We do not find the performance of sacred rituals like Yajnas and Yagas anywhere else in the world. People think that offering oblations in fire is Yajna ;but true Yajna is offering oneself to God, please God and to become worthy of His love. Yajna should not be performed for attaining selfish ends. It should be performed for the welfare of the entire world. In Bharat, people have been performing Yajnas and Yagas since ancient times. Yajnas and Yagas were performed even in Treta Yuga, but demons tried to disrupt the Yajnas because they did not understand the significance of theVedas. With the advent of Dwapara Yuga, people made an attempt to understand the truth and significance about the performance of the Yajnas and Yagas. King Janaka did not attain satisfaction despite performing many Yajnas and Yagas. Being educated, people should understand the meaning of Yajnas and Yagas. In fact, it is necessary that everyone should involve himself in the performance of the Yajnas and Yagas. It only means that whatever actions one does should be to please God. We should have the firm conviction that whatever we do, we do only to please God. In fact, the very purpose of human birth is to please God. Human life is not meant to be wasted on eating and drinking. The purpose of human birth is to attain liberation. Man should try to recognise his true nature. (DD on 9th &10th Aug ‘06 p.8-9)
Veda is the source of all Dharmas. And, Dharma expresses itself through Yajna. The goal of Vedas is the fruitfulness of Yajnas. Yajur Veda is the base for all Yajnas. All Yajnas originated from Yajur Veda only. The meaning of the root ‘Yaj’ is ‘worship of God’ and ‘charity’. The purpose of Yajur Veda is to promote the welfare of the world through the rituals of Yajnas and Yagas.
People think that by performing the Yajnas and Yagas, they will attain heaven. This is not true. It is possible that by performing Yajnas and Yagas people may develop Salokya (perception of the Divine),Samipya (proximity to the Divine),Sarupya (identity with the Divine),Sayujya (merger with the Divine) gradually. Hence, one has to enter into Salokya, attain Sarupya and Samipya and finally merge in Sayujya. (DD on 11.08.2006, p.4th Cover page)
Yajna originates in Karma. Karma takes its birth from Brahman. Brahman is in the form of Akshara Purusha. Pranavam is the very form of that Akshara. And Pranavam is at the root of he Vedas. That is why it has been laid down that a Yajna, which is performed and directed in My name and My form, is the most suitable one for humans. Those who have parten of the fruits (prasadam) of this Yajna will be ever content and happy in their worldly life; and when they depart this world attain merger with the Supreme Divine Principle. There is absolutely no doubt about it. (TMM, p. 144)
The ultimate goal of any Yajna performed in Prasanthi Nilayam is sacrifice; in other words, spiritual bliss which takes shape out of total renunciation of the fruits ofKarma. Such Yajna is not meant to benefit merely any single individual or country. Its purpose is to bring about universal well- being. (TMM, p. 145)
We have come to recognise this ritual Yajna as important in the context of our worshipping the Lord. The statements that are in our Vedas have told us to sacrifice everything, and through sacrifice, we should be able to get a vision of the divine in us. Creation and its maintenance depends only on sacrifice. If there is no sacrifice, society will not remain intact. If there is no sacrifice, there will be no life. (SSB 1974, p. 12)
All work and all actions, which relate to God, thinking of God and turning over the aspects of God in your mind, will constitute the Deva yajna. Pitru Yajna relates to the ancestors, in particular it deals with the task of gaining the goodwill of your father and mother, to look after the welfare of your father and mother and see that no harm comes to them constitutes the Pitru Yajna. Rishi Yajna stands for your understanding the aspect of dhyana, which was the normal action of the rishis. The process of Shravana, Manana and Nididhyasana of the various things which the rishis have handed over to us constitutes the Rishi Yajna. To do such things, which will relieve the sorrow of living beings will be called Bhuta Yajna. Bhuta Yajna consists of serving and satisfying all living things. (SSB 1974, p. 215)
Yajna is correlated at every step with human aspirations and Sadhana. Butter is the product of the churning of emotions, impulses, impressions and instincts of man; the purest and the most authentic essence of the divine in man. That butter, when it is still more clarified, becomes ghee; it is that which is offered to the Gods. (SSS Vol.2, p. 225)
Yajnas are pure, auspicious, sacred acts. (SSVahini, p. 198)
There are five types of Yajnas that have been prescribed for man to make him approximate to God. For these, there is no need to have intermediary priests, or costly materials, or elaborate ceremonies. Every householder can perform these and achieve the fruits.
- Deva yajna: Yajna for the Gods. This means the surrender of all one’s acts at the feet of God; it means that one dedicates all his thoughts, words and deeds for the glorification of God.
- Pitru Yajna: Yajna for the manes, the offering of food or consecrated water in the name of the deceased father, grand-father, great grand-father, and of the mother, grand-mother and great grand-mother, identifiable with Gods (Vasu, Rudra and Aditya). Offering the tribute of gratitude is the essence of the Pitru Yajna.
- Brahma Yajna: Yajna for sages and spiritual lore: This is performed by the study of the Scriptures, the Shastras or other sacred texts which arouse the craving for liberation.
- Manushya Yajna: Yajna for mankind. This is done by means of hospitality to guests, and relieving sickness, pain and poverty.
- Bhuta Yajna: Yajna for living beings. This entails kindness to animals, especially domestic animals that yield milk and slave for us in the field.
The Vedapurusha Jnana Yajna is the sum and substance of all these five types of Yajna, an elaborate paraphrase of the rite. (SSS Vol.7, p. 256)
Any act that is performed as a dedication to Godhead is a Yajna. Manu the ancient lawgiver has declared that the reverential prostration done before the mother, father and preceptor is indeed a Yajna; when the egoistic pride or greed is absent and when the object is the good of all, certainly the deed is a Yajna. (SSVahini, p. 28)
Yajno vai Vishnuh says the Vedas, God is the Yajna, for He is the Goal, His Grace is the reward, His Creation is used to propitiate Him; the Performer is He, the Receiver is He when the ego of the sacrificer does not claim a place, the Yajna is rendered Divine. ‘Aham hi, Aham hi, sarvayajnanam’. In all Yajnas, I am the Doer, the Donor, the Consumer, the Acceptor. This is the reason, the Chief Priest in Yajna such as the Vedapurusha Yajna, we are inaugurating now, is named Brahma. The priest nominated as Brahma has to guide the rest of the ritualists; he must have his wife by his side, or else, his credentials are inadequate. The wife represents Faith (Shraddha). Without Faith, praise is hollow; adoration is artificial and sacrifices a barren exercise. (SSS Vol.11, pp. 152-153)
Yajnas are designed to lead you to the One who is unchanging and eternal. Ya +Jna is Yajna. Ya refers to the one who is the basis of the entire Cosmos. Jna refers to the quest for knowing that One. Yajna therefore, is the quest for discovering the One who sustains the Cosmos. How is this search to be made? The Veda has declared, ‘Permeating everything inside and outside is the Lord Narayana’. Where can you search for the Lord who is omnipresent? Why search at all? The sages performed severe penances to get at the ultimate Reality. Finally they declared:
Vedaham etam purusham mahantam aditya-varnam tamasa parastat (We have known the Supreme Purusha, who is effulgent like the sun and is beyond the outer darkness) (D3 , p. 93)
The Yajur Veda elaborates the importance of Yajnas. These promote the peace and prosperity of the world for that is the primary aim of all the Vedas. The Yajur Veda hymns extol the glory of the Gods and propitiate the Divine Forces. As a result gold and grain, wealth and welfare, plenty and progress are secured by mankind.
The Yajna is centred on the adoration of Fire. Man is bound intimately with Fire all through his life. Man is a warm-blooded creature; warmth promotes intellect and intuition. Calling upon God and placing the offerings in the Fire are acts, which bring about rain to provide rich harvests.
Fire is thus a valuable medium for gaining safety and security, for preserving morality and goodness. The Ocean too has Agni (Fire) latent in its loins. Man has in his stomach the latent Fire that digests food. God resides in man as this Fire.
aham vaishvanaro bhutva
praninam deham asritah
pranapana-samayuktah
pacamy Annam catur-vidham
(Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 15, Verse 14)
‘Aham vaishvanaro bhutva praninam deham asritah, says Krishna. ‘Having become the Vaishvanara Fire; I enter the body of living beings....’ So, it is God that keeps all the limbs trim and makes keenness and knowledge possible. The latent Fire causes eight functions; it hardens and strengthens the muscles. It makes one, patient and therefore a better instrument. It increases the duration of life. It sharpens and deepens memory; it confers boldness of thought and action. In order to light the Fire in the sacrificial enclosure, a churning rod of hardwood is used on a block of similar hardness. The timber has to be banyan or peepul. The block is the mother and the churner is the father -Urvasi, the mother and Pururavas, the father - when it is born, they are reduced to ashes, that is to say, the child becomes one with then and they become one with the progeny. All three are inseparably related. The son of God, Jesus, declared; ‘I and my Father are One’. The religion of the Parsis also considers the highest Truth as ‘I am the Light’ and ‘The light is in me’.
The Yajur Veda has a name for Agni, Tiger. When Agni is treated without faith and reverence, it destroys the very person who feeds it, just as the tiger which tears its own cubs with its deadly claws. Another characteristic of Agni is its presence everywhere. Scientists and technologists today are proud that they have grasped the secrets of the five elements - sky, wind, fire, water and earth. But, they are still unaware of the intimate kinship each of them has with man and his daily life. The sages of the past have delved into the mystery and revealed it to the world. Notice, for example, that birds do not rest on the ground at night. They prefer treetops, why? The Rishis of Vedic times explain that they seek to avoid the heat latent in the earth but patent to them. Man is unaware of this fact but birds know it.
Behind this ritual of Fire, there lies a small mystery, which has to be cleared, so that you can understand how the offering, addressed to the deity which is invoked by the Mantra uttered while placing it in the Fire, can reach that very deity. Well, the Yajur Veda describes the Flames of the Sacred Fire as the Tongues of God. When the offering is dropped into Fire, in the name of the God, the proper name and address have to be uttered at the same time. It is like the post box. When a letter is properly addressed and dropped into the box at Prasanthi Nilayam, it will reach any place, even as far as Japan or Russia. If the address indicates Prasanthi Niiayam, it will be delivered to the person at Prasanthi Nilayam. The address has to be full and correct, that is all. And, the stamp has to be of the correct value.
The inner meaning of Yajna is ‘renunciation’. ‘Lord! The heart that you gave me, I am offering it in return’, is the spirit of that renunciation. The heart He has given, the feelings He evokes, the wealth He has conferred, the fame He has awarded, these have to be gladly offered back. As part of these Yajnas, it is laid down that an animal, goat, or a horse has to be ‘sacrificed’ that is to say ‘given up’. People ask whether it is not a cruel act. Scriptures dealing with rituals are comparable it is said, to Aranya, the jungle. They are called Aranyakas. The terms used in the’ scriptures have many meanings and it is hard to trace the straight meaning and prefer it to the crooked and deceptive one. For example, the Ashvamedha or Horse sacrifice does not mean the ritual of killing of horse. The name Ashva given to the horse describes it as an animal which is restless all the time symbolising the mind which is agitated both while awake and while dreaming. The horse can never be calm and quiet, its legs, tail or ears will be quaking or shaking always. The banyan tree is called Ashvattha, since its leaves will ever be shaking wind or no wind. What is recommended is ‘sacrifice’ of the wayward mind, dedicating it to God so that it becomes stable and calm and not bringing a living animal and killing it. That is adherence to the outer literal meaning of the injunction, not to the inner and valid import. Listen to the significance of Vedic aphorisms and rituals and scriptural injunctions with selfless, pure and joyful concentration. Treasure them in the heart for practice in daily life and for sharing with other earnest souls. (SSS Vol.11, pp. 277-283)
The karmas that do not bind by consequence are those referred to as Yajna. (GV, p. 42)
‘Arjuna! I shall tell you something about Yajna also. Listen calmly, controlling all agitations of the mind. People talk of Dravya Yajna, Tapo Yajna, Yoga Yajna etc. If a pit is dug, the earth excavated becomes a mound by its side. There is no pit without a mound; when riches accumulate in one place, there must be corresponding charity too. The proper utilisation of one’s riches is Dravya Yajna. What is proper utilisation? Gift of cows, of lands, of skill are included in Dravya Yajna. Again, when all physical activities, mental activities and speech are utilised for Sadhana, then it becomes Tapo yajna. How can it be. Tapas if you have lain down due to weakness arising from missing a meal? Doing karma but yet remaining unbound by Karma - that is Yoga Yajna.
‘And Svadhyaya Yajna? It means studying with humility and reverence the sacred scriptures that lead you to liberation or Moksha. This study is the means to repay the debt due to Rishis who put the Scriptures together. The next one is Jnana Yajna. By this is meant not the knowledge of the visible and perceptible but the Jnana of the invisible, the imperceptible (the Paroksha Jnana, not the Aparoksha jnana). Listen to the Shastras that are related to this Jnana, study them and ponder over the teachings in your mind. Weighing the pros and cons; that is called Jnana Yajna. Jnana means also the eagerness to realise the Atma-tattva through inquiry from elders and those who have spiritual experience. (GV, p. 79)
In Treta-Yuga, Vishwamitra took the help of Rama to ensure the conduct of the Yajna without hindrance from the demonic forces. His Ashram was called Siddhashram. The moment evil thoughts or bad feelings arise in man, that is the beginning of all sins. When the heart is polluted with such sinful thoughts, one should seek the help of Atma Rama, just as Vishwamitra sought the help of Rama to put an end to the ogress Tataki. If you think of God and pray to Him with sincere devotion, every deed done by you will be a Yajna. The mind is the altar of this Yajna. You must offer all the evil qualities at the altar of the mind. That is the ideal internal Yajna to be performed by every person as distinct from the external Yajna done ritualistically. (SSS Vol.26, p. 355)
Yajnas with sacrifice as the basis provide the royal road to Self-Realisation as opposed to the perilous path of self-destruction, in which people are engaging themselves now. Yajnas are designed to invoke the power of the Divine for the welfare of mankind. Divine Power is limitless and beyond the comprehension of the limited intellect of man, who is labouring under the delusion that he is all-powerful and can achieve anything. Even the great saint musician and composer Tyagaraja once doubted the power of God. When he was subjected to great misery and suffering, but recovered his faith immediately after he recollected how, without the power of the Divine, a monkey (Hanuman) could cross the ocean or Lakshmana do service at Rama’s feet or Bharat worship His sandals or Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, serve at His Lotus Feet. He blamed himself for doubting the power of the Lord and regretted the lapse in his devotion.
The significance of the offerings made in the holy fire of a Yajna is that whatever is offered. is converted into Amrita (Divine Ambrosia) and conveyed to the gods. When man sacrifices his bad qualities, he is transformed into the Divine. With this in view, the Upanishad declare: ‘Lead me from untruth to Truth from ignorance to Knowledge, from death to Immortality.’ Thus the Yajna helped man to progress to the summit to eternal bliss.
The Yajna is not for passing time. The cosmic energy issuing from the Mantras will go up in the fire from the Yajna hearth and spread all over the world and purify the atmosphere. Some agnostics may criticise this as wasting food, ghee and other valuable articles by throwing them into the fire. This is as foolish as the criticism of an ignorant person that a farmer wastes good quality seeds by casting them on his farm. He does not realise that one small measure of the seed will yield several bags of grain as harvest. The Yajna is done not for selfish purpose but for the welfare of the entire world. It reflects the noble ideal of service and sacrifice before self. (SSS Vol.26, pp. 358-359)
Yajna is the manifestation of Narayana. Yajna means Tyaga (sacrifice). Sacrifice really means giving up all bad thoughts, egoism, evil qualities, impure desires and wrong actions. Only then will the vision of the Divine be experienced. In an empty mind, you can put anything. But how do you empty a brain that is filled with all kinds of rubbish? And without emptying it, how can you find place for pure thoughts? Your Hearts are filled with all kinds of feelings. How can you fill them with the nectar of the Vedas? Everyone must regard it as his foremost duty to work for the revival of the Vedas and live the Vedic way of life. (SSS Vol.20, p. 193)
Yajna (Performing Yajna, sacrifice) confers Jaya, Victory. (Uniq, p. 179)
From ancient times wrong conceptions about the purpose of Yajna resulted in sacrifice of living beings, and the true purpose of Yajnas was forgotten. Yajna is also called Adhwaram. Dhwaram means ‘killing’. Adhwaram signifies ‘non-killing’. Hence the inner meaning of Yajna is that in which there is no violence. All the Mantras (sacred formulas) used in Yajnas are aimed at achieving ananda (Divine Bliss). Yajnas must lead to Bliss and Self-realisation. Only when the import of the mantras is fully understood and experienced will there be Self-realisation. (SSS Vol.16, p. 153)
Really speaking, the heart is the ceremonial altar; the body is the fire place; the hair is the holy grass, darbha; wishes are the fuel-sticks with which the fire is fed; desire is the ghee that is poured into the fire to make it burst into flame; anger is the sacrificial animal; the fire is the tapas we accomplish. People sometimes interpret tapas as ascetic practices like standing on one leg or on the head. No. Tapas is not physical contortion. It is the complete and correct co-ordination of thought, word and deed. When this is achieved, the splendour of fire will manifest. (SSS Vol. 15, p. 119)
Among the ceremonials we have the Yajna, the chief feature described in Vedas. An important rite in the Vedic Yajna is called Somapa. In order to grasp the inner significance of the Vedic or other ceremonials, one has to spend some thought on symbolism. For example, let us take this Soma-pa itself. ‘Pa’ means ‘drinking’ and the rite is generally supposed to indicate the drinking of a juice called ‘Soma’ (nectar).
No! Soma means, the Moon; and the Moon cannot be swallowed or drunk by man. It also means ‘mind’ the changing mind that waxes and wanes is never the same for long. That is why Vedas say that mind was mothered by moon. So, drinking the moon means the process by which the mind is controlled, made defunct and harmless. That is the purpose of the Yajna, the Sacrifice of the whims of the mind for gaining the realm of the Universal Eternal Truth. With the mind left intact, no Yajna is fruitful, for it has a thousand tricks by which it can drag you into perdition.
Fix the mind on the name (the Sound Symbol) of the Lord; then it cannot wander away. The Divine is the Flame of the Lamp ever burning in the altar, namely the Body. Keep the Flame safe from the guffs of wind, namely the gusts of passion and desire, that blow from all quarters. Sit in a quiet place, away from crowed groups of men or sensations or thoughts that distract. When you have reached the stage when you can be wholly engrossed in the Name and the Form it represents, isolating yourself from distraction is not required. But, that does not mean that you can parade your spiritual practices in the market place as some crazy people do now. Do not yearn for approbation and appreciation from public. Pray that God may approve, accept and appreciate your toddle and prattle. (SSS Vol.8, pp. 224-225)
Just as Swami offered the Navaratna into the sacrificial fire to complete the Yajna satisfactorily, every one of you must offer something to complete your participation in this Yajna. Swami does not allow you to bring anything in your hands, so offer your bad habits (e.g. smoking, drinking alcohol, eating meat, gambling, association with evil persons, etc.) to the Yajna and, by giving them up, start on your way to self-transformation. You will definitely receive Divine Blessings the moment you offer one negative thing to the sacrificial fire. (Santhana Sarathi)
Know the true values of yaga and yajna
Good deeds done in a dedicatory spirit do not add to the length or strength of the rope. They give shanti and santosha (peace and happiness) in plenty. Why, you had a very good illustration of this just today. The final offering of sacred objects in the sacrificial fire of the Rudrayaga was done here at 10 a.m. and, there was a welcome downpour of unexpected rain at 10-05 a.m.!
Those who do not know the true values of yajna (Vedic ritual of sacrifice) and yaaga (ritual of worship) ridicule these rites and shout that they involve the loss of precious ghee and fuel, which could be put to better use. They do not realise that the food they themselves consume is a colossal waste, for, they do no good to the world or for themselves. Their cigarettes are a waste, indeed, a dangerous waste; their bush coats, the films they, saw, the hours they listened to the radio are all waste.
You see a sculptor working away at a rock with his chisel and you condemn his work of chipping pieces as waste of precious time and valuable stone. You do not know that one day a form of Divine beauty will emerge. You see the ryot scatters valuable seeds on the mushy field; you blame him for wasting eatable stuff! You do not realise that he will harvest it a hundredfold in a few months. Your criticism is born of ignorance and short-sight. The rain that fell this morning and surprised everyone did not surprise Me, for it is the inevitable consequence of the yaga. It is a special science, which these Pandits know; honour them for it.
There are many who talk cynically of even Sathya (truth), Dharma (virtue), Shanti (peace) and Prema (love). They say that if you stick to truth nothing can be got done, that a little lie helps much; that Dharma is what suits the need of the moment; that if you practise Shanti, you will only receive all the blows on your own back; that if you become famous as a man of prema, the entire village will squat on you and share your hard-earned wealth. Therefore, they conclude, you will be a fool if you decide to practise these four virtues. (SSS Vol.5)