Five yajnas are prescribed as mandatory for every human being: (1) Activities devoted to the study of scriptures (Rishi Yajna); (2) Activities devoted to parents who confer your birth, foster and guide you (Pitr Yajna); (3) Acts done as reverential homage to God who endowed you with mind, intelligence, memory and consciousness, and who is inherent in your every cell as Rasa, the vital energy (Raso Vai Sah).Indeed, the right use of these instruments that God has given you is Deva Yajna; (4) The fourth is adoration of guests. Everyone must welcome the chance of entertaining a guest and treat them with affection, and please them with sincere hospitality as if sent by God, be it one's own kith and kin or strangers (Atithi Yajna); (5) The final yajna is unselfish acts done while dealing with trees, plants, animals, birds and pets like cats and dogs (Bhoota Yajna). Remember to make every act of yours from sunrise to the onset of sleep as a Yajna!
This is for every human being or spiritual aspirant, also for you, no exception and person status that gives us the privilege to be different from others.
In Hinduism, yajña (Sanskrit: यज्ञ; IAST: yajña) ("sacrifice") is the ritual act of offering labour or materials. In more formal ceremonies, it is a practice from historical Vedic religion where specific offerings are made, accompanied by the chanting of Vedic mantras. Agni Yajna is the ritual offering of ghee, grain and havana sámagri ("herbal preparations") into a sacred fire.
The meaning of the word yajna is derived from the Sanskrit verb yaj, which has a threefold meaning of worship of deities (devapujana), unity (sangatikarana) and charity (dána).[1] An essential element is the ritual fire – the divine Agni – into which oblations are poured, as everything that is offered into the fire is believed to reach the deity or deities. (Wiki)
It means five sorts of offerings are mandatory for every human being.
1. Activity devoted to the study of the scriptures is what we are doing here.
We study Swami's words in thinking it over we get able to absorb the meaning and what is important is to see it in our own life, if we don't do that, we cannot understand it.
Five yajnas are prescribed as mandatory for every human being: (1) Activities devoted to the study of scriptures (Rishi Yajna);
That is why I went to see my parents and I looked at them as God, no matter what problems they had and no matter how difficult it got in their presence, I saw it as challenge to be with them in spite of it and I wrote Swami constantly to keep calm inside and to just watch and to not get entangled with their issues. I wanted to get the insight what was wrong and why it felt not as it should have felt like a home.
I always woke up with nightmares and in fear when I was in my parent's house and apparently without reason, in the midst of the night just like that there was fear. The man who comes in our dreams to awake us said, that listing to my mother the father seemed to be in an outside room of the house, she banned him in a corner, but in reality he was in the center of the house and that felt scary. Parents confer our birth and are on that level of God, but the way they fostered and guided us in being let down, that is another matter.
It is a bad feeling created when we feel let down, it feels unjust and not right and offending. And until now when I met with class mates I got aware of that pain in the background and that something felt not right and I couldn't enjoy it. It was not relaxed and great, because of that feeling of being let down, as I didn't know what it was, I couldn't face it. The man who comes in our dreams to awake us said that I had been let down by the family, that means now I know why there is that pain and it doesn't feel okay.
It made it difficult to feel at home and comfortable not only at that place, but in general and I would have liked to stay away always, but that was also not possible. It was the pain of injustice in the air and the fact that I had been let down by the family.
The class meeting was very different this time. As I know now why I feel the way I felt, the reason behind the family and being let down by them and it is not the business of the class, they cannot change it and do something about it, it is a family issue and as long as I didn't know the reason why I felt the way I felt, it was difficult to take all those hurt feelings coming up and the parents were excused and idealized and they always told me that I had a problem, when they took care of it that the problem went on.
As I know now where the disturbance is rooted, there is a difference in the experience of it.
How I feel with the class mates has nothing to do with the family and I feel more at home with them than I ever did with the family.
Now I know where the disturbance comes from and I can enjoy the class meeting on a different level and undisturbed. We were together in class and shared our learning and time together and we had some good and bad times together, it has nothing to do with the disturbed parent's house or better they know that my parent's house was difficult.
Parents are God, but we also have been let down by them and they are the reason for the disturbance and not the classmates.
(2) Activities devoted to parents who confer your birth, foster and guide you (Pitr Yajna);
In thinking it over we get aware of it and in seeing it in our own life we get a feeling for it and we realize that it is our own experience and we can see how unresolved stuff if we don't understand it and we don't know why there is pain and the feeling of being let down can overshadow our life if we don't know what it is.
(3) Acts done as reverential homage to God who endowed you with mind, intelligence, memory and consciousness, and who is inherent in your every cell as Rasa, the vital energy (Raso Vai Sah). Indeed, the right use of these instruments that God has given you is Deva Yajna;
We had yesterday a study circle and talked about ego and we always get to the conclusion that it is difficult to act without ego, but if we go for center activities, as it is structured by Swami, there is no ego and we do it together, in that sense we give up our ego, it is selfless in the group.
Whatever is done as center activity is not ego and sharing together makes it selfless and that is how we are able to act in reverential homage to God if we get aware of the unity between us and his divine presence, we develop and experience that vital energy.
Do you remember the Rasa dance that is the dance of Krishna with the gopis? He played his flute at midnight and the gopis listened to his call and came from far away to join the dance. There is even the story of a gopi and her worldly husband tried to hold her back and locked her in the house and she left the body to join the Rasa dance with Krishna so strong is that energy. We know that energy from Darshan and we can experience it with our center activities if we do understand it right.
(4) The fourth is adoration of guests. Everyone must welcome the chance of entertaining a guest and treat them with affection, and please them with sincere hospitality as if sent by God, be it one's own kith and kin or strangers (Atithi Yajna);
Guest is God. It is joy if we have guest and welcome in them Swami. Once someone came from Prasanthi Nilayam and I just didn't notice it, I had forgotten it and something else at home and the man who comes in our dreams to awake us said, 'what, I come from so far away for a visit and you don't come to see me?' Since then I am looking at guest in a different way, he told me that he is the guest. But what is also important is that we see the guest not only in strangers, but also in our own kith and kin.
(5) The final yajna is unselfish acts done while dealing with trees, plants, animals, birds and pets like cats and dogs (Bhoota Yajna). Remember to make every act of yours from sunrise to the onset of sleep as a Yajna!
That is the yajna with the animals or with trees and plants, with nature and taking care of them and also farming. If we have animals and trees and plants we have to take good care of them and see it as service to nature as the divine, beautiful isn't it?
If we see it in our own life we get a different feeling for it and afterwards we also remember it, we do not just have a vague idea about it, but confirmed like that we know it. If we think it over point by point we remember it and we don't just read it and forget it again.
A yagna is an offering to God, it is done by offering ghee and rice into the fire to the God of fire Agni, but the way Swami describes it here we find the divine on those five places and it needs a certain attitude getting aware of it.
1. Study of scriptures and that is also Swami's words, he is the scriptures, whatever is in Veda is also in the divine words and in the words of Swami.
2. Activities devoted to parents.
3. Activity devoted to God, that we find in the Sai center if we do it together it is selfless and without ego, we also have to understand it right.
Everything what is done together in the spirit of oneness is selfless, because there is no ego if we are one and it is for the glorification of the divine. We find it in activities like sharing the study circle or devotional singing or Seva activities, it is organized by the centers and behind is the organization and it is standard procedures in a center and the participating makes it possible to share with other selfless service in a spirit of oneness.
That is why we can get aware of Swami's omnipresence in the devotional singing, he is present or we feel his omnipresence if we find the Atma, truth in his words, also in study circle, it turns into awareness of oneness and bliss. Therefore, if we do service activity together it is the activity and mostly the aim of being together as one what is important and what makes it selfless service. It is officially organized by the organization of Swami and therefore, it is selfless service, and we don't have to worry about it, but we can experience it together, there is no ego in a group activity which is done for the One only, the purpose is getting aware of the underlying oneness, no difference, all the same self and in the study circle we find the principle of 'I am that'.
It is on three levels, we find the yoga of wisdom in the study circle, Jnana, we find the Bhakthi, love and devotion on the level of devotional singing and Karma Yoga is on the level of service activity.
4. Adoration of guest as God, included are strangers and our own kith and kin and if we do that, we feel the joy we felt with Swami in Darshan.
5. Unselfish acts with nature, animals, pets, trees and plants, farming etc. taking care of the good health and harmony in nature.
That is mandatory, it means for us that it is a must.
We have to understand it and if we invite guest, we should keep our word and not ignored it. A promise is a promise and we should never make promises if we cannot keep them, it is mandatory, guest is God.
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