Date: 21

st
Aug 2010
Venue Umeshji/Vidyajis house
Speaker: Sridharji
Summary By : Deepakji

17. 11




That workship is of the nature of Sattva which is in
accordance with scriptural injunctions, and which is
performed by one not with an eye for its fruits but
merely out of the feeling that it is ones duty to
perform it.
Srimad Bhagwad Gita, The Scripture of Mankind
Translation by Swami Tapasyananda
Page 416

A Sattvik Yagna has the following key attributes:
o It is in line with the scriptures
o It is conducted without the results in mind
o It is done with a mental conviction that it is ones duty to do it and purely with a spiritual
intent with no human goals tagged to it.

Poetic Interpretations
o Even though only the root of a tree is watered, the water goes to all parts of the tree
o A Tulasi plant grows with no expectations of fruits or flowers that it would bear.

We are born with a number of debts (raNa in Sanskrit) A classification of these debts are as
follows:
o Deva raNa (debts to the Lord)
o Rishi raNa (debts to the Sages)
o Pitra raNa (debts to our parents and ancestors)
o Acharya raNa (debts to our gurus)
o Bhoota raNa (debts to society)

(note: from a yagna point of view, most texts refer to Manushya yagna and there is no reference
to Guru Yagna, which finds a place among the raNas)
To repay these debts, there are various types of Karmas that have to be undertaken
o Nitya karma
Obligatory duties required of a person; for example, the sandhyAvandana is
expected of brAhmin, kshatriya and vaishya men following initiation. Learning
and teaching vEdic chantings (svAdhyAya) may also come under this category -
"svAdhyAya pravachanAbhyAm na pramaditayam - don't stray from learning
and chanting vEdas"
The value of the NItya karma lies in that it is said to reduce the impact of
PrArabdha karma. If the Nitya Karma is not performed, the undesirable fruits
will exert with full force. That full effect of prArabdha is called pratyavAya.
o Naimittika karma
Required rituals to be performed on special events, like birth of a child, death of
a parent, the annual observance of parents' shrAddha etc.
o The Nishiddha karma
is the prohibited karma which includes homicide, being untruthful, promiscuity
and alcohol consumption etc. While the former two are legally and socially
prohibited also, the latter two are socially and legally condoned, if not
acceptable. However, they are detrimental to spiritual progress and are listed
under Nishiddha karma.
o PrAyaschitta karma
Rituals performed to reduce the severity of or eliminate the effects of bad or
prohibited deeds. PrAya is austerity and chitta is firm resolution; a firm
resolution to take up austerity and following thru with it is PrAyaschitta. As an
example from our daily life, if one gets a ticket for traffic violation, he or she can
decide to go under court supervision (attend a defensive driving class and pay
up a small fee), the traffic violation will not be entered into records. This is an
example of PrAyaschitta karma.
o KAmya karma
Performance of rituals in anticipation ofr specific fruits of action, like to have a
progeny - Dasharatha's "putrakAmeshTi yAga" or yajnya performed for rains -
varshEshTi etc. Doing SatyanArAyaNa pUja desiring specific results is also of this
category. Rituals performed to attain heaven after death is also KAmya karma.
o UpAsana is a mind level activity - meditation or japa
Focusing on a deity like Sun, Linga (a proxy for Shiva), ShalagrAma (a proxy fro
VishNu), SriChakra (a proxy fro shakti). UpAsana is performed to cleanse the
mind, to allow for advancement in the quest for Realization. This UpAsana is
called SaguNa ( Brahman visualized with a name and form) UpAsana.
Advaita posits that Brahman is NirguNa (that is with out name and form).
Cleansing the mind is equivalent to wash out the sense objects and interaction
with them from the mind and replacing those thoughts with Brahman. SaguNa
Brahman upAsana may therefore be considered as an initial stage of discipline
to aid the seeker in help focus his upAsana. Over time, the saguNa upAsana will
lead to nirguNa upAsana.

The most important benefit of Nitya, Naimittika and PrAyaschitta karmas is the cleansing of the
mind. The upAsana will help focus the cleansed mind on the object of meditation. It is also our
experience that when we are agitated, we cannot focus on any activity. Sri
o SurEshvarAchArya has very beautifully described the progression from karma level to
realization level in Naiskarmya siddhi as follows;
" Nitya karmAnushTAnAt dharmOtpattih, dharmOtpattEh pApa hAnih, tatah
chitta shuddhih, tatah samsArayAthAtmya avabOdhah, tatah vairAgyam, tatah
mumukshatvam, tatah tadupAyapryEshaNam, tatah sarva karma-tat-sAdhana
samnyAsah, tatah yOgAbhyAsah, tatah chittasyapratyak-pravaNatA, tatah tatva
samasyAdi vAkyArtha parijnyAnam, tatah avidyO-cchEdah, tatascha svAtmani
Eva avasthAnam "

The discipline of nitya karma will create dharma, dharma destroys sins (fruits of
bad deeds), This helps understand the helplessness of samsAra, this creates
vairAgya or dispassion to samsAra, vairAgya leads to intense desire for
liberation, leading to ways for achieving it. Then follows renunciation of karma
followed by the discipline of yOga, then the internalization of the Shrutis,
leading to comprehension of statements like "tat tvam asi" - you are that. The
seeker thus sheds ignorance and stays firmly seated in Atman.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati has referred to this as Anta KaraNa ShuddHi i.e. Our yagnas
should be entirely aimed at inner cleansing.

17. 12




O Scion of the Bharata race! Know that worship to be
of the nature of Rajas, which is performed with its
fruits in mind and for vain display.

Srimad Bhagwad Gita, The Scripture of Mankind
Translation by Swami Tapasyananda
Page 417

A Rajasik Yagna is done with fruit in mind and with lot of pomp (dambha) and show.
Example If you call a person of high stature to a yagna/ritual not because that person is
interested in coming for it but because you want to proudly associate yourself with that
person or show off, it would be considered as Rajasik Yagna.

An interesting episode from the Mahabharata was shared to illustrate this point:
o Pandavas were conducting the Rajasooya Yagna and Yudhishtira being the true Dharma
Putra was performing his duties righteously giving away generously in charity etc.
o Yudhishtira observes a half golden mongoose standing near the ritualistic fire and rolling
itself over some wheat that had fallen nearby. Curious to know why the mongoose was
doing that, Yudhishtira asks the mongoose the reason
o The mongoose tells Yudhistira the story of a really poor family with barely enough to eat
getting ready to have their dinner. A traveler knocks on their door and asks for food. The
farmer first offers his food to the traveler and goes empty stomach. Still not satisfied,
the traveler asks for more food. Soon the wife, and the children all offer their own bowl
of food to the traveler. Finally the traveler reveals himself as the Lord Indira who was
testing the farmer and his family and blesses them.
o After relating this story, the mongoose says that he was nearby and rolled over the
wheat that the farmer offered Lord India and the wheat that stuck to his body turned
into gold. Which was why he was half golden.
o Since then, the mongoose had been attending different yagnas to see if any more of the
wheat would turn into gold but unfortunately even this yagna that Yudhistira conducted
did not have that power.
The moral of this story obviously is that even a Dharmaputra like Yudhistira could not garner
enough power in the yagna to make it sattvik and for the wheat to turn into gold! So we all have
a long way to go to strive to conduct our yagnas with no fruits in mind.

17. 13




That workship is of the nature of Tamas which is not
sanctioned by scriptures, which is without gift of food,
without the chanting of holy Mantras, without
sacramental presents and without sincere faith.

Srimad Bhagwad Gita, The Scripture of Mankind
Translation by Swami Tapasyananda
Page 417

A Tamasik Yagna is one which is/has
o Not in line with scriptures
o No Prasad or annam
o No vedic chants
o No gifts to priests
o Done without shraddha or faith

Sant Gyaneshwara likens such a Tamasik yagna to a union of animals or birds which are done
purely in lust. Where is the need for a priest, he asks? He also says that just as the Ganges goes
through different places both pure and impure, the same yagna can be of different nature
depending on its characteristics.

An interesting episode about Swami Narayan was shared.
o During Swami Narayans period, animal sacrifices were commonly practiced by priests
during yagnas. Swami Narayan strongly objected to this since they were against the
satvik tenets of how yagna should be performed.
o He strategized how to eradicate this and to do that he invited all the known priests of
the time to conduct 3 yagnas. While the priests were assembled, he briefed them on the
satvik ways of conducting yagnas and persuaded them against performing animal
sacrifices.
o He also convinced the crowds that worship and bhakthi should be done without flesh
and liquor (which was also a prevalent practice of the times).
o He introduced Vraths and singing of bhajans/glory of God to calm the mind and get into
a devotional plane.
o Truly a remarkable achievement by one individual driving humanity to spiritual
elevation!

General information on Types of Yagnas
o Deva Yagna
We trample micro-organisms in our course of daily walk and work. Our own organs have
rasas and anga-rasas which we also harm. The Deva yagnas are meant to cleanse these
actions
o Pitru Yagna
This is to recognize loss of life and a reminder to take care of our parents/elders who are
alive and to honour those who are not alive.
o Bhoota Yagna
This is to atone injustice done to Mother earth. Actions such as scattering flour, sugar on the
floor etc
o Manushya Yagna
Atone the offenses committee by us on other people
o Brahma Yagna
o Rishi Yagna
Ultimately there is no bigger dharma than compassion. Consciously let us not cause any harm or hurt to
anyone.
A thought to remember How can anyone have pure food unless the cooking utensils are clean?

Group Discussion Notes
Rameshji/Sudhaji/Umeshji - Animals behave on instinct in a pre-programmed manner. But
Humans are blessed with Viveka Buddhi. We need to use our ability to discriminate and take a
sattvik path
Sundarji - Duty is the central theme. While anta karana shudhhi is the aim, it does necessarily
take us to moksha. It is more of a pre-requisite to moksha
Sridharji To reflect on the following:
o Thoughts become Actions; Actions become Habits; Habits become our character and
personality
Umeshji We normally perform 50% action and 50% reaction. We need to reduce our
reactions and increase our actions. Reaction is more impulsive (animal like character).
Performing action with a pre-condition of not looking for any results is a true indication of satvik
lifestyle and satvik yagna.

HARI OM