WHAT IS HAVAN ?

  

The word HAVAN comes from the sanskrit root "HU" which means "to offer".

So the main meaning, the main purpose of a HAVAN is "offering".

                                            

Havan is at no point a religious practice. Neither do one need to believe in some God to practice Havan, no.

Rather Havan like all the yogic practices, like all the tantric practices is a SCIENCE.

Havan is a cause that has effects. And these effects we can feel and experience them, whatever our condition, whatever our beliefs, whatever our culture or so...

  

HOW IS HAVAN PRACTICED ?

  

Usually Havan is practiced with Fire. But it is not mandatory as it may be practiced with any of the elements that compose our Universe:

-- Earth, Water : although practical realisation is easy, the process is said to be slow.

-- Fire: the best choice for many reasons : easy to handle, offers a wonderful and expressive spectacle that nourrishes our being, effects are said to be rapidly coming

-- Air. Ether: although possible in theory... might be impossible practically!

Additionnaly we will see two aspects of HAVAN :

First aspect is the individual transformation, purification, for spiritual evolution.

Second aspect is the universal transformation.

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First : Individual transformation, purification for spiritual evolution.

In Yoga as well as in Sufism it is said that the world is our mirror.

But what does it concretely mean?

It means that what we are ABLE to see, to recognize, to notice from the external world is actually inside us.

                                                      MIRROR ...

 

And likewise what is inside us we project it to the world.

Be it our happiness, and then we see the world happy, rose, blue, multicolored...

Or be it our sorrow, and then the world appears to us sad, grey, black...

 

 MIRROR...      

 

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Now what has this to do with HAVAN ?

THE HAVAN OPENS THE DOOR TO OUR INNER WORLD

  

                                                  

  

  

The "theater " that we create while performing Havan is actually the projection of our inner world.

And the old dead logs that we burn in the fire are actually our old dead patterns, the old dead pattern that have been created, printed in the past due to some strong event, the old patterns that prevent us from being free and block our evolution because they block our energy.

During Havan, those blocked energy patterns being burned will be transformed by the fire which liberates.

Fire will thus liberate the energy that was contained blocked into those old impressions.

This is the way Havan works for the best of our spiritual evolution.

This is a very subtle and soft manner to transform oneself for the best.

And actually this aspect of "individual transformation" of the Havan has also another consequences on the universal level:

As we are all connected, as we are all "one" ultimately, we can say that :

"If I evolve, I help the world to evolve"

"If any other people be it on the other side of the planet, evolves, he-she helps me to evolve, he- she helps the world to evolve."

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 -- Second : Universal aspect: 

We said that the word HAVAN comes from the sanskrit root "HU" which means "offering" -

So a Havan may be seen actually as an offering to the World, to the Planet, and further, broader, offering to the Universe, to the Cosmos.

  

                                            

  

  

If we think about it ... did we once in our life OFFER something to the Planet ? to the world ? to the cosmos ? ..lets think about it ..

If not .. well it is time to change this. Because one of the reason for our modern world to be in such imbalance is precisely that:

We only take take take take .. we take earth's ressources, we take water's ressources, we take sun's ressources, we take air's resources, we even take the resources from the cosmos ...

Did we think even to GIVE ?

Did we even think of saying THANK YOU ?

Ancient civilisations ALL knew that.

What ever they would need from Earth.. they would first ASK, and if they received the "authorisation" then first they would THANK, and GIVE, and then only they would TAKE.

We have skipped everything except taking.

It is time to change this.

Urgent time.

The whole balance of the Universe has been lost... Of course the Universe has the capabilities to restore himself... yet if we as human being wish to continue to live on this wonderful planet, if we wish to offer a liveable world to our children and to our children's children ... then we have to act.

By practicing HAVAN we can contribute in a large manner to restore BALANCE to th world.

By practicing HAVAN we restore the communication between "we" as human beings and the world.

Thus we become more aware, and able to LIVE CONSCIOUSLY, being RESPONSIBLE of our actions towards others and the world.

The HAVAN is an prodigious part of the Tantric and Vedic Culture, it is a main part of the YAJNA (see article soon) and as Swami Niranjan said:

 

 

Sat Chandi Mahayajna is a celebration that takes place in Rikhia peeth ( place where lived Swami Satyananda Saraswati) where Nature is worshipped by the means of sacred fire ( havan) offerings ( daan) repetitions of sacred sounds ( mantras) all together being YAJNA

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          AN INVITATION – Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati

 

          SAT CHANDI MAHAYAJNA

 

 

          Worship of Nature is primordial. All cultures and civilizations have paid obediance to Nature from time immemorial. Nature is not just the trees, rivers, mountains, oceans, sky, flora and fauna that we see around us. Nature is cosmic. In this sense there is a manifest nature whose glory abounds all around us to witness and admire and there is an unmanifest Nature as well.

          This unmanifest Nature is the seed from which the entire creation springs forth. Therefore if we want to revere and worship Nature so that it may become benevolent towards us and shower its grace on us, it is the seed or the source which has to be invoked.

          Today there is a great deal of talk about ecology and the importance of ecological balance for the survival of this planet. We talk of planting more trees, of reducing our usage of petroleum products, of eliminating gas emissions resulting from industrial growth. Of course these are important steps in the right direction, but they are simply not enough.

          In order to restore the damage that is done by the folies of the human race, we have to return to the source of Nature in its primordial purity and awaken its benevolence and grace. Thas is the only power that can save us.

 

                                                                                   

 

For Nature has within itself the ability to restore, rejuvenate and recharge itself. Man, in its egoism and ignorance has begun to think that he is more powerful than Nature, but there are many aspects of Nature that are still beyond his understanding and control. One tsunami or just one earthquake can wipe out millions and man is left floundering in the face of such a disaster.

          Apart from the external ecology there is also the internal ecology of man, his own individual nature which requires streamlining. His thoughts, emotions, feelings, dreams, ambitions, passions, fears, neuroses, psychosis, depression, disillusion amd anxiety often grow out of proportion and overwhelm him. The inner nature of man, which may be his own private domain, eventually spills over into the public arena.

          As a consequence we often witness acts of violence and mayhem where an individual who was reportedely very peaceful, serene, and well behaved, overnight turns into a savage madman and murders everyone in his village. No one could have imagined what was brewing inside as outwardly everything seemed totally normal.

          Man is composed of elements of the cosmic Nature. The gunas, sattwa, rajas and tamas pervade his very existence. Everything he feels,thinks, speaks and does is under the sway of the basic elements that the cosmic Nature has endowed him with. He may be born through the union of his parents, but the material stuff that he is made of is inherited from his cosmic parents, Shiva and Shakti.

          In order to bring balance to the activities of head, heart, and hands, and create harmony at all levels in the manifest as well as the unmanifest realm, on the individual as well as the universal plane, it is the worship of Nature in her most primordial form that will work most efficiently. That is what the ancients who worked for the progressive evolution of mankind prescribed.

          This is how the tradition of yajna evolved. Swami Satyananda has said that:

“ yajnas herald the awakening of man’s consciousness. It was when man discovered fire that his awareness took a quantum leap. Fire existed even prior to that but man was unaware of it, just as even today animals are unaware of fire and its usage. It is when man discovered fire and grain that his life began to evolve and he has never looked back since.”

          Fire awakened man’s consciousness millions of years ago and brought him to his present level of awareness. If man has to evolve his awareness further to sublime heights, then once again he has to take the help of fire. The Vedas have proclaimed fire to be the forerunner which shoes the way and lights the path. The most ancient philosophy of tantra which predates history has also shown how the primordial element of fire is most effective for worshipping the cosmic Nature.

          Nature, the great planner, controller, chief executive and director of the entire manifest and unmanifest creation, is the mother who gives birth, sustains, nurtures, nourrishes and ultimately out of compassion sends the creation back to where it came from, to await a brand new birth at her behest. So in tantra, Nature has always been regarded as the ultimate goddess, Tripura Sundari, ruling over all the three worlds and even beyond. Tantra’s unique way of symbosizing each and everything gave Nature the status of Devi; rightly so because creation is the domain of the female . If we want to appease Nature and awaken her benevolence so that she showers her unending grace upon us it is the worship of Devi that will yield the desired results.

          With this aim in mind and with the sankalpa of peace plenty and prospertity on his lips, Swami Sastyananda introduced the tradition of the Sat Chandi Mahayajna in Rikhiapeeth in 1995 for the universal benefit of mankind. This tantric yajna, devoted to the worhip of the Cosmic Mother, was performed for fifteen years in the presence of Sri Swamiji at Rikhiapeeth, by learned pandits from Varanasi. This yajna was a part of his sadhana and sankalpa to help mankind earn divine intervention to overcome their sorrows and afflictions, and restore balance and harmony in their lives.

 

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The article continues to invite all to this sacred event which took place in December 2010.

We should be very aware of the importance and tremendous effects of the Mahayajna both upon us when we go and witness and participate to the event and upon the whole planet, the whole universe.

No word can really describe such power. It has to be experienced.

This is yogic ecology.

 

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The article ends with :

 

          At the Sat Chandi Mahayajna in 2009, in one of his last darshans before Mahasamadhi, Swami Satyananda said:

“ This Sat Chandi Mahyajna will continue in Rikhiapeeth and if you call me , I will come”

 

 

                                       Jai Gurudev ki – Jai Mata di

 

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Copyright Yoga Magazine, Edition no 8 – Sept 2010 – Year 9 
published by Sivananda Math

 

                                                                                                  

 

 

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Mahasamadhi :a yogi's conscious decision to leave the body. This conscious decision to leave the body can be only attained by a yogi who has attained God Realisation

Maha Yajna: a tantric celebration conducted by pandits ( Hindu priests) where Cosmic Nature is invoked and worshipped by the means of sacred fire (havan), offering (daan), repetition of sacred sounds (mantras).

Darshan: can be define as “auspicious viewing” where the Master – Guru – or Deity offers His view to His devotees or disciples. Darshan is also a very powerful experience which takes place a different levels of consciousness.

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"DAAN" in Sanskrit means donation, gift, yet the sens is much broader while it includes the way one gives, the way one receives, both should feel shared and equal JOY

The true JOY of SHARING

more to read here