Guest guest Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Dear Devotees, I am new to homam and this group. I was reading the homam manual. Each and every detail has been explained with great clarity, but it doesn't mention as to how to turn off the fire after the homam's done. What's the ideal method of putting it off? Also I live in US, every room has a fire alarm and outside its very cold. Anyone living in US and doing havan. How do you manage any ideas would be of great help? Thanks all, Sudha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Namaste, You should NOT put off fire. Fire will go away by itself after a while. If you use firewood and have a big fire, it may burn for a while. If you use dry coconut pieces and have a small fire, it will go away quite quickly. It is a good idea to stay with fire until it goes off. But it is admissible to finish the ritual and leave the fire and take care of other things. But, in either case, let fire go off by itself. Suppose you call someone for lunch and serve a lot of food. Suppose the person is still eating. Do you remove food from him and push him out of your house? Of course not, for that would be quite rude. You give him enough time to eat the food. If you have less time and *have* to stop soon, you should factor that in when you call him for lunch and serve less food to start with. Treat fire as a real person (he IS) and have respect and love for him. He serves as a portal connecting you to gods and rishis. Depending on your vaasanas and connections, blessings of some deity or rishi can come to you through fire. Of course, this may not be perceptible to you, but those blessings may slowly transform you. No wonder several religions considered fire sacred and taught fire rituals in the past. Like I said earlier, it is the presence of a deity or a rishi *within you* that is concentrated in an idol or kalasha or fire or some other object when you imagine that deity or rishi in that idol or kalasha or fire or other object and pray. However, some layers within you are suppressed when you are sitting in front of a fire of decent size and your ability to concentrate a divine aspect within you into that fire is higher compared to when you are working with an idol. I have a special arrangement in my pooja room with a 2 ft x 2 ft fireplace that is open on all 4 sides and constructed like a homa kundam, with a chimney going up. But other people are doing in US and UK with simpler and more regular arrangements. I will let those people respond to your last question. Best regards, Narasimha Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/homam Do Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/tarpana Spirituality: Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro.home.comcast.net Free Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAstrologer.org Sri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagannath.org ---- metllapalli <metllapalli wrote: > Dear Devotees, > > I am new to homam and this group. I was reading the homam manual. Each and every detail has been explained with great clarity, but it doesn't mention as to how to turn off the fire after the homam's done. What's the ideal method of putting it off? > Also I live in US, every room has a fire alarm and outside its very cold. Anyone living in US and doing havan. How do you manage any ideas would be of great help? > > Thanks all, > > Sudha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 , " metllapalli " <metllapalli wrote: > > Dear Devotees, > > I am new to homam and this group. I was reading the homam manual. Each and every detail has been explained with great clarity, but it doesn't mention as to how to turn off the fire after the homam's done. What's the ideal method of putting it off? > Also I live in US, every room has a fire alarm and outside its very cold. Anyone living in US and doing havan. How do you manage any ideas would be of great help? > > Thanks all, > > Sudha > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 , " metllapalli " <metllapalli wrote: > > Dear Devotees, > > I am new to homam and this group. I was reading the homam manual. Each and every detail has been explained with great clarity, but it doesn't mention as to how to turn off the fire after the homam's done. What's the ideal method of putting it off? > Also I live in US, every room has a fire alarm and outside its very cold. Anyone living in US and doing havan. How do you manage any ideas would be of great help? > > Thanks all, > > Sudha > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Namaste Smt Sudha,If you leave it as is, after 5-15 minutes it would automatically die off. You don't have to explicitly try to extinguish it. Doing homam in US or other cold countries, can be tricky. Firstly I suggest using copra as it doesn't produce much smoke. Secondly, after you're comfortable with the homam content and fire management, you will be able to optimize on the copra usage and reduce the smoke further. Using camphor can also produce much smoke, so use it sparingly. Ensure, you raise the window's a bit, so that there's circulation in the house. However, please ensure that wind is not blowing in the direction of smoke alarm, as this would cause it to raise the alarm. For example, once I performed Ganesha Homam with windows close as it was very cold outside, by the end of it the room got stuffier, and when I opened the windows a bit in both the rooms, the wind caused all the smoke in one direction, passing the smoke alarm causing it to go off! Once the homam is over, you can go ahead and place the kundam in the balcony, provided there's no fire in it. So, please wait the fire to die and then move it outside, as we don't want to attract any attention. People in western continent are not aware of fire rituals, and can freak out on seeing fire. So. when you perform homam in the night, please ensure some light is on, otherwise if the lights are off, then one can see the flames from outside the apartment, causing some people to call the fire department. We certainly dont want to get into such a situation!Too much of clarified butter (ghee) can also cause too much smoke. The ghee has to be poured the right amount. It would also help, if you could clean up the homa kundam so that you start empty. This also reduces smoke. Also proficiency in estimating the amount of ghee for a size of copra to keep the fire going (including turning at the right moment) all helps reducing the residual smoke effect. So, with more practice you will get a better idea on all the above parameters. Others may add their experience. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.Finally, I would like to mention, that the smoke from the homa kundam is very therapeutic in nature and offers a lot of benefits. See my other mail on it.Hope this helps.RegardsNarayan , "metllapalli" <metllapalli wrote:>> Dear Devotees,> > I am new to homam and this group. I was reading the homam manual. Each and every detail has been explained with great clarity, but it doesn't mention as to how to turn off the fire after the homam's done. What's the ideal method of putting it off? > Also I live in US, every room has a fire alarm and outside its very cold. Anyone living in US and doing havan. How do you manage any ideas would be of great help?> > Thanks all,> > Sudha> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Sudha, Narayan has already replied, but I thought I will add my two cents: 1. Normally, fire alarm is not present in every room. If so, sit in a room that does not have fire alarm, close the door, open the window and go on to do the homam. If you are getting smoke, you can consider dropping a towel near the closed door 2. Take smaller pieces of dry coconus - may be 1.5 to 2 inc in size (take a dry coconut half and cut into 6 or 8 pieces. That will be small enough to keep the smoke level low. 3. After the homam is over and the burnt dry coconut pieces cool down, remove them and try to keep the homakundam clean. The pieces even though are burnt, will catch fire if you keep them in the homakundam, and they will generate higher levels of smoke. So, keep it clean. 4. Keep marmaya, and pelalu (these are like pop-corn but in a smaller size and devoid of oil etc). They are very effective in burning with out much smoke 5. I purchased a window exhaust fab ($20-40 in Wallmart), and kept in my window. The amount of smoke during the homam is not too much if you keep the ghee level and the size of dry coconut pieces small. How ever, after the fire goes off, there will be some smoke. The exhaust will help in sending this out. How ever, you can move the homakundam out. 6. I purchased 2 bricks from Homedeopt and kept my Homakundam on them so that carpet does not get the heat 7. I also bought a terpentine (also found in Wallmart for about $15 in trekking related ile - it is used to make tents. I used to put it first and then bricks and then the homamkundam. This helped my ensure that carpent did not get any strains. 8. Initially I was very skeptic about the fire alarm, but, the day I started (with window exhaust fan), I was relieved and never bothered again. 9. Narayan's tip about keeping the lights at night is good. But, Candles are normal and if you keep the window blinders for the area above the window exhaust, the light will not be so much for the out siders and will be similar to a bright candle if your fire size is small. 10. Ravi Poruri has a beautiful set up at home. I request Ravi to photo the arrangement and put for the benefit of the public. Best regards, Vijay , Narasimha PVR Rao <pvr wrote: > > Namaste, > > You should NOT put off fire. Fire will go away by itself after a while. If you use firewood and have a big fire, it may burn for a while. If you use dry coconut pieces and have a small fire, it will go away quite quickly. > > It is a good idea to stay with fire until it goes off. But it is admissible to finish the ritual and leave the fire and take care of other things. But, in either case, let fire go off by itself. > > Suppose you call someone for lunch and serve a lot of food. Suppose the person is still eating. Do you remove food from him and push him out of your house? Of course not, for that would be quite rude. You give him enough time to eat the food. If you have less time and *have* to stop soon, you should factor that in when you call him for lunch and serve less food to start with. > > Treat fire as a real person (he IS) and have respect and love for him. He serves as a portal connecting you to gods and rishis. Depending on your vaasanas and connections, blessings of some deity or rishi can come to you through fire. Of course, this may not be perceptible to you, but those blessings may slowly transform you. No wonder several religions considered fire sacred and taught fire rituals in the past. > > Like I said earlier, it is the presence of a deity or a rishi *within you* that is concentrated in an idol or kalasha or fire or some other object when you imagine that deity or rishi in that idol or kalasha or fire or other object and pray. However, some layers within you are suppressed when you are sitting in front of a fire of decent size and your ability to concentrate a divine aspect within you into that fire is higher compared to when you are working with an idol. > > I have a special arrangement in my pooja room with a 2 ft x 2 ft fireplace that is open on all 4 sides and constructed like a homa kundam, with a chimney going up. But other people are doing in US and UK with simpler and more regular arrangements. I will let those people respond to your last question. > > Best regards, > Narasimha > > Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/homam > Do Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/tarpana > Spirituality: > Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro.home.comcast.net > Free Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAstrologer.org > Sri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagannath.org > > > ---- metllapalli <metllapalli wrote: > > Dear Devotees, > > > > I am new to homam and this group. I was reading the homam manual. Each and every detail has been explained with great clarity, but it doesn't mention as to how to turn off the fire after the homam's done. What's the ideal method of putting it off? > > Also I live in US, every room has a fire alarm and outside its very cold. Anyone living in US and doing havan. How do you manage any ideas would be of great help? > > > > Thanks all, > > > > Sudha > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Respected Sir, I was initially reluctant on asking that question on how to put off the fire. But I am so glad I did. Thanks Sir, for helping me get some very important facts clear. I will meditate on god till the fire keeps burning. I would like to thank Narayan and Vijay also for taking time and providing me with very useful tips and explaining every details of do's and dont's while performing the havan. During summer I do have plans of doing the homam outside. Hence Vijay, your next post as to how to perform homam in open space also has answered lot of my questions. My next concern was would it be bad if the fire goes off in the middle but you have cleared that also very nice explanation indeed. These tips would be very helpful for beginners like me. Under all your kind guidance and god's blessing hopefully I should be able to perform my homam successfully. With Best Regards, Sudha --- On Thu, 9/3/09, pvklnrao <pvklnrao wrote: pvklnrao <pvklnrao Re: Homam question ! Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009, 8:58 PM Sudha,Narayan has already replied, but I thought I will add my two cents:1. Normally, fire alarm is not present in every room. If so, sit in a room that does not have fire alarm, close the door, open the window and go on to do the homam. If you are getting smoke, you can consider dropping a towel near the closed door2. Take smaller pieces of dry coconus - may be 1.5 to 2 inc in size (take a dry coconut half and cut into 6 or 8 pieces. That will be small enough to keep the smoke level low.3. After the homam is over and the burnt dry coconut pieces cool down, remove them and try to keep the homakundam clean. The pieces even though are burnt, will catch fire if you keep them in the homakundam, and they will generate higher levels of smoke. So, keep it clean.4. Keep marmaya, and pelalu (these are like pop-corn but in a smaller size and devoid of oil etc). They are very effective in burning with out much smoke5. I purchased a window exhaust fab ($20-40 in Wallmart), and kept in my window. The amount of smoke during the homam is not too much if you keep the ghee level and the size of dry coconut pieces small. How ever, after the fire goes off, there will be some smoke. The exhaust will help in sending this out. How ever, you can move the homakundam out.6. I purchased 2 bricks from Homedeopt and kept my Homakundam on them so that carpet does not get the heat7. I also bought a terpentine (also found in Wallmart for about $15 in trekking related ile - it is used to make tents. I used to put it first and then bricks and then the homamkundam. This helped my ensure that carpent did not get any strains.8. Initially I was very skeptic about the fire alarm, but, the day I started (with window exhaust fan), I was relieved and never bothered again.9. Narayan's tip about keeping the lights at night is good. But, Candles are normal and if you keep the window blinders for the area above the window exhaust, the light will not be so much for the out siders and will be similar to a bright candle if your fire size is small.10. Ravi Poruri has a beautiful set up at home. I request Ravi to photo the arrangement and put for the benefit of the public.Best regards,Vijay, Narasimha PVR Rao <pvr wrote:>> Namaste,> > You should NOT put off fire. Fire will go away by itself after a while. If you use firewood and have a big fire, it may burn for a while. If you use dry coconut pieces and have a small fire, it will go away quite quickly.> > It is a good idea to stay with fire until it goes off. But it is admissible to finish the ritual and leave the fire and take care of other things. But, in either case, let fire go off by itself.> > Suppose you call someone for lunch and serve a lot of food. Suppose the person is still eating. Do you remove food from him and push him out of your house? Of course not, for that would be quite rude. You give him enough time to eat the food. If you have less time and *have* to stop soon, you should factor that in when you call him for lunch and serve less food to start with.> > Treat fire as a real person (he IS) and have respect and love for him. He serves as a portal connecting you to gods and rishis. Depending on your vaasanas and connections, blessings of some deity or rishi can come to you through fire. Of course, this may not be perceptible to you, but those blessings may slowly transform you. No wonder several religions considered fire sacred and taught fire rituals in the past.> > Like I said earlier, it is the presence of a deity or a rishi *within you* that is concentrated in an idol or kalasha or fire or some other object when you imagine that deity or rishi in that idol or kalasha or fire or other object and pray. However, some layers within you are suppressed when you are sitting in front of a fire of decent size and your ability to concentrate a divine aspect within you into that fire is higher compared to when you are working with an idol.> > I have a special arrangement in my pooja room with a 2 ft x 2 ft fireplace that is open on all 4 sides and constructed like a homa kundam, with a chimney going up. But other people are doing in US and UK with simpler and more regular arrangements. I will let those people respond to your last question.> > Best regards,> Narasimha> ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -> Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ homam> Do Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAst rologer.org/ tarpana> Spirituality: http://groups. / group/vedic- wisdom> Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro. home.comcast. net> Free Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAst rologer.org> Sri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagan nath.org> ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- - > > ---- metllapalli <metllapalli@ ...> wrote: > > Dear Devotees,> > > > I am new to homam and this group. I was reading the homam manual. Each and every detail has been explained with great clarity, but it doesn't mention as to how to turn off the fire after the homam's done. What's the ideal method of putting it off? > > Also I live in US, every room has a fire alarm and outside its very cold. Anyone living in US and doing havan. How do you manage any ideas would be of great help?> > > > Thanks all,> > > > Sudha> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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