Yagna
The meanings of yagna are vast and varied, enough to fill a book by themselves. Yagna can refer literally to the havan/fire ceremony, where we sit around a fire, placing offerings into the flames. It can also be used to mean seva or sacrifice. The most common usage, though, is the yagna which refers to the havan ceremony, involving a large fire. This is one of the most common rituals in Indian culture. It is used on most important occasions, ranging from weddings to the opening of new businesses to graduations to prayers for someone's health. The offering which is placed into the fire consists of several elements, including jav, sesame seeds, rice, ghee, incense and sandalwood. Each element has a different significance. It has been said that simply inhaling the smoke of a holy yagna fire has the ability to cure ailments of the lungs or respiratory system. Yagna is, in essence, a purifying ritual. Just as fire purifies everything it touches, so we perform yagna that we may made pure. But who is the divine purifier, the true purifier, the fire of all fires? God. So, these offerings are not being made simply to a fire, rather they are being made to the Real Fire, the Almighty. As we place the ahuti (offerings) into the flames, we symbolically offer all our "impurities" - our anger, our greed, our jealousy, our grudges, our pains, our obstacles - and we pray to God to make us as pure as the ghee we are pouring into the flames.
Also, the yagna reminds us to give, and give and give. The mantras go on and on and with each mantra we place an offering into the flames. This is to teach us that our hands should never be empty of offerings. We should continually give and give, with every breath. At the end of the mantras and shlokas chanted by the priests, it says, "Idam Namamah, Idam Namamah." This means, "Not for me, but for You." It reminds us that everything we do in life must be for others, for God, for the world, rather than for our own selfish motives.
The ahuti (offering) is made up of a variety of seeds. These seeds symbolize our ego. Just as a seed planted in rich, fertile soil will flower, blossom and grow its roots into the ground, so will our egos grow and strengthen if we nurture and nourish them. Yet, a seed that has been roasted can never germinate. So, we offer our egos to God - to the divine Fire - and pray that He will burn our egos in the fire of His grace.
We sit around the yagna to remind us to keep God and purity in the center of our lives. Too often, we want to be the center of everything; we want to be the most important; we want offerings to be made to us. That is the root of our unhappiness. So, in a yagna, we sit around the fire and place our offerings inward. This reminds us that in life we should be on the outside, with God in the center, and we should just offer in, offer in, offering our every breath, every thought, every action at His holy feet, praying for Him to purify us. In yagna, if you listen to the slokas, you will hear that many end with "idam namamah." This means, "not for me, but for you." It means that whatever I do, whatever I have, whatever I give, it is not for me, but, God it is for you. This is the root of yagna, the root of Hinduism and the root of happiness in life. Lastly, just as the flames of a fire only rise higher and higher, so we pray that God may carry our lives only upward, closer and closer to His divine abode.
