SNY 2010 – A Great Experience

Surya Namaskar Yajna (SNY) 2010 started on 16th Jan and ended on 31st January. These 16 days were a great experience for all of us. Even though we do Surya Namaskar every week when we go to shakha, these 16 days dedicated to doing Surya Namskar whenever possible were very special. On 16th Jan we decided to get together at one of our shakha’s swayamsevak’s basement and kick off the yogathon. Many swayamsevaks from our shakha did SN from their home while few of us were doing it together. We also did live telecast from the basement so that others who couldn’t be together with us, would virtually be doing together with us through a web sharing session. It was great to see kids enthusiasm during the yogathon kick off.

Through out these 16 days we had a feeling of an ongoing camp/festival. Everyone did SN as and when possible. Some of us replaced our regular morning treadmill run with SN. Many decided to do at least 13 Surya Namskars every morning and evening, and of course there were many bal ganas who did SNs many times a day. It was great seeing emails from various members of our shakha reporting their weekly SN counts. We also took this opportunity to make sure we are doing Surya Namaskar right (Are you doing Surya Namaskar Right?). In fact many of our shakha members were also able to memorize all Surya Namskar Mantras (Memorizing SN Mantras). HSSUSA dedicated a special page and blog for SNY and we saw many good blogs from folks all over the world. A Facebook fan page also was created. Even though this did not have a lot of fans, it was good to see SNY’s presence on Facebook. On Twitter we saw some tweets on Yogathon and tweets from sevaks definitely helped increase awareness of yoga amongst others.

The last day of SN was a big day for many of us. Many shakhas from MA decided to get together and do a 12 hour merathon. We took the responsibility of begin there in the last 3 hours of Marathon. The place was ATFS Learning Center in Shrewbury. Through out the day we saw swayamsevkas and sevikas coming in from various shakhas and being a part of marathon. We all were keeping our count on a big white board. It was fun seeing how everybody was running to mark our count on the board at the end of 13 Mantras and get back in line to the start the next set.

I personally feel that today was the end of a big festival that I had been enjoying for the past 16 days. We hope that many of us will make Surya Namaskar a part of our daily lives going forward.

Provided By: Ajay Goel from MA on 2nd February 2010

Fort Myers,FL SNY Experience

Sometimes we chase after Sampark opportunities, but many times the best Sampark opportunities find you. Such was the case for Rishi Maharaj and I this weekend in Fort Myers.

Fort Myers has thus far been untapped as far as Sangh work is concerned. Hence for months many of us were debating how to initiate interaction in this community. Ideas were thrown around – Hindu Heritage Camp, Balagokulam on Sundays or just starting a Shakha and see who attends.

Fort Myers is a fairly small city with 250 Hindu families living around it. Nearly 7-8 months ago a Hindu Mandir was erected and became the central hub of all Hindu activities in the area. Hence, when Ramprasadji told me I should introduce Surya Namaskar Yagya at a Satyanarayan Puja at the mandir, I did not expect the extremely positive response.

The Satyanarayan Puja started at 7:30pm with only 25 people in attendance over the next hour people kept trickling in – one family after another, after another, after another.  Till nearly the whole hall was full and there was a Sankhya of more than 200 attendees.  Not expecting such a big crowd, I hurriedly called for Rishi to come for back-up.

At 8:30 the pujari concluded the Satyanarayan puja and got up himself. Then told everyone in attendance that they must actually do as I say. I was not expecting to physically perform Surya Namaskars, but the crowd excitedly had already gotten to their feet. So all 200 people in the room chanted Dhyeya Sada.. after me and we completed 2 full Surya Namaskars as a group, a total of 400 Suryanamaskars. The Sankhya included nearly 20 – 25 Kishores, majority Tarun and some Proudh. We concluded with Adittasya, I shared some information on Surya Namaskar Yagya and everyone seemed very refreshed.

Rishi reached right after this and we distributed flyers and powerpoint copies of Surya Namaskar Yagya to all in attending.  We also collected phone numbers of many in the crowd who were interested in any following events. Overall, the mandir was buzzing with a positive vibe and now may be a good time to carry forward with all the brainstorming we did earlier.

Provided By:  Shradha Belsare From FL on 30th January 2010

Introducing Surya Namaskar in local area schools

Many of us who do Surya Namaskar daily have realized the benefits of this unique combination of Yogasan for health and well being of mind, body and soul (a true sarvangi vikas). It is just that the opportunities like Surya Namaskar Yagna make us retrospect and take some action to spread the word about Surya Namaskar – in a true sense focused on health for humanity. When we see so many Yog(a) schools around us, many of our colleagues are going to Yog(a) classes/performing that on regular basis in Gyms at work, it is just natural for us to act and bring others closer to our heritage.

Several shakhas in some local areas have approached the local area schools that kids of Swayam sevaks and sevikas attend. And so far we have gotten very positive feedback from a school in Shrewsbury, MA and other in Auston, TX. We would like to share our experience with Arnav’s (our 6 year old Kinder Gartner) school in Shrewsbury, MA.

We sent an e-mail to head of the school briefly describing about what Surya Namaskar is, why we should do that, information about HSS, and our mission of well being for every one. Arnav has occasionally conducted Surya Namaskar at his class during the routine warms that they do. Making the head of the school aware of that along with benefits of Surya Namaskar did the trick and she invited us to demonstrate and suggest next actions. Today Udgith and I went to Arnav’s school and met head of the school. We demonstrated SN to her describing each pose in-depth. She also joined with us and we performed together. We discussed with her importance of breathing patterns, benefits of each and every sthiti, and the time of the day SN should be performed. She really enjoyed and mentioned that she felt so good even after 2-3 SNs that we did. And interestingly when we mentioned about all 13 Mantras and why there are so many names – for example why we call the Sun our “Mitra,” she wanted to know more about all the mantra and also wanted to do SN with mantras in the school.

As next step, she will involve various teachers in her school. And starting next Monday they will introduce SN in their school. In the beginning week we will visit different class room and do SN together in the All Purpose room in the school. We will also give posters, description of each mantra of SN, and then the school will incorporate SN into their routine.

Provided By:  Shruti Mankad From MA on 27th January 2010

Are you doing Surya Namaskar right?

During the Surya Namskar Yagna 2010 we are trying to get as many SN as possible.  Let us take a moment to make sure we are doing it right.  Even though I have been doing it for quite some time I still find things that I do wrong whenever I see the video.  Few things to remember:

• Do you know there are 13 mantras in Surya Namskar? Are you saying the Mantras while doing SN?
• Are you doing it too fast? Set of 13 Surya Namskar takes approximately 6.5 minutes. If you are doing more than 9 rounds (120) in an hour, you are probably going a little too fast.
• Are you breathing properly? Watch the video carefully. You must be alternating between inhale and exhale (and holding when required)
• Are you alternating your leg movements?
• Are you bringing the same leg forward that you take back?
• Are you keeping your hips above the ground when you go down?
• Are your feet touching when you are standing up?
• When you bend down, are you bringing your hands to the side (and not to the front of your feet)?

I apologize if I made any mistake above. Please feel free to leave comments and add more.

Provided By: Ajay Goel, Billerica, MA

Rathasapthami

This article is borrowed from SpiritualBangalore.com WebSite. To read the original post, please (Click Here)

Indian festivals are wondrous and joyous series of events. These moments are defined by the changing luminosity of the sun. Ratha Saptami is symbolic of the change of season to spring and the start of the harvesting season. For most Indian farmers, it is an auspicious beginning of the New Year. “Ratha” means chariot and “Sapthami” means the 7th day, it is the day when the Surya/Sun god is believed to ride on the chariot drawn by 7 horses to gift the beautiful season “Spring” to India.  It is during this time that Surya/Sun moves from the southeast to the northeast.  This festival falls on the 7th day of the Hindu month Magha, February in the Gregorian calendar.  The days become warmer and bring relief and cheer to life after the bitter winter months.

According to some scholars, there are deeper and profounder interpretations of what Ratha Sapthami stands for. Saptha means seven. It is indicative of the saptha swaras that underlie all of music. In other words, it is indicative of sound in general. Thus there is a correlation between sound and Ratha Sapthami. What is the basis of this correlation ??  The word Ratha is symbolic of the mind. The mind is the chariot. Many are the thoughts that arise in the human mind. These thoughts are like many different horses which pull the mind in many different directions. But for the mind to make systematic progress towards the Divine, the right set of horses should pull it in the right direction. This, indeed, is the time-honored insight on the deeper meaning of Ratha Sapthami. Succinctly stated, reining in the mind and putting it on the path to God, is the essential philosophy behind the celebration of Ratha Sapthami.

God Vishnu in his form as Surya (the Sun-God) is usually worshipped on this day. Usually, Rathasapthami begins in households with a purification bath (bathing is also done in a river or sea) by holding several Ekka (Calotropis Gigantea) leaves on their head while bathing and chanting a verse which is supposed to invoke the benevolence of the Lord in all that one indulges in during the rest of the year.  The following mantra on Sun god is chanted while taking the bath “Saptha Saptha Maha Saptha, Saptha Dweepa Vasundara, Sapth Arka Parna Madaya, Sapthamyam Snana Machareth”.  Argyam or Tharpanam (water held in the palms) is offered to the Sun God on this day while chanting hymn. It also involves doing a puja with the ritual Naivedhya (food offering to God), and offering of flowers and fruits. Important prayers offered to the Sun god on this occasion are the Aditya Hradayam, Gayathri, Suryashtakam, Surya Sahasram namam.

Since ages the Hindus have worshiped Surya/Sun god.  Surya is considered to be Lord Vishnu and hence referred to as Suryanarayana.  The other names for Surya are Ravi, Aditya, Bhaskar, Arka, Grahapati, Diwakar etc.  There are many hymns found in the Rig Veda which mention or honor Surya.  All Vedic texts begin with a salutation to the Sun. There is a story of a great sage called Yagnyavalkya who is said to have learnt the Vedas from the Sun for it embodies them. Surya or the Sun God is worshipped as an inexhaustible source of energy. It is the source of primordial power in whose presence all living beings spring to life. The most supreme of Hindu prayers, the Gayatri is a prayer to the brilliance of Sun.  The ritual of sandhyavandanam, performed by some Hindus, is an elaborate set of hand gestures and body movements, designed to greet and revere the Sun. The Vedic scriptures of the Hindu religion refer to the Sun as the storehouse of inexhaustible power and radiance. The Sun is referred to in Sanskrit as “Mitra” or “Friend” down to the invariable warmth, life-giving nature and optimism its light brings to mankind. He is called “Prati-Aksh Devta” meaning “The Seen Divinity” and worthy of much worship and reverence.  The Vedas are full of hymns describing the celestial body as the source and sustainer of all life on earth.

The Sun is also represented by a golden wheel or as a circle with radiating rays or even the open flower of a lotus. The most abstract and common representation is in the form of a Swastika. Like the concept of zero in mathematics, the Swastika has also gone from ancient and timeless India to all the other parts of the world.

Surya is also worshipped as an embodiment of the Trinity of Bhrahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Surya is considered to be Bhrahma until midday, Shiva in the afternoon and Vishnu in the evening.  The Sun God is said to married to the beautiful goddess Ranaadeh, also known as Sanjnya. She is depicted in dual form (“jor”), being both sunlight and shadow, personified. The goddess is revered heavily in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The charioteer of Surya is Arun, who is also personified as the redness that accompanies the sunlight in dawn and dusk.

The Mahabharata describes one of its warrior heroes Karna as being the son of the righteous queen Kunti and the Sun. The Ramayana has its protagonist Rama as being descended from the Surya Vansh or the clan of kings as bright as the Sun.

The countless mythological stories and legends associated with surya/sun god from ancient times are indeed fascinating.

Surya is portrayed as riding a seven horse chariot driven by Aruna. Aruna (a charioteer devoid of legs) is said to be the son of Kasyapa muni and Vinata.  Aruna is the brother of Garuda. Surya is portrayed with two lotuses held in both his hand, and is occasionally shown with the hood of the mythical serpent Adi Sesha spread over his head. At the base of his image are shown his gatekeepers Pingala (Agni) and Danda (Skanda).

Vishnu is also described as being seated in the midst of the disc of the Sun; so much so that over time Vishnu worship merged with sun worship leading to Surya being referred to as Suryanarayana. No wonder Ratha Sapthami is celebrated on a grand scale at Tirupati every year.

Another legend is that Samba the son of Krishna was cured of leprosy by his worship of the Sun God. Millions and millions of Hindus in India still believe that the offer of dedicated Sun worship at several of the Sun Temples all over India, is a cure for leprosy and other skin ailments, blindness and infertility.

Here is yet another story.  Aditi, the primeval power, the endless and boundless heaven who is at times identified with mother earth, Prithvi, and at other times as the wife of sage Kashyapa, was the beginning. She begot eight children. She retained seven. The eighth child was deceptive. It was in the form of an egg.  Aditi called it Martanda (son of a dead egg) and discarded him. He went into the sky and positioned himself in all glory to be called the Sun. Another variant of this story goes as follows.  Aditi asked the first seven sons to create the universe, but they were unable to do so for they knew only of birth, and did not know of death. But for a life cycle to be established, a pattern of interminable life and death was considered necessary for creating an orderly Cosmos and Universe. So Aditi called for Martanda who created day and night, as symbolic of life and death.

Another tradition gives this interesting story. Mayura, who lived in the court of Harshavardhana (1st millennium CE) composed the Surya Satakam in praise of Surya and is believed to have been cured of blindness.

Some Scientific Aspects of Yagna – Environmental Effects

There are two basic energy systems in the physical world: heat and sound. In performing yagna, these two energies, namely, the heat from yagna’s fire and the sound of the chanting of the Gayatri and other Vedic Mantras, are blended together to achieve the desired physical, psychological and spiritual benefits.

The fumigation, vaporization and subtlisation of specific substances in the yagna-fire constitute a verifiable scientific method of sublimation of matter and expansion of its colloidal state, generates ions and energy with positive effects in the surrounding atmosphere through the specific sonic waves of the mantras.

Fumigating Substances Used in Yagna:
In order to get an idea of the various chemical changes that take place during the performance of yagna, it is essential to know the various substances used and offered in the yagna-fire. These can be broadly classified into two types: wood (samidhá), and a mixture of odoriferous and medicinal herbs (havan sámagri)[1, 2].

Wood: Wood has to be dry and free from dust, insects and worms. Wood is cut into small pieces of varying sizes called samidhás depending upon the size of the altar or pit (kunda) in which the yagna is to be performed. Santalum Album (sandalwood), Aquilana Malaccensis and Valeriana Wallchii (borax wood or agar and tagar), Cedrys Libani (cedar or deodar), Mangifera Indica (mango), Butea Frondosa (flame of the forest or palásha), Aegle Marmelos (bengal quince or bilva), Ficus Religiosa (the holy fig or pipal), Ficus Bengalensis (banyan or bargad), Proposis Spicigera (sponge tree or Shami), Ficus Glomerata (wild fig or gular) are considered appropriate for this purpose.

The havisya or havan sámagri should be prepared with a proper combination of the following. Odoriferous Substances: These are usually saffron, musk, agar, tagar, sandalwood powder, cardamom, nutmeg, javitri and camphor; Substances with Healing properties: clarified butter (ghee), milk, fruits, lin seeds, and cereals like wheat, rice, barley, various millet, gram, peas, etc; Sweet Substances: sugar, dried dates, resin, honey, etc; Medicinal Herbs: These are used as per the specific requirements. Some commonly used herbs are Tinospora cordifolia (tinospora/guduchi or giloya), Bacopa Monieri (bacopa or bráhmi), Convolvulus Pluricaulis (shankh pushpi), Mesua Ferrea (cobra’s saffron or nágkesar), Glycyrrhiza Glabra Bois (liquoric root or mulhati), Red Sandalwood, Terminalia Bellirica (beddanut or bahedá), Dry Ginger, and Terminalia Chebula (chebulic myrobalans or harada). Different combinations of these and/or other special herbs are used for the treatment of specific diseases through yagna-therapy.

Products of Combustion:

The interpretation of the process of combustion in a yagna on a scientific basis is rather difficult due to the following reasons: (i) The properties of substances, which are used here vary; (ii) The conditions under which combustion takes place inside the yagna-fire are very sensitive to the shape of the kunda and the type, quantity and arrangement of wood etc; (iii) the variation in the temperature and thermodynamic effects is quite significant from the top to the bottom of the kunda and it also depends upon the shape and size of the latter. The products of combustion depend on the factors like –– (a) The nature of substances used and their proportions; (b) Temperature attained; (c) Controlled supply of air and (d) Interaction amongst the various products formed.

Distillation of Wood:

Besides the complete combustion of the cellulose material of wood, it is also subjected to distillation. This happens due to the way samidhás are arranged in the kunda (also called yagna kunda or havan kunda)2 and the levels of temperature and air supply which prevail in it.

Vaporization of Odorous Substances:

The temperature attained by the kunda varies between 250°C and 600°C, while in the actual flames it can rise as high as 1200°C to 1300°C. At their boiling points, the volatile constituents vaporize and their gaseous forms get diffused. Also, when cellulose and other carbohydrates undergo combustion, steam is formed in copious quantities by the combination of the hydrogen of the decomposed organic molecules with the oxygen. This is how the substances like thymol, eugenol, pinene, terpinol etc., are dispersed to in the surroundings and the aroma of a yagna can be smelt at a considerable distance.

In addition to steam, smoke is emitted in large quantities and solid particles existing in a decomposed state offer sufficient scope for its diffusion. Thus smoke also functions as a colloidal vehicle for the spreading of volatile aromatic substances. This process depends on the inside and surrounding temperature and on the direction of the wind.

Combustion of Fatty Substances:

The fatty substances used in yagna are mainly ghee and other fatty substances of vegetable origin. Ghee helps in rapid combustion of cellulose of wood and keeps the fire alight. All fatty substances used are combinations of fatty acids, which volatilize easily. The combustion of glycerol portion gives acetone bodies, pyruvic aldehyde and glyoxal etc. The hydrocarbons produced in the reactions again undergo slow combustion and as a result methyl and ethyl alcohols, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, formic acid and acetic acids are formed.

Photochemical Process:

The vaporized products diffused in the atmosphere are also subjected to photochemical reactions in the sunlight. They undergo photochemical decomposition, oxidation and reduction reactions. To some extent even CO2 is also reduced to formaldehyde as follows:

CO2 + H2O + 112,000 cal = HCHO + O2

From an environmental angle, the reduction of CO2caused by yagna as explained above and the liberation of oxygen cannot be overemphasized. Similar kinds of other useful reactions take place in the presence of specific radiations from the sunrays. This may be perhaps the reason it has been recommended that yagna should be performed during sunlight.

Inverted Pyramid Shaped Yagna Kunda:

The word ‘pyramid’ means ‘the fire in the middle’. This meaning is closely associated with the inexplicable energies emanating from its center and shape. The pyramid shape is widely known to generate and store a special energy field, which possesses bacteriostatic properties. The inverted pyramid shape of the agni kunda allows controlled generation and multidirectional dissipation of energy. It acts as a generator of unusual energy fields and spreads them in its surrounding atmosphere. Apart from the pyramid shape, some other special symmetric geometrical designs are also used according to the kind of energy fields and the cosmic currents one wishes to generate by the yagna. Specific types of kundas are recommended for different kinds of yagnas. The shapes and properties of the common agnihotra pot and some yagna kundas are illustrated in reference no. 3 cited below.

Chanting of Sanskrit Mantras:

The power of sound vibrations has since long been acknowledged in the field of science. With substantial amplification these vibrations can penetrate the energy spheres at the subtle and cosmic levels. All the alphabets of the Sanskrit language are endowed with special impulsive phonetics, which send out harmonious wave patterns when pronounced.

With the advent of spectrographic techniques and instruments like the Multichannel Tonograph and Retrometer, it has now become possible to study the sound effects of mantras in relation to yagna. The patterns of chanting of the mantras are so designed that they latently contain the essence of the music or the quintessential sound of the torrent of life-sustaining energies emanating from the cosmic energy center of the corresponding mantras. (The cosmic energy center associated with the Gayatri Mantra is the Sun). The chanting of these mantras produces vibrations, which are soothing to human mind and all plant and animal life. These vibrations also help in spreading specific energy waves in the surrounding atmosphere while the oblations are offered[3-5].

Purification of Environment by Yagna:

The huge industrial complexes, rapid urbanization, deforestation, air and water pollution, ozone-depletion, radioactive wastes etc., have disturbed and destabilized the natural harmony of human, animal and plant life cycles. The ecological imbalance caused by these criminal acts of the so called ‘civilized man’ has resulted in a disastrous threat, not only to the human survival but, also to life as a whole on our planet.

Experimental studies show that the incidences of physical ailments, sickness and/or diseases become less in the houses where the yagna or agnihotra[3] is regularly performed because it creates a pure, hygienic, nutritional and healing atmosphere. It renews the brain cells, revitalizes the skin, purifies the blood and prevents growth of pathogenic bacteria. Agnihotra is basically a healing process. “Heal the atmosphere and the healed atmosphere will heal you”, says Dr. Madhukar Gaikwad[6].

The medicinal fumes emanating from the process of agnihotra have been observed by researchers in the field of microbiology to be clearly bacteriostatic in nature, which eradicate bacteria and micro-organisms, the root causes of illness and diseases. This must be the reason why the incidence of physical ailments, sickness and diseases becomes less in the households where agnihotra is regularly performed.

Purification of environment through the constituent electrically charged particles of the substances fumigated in yagna is an obvious byproduct of this process. The observations of some distinguished scientists (as reported in the reference nos. [2-5]) are noteworthy in this regard. According to Dr. Hafkine, the smoke produced by burning the mixture of ghee and sugar kills the germs of certain diseases; inhaling it from some distance induces secretion from certain glands related to the windpipe that fill our heart and mind with relaxation. “Burning sugar and its smoke has a significant effect in purifying the atmosphere. It kills the germs of T.B., measles, smallpox and cow-pox” – remarks Prof. Tilward. A Russian Scientist named Dr. Shirowich mentions that – “if cow’s ghee is put into the fire, its smoke will lessen the effect of atomic radiation to a great extent”. He also related this process to yagna.

Particularly effective results with respect to the elimination or reduction in radiation were achieved through yagna’s fire and ash. These observations are made by Dr. L. Matela Anatoninhowska of Poland after using P.S.I. techniques[2].

Even without going into detailed chemical bacteriology, it appears highly probable that performing yagna leads to the purification of air in view of the following (as reported in the reference nos. [2, 5]):

Removal of Foul Odors:

As already stated, under steam volatilization, the various volatile oils get diffused in the surrounding atmosphere along with steam and smoke. Since these oils have distinctly good smells, the foul odors are automatically neutralized. This aroma can be effortlessly smelt in the surroundings when yagna is performed. It is due to the diffusion of substanceslike thynol, eugenol, piene, terpinol and oils of sandalwood, camphor and clove.

Removal of Bacteria:

As stated under products of combustion, the partial oxidation of hydrocarbons and decomposition of complex organic substances produce formaldehyde, which is a powerful antiseptic. It is also interesting to note that the germicidal action of formaldehyde is effective only in the presence of water vapor, which is also produced in large quantities in yagna. The use of formaldehyde sprays for disinfecting of walls, ceilings etc., is common and such an effect is automatically produced when yagna is performed. The oxidation of hydrocarbons produces formic acid and acetic acid, both of which are good disinfectants. Use of formic acid for preservation of fruits and that of acetic acid in preserving vinegar is a common practice.

The antiseptic and antibiotic effects of the smoke of yagna have also been examined by conducting laboratory experiments on rabbits and mice and it has been established that smoke emitted in yagna is a powerful antibiotic. Agnihotra ash is also found to purify and cleanse the water, making it fit for drinking[6].

Removal of Insects:

There are non-bacterial parasites like flies, ringworm, dice fleas etc., which are normally difficult to deal with since bacteriocides which can be used against them are also harmful to other living organisms. Such insects are generally immune to ordinary reagents. However they either get killed or are driven away when they come in contact with volatile oils like camphor, which are diffused in the environment during the performance of yagna.

Effects on Plants and Vegetation:

The disinfection of air is not only useful to animal life but it also helps plant life. The aromatic substances, which get diffused in the air through Agnihotra offer protection to plant life against harmful organisms. This ensures a healthy plant growth. Agnihotra’s atmosphere and ash can be used as adjuvants in the natural farming methods – also known as the agnihotra farming methods. It is a holistic concept of growing plants in pure and healthy atmosphere and balancing the ecological cycles by performing agnihotra (yagna) in the middle of the farm and using the yagna-ash as a fertilizer. Several experiments have been conducted in the East European countries on the use of yagna ash in soil treatment. These, too, have shown positive effects and potential applications in Agriculture[7].

Role of CO2 Generated in Yagna:

The wood and fossil burning in atmosphere is always controversial because of the generation of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide and a consequent increase in the ‘green house’ effect. On this basis it can be argued that yagna also produces CO and CO2. It should be noted here that the way in which the samidhás are burnt in yagna is a process of slow combustion. It is not comparable to the burning of coal in the factories or household fire or running of steam engines etc, where oxygen is sucked in large quantities and CO2 is emitted likewise. In the slow combustion process that takes place in yagna, a small quantity of O2 is utilized and CO2 is emitted in a quantity that poses no threat to the environment. In fact whatever CO2 is generatedis readily absorbed by the surrounding plant life and vegetation and thus the CO2 cycle is strengthened[5].

Another important fact to be noted is that CO2 produced in yagna is not free CO2. It is mixed with the vapors of other aromatic oils and antiseptic products. It acts as a vehicle in transporting such products to the surroundings.

The use of CO2 as a cerebral stimulant to assist patients suffering from lack of ventilation is a common practice in the medical field. Its use in controlling and curing many mental disorders is also known to medical science. Small amounts of CO2 inhaled by the persons performing yagna act as a stimulant for inhaling more and more aromatic fumes which helps in curing mental disorders.

Results of Some Recent Experiments:

A group of scientists led by Dr. Manoj Garg, Director, Environmental and Technical Consultants in association with the experts from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board had conducted experiments during the Ashwamedha Yagna at Gorakhpur, U.P. These experiments were set up at about 20 meters east of the Yagnashala. The samples of 100 ml each of water and air collected from the surroundings were analyzed, using high volume Envirotech APM-45 and other sensitive instruments for testing water and air pollution. A summary of their results as reported in Akhand Jyoti, Sept. ’97 p.22, (ref no. [1]), showed an average reduction by 75% in the level of Sulphur Dioxide and about 10% in Nitrus Oxide; and Over 70% reduction in bacteria in water samples in the surrounding area. Several medicinal minerals were present in the ash (bhasma) of yagna. The average level of carbon monoxide was found reduced from 117 p.p.m. to 0 in some of the experiments conducted on domestic yagnas at IIT Bombay (unpublished results); There are some more ongoing experiments on recording different gas levels and respirable particles are currently ongoing, being conducted by some visiting scientists at Brahm Varchas Research Center of Gayatri Teerth, Shantikunj, Hardwar.

Yagna, thus, appears to be a promising scientific, cost effective, eco-friendly method to counter the ever-increasing deadly pollution of the environment and purify and enrich the environment with healthy ingredients. May the environmental scientists and the experts of the Vedic Science of Yagna come together to enable its global expansion. The Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya at Shantikunj, Hardwar is venturing to be a pacesetter in this regard.

REFERENCES:

1. Selected Articles from Akhand Jyoti (Aug. ‘84, July & Aug. ‘92, March ’93, Sept. ’97). Publisher, Akhand Jyoti Sansthan, Mathura.
2. Fumigating Substances used in Yagna –– article published in the proceedings of the Ashwamedha Yagna
3. “The Integral Science of Yagna”. Book Published in 1998 by Yug Nirman Yojna, Mathura.
4. Yagna’s Scientific Interpretation – article published in the proceedings of Ashwamedha Yagna held in Montreal, Canada (26 to 28 July, 1996).
5. “Does Yagna Add to the Prevalent Pollution?” –– article published in the proceedings of Ashwamedha Yagna
6. “Agnihotra: The Message of Time” – Paper by Dr. Madhukar P. Gaikwad. (Presented in the National Symposium on Unification of Modern and Ancient Sciences, held in Andheri, Mumbai on April 30, 1995).
7. Personal Communication with Dr. Vasant Rao Paranjape (www.theromoline.com)
held in Montreal, Canada (26 to 28 July, 1996). held in Montreal, Canada (26 to 28 July, 1996).
Notes:

1. Sublimation (in chemistry): The process by which a solid is converted, on heating directly, into a gas, without going through a liquid state. Only a small number of solids sublime; e.g. carbon dioxide, CO2 and Iodine, I2. Some solids that do melt to form a liquid still evaporate quite rapidly if kept below their melting-points; e.g. Iodine and sulphur. This is also sublimation, and can be used as a method of purification.
2. Kunda (Agni-Kunda or yagna-kunda): The pit or small metallic vessel of a special design for yagnágni.
3. Agnihotra (Havans or homam): Small-scale yagna that could be performed every-day at home.

http://www.akhandjyoti.org/?Akhand-Jyoti/2003/Mar-Apr/ScientificAspectsofYajna/

Provided By: K L Gurunatha
Doctoral Student
CEMES 31055 Toulouse, France

Memorizing Surya Namaskar Mantras