There is a mysterious side to man. This mysterious dimension is a world of sounds, colours, lights and images. If you happen to step into that dimension, it will feel as if you have walked into a room full of different sounds, some soft, others loud, some pleasant, others unpleasant, some familiar, others unknown. If your consciousness is trained in the science of sound, it will be able to draw out the corresponding sounds from that dimension and use that as a doorway to other dimensions, perhaps the one of light or image where the same rules again apply.
It is this mysterious side of man that converses with nature at all times and at all levels. If you want to be totally in tune with nature, that is the dimension you have to tap. Nature is not static. Movement is inherent in nature. The Sanskrit word for nature is prakriti. Pra is the prefix and kriti means creation and movement. Through the constant movement of this great energy known as prakriti, a sort of spandan or vibration emanates which is heard as sound, seen as light and colour, or touched as form.
So first of all we have to realign ourselves with nature. We have to reconnect ourselves with the source of our mysterious nature. The vedic concept of prakriti is that it is both jada and chetana, which means that it is both insentient as well as sentient. Everything in nature has intelligence or the conscious principle in some form or the other, either dormant and latent or active and alert.
Nature does not merely mean the mountains and rivers, plants, birds and animals. That is its manifest form; the sun, moon, stars, planets, seasons are manifested nature. But there is an unmanifest form of nature too. This unmanifest nature is both macro-cosmic as well as micro-cosmic. In its micro-cosmic form it is entrapped within matter and in its macro-cosmic form it is the various forms of energy abounding in the universe, whether they be material or non-material as in the case of electromagnetic energy.
The basic principle of yajna, which can be traced back to the core of tantric and vedic philosophy, is the profound idea that man is a microcosm of the macrocosm that is the universe. Whatever formed entities are in the universe, the same are here in the human body and vice versa, and as such each and every human being is equal to the entire universe.
Both man and the universe are controlled by the sun and moon. Agni and soma tattwa sustain the universe and in the human body too they control our physiological and psychological activities through the harmonious flow of ida and pingala. So they are called Agnishomoyama, the noble concept of sustenance.
One must understand, however, that the experience of energy, whether micro-cosmic or macro-cosmic, needs to be awakened within each and every individual if he wishes to rise above the gross mundane experience and enter subtler realms of that tremendous force of prakriti.
Yajna aims to establish this experience. As the rites and rituals of yajna strictly adhere to the laws of nature and do not oppose them in any way, it is most effective in achieving this aim. Yajnas use the principle of sound through the constant intonation of mantras which create a powerful field of energy for the descent of a magnetic force that is the deity of the mantra. Light, form and colour contribute magnificently to build the ambience for this subtle energy to manifest itself. A feast for the senses!
Thus the most important part of a yajna is the mantra (sound). This more than the mechanics of the ritual is what makes the yajna efficacious. It is through the mantra that the perfected being or deity of the yajna is worshipped. It is the mantra that awakens and communicates the power of the chosen deity.
The ingredients offered in yajna are all drawn from nature without the least trace of chemical, toxic or artificial elements. The water is brought from the purest source of all the rivers in India and the herbs and grains offered are not chosen at random but are those specifically prescribed for that particular yajna.
Yajnas restore balance in nature. Today, more than ever before, this has become absolutely essential, for we will have to agree that nature is being stripped and shorn of its dignity by the modern civilization in much the same way that Draupadi was stripped of hers by the Kauravas while her five husbands, the Pandavas, looked on.
Just as even then it was a divine power called Krishna that came to her rescue and saved her, today too we will have to resort to the invocation of divine forces to descend and fill our hearts with peace so that agitation, disharmony and imbalance disappear and our lives may prosper.
This is only possible if nature is happy. If nature is sick, ailing and disturbed by the actions that oppose and destroy its balance, it will certainly rebound onto us, and that is what we are experiencing today. The air is sick, the water is impure, the rains do not come on time, the heat is exaggerated, the winters are harsh and severe. Insects, flies and mosquitoes are increasing rapidly, virulent diseases are spreading without any check. In short, the harmony is disturbed.
Yajnas make nature happy. And this in turn is communicated to the environment and the people who inhabit it. Tantra describes the yajnasthanam as a place where the heart is spontaneously filled with peace and totally attuned to nature or prakriti. It is in these peaceful moments of harmony and balance that the universe and subsequently man is rejuvenated and restored.
Thus yajnas serve as an antidote to the effects of widespread pollution all around us, whether it is air, water, noise, light or even thought pollution that is invading us from all sides. In this 21st century, when man is surrounded by artificial products that may serve his purpose very well but have made him a stranger to the nature which creates, nourishes and sustains him, it is this simple ceremony of yajna alone that can once again forge the link between him and mother nature. An ancient practice no doubt, shrouded in antiquity but as relevant to modern man as it was to the rishis and munis of the vedic era who conceived the spirit of yajna to express their love, respect and reverence for Mother Nature.
The Sat Chandi Mahayajna, which is a part of the Rajasooya Yajna, is now approaching the final culmination, which will take place in the twelfth year, and all spiritual seekers are invited to participate in this sacred event which Swami Satyananda has initiated for the benefit of mankind.
The yajna prasad chosen by Swami Satyananda in 2005 will include grains, household utensils, agricultural tools and implements, blankets, clothing and woollens for adults and children, as well as stationery, notebooks and school bags for the students, i.e. all necessary items for his neighbours in Rikhia panchayat.
Sivananda Math has undertaken the huge task of purchasing and packing all this material and if you wish to attain the punya or merit of making your offering to the deity of the yajna, you may contact us for further information on how to do so.
All are invited to this sacred event to receive the grace of Guru and Devi Ma in abundance.
—Namo Narayana