50. Gayatri is described as five-faced. What are they?
The five Faces of Gayatri are:
1. "Om", the Pranava is the 1st Face. The Pranava Principle represents the eight different forms of wealth (Ashta Aiswarya).
2. "Bhur Bhuva Svaha" is the 2nd Face.
3. "Tat Savitur Varenyam" is the 3rd Face.
4. "Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi" is the 4th Face.
5. "Dhi Yo YoNah Prachodayat" is the 5th Face.
All these five aspects of the Gayatri Mantra are within each one of us. (SS 9/95-235) See also Q 12

51. Why should we take up the Gayatri Mantra and chant it unceasingly?
We should take up the Gayatri Mantra and chant it unceasingly, because -
(1) The Gayatri Mantra will protect us from harm wherever we are, whether - in a bus or car, in a railway train or in a plane, in a bazaar or on the road.
(2) Brahmaprakasa (the effulgence of Brahman) will descend on us and illumine our spiritual path when we chant the Gayatri Mantra.

52. How does the Gayatri Mantra protect us?
The Gayatri Mantra protects us because Gayatri is Annapurna, the Mother, the Force that animates all Life. We do not therefore have to wail for food or for shelter when we are under the protection of Annapurna, the Divine Mother.
(We should therefore chant the Gayatri Mantra as often as possible. The more we chant the Gayatri Mantra, the greater the benefit to us.)

53. Do we need any protection other than what we can get by chanting the Gayatri Mantra?
No. Bhagawan tells us that the Gayatri Mantra is enough to protect the person who chants it. (SS 9/95-237)

54. Why is the Gayatri Mantra enough to protect the person who chants it?
The Gayatri Mantra is enough to protect the person who chants it because, as Bhagavan tells us, the Gayatri Mantra embodies all the Divine Potencies.

55. What are the benefits that students will derive by chanting the Gayatri Mantra?
At the Upanayanam ceremony held at Prasanthi Nilayam on 17-3-1983,

"You may or you may not chant any other Mantra, but do remember that by chanting the Gayatri Mantra, the benefits are there for you to see. By continuously chanting the Gayatri Mantra you yourself will reach the state of fulfilment, a sense of feeling that you have achieved something. But there is an inner meaning in this Gayatri Mantra being given to young children. We have in this Mantra the concluding words - 'Dhi Yo YoNah Prachodayat'. The meaning is this: Before you have been given this Mantra, you have been backward intellectually, mentally a bit lazy and with a few negative points to your credit. But after you have been given this Mantra, you have become sharper in Intellect, you have become more zealous, more enthusiastic, and certainly qualified to get better marks, better rank and first classes. From tomorrow, the children by virtue of chanting this Mantra in the morning and in the evening, may they be endowed with a rare Intelligence, which will take care of their fortunes that will be presiding over their destiny. They will become highly qualified. They will become model citizens so that the future of the country will be safe in their hands."

In His Discourse in the Prasanthi Mandir on 23-8-1995, Bhagawan said:

"It (the Gayatri Mantra) is an essential requisite for the young, because it ensures a bright and auspicious future for them."

Excerpts from Bhagawan's Upanayanam Upadesh in Sai Kulwant Hall, Prasanthi Nilayam on 10th February 2000