In the Manvantara of Svayambhuva, Swarga has no king. So Vishnu incarnates as Yagna Deva, crowns him king of Swarga and says, “You will also be known as Indra, the Lord of Devas.” Yagna Deva marries Dakshina and is blessed with a son called KarmaPhal.
Whenever we perform a Yagna, the priests – the Hota, Adhvaryu, Udgata and Brahma explain the logic behind this beautiful concept and help us understand the essence of a Yagna first.
They say, “We may perform as many Yagnas as we want and can – to get what we want. We are desperate for something – and are clinging to a slender ray of hope when we worship Yagna Deva. In fact, we are willing to sacrifice what little we have to increase our chances of getting what you want. But Yagna Deva can do only so much for us.
Everything depends on his son KarmaPhal who may or may not bless us with what we desire. He has a tough job too because he has to scrutinize our life first. And he can bless us with what we wish for only after taking a close look at our Karma. Remember this when you perform a Yagna.”
The priests then explain the five stages that we have to go through to please Yagna Deva.
Pasu Medham
They say, “First of all, we have to overpower the animal that resides within us. We begin by sacrificing our animal instincts into the sacred fire contained in the Vedi. Only then can we gain complete control over ourselves. We have to consciously stop listening to the nonsense that we hear around us. Stop seeing things which are not meant to be seen. Learn to ignore things. Master that tongue of ours. Speak gently and kindly and only if absolutely necessary. Eat to survive. Not to pamper our taste buds.
Yes. We cannot do all this endlessly. But at least till we complete the Yagna we should filter out the trash from our mind and use our eyes, ears and tongue to see, hear and speak only about the glory of God.”
Sena Yagnam
The scholars now say, “Now we are ready to deal with our other familiar enemies – Kama, Krodha, Lobha and Moha. Like a vulture, we now have to consciously swoop down on these enemies that reside in our mind and eliminate them, at least briefly, from our lives.”
Raja Sooyam
They then say, “Rama and Sita too failed in the third phase. Both had total self control over their senses and ego. But they could not ward off external evil forces like Ravana who hindered their spiritual progress. Yes, external forces are not always in our control. But they do obstruct our Yagna and that may have an impact on the KarmaPhal that we are hoping to receive from Yagna Deva’s son.”
Ashwa Medham
The priests then say, “Don’t worry. We may falter and stumble a bit during the Raja Sooyam but we can cross that phase too if we are determined because we are eager to explore the freedom of the Ashwa Medham – a beautiful state of mind indeed. Here we are no longer fettered by the bonds of worldly attachment. And we feel elated when our mind and heart gets free rein. We love the tranquillity of our Atma. And get a glimpse of the God that resides within us but realize that He is beyond us too. We are able to conserve and channelize our energies in the right direction. And now we are receptive to the energies that Yagna Deva radiates through the cosmos.”
Nara Medham
The scholars gaze at us kindly and say, “In Nara Medham, the last phase – we can feel the waves of ecstasy, of Ananda, coursing through us. We are willing to shed our very identity itself. Nothing like I, Me or Mine exists within us. We are no longer rooted in the past, present or future. Our identity has dissolved into the eternal. And we are now in perfect sync with Yagna Deva’s cosmic energy.”
The scholars close their eyes and say,“ Yagna Deva is pleased to see our transformation. We have connected to him. Yes. But our Yagna is not yet complete.” We are taken aback when we hear that. So we ask,“ Why?” The priests smile at us and ask us to listen to Dakshina’s story. They say, “Dakshina is the intelligent wife of Yagna Deva and complements him perfectly.”
Sushila
Ages ago, a gopi by the name of Sushila lived in the realm of Krishna – Goloka. She was blessed with a gentle nature and a golden complexion by Krishna himself. She knew she was fortunate to live in Goloka. Krishna loved her ready wit and serene smile too.
One day, she could not curb her tide of love for Krishna. So she went and sat beside him. She could see Radha sitting to Krishna’s left. Yet she could not control herself.
She should have left Krishna’s side when she saw Radha’s bosom heaving with anger. But she couldn’t. Radha was Radha after all. Quite predictable. She flew into a jealous fit of anger and her eyes turned crimson with rage. Well, Krishna is Krishna too after all. He did what he usually does. Though he is never predictable. He vanished.
And Sushila started trembling with fear. But before she could even apologize to her, Radha cursed her saying, “You, Sushila, will turn to ashes if you ever come to Goloka again.”
Sushila’s entire world came crashing down in that one instant. She had no other place to go to. So she sought refuge in Maha Lakshmi’s body. She felt safe there – after a long time – and started performing an intense tapasya.
Dakshina
In another realm, the Devas were performing a Yagna. But their desires remained unfulfilled. So out of sheer frustration, they worshipped Krishna. He appeared before them and said, “Yagna Deva is incomplete without his Shakti. I have to set something right first. Only then will your Yagnas give you the desired results.”
And on an auspicious Poornima, Krishna answered Sushila’s prayers and asked her to emerge out of Sri Lakshmi’s body. Krishna engaged in a mystic Raasa Leela with Sushila and asked her to marry his avatar Yagna Deva. Sushila could not refuse an eternal union with a form of Krishna. So she agreed. Instantly.
Krishna then looked at her indulgently and said, “Since you emerged from Sri Lakshmi’s left shoulder, you will be known as Dakshina. No Yagna will be considered complete unless a Manava expresses his gratitude to the priests who helped him reach a state of pure consciousness. And the KarmaPhal of people who scrimp on the Dakshina will be passed on to Bali, who lives in Patala.”
The priests now say, “Yagnas can be simple and practised daily too. Receive a guest warmly. Indulge in a transaction, any transaction, without any rancour. Every gesture of yours is a Yagna.
But don’t fool yourself. For whether you accept it to yourself or not – you do have an ulterior motive for all that you do. You may not crave for materialistic returns. But you do expect – at the very least – God’s grace or a blessing or the strength to cope with what life brings your way.
But remember – the fruit of your yagna – the Karmaphal – is never in your hand. Only your karma is. So do your best there. Always. And the rest will fall in place on its own at the right time.”
And after telling us all this the priests will begin the Yagna. They construct a Vedi with mathematical precision using geometric ratios. The shape, size and design of the Vedi depend on the purpose of the Yagna and which specific God we want to please. They then chant the appropriate verses from the Vedas, perform rituals to invoke and please that deity and do their best to enable us to get what we yearn for.
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