YAJNA - SACRIFICE
As we all know everything in the world exists in cycles and nothing can exist without each others help. We also have learnt in all these years that if one living organism becomes extinct then the whole cycle of life gets affected and the other dependent organisms live in the danger of extinction, we now call them - endangered species.
One will think what is all this got to do with yajna (sacrifice) a hindu ritual. For this we all have to understand the basic law of existence – the law of interdependence.
We have to understand that our existence along with the existence of everything on earth & in the universe is governed by the law of interdependence. Everything has to exist for the survival of the dependent – a rhythm has to be maintained – everything should happen with ease – effortless action – naturally.Their should be no force no friction.
The sun has to stay in its position - the earth has to revolve around its axis so that we can experience day/ night – here the sun is sacrificing its light/heat for the survival of life on earth – the earth is revolving and performing a action for the survival of everything on the planet i.e. A sacrifice – yajna etc.
In olden days people realized the importance of the natural cycles of life & action. They use to worship objects of nature e.g sun, fire, earth, air(vayu), water etc the sources of life. The sadhus went on to discover and understand that all these natural cycles / actions are happening effortlessly and with no expectation of any fruits i.e. without expecting anything in return.They called it a sacrifice, a action performed by nature effortlessly without any expectation of the result (fruit – phala). The sadhus discovered that if the same principle of effortlessness and sacrifice when applied to our life, life becomes beautiful and happy – stressfree. Sadhus or the wisemen found different ways to spread knowledge.
To infuse a similar feeling among the common man at that time sadhus performed rituals of sacrifice with the help of mantras, to please the gods and bless the people with good vegetation and cultivation. The sacrificial rituals was a way to give back the gods their share of what they have given us. The gods here is plural because we are referring to multiple natural powers i.e. actions of nature eg. Rain, air, soil, fire etc.
With the help of the rituals and the knowledge given by the wise men ‘sadhu’, people understood the meaning of interdependence & sacrifice. Their was always mutual respect exchanged by everyone i.e. Sharing without expectation was the ritual of the community, sharing not only amongst each other but sharing with all the animals & plantation. The vegetation & the cultivation was also shared with the gods through yajna a ritual of sacrifice - the way of giving back the share of the gods like indra, vayu etc.
According to Bhagvad Gita a person who does not share what he earns with the people who are responsible for his success is called a Thief. According to the hindu scriptures a thief is not just the person who steals but also the person who fails to share his success with all the people who are responsible for his success.
We all fail to realize, we all fail to share our success with all who have been with us throughout our journey (cumulative actions). E.g. A student gives a exam and passes after studying for several months day/night and writing several difficult questions. But for his success his mother who cooked all the meals, his father who provided all the money, his school teacher who taught him and not just them but even the bus driver who safely got him to his exam centre and many more all are responsible for the success of the student, sometimes we don’t share as we don’t realize we have never been taught i.e our ignorance. sometimes we distribute sweets unknowingly to all these people who have worked for you without any expectation out of your success. While receiving a award a mere mention of the names in the thanksgiving speech of successful people is a way of gratitude and realization - that without the help of all these people success wouldn’t have been possible. We all have heard it in the famous speeches during the Oscars and various award functions.
Sharing should be natural - sharing should be smooth - it should be effortless – just as the earth revolves around itself naturally, rain falls smoothly – the sun gives us light energy effortlessly – the plant give us fruits vegetation wit love – the soil gives the minerals to the plants without any price to pay – everything exists with mutual sacrifices and effortless actions performed for the benefit of the each other and co existence. We all should be able to share effortlessly naturally. No faces no wrinkles no half hearted sacrifices – give with both hands open and so will you receive. For e.g. the story of young nachiketa who was very upset with his father who was about to sacrifice thousands of cows in the name of yajna who were very weak and unwell. Nachiketa was unhappy with this attitude of his father. Nachiketa told his father, in anger father said I sacrifice you the god of death yama. nachiketa had only one desire to know what happens after death and he was ready to sacrifice anything for that…….
§ § Yogah karmasu kaushalam
§ § Samatvam yogah ucchate
These are the different ways to understand what yoga is. Also to know what is sacrifice – what is action – the attitude behind the action – the effortlessness in every action – no expectation of the fruit – acceptance of the fruit (result of action) – realization of god.
v YOUR BODY – IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR MIND!
As we all know everything in the world exists in cycles and nothing can exist without each others help. We also have learnt in all these years that if one living organism becomes extinct then the whole cycle of life gets affected and the other dependent organisms live in the danger of extinction, we now call them - endangered species.
One will think what is all this got to do with yajna (sacrifice) a hindu ritual. For this we all have to understand the basic law of existence – the law of interdependence.
We have to understand that our existence along with the existence of everything on earth & in the universe is governed by the law of interdependence. Everything has to exist for the survival of the dependent – a rhythm has to be maintained – everything should happen with ease – effortless action – naturally.Their should be no force no friction.
The sun has to stay in its position - the earth has to revolve around its axis so that we can experience day/ night – here the sun is sacrificing its light/heat for the survival of life on earth – the earth is revolving and performing a action for the survival of everything on the planet i.e. A sacrifice – yajna etc.
In olden days people realized the importance of the natural cycles of life & action. They use to worship objects of nature e.g sun, fire, earth, air(vayu), water etc the sources of life. The sadhus went on to discover and understand that all these natural cycles / actions are happening effortlessly and with no expectation of any fruits i.e. without expecting anything in return.They called it a sacrifice, a action performed by nature effortlessly without any expectation of the result (fruit – phala). The sadhus discovered that if the same principle of effortlessness and sacrifice when applied to our life, life becomes beautiful and happy – stressfree. Sadhus or the wisemen found different ways to spread knowledge.
To infuse a similar feeling among the common man at that time sadhus performed rituals of sacrifice with the help of mantras, to please the gods and bless the people with good vegetation and cultivation. The sacrificial rituals was a way to give back the gods their share of what they have given us. The gods here is plural because we are referring to multiple natural powers i.e. actions of nature eg. Rain, air, soil, fire etc.
With the help of the rituals and the knowledge given by the wise men ‘sadhu’, people understood the meaning of interdependence & sacrifice. Their was always mutual respect exchanged by everyone i.e. Sharing without expectation was the ritual of the community, sharing not only amongst each other but sharing with all the animals & plantation. The vegetation & the cultivation was also shared with the gods through yajna a ritual of sacrifice - the way of giving back the share of the gods like indra, vayu etc.
According to Bhagvad Gita a person who does not share what he earns with the people who are responsible for his success is called a Thief. According to the hindu scriptures a thief is not just the person who steals but also the person who fails to share his success with all the people who are responsible for his success.
We all fail to realize, we all fail to share our success with all who have been with us throughout our journey (cumulative actions). E.g. A student gives a exam and passes after studying for several months day/night and writing several difficult questions. But for his success his mother who cooked all the meals, his father who provided all the money, his school teacher who taught him and not just them but even the bus driver who safely got him to his exam centre and many more all are responsible for the success of the student, sometimes we don’t share as we don’t realize we have never been taught i.e our ignorance. sometimes we distribute sweets unknowingly to all these people who have worked for you without any expectation out of your success. While receiving a award a mere mention of the names in the thanksgiving speech of successful people is a way of gratitude and realization - that without the help of all these people success wouldn’t have been possible. We all have heard it in the famous speeches during the Oscars and various award functions.
Sharing should be natural - sharing should be smooth - it should be effortless – just as the earth revolves around itself naturally, rain falls smoothly – the sun gives us light energy effortlessly – the plant give us fruits vegetation wit love – the soil gives the minerals to the plants without any price to pay – everything exists with mutual sacrifices and effortless actions performed for the benefit of the each other and co existence. We all should be able to share effortlessly naturally. No faces no wrinkles no half hearted sacrifices – give with both hands open and so will you receive. For e.g. the story of young nachiketa who was very upset with his father who was about to sacrifice thousands of cows in the name of yajna who were very weak and unwell. Nachiketa was unhappy with this attitude of his father. Nachiketa told his father, in anger father said I sacrifice you the god of death yama. nachiketa had only one desire to know what happens after death and he was ready to sacrifice anything for that…….
§ § Yogah karmasu kaushalam
§ § Samatvam yogah ucchate
These are the different ways to understand what yoga is. Also to know what is sacrifice – what is action – the attitude behind the action – the effortlessness in every action – no expectation of the fruit – acceptance of the fruit (result of action) – realization of god.
v YOUR BODY – IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR MIND!
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