My Journey with the Gayatri Mantra: the chanting, the mudras, the stories…
By: Anshu Bahanda, Founder, Wellness Curated
Just like a lot of Indian children, I was taught the Gayatri Mantra as a child, before I understood a word of what it meant, before I had any concept of Savitr or Vedic prayer or ancient meter. It was simply sound, repeated at home, the way it has been passed down in countless households for generations. As I grew older, I came to understand it properly, not just the words, but the correct way to chant them. The precise rhythm. The vowels held just long enough. The discipline of getting it right, not rushing it, not clipping it.
What I didn't know until much later in my life; was the other half of this practice. The Gayatri mudras. The hand gestures meant to accompany the chant. And I have one woman to thank for opening that door: Mrs. Benita Sharma.
I've known Mrs. Benita Sharma for years, her daughter is one of my dearest friends, and I have watched her journey unfold up close, long before we ever sat down together for the podcast. I sat down with her for a podcast at wellness curated, and her story is one I don't think I'll ever stop thinking about.
It began the way so many frightening stories do; symptoms first dismissed as TB, before something far more serious revealed itself - a rare form of cancer. One doctor gave her a timeline. Twenty days. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation were laid out in front of her. She chose a different path, homeopathy, and alongside it, a daily discipline of family, nutrition, faith and self-trust. One of the important disciplines she turned to was the Gayatri Mantra, chanted together with its mudras!
I want to say this clearly, exactly as we did on the podcast: Mrs Sharma's story is hers alone. It isn't medical advice, and it's not a substitute for a qualified doctor.
But it is proof of something worth paying attention to, the extraordinary strength that ancient spiritual practice can offer someone standing at the edge of fear. It was listening to her describe the mudras, how she moved through them, what they meant to her, how central they were to her daily ritual, that opened up a whole new dimension of a mantra I thought I already knew inside out. The mudras didn't complete the mantra for me. They added to it, another layer, another way in, another journey towards the higher levels of consciousness I aspire towards.
That fascination is exactly why Wellness Curated is bringing this full practice, Gayatri Mantra chanting and Gayatri Mudras, to all of you. In January, we're launching the Gayatri Mantra Mudra Course, online, and open to anyone, anywhere. With this course we hope to spread a bit of love and light to the world.
A Prayer as Old as Time Itself
The Gayatri Mantra is one of the oldest verses, drawn from the Vedas, addressed to Savitr - the divine light behind the sun. It doesn't ask for money. It doesn't ask for status. It asks for one thing only: clarity. For the mind to be lit up with wisdom and truth. Chant it at dawn, and something shifts. The noise quietens. The grip of anxiety loosens. You feel, even just for a few minutes, connected to something far bigger than your inbox, your to-do list, your worries. And in Vedic tradition, this isn't only felt in the mind. The mantra and its mudras are believed to work on the body's subtle energy too, traditionally understood to help balance and harmonize the physical and energetic body.
A belief carried through thousands of years of practice. Not a replacement for medicine. A companion to it.
Why should we bother with how to chant this mantra?
Growing up with this mantra taught me something most people never get the chance to learn: in Vedic tradition, Sanskrit isn't just a language - It's treated almost like the science of sound. The Gayatri Mantra follows an exact poetic meter; 24 syllables, precisely measured. Tradition holds that the vibration itself, not just the meaning, moves something in us.
I've brought in Dr. Nanadakumara MBE, Executive Director of the Bhavan in London, to lead it properly. Dr. Nanadakumara is originally from the Sanskrit village in India, where the mother tongue is actually Sanskrit! He'll walk every participant through the exact Sanskrit pronunciation and traditional rhythm, knowledge usually passed down teacher to student over generations through oral tradition. That said, I don't believe precision is the only path in. I've watched people I love recite the Gayatri Mantra in their own way, their own rhythm, their own accent, and thus Bhaktiyoga (devotion) carries its own power. The correct form deepens the practice. It doesn't gatekeep it.
The Hands Know Things Too
In yogic tradition, the Mudras or hand gestures aren't decorative. They're believed to direct energy through the body, sharpening focus during chanting and meditation, working in step with the nervous system that runs from the 33 vertebrae of the spine out to every part of the body. The Swiss author Gertrude Hirschi has written extensively on mudras, and her work has brought this ancient practice into homes across the modern world. Now, Mrs. Sharma, the very woman who opened my eyes to this, will teach the mudras herself, drawing on the same practice that carried her through her own darkest days.
This Is Your Invitation
The Gayatri Mantra Mudra Course launches in January, entirely online, and is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, including you, here in Sri Lanka, a country whose own spiritual roots run so deep this practice will feel like coming home. Each session brings together:
• A short introduction and meditation setting the intention by me, Anshu Bahanda
• Correct Sanskrit chanting, led by Dr Nanadakumara MBE
• Mudra practice, taught by Mrs. Benita Sharma
You can come to this course for creating harmony in your physical and energetic field, for mental clarity, or simply a few quiet minutes in an otherwise loud life.
Please use the code “SHAKTI50” to get a 50% discount as readers of The Sun (Daily Mirror). To sign up for the course, visit our website www.wellnesscurated.life or follow Wellness Curated on our podcast and social channels.
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This article reflects personal experience and traditional spiritual practice. It is not medical advice and should not replace guidance from a qualified healthcare professional
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Anshu Bahanda is the founder of Wellness Curated, a global platform and podcast dedicated to making expert knowledge on physical, mental and holistic wellbeing more accessible. With a background spanning finance, technology, entrepreneurship and the arts, she brings a broad perspective to the way we think about health. Through conversations with leading experts and her writing, Anshu explores practical, evidence informed approaches to living healthier, more balanced lives. Instagram: @wellnesscurated.life
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