Yajna for Equilibrium -(6)

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SRIMATHE RAMANUJAYA NAMAHA.

 

 

 

Continuing from part -5, there are two crucial aspects of Nature and the way

Nature works, as ordained by Lord, that one must know in order to understand why

and how tarpanam ritual has been given to mankind.

 

 

 

The first one is about the spirit of sacrifice or yajna in everything that is

being done.

 

 

The second one is about the basic spheres that exist in layers of 3 +1 and

exist as such for many things in creation. There are many levels of 5 and 7

frequently spoken by the Upanishads. But the levels of 3 +1 are too crucial and

the basic 4 of 4 (3+1) have been referred to as Vyahruthis by Taittiya

upansihad.

 

 

 

Taking up the first one in this mail, everything in creation from the four

-faced Brahma deva onwards has been created with sacrifices or yajna.

(described in BG and at many places in Maha bharatha)

 

 

 

>From the BG we get three definitions of Yajna. All these three can be found in

chapters 3 & 4 , starting from 3-10 to 4-32

 

Definition 1: Yajna is worshiping the divine, for, the root word 'yaj' in

Sanskrit means worship.

 

Definition 2: Yajna is something which arises from Karma ( Karma samudbhavaha -

3-14) and it is karma-jaan vidhi (4-32)

 

Definition 3: Yajna is that by doing which, the doer attains liberation (

vimokshayasE - 4-32)

 

The basic idea from these three definitions which we can derive from BG is that

Yajna is a divine act which arises as a result of an action of the doer and it

ultimately leads one to liberation.

 

----------------------

 

What happens in yagna (1)?

 

There are essentially four components in a yagna. This is spelt by Lord Himself

in verse 4-24.

 

There is something called arpanam, which is an instrument to offer with.

 

Then there is oblation, which is the havis offered into the yagna.

 

Then there is the very important fire which takes up the offerings .

 

And finally there is a fruit or the result of yagna.

 

In this verse, Bhagavaan says, the act of doing arpanam is Brahman, the one who

is in the process of offering is Brahman. The havis or rice offered is Brahman.

The agni is Brahman. The result attained also is Brahman. Outwardly this would

look very simple to read but it is about a complex process happening in Nature.

 

To elaborate this, let me arrange the inputs that lord Himself has given into

some order to get the import better.

 

Idea / input 1: As per 3-10 'pra-savishyatvam' happens the people who do

yajna, they grow and prosper.

 

Input 2: How it happens is explained in 3-11 - by mutual support - 'parasparam

bhaavayanta:' ie., the one who receives the offering and the one who gives,

benefit mutually.

 

Input 3: Not only that , the receiver of offerings will satisfy the wishes of

the giver as per 3-12

 

Input 4: This is how yajna becomes Kaamadhenu 3-10 (giving whatever one wishes

or desires)

 

Input 5: The one who eats the remnants of this yajna prospers as he is released

from sins whereas the one who does not offer at all will be a thief.

 

>From all these, the following clues emerge.

 

Every act involves 'giving' be it to the gods or anyone. (the relevant portion

from Chandogya given at the end of this mail)

 

This giving always ends with nama -shabdam. In His upadesa to Narada, Bhagavan

says (MB - Shanti parvam) that a mere 'namaskaaram' is enough to enable the

person get all that he wants. The ' na mama' in nama: means 'not mine'. When

something is offered with na mama clause, that means that definitely belongs to

the other. Such an offering will definitely go to the other provided the giver

'understands' and whole heartedly accepts that he is giving. The sankalpa for

homas end with nama: and na mama. That is, all the materials that are going to

be offered into the Homa kunda are His (the devatha for whom the homa is being

done and Brahman Himself who ultimately receives them) The pithrus are offered

with the same note - 'namas tarpayaami'. Thus there is complete renunciation of

that which is offered, which in other words mean sacrifice, which otherwise

means worshipping the receiver by giving something.

 

When the offering is done exclusively for the sake of the receiver, sins cease.

When Arjuna offered his services in Kurukshetra in the spirit of yajna or

sacrifice for the sake of receiver, dharma, he did not incur sin. The same act

done by Dhuryodhana in kurukshetra was for 'aham', for him self and so it could

not absolve him of any sin. It is on this basis, sacrifice of animals was

justified by the Chandogya Upanishad. In the concluding passage where ahimsa or

non violence is extolled we also find these words, "Anyatra tirthebhyah". It

means ahimsa must be practised except with regard to Vedic rites. It is because

the offering has been made not for one self but for the receiver of the offering

of the yajna which is none other than the Brahman though by devas entrusted

with finite responsibilities

 

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What happens in a yajna (2)?

 

The clue for this is available in verse 3-14 (BG) which explains the cyclical

connection between bhoothani (life) , yajna , rain, food and ending in bhoothani

itself. I take up this verse as the core verse to explain what happens in a

sacrifice.

 

When actions are done for the sake of sustaining life, that is, not for one's

own selfish benefits, the natural happenings such as evaporation forming into

cloud go on in an orderly way. Perhaps this might include not polluting the

atmosphere by man-made things for gratification of self interest or not doing

any act that goes against sustenance of other life forms. When this happens

cloud formation and rain formation are also orderly, not heavy, nor deficient.

 

In those days there used to be 3 spells in a month which will continue month

after month. (Sangam literature in Tamil speaks of this nature). There were no

excess or dry spells. It was because the actions by mankind were of un selfish

goals and what was done was to sustain nature. So the result of doing anything

as 'na mama' leads to the proper functioning of the natural forces around us.

This is the paraspara or the mutual benefit between man and nature. Needless to

say every aspect of nature is an ati devata or the deva or the Lord that

Aitareya upanishad speaks about.

 

On receiving moisture, the rain gives back to the earth what it has received.

This offering to the earth is again offered to the plant life, which in turn

offers it as food. This comes back to the life forms as their nourishment.

 

Keeping in mind the different aspects discussed so far, we find hat when man

does karma in the spirit of yajna or sacrifice, the deva such as rain deva is

benefited, who in turn becomes potent enough to give back more to man kind. Now

read the verses 3-11 and 12 and relate the above.

 

Similarly in the agnihotra mentioned in an earlier post, ghee and rice are

offered in agni which are taken up by vaayu deva because scientifically more

than hundred types of oxides are released due to this act. These oxides nourish

the vaayu deva who then becomes highly potent when we inhale him or even

otherwise by himself, the vaayu deva keeps the surrounding layer of air potent

enough to withstand poisonous and radio active substances. This is the idea

behind ' you nourish the devas and they in turn nourish you' .

 

Taking this to the foremost verse 3-10 in this series, we find that right from

the beginning of creation something is offered into something which results

into something else which in turn becomes the basis of some other thing good for

propagation and sustenance of Life. The collision of sub atomic particles in

the Homa kunda of hydrogen gas mass, might perhaps be the first yajna initiated

by Brahma deva. From then onwards at every step, we find yajna or sacrifice

continuing, there by sustaining creation.

 

Even in the very heart of supernova from which our solar system was born, it

received offerings by hydrogen onwards to many other elements ( one giving rise

to the other) till the iron core was born. This iron core given back as a result

of the homa in the supernova is what stands as earth as a bar magnet, giving it

a shield, capable of withstanding many a hazardous radiation from outer space.

 

It is by this principle of one sustaining the other, the worlds do not get

destroyed after each kalpa- pralaya. Science is still not sure how the universe

will be after billions of years. But Vedic knowledge says that continuous

re-alignment will happen after each manvanthra- pralaya and kalpa-pralaya (upto

only one kalpa -pralaya is what science is able to hypotheses) and will continue

to exist for trillion of years till Brahma completes another 50 years of his age

(at the end of Para). The kind of one offering something to the other , as

outlined earlier, given to Brahma by the Lord at the very beginning of Creation,

maintains the equilibrium in created universes - whatever be the new system that

is emerged as a result can continue to sustain life.

 

>From this external world to the internal world of man , our scriptures teach us

how to do the sacrifice at every level. While it is about doing every karma with

na mama spirit, there is a particular type of sacrifice which is crucial for

sustenance for mankind itself. It is the supreme of all yajnas, the Pancha maha

yajna.

 

This has been given prime importance by Bhagavan Himself (in BG). One of the

names worshipped by the sage Narada in his sthuthi on Narayana before receiving

the upadesa on Pancharathra, is 'Pancha yajna:' - the one who is Himself the 5

yajnas. Pithru yajna is one among the 5 maha yajnas. (Not going into details of

them, in the assumption that readers must have already been aware of them)

These are the Yajnas that are not only about getting some tangible results but

also for sustaining the link of mankind itself and attaining the ultimate

equilibrium so that mankind can continue its sojourn. The ultimate creation is

Man. His lineage, his knowledge must live on. And this can happen only by

Pancha maha yajna. This has to be done as nithya karma.

 

In every day life, 2 of them are done before sun rise, when the man is taking

his bath in a ritualistic way. As and when he is taking bath he is supposed to

offer oblations to 2 sets of beings, namely Deva-rishis and pithrus. (As per the

school of thought that one belongs to, this is done while bathing or after

bathing.). They are done as Deva-rishi tarpanam and pithru tarpanam. It is only

after doing these, does the man proceeds to wear even his Urdhwa pundram and

proceed to do sandhya vandanam. The water offered to devas and pithrus with

mantras reaches them and comes back to us in a cyclical way as knowledge and

ayush. They are again received during sandhya vandana. Because without

knowledge, man kind can not get salvation. And without long and disease -free

life, one can not dream of acquiring knowledge.

 

How this cycle works with reference to pithru tarpanam will be discuused in a

future mail.

 

But in the present context, there is something else connected to this that we

must know.

 

Living in the midst of theologies and practices of different religions, we find

many people getting influenced or attracted by the concept 'service'- so

popular in other religions.

 

Sanatana dharma does not recognize service to others.

 

IT RECOGNISES ONLY DUTY.

 

Duty is a far superior word than service. When we serve someone, our hand goes

up and the receiver has to extend his hand below in humility. But when the same

is done as a duty, the pride of the receiver is never put under stress. The doer

gives because it does him good and the receiver takes because by so-doing he is

enabling the doer (giver) receive some benefits (the rationale behind charity or

dhaana in sanatana dharma is this). The self-respect of the receiver is not hurt

in this

scenario. So giving is done as a duty and Taittriyam lays rules for how to give.

All karmas or actions are sacrifices and all sacrifices include the component of

giving as na mama. The giver has to give with complete detachment to the thing

given and without motives. (Though yajnas are done with motives, the spirit of

na mama is maintained, the motiveless yajna is the supreme of all which gives

Moksham (the essence of Charama slokam - phala tyagam), while all the others

give finite results

 

Manu smrithi says, "Service is a dog's life" which is deciphered as service to

one who is unworthy. Service to any one is service by finite to the finite. But

service to the infinite alone is the best, as the results of such service will

be infinite, say, Bliss. (Details in Vedartha sangraha)

 

That is why sanatana dharma recognizes service only in the context of the

Almighty. Such service is done by extolling Him, talking about Him, giving to

others knowledge about Him (note BG 4-34 wherein the Lord says about serving the

gyanis, in order to know this knowledge - you serve him and the gyani in turn

serves the Lord by giving you the knowledge about him and the yajna mode of

worship)and by upholding this Dharma.

 

Apart from this every act is to be done as duty in the spirit of yajna.

 

In that way, Universe can be held in equilibrium.

 

In that way only, mankind can go on sustaining itself in equilibrium.

 

 

 

Chandogya upanishad - Part 5-

 

Chapter IV - The Five Fires (I)

 

1

 

"Yonder world is the sacrificial fire, O Gautama, the sun the fuel, the rays the

smoke, daytime the flame, the moon the embers and the stars the sparks.

 

2

 

"In this fire the gods offer faith as libation. Out of that offering King Moon

is born."

 

Chapter V - The Five Fires (II)

 

1

 

"Parjanya (the god of rain), O Gautama, is the fire, the air the fuel, the cloud

the smoke, lightning the flame, the thunderbolt the embers and thunderings the

sparks.

 

2

 

"In this fire the gods offer King Moon as libation. Out of that offering rain is

born."

 

Chapter VI- The Five Fires (III)

 

1

 

"The earth, O Gautama, is the fire, the year the fuel, the akasa the smoke, the

night the flame, the quarters the embers and the intermediate quarters the

sparks.

 

2

 

"In this fire the gods offer rain as libation. Out of that offering food is

born."

 

Chapter VII- The Five Fires (IV)

 

1

 

O Gautama, is the fire, speech is the fuel, the prana the smoke, the tongue the

flame, the eye the embers and the ear the sparks.

 

2

 

"In this fire the gods offer food as libation. Out of that offering semen

produced."

 

Chapter VIII - The Five Fires (V)

 

1

 

"Woman, O Gautama, is the fire, her sexual organ is the fuel, what invites is

the smoke, the vulva is the flame, what is done inside is the embers, the

pleasures are the sparks.

 

2

 

"In this fire the gods offer semen as libation. Out of that offering the foetus

is formed."

 

Chapter IX - Birth and Death

 

1

 

"Thus in the fifth libation water comes to be called man. The foetus enclosed in

the membrane, having lain inside for ten or nine months, or more or less, is

born.

 

2

 

"Having been born, he lives whatever the length of his life may be. When he is

dead, they carry him to the fire of the funeral pyre whence he came, whence he

arose."

 

(There are many levels / types of sacrifices such as these described in

Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad translations of which are available on

net)

 

(To be continued )

 

Regards,

 

Jayasree saranathan.