...The above discussion leads to the conclusion that the essence of life is prana because it controls the physical capabilities. God has provided this prana in plentiful to us; its infinite store is present all around us. We can acquire prana from this store as per our determination and worthiness. The fact that some people do not possess prana in abundance means they waste and do not conserve the power of their prana. Preservation of prana makes a person pranavana, meaning one whose prana is exceptionally strong. "Aitareya Brahmana" provides a solution on how to prevent the waste of prana and preserve it – by worshipping Gayatri.

Saints and other scriptures also assert the prana-preserving function of Gayatri:

Pranagayaiti proktatrayate tanathapi va

– Rishi Bharadwaj

"Gaya means prana, and that which protects prana is called Gayatri."

Tadyatpranam trayate tasmad gayatri

– Vrihadaranyak Upnishad 5|14|4

"That which protects prana is called Gayatri."

Gayan trayate Gayatri – Shankarbhasya

"That through which prana is protected is called Gayatri."

Gayastrayate devi! tadgayatriti gadyase |

Gayahprana iti proktastasya tranadapiti va ||

– Rishi Vashishtha

"O Goddess! You protect your devotee and therefore you have been named Gayatri. Gaya means prana, and the name Gayatri means the protector of prana."

Gayatri procyate tasmad gayantam trayate yatah – Rishi Yagyavalkya

"That (Goddess) is termed Gayatri because it protects prana."

Gayatri - the Goddess of wisdom and pure intelligence:

According to Adya Shankaracharya, giyate tatvamanaya gayatriti, meaning, "That through which the Supreme Being (God) can be known is Gayatri. The wisdom brain, the righteous intelligence (ritumbhara prajna) through which that Being, that Reality can be known is Gayatri."

Ritumbhara prajna is the aspect of the brain that enables us to discriminate between truth and untruth, fame and notoriety, good and bad and right and wrong. The decision-making ability conferred by ritumbhara prajna is based on divine inspiration. It is an extremely powerful attribute; no other power in the world is as beneficial as ritumbhara prajna. In its absence, a person can be intelligent, clever, wealthy, talented, etc., but these qualities do not bestow true happiness. Also, they do not enable him to see the light of spirituality. They may permit him to accumulate materialistic wealth and power but they also bring with them tension, fear, doubts, greed, moha (attachment towards worldly objects and people), bad habits, etc. When these self-degrading qualities pile up, they become burdensome for the soul. Wealth that is earned with an aim to increase happiness without worrying about ethics always yields contrary results. The temporary glitter of the material world destroys the inner joy of a person. He suffers physical and mental ailments as a consequence. His soul also suffers. He may consider himself very intelligent but remains worried and uneasy. The intelligence that is not enlightened by ritumbhara prajna thus endows pain and suffering; it is best to have a minimum of such intelligence...