The story I am about to tell you is true. Actually my office time is 6:30am since I work according to Korea time. Sometimes I listen bhajan in office using my headphone. One day, one of my colleagues came to me as she had to see some documents. She asked me that “Rewa, what song you are listening right now?” She put my headphone on her ear…but suddenly, she kept the headphone on my desk. I asked her, what happend? She told me that “girls are not supposed to listen this!” She said, ”we shouldn’t chant this mantra”. She also said that in her family ladies are not allowed to chant this. I was shocked at that time.
ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यं भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात्॥ – Meaning of mantra
I was listening Gayatri Mantra! Then I asked her, “who told you that we should not listen this?” She replied me saying “we girls are not allowed to listen this mantra.” She also added “only guys are allowed to chant and listen the gayatri mantra”! I asked her that could you please tell me “why girls are not allowed to chant the Gayatri Mantra?” She said, “the Gayatri Mantra has the power and it may create some problem for others!
However, I always follow my heart and mind, so I didn’t stop listening it. She again asked me, “Didn’t anybody stop you?” I replied her, in my home since childhood we use to do pujas and chant Gayatri Mantras, and nobody stopped us. I also said that as I remembered when I was a child, “we all sisters and brothers have been taught to have breakfast only after taking bath and performing prayer (chanting gayatri mantra and surya mantra) at our home.” And I still try my best to follow the same routine. This time she was surprised!
After coming from office I discussed the same with one of my friend on chat and we reached to the conclusion “भगवान सबके लिए एक बराबर हैं, इसलिए सभी को अपनी इच्छानुसार पूजा व मंत्रोच्चारण करनी चाहिए!” By the way, anybody can chant gayatri mantra as it is considered a very powerful Mantra!
Anyway, her statement made me to think that why people even is forbidden from chanting gayatri mantra? Why can’t women chant “Gayatri Mantra or all Vaidik Mantras”?
