Sutra 25
chando-'bhidhanan neti cen na tatha ceto 'rpana-nigadat tatha hi darsanam
chandah - of a meter; abhidhanat - because of being the description; na - not; tatha - in that way; cetah - the mind; arpana - placing; nigadat - because of the instruction; tatha hi' furthermore; darsanam - logical.
If someone were to claim: {.sy 168}The word {.sy 1682}jyotis" here does not refer to Brahman, but to the Gayatri meter," then I would reply: This is not true. The Gayatri meter is taught to assist meditation on Brahman. For this reason it is logical and appropriate to interpret the word jyotis to mean "Brahman".
Purport by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
At this point someone may raise the following objection:Is it not true that the Vedic literatures state: gayatri va idam sarvam bhutam yad idam kincit
"Gayatri is everything that exists." tam eva bhuta-vak-prthivi-sarira-hrdaya-prabhedaih "Gayatri is everything. Gayatri is speech, earth, body, and mind." caisa catus-Pada sad-vidha gayatri tad etad rcabhyuktam
"The Gayatri meter, of which there are four feet and six varieties, is extensively employed in the mantras of the Vedas."
etavan asya mahima "Gayatri is glorious."
For these reasons it should be understood that the word jyotis in the Vedic literatures refers to the Gayatri mantra. Why, without any good reason, do you insist that the word jyotis refers to Brahman?
To this objection I reply: Gayatri is a meter, and therefore it is not sensible to claim that it is everything, and everything has emanated from it. For this reason it is only reasonable to assume that the word jyotis in this context refers to Brahman and not Gayatri. Why? Because in this sutra Srila Vyasadeva states: tatha hi darsanam (that the word jyotis refers to Brahman is only logical and consistent. Any other interpretation is illogical).
The truth is that the Supreme Brahman has incarnated in this world in the form of the Gayatri mantra to enable the living entities to meditate on Him. This fact is confirmed by the statements of Vedic literature. If we accept that Gayatri is an incarnation of Brahman, then the scriptural statement "Gayatri is everything" is perfectly sensible. Otherwise, the interpretation we concoct is illogical and forced. In this way we have demonstrated that the Gayatri mantra is an incarnation of Brahman.