The Sacrificial Fire
Hindus believe that the purification of the mind and spirit is even more important than the purification of the body. It is through meditation, acts of worship and goodwill to all humanity that this is achieved.
Yagya is one of the most significant forms of Hindu act of worship. The sacred fire has a very special place in all Hindu religious ceremonies. During Yagya, Ghee, food and 'Havan Samagree' (consisting of vegetable matter, roots, food stuffs and sandal wood) are offered to the sacred fire. The act of praying while offering these items to the fire is called 'Aahootee'. The timing of the individual offerings made during the Yagya, should coincide with the utterance of the word 'Swaahaa'. The offerings should be dropped into the fire with the palm facing up: the offerings
should not be thrown in!
During Havan we are not praying to the actual fire in front of us. The fire, 'Agni' (in Sanskrit) denotes warmth and light and thus signifies God, Who is radiant and bright, and leads us from darkness to light, untruth to truth, and death to immortality.
During the Yagya, besides the physical acts of worship, we are concentrating on the highest qualities of God that we, mere mortals, are capable of imagining; at the same time we are exalting ourselves to rise above the mental, emotional and spiritual level we are at the time. This is where mere repeating and chanting of the Mantras in a rote manner is not as useful, as when we recited the same with
some understanding of the beautiful and rich meaning that they carry.
O Lord, I pray for the strength and splendour of my powers of speech, respiratory system, sight, hearing, centres of love, feeling and heart, my throat and brain, my hands and arms; my whole body for my personal ends and for the service of all.
Hindus believe that the purification of the mind and spirit is even more important than the purification of the body. It is through meditation, acts of worship and goodwill to all humanity that this is achieved.
Yagya is one of the most significant forms of Hindu act of worship. The sacred fire has a very special place in all Hindu religious ceremonies. During Yagya, Ghee, food and 'Havan Samagree' (consisting of vegetable matter, roots, food stuffs and sandal wood) are offered to the sacred fire. The act of praying while offering these items to the fire is called 'Aahootee'. The timing of the individual offerings made during the Yagya, should coincide with the utterance of the word 'Swaahaa'. The offerings should be dropped into the fire with the palm facing up: the offerings
should not be thrown in!
During Havan we are not praying to the actual fire in front of us. The fire, 'Agni' (in Sanskrit) denotes warmth and light and thus signifies God, Who is radiant and bright, and leads us from darkness to light, untruth to truth, and death to immortality.
During the Yagya, besides the physical acts of worship, we are concentrating on the highest qualities of God that we, mere mortals, are capable of imagining; at the same time we are exalting ourselves to rise above the mental, emotional and spiritual level we are at the time. This is where mere repeating and chanting of the Mantras in a rote manner is not as useful, as when we recited the same with
some understanding of the beautiful and rich meaning that they carry.
O Lord, I pray for the strength and splendour of my powers of speech, respiratory system, sight, hearing, centres of love, feeling and heart, my throat and brain, my hands and arms; my whole body for my personal ends and for the service of all.
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