Vedic Yagya

For every individual, a yagya has to be performed as per Vedic norms, for a specific purpose, at the right time (muhurta) and by capable Vedic Pandits only. Every yagya is performed for the specified period for the sponsor alone. This is the basic requirement of a yagya. The daily puja or yagya done in various temples is not specific and cannot serve the purpose of an individual, as the mantras chanted there are general, like prayers.

There are various methods and processes adopted by our Pandits, as per Vedic norms, for self-purification. A few of them:

• Aachman — for internal purification.
• Pavitri — it makes oneself sacred as a whole.
• Pranayam — a natural gift and device which attaches oneself directly with the Almighty and renders complete bliss. One feels oneself away from earthly possessions, since yagya is completely based on certain principles, and yoga, being a very important part of yagya, plays a vital role: it unifies the whole system and attaches it with God.

This is the ultimate feeling of a Pandit performing a yagya. Certain rituals and basic principles were established by our Rishis for performing any yagya — Nyas, Pranayam and others, already laid down by the Maharishis — and this performance ultimately attaches the soul of the performer with the Supreme Soul, which gives results and eliminates the difficulties for which it is done.

The person for whom the yagya is performed is also supposed to be involved in the yagya, wherever he or she may be, until it is completed — spending that time in spiritual meditation and abstaining from all evils. In that moment of spiritual paramanand, the blessing of the Almighty is felt.

Yagya is the process of the One (Devata) being invoked, the Sankalp being introduced, and brought out into the relative world. It is the process of the One becoming manifest to a point value of life.

One has to understand that the Pandit does not ‘physically’ connect to the person. The Pandit connects to the Devata level of life, and by the correctness of the mantras, together with the offerings and one-pointed concentration, the results manifest. There is no physical or emotional connection. The person sponsoring the yagya receives the benefits because the Oneness of the Devata is in the field of the Unity of all life. That person has made the Sankalp and the offerings, so if the yagya is performed correctly, with one-pointed concentration, the results will be there. The results unfold over time; people look back and see the changes. They have to work with the yagya, however, and realise that the yagya enhances whatever self-effort they are making.