Prana of Gayatri is Life-affirming

Prana of Gayatri is Life-affirming


Indian culture is founded on the principles of Gayatri, protector of prana and the goddess of wisdom and pure intelligence and Yajna, noble deed. Gayatri is revered as the mother and Yajna the father of Indian culture.

The Aitareya Brahmna defines Gayatri as that which protects prana. Prana means the source of liveliness, consciousness and vitality. The element within us that grants us the ability to move, work, think and possess wisdom and life is called prana.

It is the presence of prana that keeps us alive. When prana leaves the body, a person dies and the body becomes useless. Prana is the soul residing in our body. Due to the presence of prana, living organisms are called prani.

A person who is full of prana lives in a different world. He is enthusiastic, determined, courageous, patient, hopeful and active. Human strength is derived from prana, not from bones and muscles.

A person whose prana is strong and protected from becoming deple-ted becomes powerful and hardworking and achieve happiness in the external world mate-rialistic happiness and of the inner self, spiritual happiness.

The essence of life is prana because it controls physical capabilities. God has provided this prana in plenty to us; its infinite store is present all around us.

We can acquire prana from this store as per our determination and worthiness. Aitareya Brahmna provides a solution on how to prevent the waste of prana and preserve it, by invoking the grace of Gayatri.

According to Adi Shankara, righteous intelligence through which that Being, that reality, can be known, is Gayatri. Ritum-bhara prajna is that aspect of the brain that enables us to discriminate between truth and untruth, fame and notoriety, good and bad, and right and wrong.

The decision-making ability conferred by ritumbhara prajna is based on divine inspiration. It is a powerful attribute; no other power in the world is as bene-ficial as ritumbhara prajna.

Gayatri inspires the brain to remain saturated with divine, virtuous qualities, which in turn inspires man onto the path of true well-being.

Cultivating noble thoughts and practising righteous deeds safeguards and increases our strength. With every act, we become stronger. On the other hand, thoughts and actions ins-pired by impure intelligence decrease the power of prana day by day.

True wisdom keeps your lifestyle satvika pure and austere by maintaining control over the senses like wilful avoidance of tasty food, practising celibacy, simple and natural daily routine, hardworking attitude. These qualities keep life energetic, preserve our strength and increase lifespan.

Normally an individual is trapped in maya due to which he remains attached to constricting elements in life. He experiences pain and suffering and ends up having led a purposeless life. This happens because of the lack of righteous knowledge.

Gayatri acts as a bright, divine light, a message of hope for people caught in the darkness of ignorance. It opens up the door to material, spiritual and mental bliss.

It grants us a third eye; the eye of wisdom through which we can look at the world prudently and attain the aim of life, self-awakening. This is the philosophy of Gayatri.

The writer is Chancellor of Dev-sansakriti Vishwa Vidyalaya, Hardwar.

Seats vacant in tech schools amid quota cry

Seats vacant in tech schools amid quota cry

Sanjay Singh NEW DELHI, Oct. 3: While the Centre is attempting to increase the number of seats in higher educational institutions to ensure smooth implementation of OBC reservation, many states have not filled up vacant seats in their technical institutions, thus depriving students of valuable opportunities. The states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Kerala have an approved intake of 1,26,198 seats per year. However, they have been able to fill only a total of 1,18,031 seats, leaving 8,167 seats vacant. A senior official of the Union HRD ministry told The Statesman that for the past eight years, the position of vacant seats has remained the same. This adds up to as many as 65,336 vacant seats till date. Of these vacant seats, 30 per cent are in Meghalaya, 18 per cent in Kerala and over five and six per cent in Karnataka and Maharashtra respectively. Other states have not furnished figures of vacant seats in technical institutions so far. While state governments have cited various reasons for their inability to fill up vacant seats, according to AICTE guidelines, a technical institution is given seats as per its infrastructure. If senior AICTE officials are to be believed, funds and aid through government agencies and other sources are taken on behalf of these vacant seats too which adds to the institutions’ coffers. State governments, too, are largely indifferent about sorting out the issue of vacant seats in these technical institutions. The dual control of UGC and the AICTE over institutions conducting management courses has compounded the situation. Consensus eludes UPA: PMOn Board PM’s Special Flight, Oct. 3: A consensus on how to handle the ‘‘creamy layer’’ concept in reservations continues to elude the ruling UPA coalition, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh admitted today. Some elements of the coalition – Left parties and the CPI-M in particular – had stated that the “creamy layer” should be excluded, he said while talking to reporters on board his special aircraft while returning from Johannesburg to New Delhi. n PTI