Yagya Notes

Churning the Ocean of Milk

2008-04-18T17:14:00.000-07:00

This is an image from the Bangkok airport and it depicts the story of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk from the Mahabharata. I love how the demons are stationed right outside the Gucci store!

This blog is re-born!

2008-04-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

I am sorry to say that since last summer this blog has been sadly neglected because of so many other projects on the Puja.net site.

But thanks to some new software (Mac Journal in case you are interested) that makes it lots easier to post....I am happy to say that new additions will be found here more frequently. Thanks to you all for your patience and kind words of encouragement.

July 2007 - Sapta Rishi Yagyas

2007-08-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

During our Guru Poornima yagya series our Varanasi priests performed a series of special yagyas to the rishis who were the original seers of the Vedas. These rishis are known as the saptarishi (sapta=seven). As the mythology goes, they are the mind-borne sons of Brahma the creator. In addition we performed a yagya for Vyasa; the rishi who organized the Vedas into four "books"; Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva. So these individuals are in some ways the originators of the vedic tradition that we are all gaining so much benefit from. So it seems fitting to honor them at this time of year.

As is traditional each rishi is represented by his own kalasha pot, nicely decorated and arranged on the yantra that represents strength and power.

Special pujas are done for each rishi to bring their blessings and knowledge into our lives.

At the conclusion of the pujas, the kalashas look really nice!

The homa kund all ready for the fire yagya to begin.

The final offerings of ghee into the yagya fire.

Vyasa divided the Vedas into the 4 parts that we know today. He was also the author of many Puranas, and the Mahaabharata which includes the Bhagavad Gita. He is one of the eight individuals (Chiranjeevin) who have immortality and are supposedly still around somewhere even today...in any case, he is certainly a great rishi!

He received a nice abishekam.

And pujas with final aarti (offering of light) as shown here.

The temple where the Vyasa abishekam took place included a wonderful Shiva temple with a huge lingam! Since Shiva, as Dakshinamurti is the original guru, he was honored as well.

An abishekam is like taking a nice cooling shower. With a lingam of this size it take a lot of water and two priests!

Afterwards the lingam is dressed in a fresh dhoti and beautiful flower garlands.

Looking down on the homa kund nicely decorated with colored rice flour.

The fire yagya underway with 7 priests chanting.

The yagya fire always seems to build to a fine conclusion. Notice the spectators in the background. Yagyas are always fun to watch and our priests tend to do them more elaborately than what is usually seen in a temple, so they tend to attract attention.

After the yagya fire is completed, they take the water that has been purified in the kalasha pots and offer it over the lingam using these special objects that were originally made from a cow's horn.

In this case it is made from brass and is being used to offer milk.

Note the way the tip has been shaped to look like a bull with curved horns; Shiva's vahana (mount) is the bull named Nandi.

The final aarti is offered along with the chanting of mantras.

The lovely deep greeen colors of the nearby rice paddys make for a peaceful setting!

July 2007 - Guru Poornima

2007-08-03T22:46:00.001-07:00

July is always the month for Guru Poornima, the day when teachers in all forms are honored. In Kanchipuram, our priests traveled to a patasala (vedic school) a short distance outside of town. This school and temple were a favorite of the famous Shankaracharya. The temple is for Dakshinamurti, the form of Shiva as teacher.

Rain is a good omen on yagya day.

The abishekam begins with offerings of water.

Then turmeric is mixed with water and poured over the murti.

The contrast of the white milk looks nice against the black stone.

After the abishekam, the murti is decorated with beautiful malas and offerings of fresh fruit and coconuts.

Then the final offering of burning camphor is made...

...while everyone watches.

There is another form of the divine teacher called Dattatreya. Our Varanasi priests performed an yagya in a beautiful old temple.

Recitation at the beginning of the yagya...

A beautiful mandala made with colored rice flour.

Beautiful aarti...

And after the pujas, the yagya fire is constructed on the top of the mandala.

Note the temple priest observing the yagya proceedings as the fire gets larger.

Our mrytunjaya yagyas are very popular and there are lots of different temples in Varanasi to choose from.

Note the large copper lingam in the center as well as the traditional stone lingam with milk being home over it.

Very nice decorations (alankaram in Sanskrit).

The offering of light is also nice when it is a small ghee lamp.

Note the unusual triangle shaped homa kund!

The setting of a yagya on the banks of the Ganges is very beautiful especially under a tree which offers some shade and coolness.

June 2007 - Varanasi Yagyas

2007-08-03T20:38:00.001-07:00

During June we sponsored a variety of yagyas in Varanasi. Here are a few photos from each...

The first series was for the different fierce forms of Shiva called the Bhairavas. Certainly in red, the fierceness is easy to see! When the murti is over 7 feet tall, that just adds to the effect.

After the abishekam and pujas, the priests moved out side to the courtyard where they performed homam (fire yagya).

In the shade of these beautiful trees it must have been a peaceful experience.

This is another form of Bhairava, the most active form of Shiva, although much smaller than the first one.

We decorate the temple with beautiful fresh garlands.

The homa kund (yagya fire pit) was extra large and beautifully decorated.

Final aarti; an offering of light to Agni; the yagya fire.

We also held a yagya for Durga who looks both beautiful and powerful in this temple.

Aarti after the pujas are completed.

And as always, after the yagyas, our priests performed homam; the fire yagya.

As the flames dance some people think you can see the goddess herself.

Of course we have to have Rudra Abishekam in one of the many temples in Varanasi with all the colorful traditional ingredients.

In many Varanasi temples the priests sit around the lingam instead of having it in an inner sanctum.

After the abishekam the lingam is beautifully decorated. The coconut is symbolic of the breaking of the hard shell of the ego which separates us from the divine.

The fire yagya takes place outside within sight of the Ganges River.

At the conclusion of the yagya it is natural to bow down and at that moment express your prayer.

A huge red Ganesha looking very friendly.

An unusual perspective on the fire yagya.

Note the beautiful flowers. It is rare to see blue flowers...presumably because they represent Saturn, although Ganesha is the best antidote to the restrictive effects of Saturn.

One of our long time participants sponsored a beautiful private yagya for Vishnu and Lakshmi in a wonderful temple with elegant columns.

Final aati, the offering of light at the end of the pujas.

And of course the event ends with a beautiful fire yagya.

June 2007 - Kanchipuram Veda Yagyas

2007-08-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

The Kanchipuram yagya series this month was a wonderful experience. Each day we began with a Rudra Abishekam (for Shiva) followed by pujas for the deities is our usual sequence of yagyas. Then there were about 2 hours of Vedic recitations followed by an hour-long homam (fire yagya) which was then followed some more pujas, final mantras, and a little more of the vedas. During this series we were able to listen to all of Sama and Yajur Veda and most of Rig Veda.

In the photo above, our two guests Bruce and Ron assist Seetharam as they perform the Rudra Abishekam. It is difficult to describe how much fun it is to perform pujas with a room full of incredibly qualified pundits. Even though we began at 7:30 AM we were always happy and eager to get started.

Here the priests are performing the pujas and you can see the Shiva lingam under the pile of red flowers next to Seetharam. The blue table against the wall contains all the kalahas; water pots each with a coconut on top. Fresh garlands were placed on top each day. The vedic tradition holds that the water absorbs the purity and power of the pujas.

Here Bruce and Ron enjoy listening to the recitation of Rig Veda.

The Sama Veda pundits worked so hard to complete their recitation in time. Sama Veda is so melodic and complex that it actually takes much longer to recite than Yajur Veda, and almost as long as Rig Veda which over 10,000 verses! They also chanted for a couple of extra hours every afternoon.

I have to say that the Sama Veda pundits sure had a lot of fun, in fact they all did. It is tough for us in the west to remember that this tradition is based in Sat Chit Ananda; Consciousness, Intelligence and Bliss. This wasn't a solemn occasion at all. They clearly enjoyed themselves and we enjoyed listening...and my conclusion is that knowing the Vedas is fun...in addition to being profound.

Kanchipuram is a major center for Yajur Veda so our largest group of pundits were for Yaju Veda and they liked to chant loudly too! You could really hear the power.

One of the great pleasures of doing yagas in India is that you can use the best quality traditional ingredients. In the above photo you can see 9 different kinds of wood used for the Navagraha (Nine Planet) Yagya.

The fire yagya is always enjoyable and with the 1008 repetitions of each mantra, there is a wonderful rythmn to settle into. Above you see the offering of wood.

When cooked rice is offered, it gets very smoky for a while!

But then when it is time to offer ghee...the smoke is replaced with a very nice fire that smells great.

At the very end of the yagya, the last offering consists of a fresh coconut which you can see is in the fire, and then ghee. The fire seems to leap up to accept it and then we all sit and enjoy the silence for a few minutes. In the background you can see the main gopuram (tower) for the Varadaraja Temple; the 2nd largest Vishnu temple in all of India.

At the conclusion of the homam, we go back down to the puja hall for final mantras and puja offerings. The great thing was that we got to repeat this every day for almost two weeks!

June 2007 - Vishnu and Ganesha Yagyas

2007-06-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

Our first yagya this month was for Vishnu and it comes at the end of a long 30 day cycle that occurs every four years. The yagya took place in Varanasi in a beautiful old temple.

Vishnu flies around on Garuda the eagle. If you look closely you can see his wings behind the gold flowers.

All yagyas in include the fire ceremony called homam (above) and conclude with the final aarti, an offering of burning camphor.

We recently had a private yagya for Ganesha and the photos were so nice that I wanted to include them as well.

The temple overlooks the Ganges. Because Ganesha is the son of Shiva, you see Shiva's trident by the yagya fire.

The fire looks rather impressive!

And of course, the yagya ends with aarti.

June 2007 - Sanyasi, Ganesha, and Mrytunjaya Yagyas

2007-06-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

This is the new Parvati, Shiva's wife waiting to be installed in the Shiva temple complex at the Malibu temple. The actual prana pratishta will take place next weekend...but they have taken out of her shipping crate, given her some preliminary pujas and dressed her nicely.

As readers of this blog know, we make a point of providing food to others as a part of our monthly yagya program. The Vedas are very clear on the importance of this kind of sharing, and this month we have the unique pleasure of being able to feed a group of sanyasis in Varanasi.

As a part of their vows of sanyas, they are not allowed to touch fire so everything that they eat must be prepared by others.

Of course that doesn't mean that they are starving. In fact, they appear to healthy and happy and really seemed to enjoy having lunch together!

Some of them really look just what a sanyasi should look like; clear, sharp, and maybe just a little bit intimidating!

We held a big Ganesha Yagya at our yagya stala on the banks of the Ganga River. Here you see the Ganesha seated in the center. Not the beautiful mandala made from rice grains, turmeric powder, and flowers.

Ready to begin...

There are lots of ingredients in a yagya! The round balls are called modaka; traditionally a favorite food of Ganesha. Note also the puffed rice on the right, and the bunches of green grass. All specific to a Ganesha yagya.

As the puja progresses, the offerings are piled in front of the murti.

And by the end of the puja...it gets difficult to even see the Ganesha!

May 2007 Saturn, Chandi, Shiva, Ganga, and Food Yagyas

2007-05-29T20:08:00.001-07:00

May was a month of great expansion in our yagya activities. We began with a Saturn yagya in Varanasi and continued that theme with a 3 day Saturn yagya in Kanchipuram. We also had a beautiful Chandi (Kali) and Shiva/Mrytunjaya yagyas in Varanasi which concluded with a food yagya on the ghats by the Ganges river. We ended the month with a special week long Ganga yagya specific to this time of year.

As always the priests worked very hard and the photos show the beauty of these yagya performances.

The yagyas began with a saturn yagya because Saturn is returning to strength and will be moving into the sign of Simha (Leo) later this summer. The best time for yagyas is just before the change takes place, so we scheduled two yagyas, one in Varanasi and one in one of the oldest temples in Kanchipuram.

All of the Navagraha temples are also Shiva temples and any where you find Shiva there will also be Nandi, his bull who sits and watches him.

In the older temples, the doorways are always quite low and the floor is made of massive blocks of granite which support single piece rough hewn pillars made of the same granite.

The interior of some of these old temples is certainly not fancy and there are often few funds available for the upkeep. So your participation in the yagyas is a benefit to the temple itself. Here the temple priests sit in front of the Ganesha (right). You can see the opening of the Shiva temple on the left (blue grate).

Seated just outside the Shiva temple is the Saturn murti. Following the yagya he is beautifully decorated with flower malas, and a fresh cotton dhoti.

Chandi Yagya

We also had a Chandi yagya performed in the beautiful Ma Kali temple in Varanasi. It is located high on the bank overlooking the Ganges.

Varanasi is the city of both Shiva and Parvati who appears in 10 different forms (the dasa mahavidhya), one of which is Chandi or Kali. In this photo you can see her in her traditional pose standing on Shiva looking very wild!

The temple is a very unique example of a Shiva temple because of the huge collection of lingams inside. Usually a Shiva temple will have only one lingam but look at all these!

The Rudra abishekam was performed on the largest lingam and Sri Rudram and Chamakam from the Yajur Veda were chanted.

You can see here the final offerings of flowers are being made as the abishekam is concluded. Note all the fresh flower malas!

After the abishekam the priests moved into the courtyard to perform the homam (fire yagya) in the shade of a tree.

Final offerings of different kinds of grain are poured into the yagya fire.

Mrytunjaya Yagya

Each month we always have a series of mrytunjaya yagyas in Malibu, Kanchipuram, and Varanasi. This particular yagya was performed in Varanasi in a beautiful Shiva temple which featured a unique lingam surrounded by white marble.

Even the temple itself is shaped like a lingam!

Such a beautiful interior!

Offering milk...

This is powdered saffron mixed with water; an expensive, traditional ingredient renowned for its qualities of purification.

And turmeric...

Ending with water...

And then the lingam is dried and decorated before final pujas are performed.

After the Abishekam, the priests perform the homam with offerings of ghee and various grains mixed with puffed rice.

Ganga Dussera

This month is a special time for Ganga yagyas. Ganga is one of the forms of the Goddess that promote the development of purity in a gentle and soothing way. We see her in the form of the river, but the vedic describes her as a particularly gentle form of the divine feminine. May is a particularly appropriate time to combine this yagya with the Saturn yagyas.

The yagya begins at dawn with Vedc hymns.

And the yagyas, as always include the homam, performed on the steps leading down to the Ganga river.

At the conclusion of the yagya the kalasa pots which contain the water, now purfied by the chanting and offerings of the yagya, is poured back into the Ganges.

Anadanam (food yagya)

Varanasi is well known as the home of Shiva and in particular the form of Parvati called Annapurni who feeds the world. This yagya is particularly appropriate in that there are many people who come from remote villages to Varanasi at the end of their life in order to pass away in this sacred city. This is often a family occasion and can strain the family finances rather severely.

So the donation of food is a yagya itself and also consistent with our goal of supporting and preserving the vedic tradition.

We feed about 250 people...

Late in the evening a special and dramatic looking puja is offered to the Ganga.

Many many thanks to all who supported and participated in this great month of yagyas.

April 2007 - Vishnu, Sita, and Ganga Yagyas

2007-05-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

What a month it has been! Our growth over the past year has made it possible to hold many more yagyas than ever before. Now that we have added a second set of priests in Varanasi we can take advantage of the many different temple and festival days there. Of course Kanchipuram is still the site of the 10 day series each month.

Since February is so focused on Shiva with the Shivaratri celebrations, we wanted to enjoy some Vishnu Yagyas in April particularly because there were a number of special days for Vishnu this month.

We began the month in Varanasi With Akshaya Tritiya, followed by Ganga Saptami, Bagalamuki Jayanti, and Sita Jayanti. These events were followed at the end of the month in Kanchipuram with a 3 day Satyanarayana Yagya.

The first yagya took place on Akshaya Tritiya; a special day when both the Sun and Moon are exalted astrologically making this a special day of strength. Traditionally this is considered to be the day of the first yagya ever performed. We sponsored a yagya for all the 10 different avatars of Vishnu.

As always the puja decorations were stunning. Such beautiful flowers!

Of course all yagyas include the homam; a fire ceremony which enlivens and strengthens consciousness.

This Vishnu temple features a reclining Vishnu (Ranganatha), as he rests on the cosmic snake Adishesha.

Ganga Saptami

This day celebrates the descent of the River Ganga from heaven to earth, as it wends its way through Shiva's hair to soften the impact. The yagya started early in the morning just as the Sun was rising.

Even though it was early, there were already many people bathing in the river and performing their own pujas.

The banks of the Ganges are such a public place that everyone was able to enjoy the yagya.

And of course, pujas are not such an unusual event, so some people ignored the proceedings and went about their own activities.

Symbolically the Ganga is an important aspect of our consciousness as she represents the spinal fluid which supports the functioning of the nervous system in the same way the river supports a sizable portion of India.

And of course the yagya included the fire ceremony, although for that they had to move back to the top of the stairs.

Bagalamuki Jayanti

Bagalamuki is the form of the Divine Mother who is most protective. She gives strength and protection from others who speak against us and helps us to develop self-control. Her yagyas traditionally take place from 11 PM to 3 AM and photographs are not allowed.

Jayanti means birthday, and this yagya celebrated Bagalamuki's birthday.

Sita Jayanti

Sita is Rama's wife and her story is told in the epic Ramayana. The vedic tradition honors the feet both as a gesture of respect and humility. So the first puja that was conducted in the Sita temple is to the feet of Rama

The temple is located about 70 km from Varanasi and is of relatively recent construction. It is filled with beautiful mosaics and Sita looks very elegant.

After the introductory pujas were completed, our priests moved outside to perform the fire yagya (homam). You can see the temple in the background. Note the architecture is of the north indian style which is very different from the more square gopurams seen in the south.

Anadanam

The vedic tradition places a strong emphasis on feed those who are less fortunate as an integral part of every yagya. We always feed the priests after each yagya performance and when finances permit, we provide food for all at one of the ghats on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi. This month it took place at night.

Generally a meal for 200 people is provided.

There is always something left over for the Ganges Geese!

Mrytunjaya Yagyas

Because Varanasi is Shiva's city, it is a particularly good place to have mrytunjaya yagya performed both for those who are ill or who may have passed away, and also just for progress towards enlightenment.

We are fortunate to have access to some beautiful temples with extraordinary Shiva lingams.

The mrytunjaya yagya is very purifying and after the abishekam the whole temple radiates freshness.

Always lots of flowers!

Mantra japa...

And homam...

Durga Yagya - March 2007 - Ramnagar

2007-03-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

March is the month of Vasant Navaratri - the spring-time celebration of the divine feminine. The puja.net group sponsored a special Chandi Homam (fire yagya) in both North India, Varanasi, and South India, Kanchipuram on Monday, March 26th.

In Varansi,the yagya was held at a beautiful Durga temple in the Ramnagar Fort across the Ganges from the main city. The fort itself is abandoned but the temple is still in use.

The introductory pujas were performed in a shaded area in front of the temple.

Final puja offerings of flowers.

In the most traditional style of yagya performance, the fire must be started without the use of matches...friction must be used! Here you see the priests starting the fire.

Soon the yagya fire is roaring and offerings are being made.

This portion of the yagya is being performed in a portico in front of and under the main temple.

Final offerings are being made into the yagya fire.

I have always been impressed with the sincerity of the priests as they offer their prayers for the well-being of the yagya sponsors and the world at-large.

Final aarti (puja) being performed with the yagya fire visible on the lower level and the temple above it.

Spring Navaratri - March 2007 - Kanchipuram

2007-03-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

In the vedic tradition, the goddesses are seen as the source of all prosperity and so there are Navaratri celebrations in the spring at the beginning of the growing season and the fall at the time of harvest. During these times the major forms of the goddesses (Lakshmi, Durga, Saraawati) are honored with 9 nights of pujas and yagyas.

At the beginning of the spring Navaratri (Vasant Navaratri) we performed 4 days of Lakshmi and Ganesha yagyas. Two of those days took place in local Kanchipuram temples.

The temples tend to be very crowded at this time of year, so our abishekams are performed in the evening.

Here we see the Lakshmi temple as we are ready to begin. Note the fresh malas on the left ready for the final decorations.

In most temples there is a dark granite deity as seen in the rear of this photo. It is never moved from the temple. In the front of the photo you see an uttsava (festival) form of the deity which can be taken out of the temple for various pujas and festivals. The uttsava deity is usually made of brass.

The abishekam form of yagya involves the pouring of liquid items over the deity; water, milk, sandalwood paste, etc. Here you see the abishekam begin with milk being offered.

The sandalpaste is scented and the smell is absolutely amazing!

At the end, Lakshmi is dressed in a new silk sari and fresh flower malas. They look very festive! It is also worth noting that we make a point of performing our temple yagyas in smaller, less wealthy temples, so it is a special occasion when the deities are dressed so beautifully. The elaborate abishekams that we perform don't happen often in the smaller temples because of the cost, so it is an inspiration and a treat for those in the local community who visit the temple.

Shivaratri Yagya Series - February 2007 - Varanasi

2007-02-11T19:01:00.000-08:00

For the past 4 years, we have sponsored a Maha Rudra leading up to the annual Shivaratri celebration. This yagya requires that 11 priests perform Rudra Abishekam 11 times each day with 11 different ingredients followed by a complete Rudra Homam. The last day they do a big Rudra Homam and then go to a local Kanchipuram temple to help perform the all night Shivaratri yagya.

This year for the first time we have added a special ekadasa rundra yagya in Varanasi; the city of Shiva. The yagya was held on Tuesday, Feb 6th. Our priests got up early and at 4 AM crossed the Ganges.

Prior to the yagya they had made 11 large Ganges-clay lingams which were ready and decorated as the sun rose.

Even in India, it gets cold in the morning this time of year, but nothing can beat the sight of the Sun rising over the Ganges. Is there any more beautiful or more timeless view? How many thousands of years has Shiva been honored here?

All set for the pujas to begin.

Each lingam is elaborately decorated with flowers and colored rice flour, with all 11 traditional ingredients prepared and ready.

All the priests begin the pujas with the recitation of the sponsor's names and begin chanting Rudram. The famous ghats of Varanasi are seen in the background on the other bank of the Ganges.

In the north of India, they use a special buffalo horn based instrument called a shringi, to offer the water over the lingam.

The pujas continue with additional offerings; cloth, flowers, yogurt curd, sandal paste, bilva leaves, etc.

After the pujas and abishekam is complete, the homam fire is lit and offerings are made into the fire.

One of the attendees made a beautiful watercolor of the homam.

Yagyas complete!

In the afternoon, after an enjoyable day of yagyas, the group returned to Varanasi.

Navagraha Yagya Series - January 2007

2007-01-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

Each year we begin January with a visit to the navagraha (9 planet) temples in the southern part of Tamil Nadu near Kumbakonam. This area is rich with history and according to the stories, the nine planets themselves had taken form here in order to do meditations long long ago.

Ganesha rules beginnings so he is always asked to bless the new year. This Ganesha is in the garden of one of the temples.

The series began with two days of yagyas in a local patasala (school) where our priests performed pujas and a complete fire yagya (homam) for the nine planets. They did 1008 repetitions of the mantra for each planet and worked from 8 AM to 5 PM both days. That's a lot of chanting and vedic recitation!

Here, at the beginning of the day, the priests are constructing a beautiful installation for the nine planets with a cloth for each in the appropriate color. On top of that is the grain for the planet and a kalasha pot with water inside and a coconut on top surrounded by mango leaves and a flower mala as a crown.

By the end of the pujas and homam all the offerings of flowers, and fruit, herbs and grasses have been made. Pujas tend to make a glorious mess!

At the beginning of the pujas, the priest (in this case Seetharam, seen above) performs what it called the sankalpam or statement of purpose. It begins with the priest preparing himself to invoke the deities. This moment of personal purification (called nyasam) includes a moment of meditation and pranayam.

The names of the sponsors are recited before the pujas begin.

The yagya fire is lit after the pujas and ghee, different kinds of wood, grain, puffed rice, and herb mixtures are offered into the fire with each mantra repetition.

Even though the fire yagyas go on for many hours uninterrupted, there is a sense of timelessness when you are there. It is a very calm and joyful experience.

At the very end of the yagya, a final offering is prepared. Here you see dried coconut halves; one filled with ghee, some fruit and flowers. The silk cloth is tied around various other offerings of herbs and spices, fruits and flowers, and sometimes coins for good luck. The it is offered into the fire while mantras are chanted. This final offering is called pornadhuti.

This is the entrance to the Sun temple. Each temple has a "flagpole" called a "stambha dwaja". Some are elaborate and shealthed in brightly polished brass or copper and some are outdoors like this one.

This is the entrance to the Jupiter planet temple. The large towers are often brightly painted and contain beautiful representations of the deities from traditional stories.

This is the entranceway to the Mercury temple. Note the scaffolding made from small trees in place for some renovation work.

Once the sticks are erected, they are covered with palm fronds which makes a cooler place to work, sheltered from the heat of the Sun. This is at the Rahu temple.

This photo is from the 2006 yagyas at the Saturn temple. Note the round yagya homa kind (fire pit). The Saturn murti is to the left on the top of the multicolored platform.

This is what they call the "tank". All temples have them and I suppose it may have historically been a supply of water for temple use. They frequently play a role in stories. For example this is the tank at the Saturn temple at Tirunallar and it plays a role in a great story where a rishi's curse turns a King and his family into elephants. They regain their human form by bathing in this sacred water at this particular temple.

Durga and Annapurna Pujas - December 2006

2006-12-17T12:06:00.000-08:00

At the conclusion of the Navaratri Yagya series in October Seetharam took us to a great temple in the area of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. The temple is very old and has a great Shiva mandir as well as a Durga temple that is one of my favorites. He returned there to start the December yagya series.

At night the temple gopuram (tower) looks beautiful as one looks in towards the Durga temple which is seen directly ahead.

At this temple, like most in India, they are very strict about not taking photos of the deity. But Seetharam snuck this one at night, so it is rather blurry. The Durga temple is right ahead and you can get a glimpse of the solid gold kavacha (armour) on the Durga was wearing after our abishekam.

Rahu and Ketu have changed signs so Seetharam arranged for a Rahu/Ketu yagya for which one of the ingredients are these beautiful purple flowers.

With all the kind donations from our monthly yagya participants, we purchased fresh new dhotis for the young men who are being trained in the patasalas to be vedic pundits. This one is in the Kumbakonam area. It is a primarily agricultural area and while these individuals are not poverty stricken, they lead a simple life in the patasala and the gift of a dhoti and fun meal is more meaningful than one might expect.

A couple of days later, we did the same thing in Kanchipuram at another patasala; dhotis and a festive meal.

The support of westerners like us is genuinely meaningful and a valuable source of inspiration because it shows that the vedic tradition is valued even outside of India.

Jupiter/Subramanyam Yagya - November, 2006

2006-11-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

November is the month each year when Jupiter changes signs. This fall Jupiter moves from Libra to Scorpio in the Hindu calendar, followed shortly afterwards with Saturn and Rahu/Ketu. Thus this is a good time to influence the planets and the manner in which they will behave over the coming year. Our Chief Priest, Seetharam visited a famous Jupiter temple in the southern part of Tamil Nadu just a couple of hours north of the southern tip of India. The town is called Tiruchendur and is very close to the ocean.

The Tiruchendur temple is very old and sits on the spot where Subramanyam, son of Shiva and Parvati, battled a demon on the seashore. The temple is quite large with many different areas and halls for various deities. The main deity is Subramanyam. Because of its location on the oceanside, it is subject to a lot of wear and over the past 1500 years, the temple has been rebuilt many times. It now boasts several beautiful gopurams (towers).

Of course what temple would be complete without a big friendly elephant?

Note also the goat and calf and the long hall (right) made with rough hewn granite columns and panels for the ceiling.

For three days, Seetharam and the temple pundits (priests) performed a series of fire yagyas and abishekams. These took place in the main temple in a large area off to the left of the Subramanyam area.

The preparations begin early in the morning...

Our goal is to always perform the yagyas in the most authentic and traditional manner possible. Here we see 108 different ingredients for the fire yagya; seeds, herbs, sticks, bark, leaves, dried fruits, etc. It is really quite amazing the complexity of some yagya procedures!

Of course, we always use the temple priests both for their expertise and as part of our goal to protect and preserve the vedic tradition as much as possible by using their services.

The kalasha pots have fresh flower malas every day and the scent of the jasmine fills the hall.

Of course a lot of smoke fills the hall also!

But the chanting goes on uninterrupted. Note the beautiful mandala on the floor under the kalasha. It is made with colored rice flour. And you can count nine smaller kalashas; one for each of the nine planets.

Eventually the smoke clears...

Our priest, Seetharama Shastry is seen here reciting the sankalpam, the statement of purpose and recitation of sponsor names at the beginning of a yagya.

Some of the ingredients for the final offering at the conclusion of the fire yagya.

It was a good three days and I hope it becomes a part of every fall season!

Varanasi Yagyas - September 2006

2006-09-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

Two of our Kanchipuram priests; Seetharam and Ganeshan, traveled to north-eastern India to the city of Varanasi (also known as Kasi or Benares) to perform a series of yagyas to honor our ancestors and to ask Shiva to bless us with greater enlightenment. Both these outcomes are related to Shiva, and Varanasi is his city; one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

The Ganges River has been at a very high level this year. Note that the river is so high that there are just a few steps showing in the photos above as compared to what is typical this time of year as seen in the following image.

Each morning our priests joined five Sama Veda specialists from Nepal to perform our yagyas. They started on the day of the full moon (poornima) with a Ganesha and Shiva Yagya. In the following photo you see Rudra Abishekam being performed.

Towards the end of the yagya scented sandalwood powder is mixed with water and rose water and poured over the lingam.

The lingam is decorated with flower malas and bilva leaves (green). Here the priest is offering camphor light (aarti) at the conclusion of the yagya while mantras are being chanted by the other priests.

The next day, the priests prepared a huge navagraha yagya to balance the influence of all the planets. When performed properly, a traditional yagya requires a lot of ingredients, many of which are available only in India.

First an elaborate navagraha yantra is constructed with cloth of specific colors, various grains, and fruit. Pujas and mantra japa are performed and then all the grain and other ingredients are offered into the yagya fire while the navagraha mantras are being chanted.

In the evening more pujas were performed along the banks of the Ganges.

It is quite a performance with chanting, drums and big aarti lamps.

The second two days of the Varanasi Yagyas consisted of a series of special pujas which, on the first day, were conducted individually for each of the sponsors and their relatives who had passed away. These pujas required special offerings of balls of rice sprinkled with black sesame seeds.

Special containers were made for the offerings. The leves are from a special tree, and the grass is darba grass; the sacred grass of the vedas.

Here all the little boats with rice and flower garlands are ready for the pujas on the first day.

Our priests visited five specific sacred spots along the banks of the Ganges and performed pujas and left offerings of flowers. At the end of the day, each little ancestor boat was decorated with a ghee lamp, which was then lit, and left to float down the river.

The yagya series concluded with pujas at a beautiful Shiva temple...

...which had a beautiful, tall Shiva lingam which was honored with a final Rudra abishekam and simple flower and bilva leaf decorations.

Update #2 -- Lakshmi Yagyas - August 2006

2006-08-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

Our August sequence of Lakshmi Yagyas concluded at a very nice temple where our priests performed an Abishekam Yagya. It was performed during the evening and this temple is typical of smaller temples in India; nicely painted and decorated with lights.

There are two murtis of Lakshmi seen here. The larger one in the back is made of south indian green granite which turns a beautiful dark black when sesame oil is applied to it. The brass statue in the foreground is called an utsava murti. It is used in temple celebrations and can be moved out of the temple sanctum whenever needed. The alrger murti weighs many hundreds of pounds and is never moved!

Here the priest is offering a little camphor light during one of the initial pujas.

Many gallons of milk are used to pour over the murtis during the abishekam. The tradition is that an abishekam is performed to purify and enliven the temple.

Sandalwood is very finely ground up and mixed with various scents. When it is mixed with water and a little rosewater the temple smells amazingly fragrant.

After all the ingredients are poured over the murtis, they are carefully dried and dressed in new silk sari's with beautiful fresh flower malas made of jasmine and carnations. You can see that she wears all sorts of gold and a tall crown in the style of south india. Her hands are covered with metal "raksha"; armour. Her right hand is help upright in the sign of protection, and her left hand points downward in the sign of blessing or granting wishes.

Even the smaller utsava deity is dressed in a sari. Although the murti is only a couple feet in height, it still take a full 7-8 yards of cloth to dress her!

By the end of the evening Lakshmi is fully refreshed and seems very powerful. Note the pink lotus flowers arranged around her.

Lakshmi Yagyas - August 2006

2006-08-08T20:39:00.000-07:00

This month's yagyas series is focused on Lakshmi, the goddess of Abundance in all its forms. We begin with a four day intensive focus on the eight different forms of Lakshmi (Ashtalakshmi). Each day, our priests perform a full series of yagyas with unique ingredients.

Here we see fresh lotus flowers and bilva leaves, both traditionally associated with Lakshmi.

By the end of the puja the pile of flowers and bilva leaves gets quite high....and is topped with a fresh jasmine flower mala.

In the evening the priests recite the 1008 mantras (namas) of Lakshmi, called Lakshmi Sahasranam enough times so that the total nama recitations will exceed 100,000 times by the end of the yagya series.

The puja is called a kumkum archana because with each nama a small pinch of kumkukm (a natural red powder symbolic of Lakshmi) is offered

And there are 10 more days to go!

Guru Poornima - Kanchipuram, July 2006

2006-07-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Our Guru Poornima temple event took place in a very nice, and very ancient Shiva temple just outside Kanchipuram.

The temple grounds are quite large and feature this huge pipal tree.

Our priests are very careful to use all the traditional ingredients as seen below. There are colorful packets of milk (upper left), bags of yogurt (upper right), dates, many different kinds of fruit, fresh and dried coconuts, honey, rosewater, turmeric, sugar, ghee, vibhuti (sacred ash), and many ingredients that I don't recognize.

And of course, beautiful handmade fresh flower malas. The white flowers are jasmine and have a wonderful fresh sweet smell.

Dakshinamurti is the form of Shiva honored as the prototypical teacher(guru). The results of this yagya are to enhance and strengthen our own spiritual side, to smooth our path to enlightenment, and to balance the planet Jupiter's effect in our chart.

Shiva is often seen as the "Destroyer" and in this case he is the destroyer of ignorance.

The Abishekam consists of pouring the various ingredients over the murti either directly as seen here with milk, or when mixed in water as with turmeric. It may seem odd, but the effect of the abishekam is to purify the temple and to cool and invigorate the murti.

The scented sandalwood is very pretty when poured over the murti.

Afterwards, the murti is dried, dressed in a new dhoti, and draped with the fresh flower malas. They will last for several days to delight and inspire all who visit the temple.

Vedic Recitation - July 2006

2006-07-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

In July we assembled a small group of experts in Vedic Recitation to chant the entire Samhita text of the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas. Over a 5 day period the priests chanted for 4-5 hours in the morning and 2-3 hours each evening. All the mantras were recited in the precise traditional style.

On the left, in the photo above, our Rig Veda expert reaches the last page in the Rig Veda text. On the right is Sri Sampath Giri, the supervising priest for our facility and a widely recognized expert in Yajur Veda.

In appreciation for their hard work, we have given each priest a new dhoti (a traditional gift) and an envelope with dakshina (payment offering). They were delighted to have this opportunity, and honored by our interest and enthusiasm for the preservation of their vedic traditions.

Subramanyam #2 - June 2006

2006-06-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

After the day of abishekam as seen in the previous post, the priests performed the fire ceremony (homam) for Subramanyam.

In the Vedic tradition, a homam consists of mantra repetition while offerings of grain, ghee, dried herbs, and other items are made into the sacred fire, so that Agni, the vedic god of fire, can consume them and convey them to intended deity, in this case Subramanyam and Angaraka (Mars).

The Rig Veda begins with the words "agnim elai purohitam" which expresses appreciation for the role that both the fire (agni) and the priest (purohitam) play in linking us with the divine. That is of course, a reference to the fire yagya and the priest's skill with the various mantras.

This yagya was performed at a time when Saturn and Mars combined along with Rahu/Ketu. The priests made a beautiful image of a snake out of colored rice flour. This is so that Rahu/Ketu, which are two parts of a mythological snake will be honored and will spare us the negative side of their influence.

Here is the diagram on one day...

And the next...

Of course, as is true of all yagyas and pujas, the kalasha pots are decorated with beautiful fresh flowers for the pujas and mantra japa.

It was a very good four days of yagyas that combined both the abishekam and homam temple functions with our own private yagyas.

These yagyas are very protective and calming at a time when two very powerful planets are together. Already we have seen a couple of sizable earthquakes, a pretty good sized volcano, and widely reported increased violence and unrest both domestic and international. But in the personal lives of the participants there have also been many reports of peacefulness, smooth transitions, protection, and a more optimistic outlook on life.

The intention of a yagya is to link the divine with the material. By tradition, the yagya honor and "feed" the divine and they return the favor by removing obstacles to our material and spiritual success. It has been a good month!

Subramanyam - June 2006

2006-06-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

In the Vedic tradition Subramanyam and the planet Mars are considered to be different forms of the same energy. Because Saturn and Mars meet in the sign of Cancer this month, we arranged for a 4 day yagya series to soften the manifestation of this energy in our lives.

The events took place at a very beautiful temple in Bangalore, India. As you can see from the following photgraph, the temple combines Subramanyam with Ganesha and Shiva, as is typical.

Here on the left, is the Ganesha temple, where our priests performed a full abishekam yagya where cooling and cleansing liquid offerings such as water, milk, yogurt, etc are poured over the deity. Afterwards the deity is is dressed in a new dhoti, decorated with fresh flower malas, and a complete vedic puja is performed.

The Shiva temple contains a very nice dark Shiva lingam. In the following photo you can see a copper pot hanging above the lingam which slowly drips a continuous stream of water on the lingam. After our abishekam, the lingam was decorated with beautiful malas.

The Subramanyam temple is always located on the left as viewed from the Shiva lingam. So it would be on the far right in the following photo. On the roof you see Shiva and Parvati on the left and Subramanyam on the right.

Subramanyam is shown here with his 2 wives; Valli and Devayani. Subramanyam rides a peacock, seen in the foreground in light colored granite, and in the background behind Subramanyam.

In South India, the deities often wear different kinds of silver items. Here they are seen over the eyes. The explanation is usually that the power of the deity's sight is so strong that it needs to be reduced through the use of these "divine sunglasses".

Subramanyam always has a "vel" (spear) that was given to him by his mother Parvati, seen here along with beautiful flower malas.

At the conclusion of the abishekam and pujas, Subramanyam, Valli and Devayani look very nice indeed.

Saturn - May 2006

2006-05-25T23:36:00.000-07:00

May was a very busy month for yagyas. We begin in south India with a special Vishnu celebration at which the puja.net was a major sponsor. A special fire yagya was performed at a local patasala (school for young priests).

As part of the event, the temple deity (Rama) is dressed up on a flower covered cart...

and taken through the streets for everyone to see.

The event included a fire yagya (homam)

And as always we provided a special meal and new dhotis for the young priests in training.

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At the Saturn temple in Tirunallar we performed a Saturn Yagya every day.

In India we can use all the best traditional ingredients in our yagyas.

Every day we performed a complete fire yagya.

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On Mother's Day our priests travelled to a special Parvati Temple to perform abishekam and puja for the Divine Mother (and our own mothers).

The abishekam started with many litres of milk.

After being coated with vibhuti (sacred ash) offerings of light are made as various traditional mantras are chanted.

We provde a new sari and lots of fresh flower malas.

The final puja (called aarti) is wonderfully dramatic.

Ayyapa - April 2006

2006-05-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

April's temple yagya took place in a very nice traditional Ayyapa temple. Ayyapa is a peaceful god that is the resulting child of a mythological story involving Shiva and Vishnu. He is very popular in South India.

As usual, the temple yagya consisted of cooling liquid offerings that are poured over the deity. In this photo we see the temple murti covered in yogurt.

And then scented sandal paste...

After the abishekam, we provide a new silk dhoti and beautiful fresh flower malas. The priests perform the final puja by offering light from burning camphor.

At the end of the pujas the deity looks refreshed, purified, and well...happy.