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नमो द्विशीर्ष्णे त्रिपदे चतु:शृङ्गाय तन्तवे । सप्तहस्ताय यज्ञाय त्रयीविद्यात्मने नम: ॥ ३१ ॥
I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have two heads [prāyaṇīya and udāyanīya], three legs [savana-traya], four horns [the four Vedas] and seven hands [the seven chandas, such as Gāyatrī]. I offer my obeisances unto You, whose heart and soul are the three Vedic rituals [karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa] and who expand these rituals in the form of sacrifice.
ŚB 8.16.31
Agni by Moole and Nisachar
Post # 150
Yagna - Superstition or Science?
Three years back, I had been to Varanasi to meet a business partner. After the day's work, I was back at Varanasi airport, and stepped into its small, compact smoking zone. As I lit my cigarette, a middle aged lady walked in, took out a cigarette from her handbag, lit it and smiled at me. She was a foreigner. We struck a conversation. She told me that she was a German and had come here to invite one of the pandits in Varanasi to visit her home town in Germany, to organise a Yagna for them. I looked at her incredulously. She told me calmly that there is a big market for Yagnas in Europe. I could not believe my ears. As she ground her half-finished cigarette and turned to leave, she smiled and said politely, "Indians have forgotten the science behind Yagnas." And she left.
She was wrong. I hadn't forgotten. I just didn't know that there was a science behind Yagnas.
The above illustration is one of the thousand or so that Devdutt Pattanaik has sketched in his fifty plus publications demystifying Hinduism, its mythology and its complex imagery. Over the past three years, I have heavily banked on him to understand this multi-faceted way of life, originally called Sanatana Dharma, now conveniently but inaccurately called Hinduism. What I share with you below is based on my understanding, however incomplete it may be.
The most commonly used translation of Yagna is Sacrifice. Devdutt Pattanaik says that Yagna was infact conceptualized, not as a mere sacrifice, but as an Exchange. As such, it consisted of two parts - A Sacrifice or an Offering, made in return for an Expectation.
The initiator of the Yagna was called a Yajamana. He initiated a Yagna because he had a material desire that he wanted to fulfill - a son to continue his lineage, or wealth for his treasury, or rains for his kingdom, or victory in a war, and so on and so forth.
In order to fulfill his desire, he was willing to make an offering (donations of cows, wealth etc), represented by Svaha - This of me, I offer to you.
The fulfiller of his desires was a Devata - an energy form, representing the material apiration of the Yajamana. More on this guy later. The Devata fulfilled the desire saying Tathastu - So be it!
So, a Yagna was a mechanism of invoking a Devata to fulfill a particular desire. It was a "give and recieve" mechanism, a practical, material process, as against the misunderstood "noble" concept of simply a sacrifice.
This process of invoking the Devata was highly technical, and required an expert who knew its technolgy. This expert was called a Rishi, who was a Brahmana (one who is in communion with the Brahman).
Ancient Indian Rishis were scientists, who knew the science and technology behind invoking different energy bodies (Devatas) representing different material desires.
Okay. But did Devatas exist? Are they these so-called energy bodies, or are they just figments of mythology? How do we get a grip on this idea?
To understand this, lets see what modern science has to say. I take modern science's reference, not because it is more advanced or more accurate, but simply because it is contemporary and so, we relate to it better. Lets see what its foremost scientist, Albert Einstein, had to say.
The crux of Einstein's entire life is a small formula, probably the most well-known formula in the world, E=mc2. Through it, Einstein states that:
Matter is nothing but condensed energy.
Different types of matter resonate with different energy levels.
Now, compare this with what the Sankhya Yoga, one of the six schools of Indian philosophy, expounded by Kapila Maharshi, says.
Consciousness (Purusha or Shiva) manifests as Energy (Prakriti or Shakti).
Energy manifests as various forms of matter - from the very subtle (Shoonya), to the subtle (Sukshma), to the gross forms of matter (Sthula).
So, Energy is condensed Consciousness. Matter is condensed Energy.
Through a set of processes, it into possible to change matter into energy, or energy into matter, or tap into higher or lower energy levels, and change the forms of matter.
So, it is possible to invoke an energy form that will bring rain to a land. Required frequencies have to be tapped. It is possible to invoke a male child in a barren womb. Those particular frequencies have to be tapped. This Yagna was called Putrakameshthi Yagna. It is possible to invoke wealth. A different frequency, and hence a corresponding energy form needs to be tapped. This energy form can be given a name (for example, Kubera) and can be considered a deity (worthy of worship), but in essence, I understand a Devata as an energy form, corresponding to the frequency of a material, physical aspect.
So, there can be a water god (Varuna), or a fire god (Agni) or a wind god (Vayu), or a tree god, or an elephant god (Ganesha) or a goddess for wealth (Lakshmi), or for knowledge (Saraswati), or for any of the 33 million gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. They may just have been various energy forms corresponding to various frequencies on the material plane.
Next, how can one invoke these deities (Devatas or Devis)?
The set up of the Yagnashala itself is applied science, ie. highly advanced technology. Take for instance the Havan Kund, also called Yagna Vedi.
The Havan Kund works on a simple scientific principle that geometry (shape, direction, size, location) influences the flow of energy. This is the same principle on which Vaastu Shastra is based. So the shape of the Yagna Vedi varies with the type of energy to be invoked.
A funfact - the word pyramid means fire in the middle. It was an ancient geometrical tool to create a particular energy field within itself.
The second aspect of invoking the Devata is the use of Mantras. There is a beautiful book on this subject by Om Swami.
Basically, mantras are sounds. Sound is infact energy. If a particular sound is uttered, a vibration is created. This vibration has a particular frequency. So different syllables generate different frequencies.
A mantra is a combination of different syllables in a particular order, which when uttered aloud, repeatedly, creates a particular energy field. There are mantras for various material and spiritual aspirations - for health, for wealth, for relations, for mental peace, for spiritual growth, so on and so forth.
Another funfact - the most powerful mantra in the universe is a simple syllable - Om, also pronounced as AUM, a corruption of which is seen in every religion - Amen in Christianity, Amin in Islam etc.
Another aspect of the science of Yagna is the use of Fire - Agni.
Fire is one of the five primordial elements - Agni (fire), Vayu (air), Apah (water), Akash (space) and Prithvi (earth).
The discovery of Fire by man is a pivotal moment in his evolutionary journey, primarily because it marks man's evolution of consciousness. Reminds me of the movie - Jungle book, by Disney - where Mowgli is captured by a bunch a monkeys because the monkey king wants to know how man made fire.
More importantly, fire is energy - heat energy. It also signifies purity. It burns away impurities and leaves a pure residue.
I read somewhere that there are 1008 types of Yagnas in the Vedas.
I wonder why the only narrative of Yagna I heard as a kid growing up was that it involved animal sacrifice. I wonder why I have always considered Yagna to be a superstition. And I wonder how Germans heard another narrative and decided to import its technology from India.
King Janamejaya does Sarpa yaga upon the death of his father Parikshit
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