Vedic Wisdom - Science of fire Sacrifice

Vedic Wisdom

Science of fire Sacrifice

This is another concept completely misunderstood. Let us see the absolute science behind it.

Sun is the primary source of energy for all the inhabitants on the earth, and sun is nothing but a huge fireball in itself. The man-made transporta- tion systems on land, air, sea, undersea and space function ith the help of a myriad of engines that utilize the thermal energy of one fuel or another through a fire in its combustion chamber. The thermal power plants generate electricity through fire only. And, most importantly, we eat so many kinds of dishes after cooking them on fire and they are digested only by the fire in our gut.

Thus, the ability to generate fire at our will must have been the foremost invention of the Vedic seers long ago in the faculty of the material sciences. Indeed, the very first word of the Rigveda, the very first book in the library of the mankind is agni, meaning fire, in addition to many other things.

But the most remarkable thing for the Vedic seers to invent is the ritual of ‘agni’-‘hotra’. It demonstrates their understanding of the fire to the extent that they made it mandatory for everyone, twice a day. Prima facie, it sounds senseless to put the useful and valuable substances into the fire. he

Rishis in ancient India understood the mechanism of fire, its ability to break up the substances into vapor phase, and the related buoyancy and other aerodynamic effects that it can be used as a mechanism to cleanse the air both indoor and outdoor.

They knew the principle of Conservation of Mass, what is stated in the modern terminology as “No mass is created or destroyed.” They knew that the oblations of different substances that are put into the fire may appear to vanish, but they don’t vanish in the truest sense. They merely become difficult to be seen by the naked eye because they have been transformed into vapor phase. It’s as simple as evaporation of water that becomes invisible but it continues to exist in the form of the water vapor.

Indeed this is what causes rainmaking clouds. Vedic seers made the ritual of agnihotra, a multi dimensionally useful affair. It became a spiritually enlightening experience because the selected verses from the Vedas and other allied Vedic literature were recited during the course of agnihotra. Agnihotra can elevate us in all the domains of body, prana, mind, intellect, and the innermost spirit too. It encompasses all the meanings that are conveyed by the word Yajnya. The word is derived from yaj that stands for ‘devapuja sangatikarana danesu’. That is, Yajnya is a karma that should be 1) in due honor of devas, both sentient and insentient, 2) in an assembly of noble souls, and 3) in the nature of sacrifice.

Agnihotra can truly be characterized as a Yajnya because first, it is for cleansing of air, a devata of insentient nature. Furthermore, it enhances the characteristics of the herbal substances (that are also devatas in nature) multifold. Two, it is a group activity when a number of people assemble together with a positive frame of mind and intellect. Three, it amounts to making a sacrifice from a personal point of view though the benefits of the same would be obtained by all beings in general.

The oblations of many valuable substances are offered into the fire, which amounts to sacrifice. The Verses are chanted with the endings of “idam na mama”, i.e. this is not mine. This reinforces in mind that all the material possessions of ours in the world are actually not quite proprietary in nature; it is merely for the purposes of transfer and diffusion to others, in keeping into the spirit that all the wealth is actually that of the creator – He is the true Creator and Owner.

It is a well-known fact that the substances when taken in their vapour form through the nostrils have much greater efficacy – many hundred times more. And, the same quantity of substance can benefit a much larger population. It is a common experience that if an individual eats a green chilly then that person alone would be sneezing under its influence. But if the same chilly is put in the fire then the resultant air can cause many hundred people to sneeze. Agnihotra magnifies the advantages of the desirable herbal substances.Like this veda contains innumerable ultimate truths ‘. Therefore Vedas became mystic.

This article is a snippet from the Book Vedic Wisdom, Authored by Pandit Sri Rama Sharma. Vedic Wisdom is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.