkness" to leave the room, it is "dispelled" instantly. Similarly, Oh Lord, is the Power of Your rays of bright knowledge -Let that shine one me..

4.I pray that You enhance my undrstanding of how to live in this world in harmony with the nature and the beings (animals,human beings included!)

5. I pray that by listening to such teachings and practising good conduct, I be made aware quickly whenever I am not on the right path, so that I can correct my course quickly and get back into the RIGHT TRACK, in my studies, in my relationships, in my workplace, in my society and World at large.

6. I pray that the Lord gives me such clear and right judgement power over my own anticipated action-plan or impulsive actions/decisions I take, without having to deliberate for long on "what is right action and what is not-right action"(Dharma-Adharma)

7. I pray that the Lord grants me the power to undrstand various simple/complex situations in the life, and how to appropriately and correctly conduct myself in my meeting and associations with people of different personalities/traits, and Oh Lord, pray that by Your Grace let my actions be always Right.

SUN is our greatest benefactor. Sun is the source of energy to plant life, He evaporates the seawater and thus enable us to get sweet rain-water which is the source of all rivers and our only source of water (even the desalinated water supply is also possible only because the seawater in the ocean is constantly replenished by Him by rains in one part of the world or the other, or through the Greenhouse effect, accumulated 'storage of sweet water" ice/snow melts to supplement the source of water!.) He gives us light, He gives us heat, He gives coolness (Moon is the reflection of sunlight as you know); he is the processor of all food (plant life germinates, grows, flowers, bears fruits/vegetables, fruits ripe and vegetables grow to the required consumuable state, and old plants/dead animals etc dry up and merge back with the mother earth thus cleansing the Environment); He ensures that the plant life/trees produce oxygen for us. And above all, he is TIME, we count yesterday,today,tomorrow everything on the basis of HIS MOVEMENT. So to that Lord of UTMOST POWER AND GREATNESS AND KINDNESS WE BOW DOWN AND PRAY ALL THE TIME.

SUN never fails and does His Duty EVERYDAY AT ALL TIMES. Once Anjaneya (Maruthi, Hanumanji) approached SUN UNIVERSITY (Sun God) and requested him to teach him ALL KNOWLEDGE. The Sun Lord said "I cannot stop and teach, if you are prepared to follow me day and night, I will continue my daily duties to the World and at the same time teach you too. The great and gallant Hanumanji (He was only 10 year old at that time) not only agreed to learn whilst travelling, but with utmost humility and respect to his Teacher the Sun Lord, learnt ALL KNOWLEDGE in 60 days by traversing backwards (facing the Lord all the time) at equal speed!
Now don't you want to say "Three cheers to Lord Sun" (and Shri Ramadasa Hanumanji)?

That is what we do in the above Great prayer Shri Gayatri Mahamantra in "Sanskrit" language.

Lord Savita :
As we have already seen, the presiding deity of Gayatri Mantra is Lord Savita, who is closely connected to Surya the sun. While the Surya signifies the sun - the body visible to us to the naked eyes, the divine power behind it is not visible to the eyes and it is this invisible power that is hailed and worshipped as Lord Savita. Rigveda says that he is visible in the form of the sun who is the giver and the sustainer of life on this earth and is a great friend of the people on the right path. While guiding, directing, controlling and supervising all the activities on this earth, day in and day out he is the bestower of every thing. Therefore we pray to him to stimulate our thinking for the spiritual enlightenment that alone can bring us everlasting peace and happiness when all other worldly things can not do it. Here is Lord  Savita’s message that has withstood the test of time:
 

Lord  Savita’s Message

 If you want to be out of debt and trouble,
 Don't you play dice, never should you gamble;
 Don't you get drunk, that will bring you ruin
 Thrown out will you be, by your kith and kin.

 Don't drink and gamble, work on your farm and field,
 Garner wealth this way, satisfied with the yield;
 Working hard you earn wealth that makes you good
 Family and your people then love and cheer you loud.

 (Poem by Shri K.G. Mallya based on Mandala 10, Sukta  34,  Rigveda, reproduced from his book, Gayatri)

Greatness of Gayatri :
Gayatri is great only because through this prayer no wealth or earthly possessions are sought for like any other mantras. Incidentally while the first three Vedas have in them the sacred Gayatri Mantra, Atharvaveda does not contain it but there is a beautiful mantra addressed to Mother Goddess Gayatri that depicts that by chanting it regularly one will remain pure besides getting longevity, progeny, wealth, fame, health, happiness and the brilliance of and the lustre of Brahma. After granting all these boons Mother Gayatri will take the devotee to Brahmaloka leading by hand and present to the very Lord Himself. When we are taught Gayatri Mantra and when we know how to chant it, by spending a few moments in the daily routine, if we are going to get whatever we want, should we not try in this direction?

A Brahmin is supposed to chant the sacred Gayatri at least 10 times a day (30 times is best - tri-sandhyam).

Gayatri is taught along with first two to five hymns of Rigveda which the vatu is supposed to repeat at the Upanayam Ceremony as it used to take place thousands of years ago in the gurukula, the ancient school. But subsequently whether the Brahmachari is going to chant Gayatri everyday in his life, this depends on the attitude of the parents and the vatu himself as it would thereafter be solely a personal matter. Although Gayatri is very sacred and powerful, it is not propagated extensively in the modern times. Rarely Gayatri Japa Yajnas are taking place in the South Indian households as in the case of many households in the Northern India too.

Gayatri teaches the chanter her secrets
   By chanting the Gayatri Mantra, the mantra itself reveals the teachings within it.

The Gayatri is flawless and whole. The Gayatri Mantra regenerates unobstructed perception in the same way that crops are renewed. For example, wind carries seeds onto the terrain. In time and by the right conditions, wild flowers and wheat inherit the fields. Again and again an unobstructed flow, season after season. The Earth propagates her seeds and in turn the seeds flourish, grow and produce another generation. The mantra works like that, it is seeded by your chanting, it expresses and propagates. Gayatri’s meaning is like the good season that prospers the Earth. Fruit comes forth again and again. Like a surrendered seed is carried by the wind, we too surrender our intention into the universal intention and the Gayatri flowers in places and at times that we may be or may not be aware of. Gayatri is like the power in the sun.

How can we really speak about such a thing, is it comprehensible at all? Any definition that you hear may be compared to just one grain of sand upon infinite shores. A definition can never indicate the immense significance and intensity of this great mantra.

Can Ladies Chant Gayatri?
Just like the question can women worship the Shalagram, this is an often asked question. Since it is a prayer seeking stimulation for higher mental power, the answer is definitely "yes". There should not be any doubt about it. But to be more effective they should be first initiated to chant but fortunately or unfortunately during the post Vedic period, ladies were deprived of having upanayanams and thereby they have lost for ever the right to receive the mantra. Still it is better if they know what this mantra stands for. In the upanayanam ceremony the Mother has a very big role to play as she is preparing her son to go to gurukula to receive the formal education when she herself was the first teacher to the child after the birth. Therefore she has every right to know what the child is going to learn. Then at least for two valid reasons the ladies are entitled to know the mantra. Firstly a married lady will sit as a partner of her husband during all the religious ceremonies except the ones associated with the funeral rites and rituals. Secondly, they as custodians of our culture can inspire the children to chant that mantra of mantras Gayatri, if they know its significance.

Gäyantam träyate yasmäd gäyatri tvam tatah smritä: one who chants the Gäyatri mantra is gradually delivered from the material clutches.

Gayatri Mantra has bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic Dharma. This Mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Ved-mata , the mother of the vedas. The literal meaning of the mantra is :

In the Brahma-samhitä (5.27–28) it is stated:

atha venu-ninädasya trayi-mürti-mayi gatih
phuranti praviveshäshu mukhäbjäni svayambhuvah
gäyatrim gäyatas tasmäd adhigatya saroja-jah
samskritash chädi-gurunä dvijatäm agamat tatah
trayyä prabuddho ’tha vidhir vijïäta-tattva-sägarah
tushthäva veda-särena stotrenänena keshavam

“Then Gäyatri, mother of the Vedas, having been manifested by the divine sound of Shri Krishna’s flute, entered the lotus mouth of Brahmä, the self-born, through his eight earholes. Thus the lotus-born Brahmä received the Gäyatri mantra, which had sprung from the song of Shri Krishna’s flute. In this way he attained twice-born status, having been initiated by the supreme, primal preceptor, Godhead Himself.

Enlightened by the recollection of that Gäyatri, which embodies the three Vedas, Brahmä became acquainted with the expanse of the ocean of truth. Then he worshiped Shri Krishna, the essence of all the Vedas, with a hymn.”

The vibration of Shri Krishna’s flute is the origin of the Vedic hymns. Lord Brahmä, who is seated on a lotus flower, heard the sound vibration of Shri Krishna’s flute and was thereby initiated by the Gäyatri mantra.

O God ! You are Omni present, Omni potent and Almighty. You are all light , You are all knowledge and Bliss. You are Destroyer of Fear, You are Creator of this Universe, You are the Greatest of all. We bow and Meditate upon your light, You guide our intellect in the right direction.

antaryämi ishvarera ei riti haye
bähire nä kahe, vastu prakäshe hridaye

SYNONYMS
antaryämi—the Supersoul; ishvarera—of the Personality of Godhead; ei—this; riti—the system; haye—is; bähire—externally; nä kahe—does not speak; vastu—the facts; prakäshe—manifests; hridaye—within the heart.

TRANSLATION
Rämänanda Räya continued, “The Supersoul within everyone’s heart speaks not externally but from within. He instructs the devotees in all respects, and that is His way of instruction.”

PURPORT
Here Shri Rämänanda Räya admits that Shri Caitanya Mahäprabhu is the Supersoul. It is the Supersoul that inspires the devotee; therefore He is the original source of the Gäyatri mantra, which states, oM bhür bhuvah svah tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayät. Savitä is the original source of all intelligence. That Savitä is Lord Chaitanya Mahäprabhu. This is confirmed in Shrimad-Bhägavatam (2.4.22):

pracoditä yena purä sarasvati
vitanvatäjasya satim smritim hridi
sva-lakshanä prädurabhüt kiläsyatah
sa me rishinäm rishabhah prasidatäm

“May the Lord, who in the beginning of the creation amplified the potent knowledge of Brahmä from within his heart and inspired him with full knowledge of creation and His own self, and who appeared to be generated from the mouth of Brahmä, be pleased with me.” This was spoken by Shukadeva Gosvämi when he invoked the blessing of the Supreme Personality of Godhead before delivering Shrimad-Bhägavatam to Mahäräja Parikshit. (A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya-lila 8:265. purport.)

Modern Astrophysics:
The Mantra however has a great scientific importance too, which some how got lost in the literary tradition. The Modern astrophysics and astronomy tell us that our galaxy called Milky way or Akash ganga contains approximately 1,00,000 millions of stars, each star is like our sun having its own planet system we know that the moon moves round the earth and the earth moves round the sun along with the moon. All planets around the sun each of the above bodies revolves round at its axis as well. Our sun along with its family takes one round of the galactic centre in 22.5 crore years. All galaxies including ours are moving away at a terrific velocity of 20,000 miles per second. And now the alternative sceintific meaning of mantra step by step is :

a) Om bhur bhuvah swah : bhur - the earth, bhuvah - the planets ( solar family ), swah - the galaxy.

We observe that an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (Rotation per minute) moves, it makes noise then one can imagine what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second .This is what this portion of mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast - moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om. The sound was heard during meditation by rishi Vishwamitra, who mentioned it to other colleages. All of them then unanimously decided to call this sound as Om one of the name's of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time hence it is set permanent - eternal.

Therefore it was first ever revolutionary idea to identify formal God with a specific title ( form ) called upadi. Untill that time every body recognised God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In Bhagavad Gita also it is said "Om iti ekaksharam brahma" meaning that the name of the supreme is Om, which contains only one syllable (8 / 12 ). This sound Om heard during samadi was called by all the seers nada - brahma a very great noise, but not a noise that is normally beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the Rishis called this sound musical sound of the heaven or Krishna's flute tone. They also noticed that the infinate mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles per second was generating a kinetic energy = 1/2 mv2 and this is balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah which means the body ( vapu ) or store house of energy (Prana).

b) Tat savitur varenyam : Tat - God - the Lord, savitur - of the sun, varenyam - worthy of bowing or respect.

Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific Person. Hence the two titles ( upadi ) provide the solid ground to identify the once known formless God in form. The Sage Vishwamitra suggested: He told us that we could know ( Realize ) the unknowable formless God as a Person through the known factors Viz., Sound Om and the Light of Suns ( stars ) (nakshatrani rupam). A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the riverbank just by drawing a triangle. So was the scientific method suggested by sage Vishwamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under :--

c) Bhargo devasya dheemahi : bhargo - the Light or Effulgence, devasya - the deity , dheemahi - we should meditate

The Rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (Light of Sun ) to discover the formless creator ( God ) seated within the Sun globe.  This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realise it, as the human Mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the supreme it cannot be controlled. Hence sage Vishwamitra suggests the way to pray as under :--

d) Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat : dhiyo - intellect, yo - he who, nah - we all - all of us, prachodayat - enthuses or guides to right direction.

O my Lord ! deploy our intellect on the right path. Full scientific interpretation of the mantra : The Earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great Velocity, the sound produced is Om, (the name of the all pervading God). That God (tat) who Manifests himself in the form of the radiating light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing / respect (varenyam). We all, therefore should meditate (dheemahi ) upon the light eminating from Him (bhargo) of that deity (devasya)  May He (yo) guide us in right direction (prachodayat) our (nah) intellect (dhiyo), so we notice and understand all the important points that He is teaching us through reflection at the conjunctions of every day.

This prayer is not offered to the sun-god as an independent or autonomous entity but rather to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, represented by His powerful expansion the solar deity.
(SB 12.6.68 purport.)

yad u ha väva vibudharñabha savitar adas tapaty anusavanam ahar
ahar ämnäya-vidhinopatiñöhamänänäm akhila-durita-våjina-
béjävabharjana bhagavataù samabhidhémahi tapana maëòalam.

SYNONYMS
yat—which; u ha väva—indeed; vibudha-åñabha—O chief of the demigods; savitaù—O lord of the sun; adaù—that; tapati—is glowing; anusavanam—at each of the junctures of the day (sunrise, noon and sunset); ahaù ahaù—each day; ämnäya-vidhinä—by the Vedic path, as passed down through disciplic succession; upatiñöhamänänäm—of those who are engaged in offering prayer; akhila-durita—all sinful activities; våjina—the consequent suffering; béja—and the original seed of such; avabharjana—O you who burn; bhagavataù—of the mighty controller; samabhidhémahi—I meditate with full attention; tapana—O glowing one; maëòalam—upon the sphere.

TRANSLATION
O Glowing One, O powerful lord of the sun, you are the chief of all the demigods. I meditate with careful attention on your fiery globe, because for those who offer prayers to you three times daily according to the Vedic method passed down through authorized disciplic succession, you burn away all sinful activities, all consequent suffering and even the original seed of desire.
(SB 12.6.68 text)
 

Bending over in obeisance thumbs behind ears, my hands cupped over the ears and chanting:

abhivAdaye
vaisvAmitra
AghamarSaNa
kauzika
trArSeya pravarAnvita,
acyuta gotraH,
ApastaMbha sUtraH,
yajuH sAkhAdhyAyI,
srI jaya tirtha charaNa dAsa sharmA nAmAham asmi bhoH

..with forearms crossed as though touching Someone's feet, and while still bent over before standing again I offer my respects.

 As we chant the following prayers to Lord NArAyaNa with palms folded in front of the chest.

kAyena vAcA manasendriyair vA
buddhyAtmanA vA prakrteH svabhAvAt
karomi yad yat sakalaM parasmai
nArAyaNAyeti samarpayAmi
nArAyaNAyeti samarpayAmi oM namaH iti

 "Whatver I have done by body, words, mind, senses, intelligence, and soul, or by force of nature, I offer that unto the supreme Lord, NArAyaNa."

hariH oM tat sat srI kriSNArpanam astu

 "Oh My Lord, may this be an offering to Lord KrSNa."

SrI krSNa krSNa krSNa