Hinduism: "The Lords Prayer" equivalent (Gayatri Mantra)

Om, Bhur bhuvah svah
Tat savirtur varenyam
Bhargo Devasya dheemahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat

The first mantra I was taught as a child was the Gayatri Mantra. My father taught it to me, taught it to all the kids of the Indian Cultural Association (ICA). The Gayatri Mantra is also my first memory of photography, since I helped my father photograph it on slide film so that we could project it onto a screen during ICA classes. It holds the same place in Hinduism as The Lords Prayer in Christianity: a good, all-purpose prayer, easy to learn, powerful in effect, generic in purpose.

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