SATSANG

    Perform Agnihotra - Heal The Atmosphere
 VOL. 27  NO. 6, NEW ERA 57, MARCH & APRIL 2000

---

Contents

Weather patterns will become totally unpredictable soon.  The weather conditions will be totally erratic--for example, subzero temperature in very hot climate, then very high temperature in lands normally cold, snow in tropical places.  Drought and resultant famine in lands usually abundant in produce.  Heavy rains.  Unexpected floods.

There are very, very strong days now ahead.  In the days to come there will be great torrents of rain that wipe away whole towns and flood valleys, destroying homes and wildlife in surrounding areas.  One catastrophe follows the next.  Specific areas will be harder hit where other areas will be safe for the time.  Life as we know it cannot possibly continue much longer.

Remarkable results are being reported in areas where we have started using Homa Therapy farming methods in South American countries.  We have to publish these reports now, immediately.  When an area or country benefits, the world benefits.  Kalki Avatar, the Son of Man, Parama Sadguru Shree Gajanan Maharaj graced the planet with AGNIHOTRA fire.  Increase in plant yields, harvests, decrease in disease is sufficient proof if proof will be required.  If it is possible to duplicate the experiment we should do so.  Official reports about Homa can be translated, printed into different languages. What is happening in South America is all GRACE.  Now Peru will just move to the forefront in Homa Therapy throughout the world.

The time is now.  All medicines prescribed by doctors fail to cure ailments.  People become crazy to find cures for the disease which ails them.  Now we have to lay more stress on AGNIHOTRA ash medicines as developed in Germany.  Also a few herbal Ayurvedic medicines.

We have to develop now shelters, places of refuge all over the planet.  Whether it is a center or a Homa farm, once the real difficulties start, your home will be a shelter whether or not this is your intention.  Homa farms become shelters for many people, not only for those who own them.  They become healing places where people will come all the time.

There were people in the old days whose only responsibility was Yajnya.  The most revered.  Now most of the old traditions are gone.

At Homa places people can come for healing diet, meditation and healing Yajnya fire.  In such an environment you can also provide other activity, e.g. Sufi dancing, music, sound therapy, etc.

August, 1999
More and more of these Yajnyas have to be practiced now. That is the whole idea now. There are so many of these Yajnyas, but now some have been given power. That’s why these things are happening in Peru because Shree’s Grace is behind it. When normally you get mangoes only one season in a year, several places where these Homas are started get two mango seasons. It is not normal. Of course, mangoes in season for the whole twelve months of a year is something rare - that has also happened. Any time throughout the year you can pick a mango. All these things are happening quickly now. It is only Grace working. When we say science, highest science is Grace.

So we can now learn Rudra Suktam and these other two: Shree Suktam and Bhargava Kavacham. Shree Suktam is a simple Homa. Then we go on doing these Homas in many places. Later on some people will be trained only to do this. They will be in big demand. Some different Homas have to be done now. Shree has chosen some and this Shree Suktam is one. It is a very simple Homa and the wording is also easy.

The basic Homa is Agnihotra which sets in the natural energy cycle and other Homas can be done only by the person doing this Agnihotra. All these energies are surrounding his body and also at the place where this Agnihotra is practiced. Then there are some additional things which one can learn. Rudra Yajnya gives a very powerful impact on all ills of plants. You see in Peru and other South American countries also where Agnihotra is practiced, after you do this Rudra Yajnya, even that ash helps the plants. Of course always Agnihotra ash is to be kept separate. Then Devas gather all these subtle energies around the place and they control all the elements, so that at least we can see with the mind. This is only for material prosperity, what we are doing.

What is this Yajnya? Basic Yajnya is Agnihotra. That is enough for all new people. They just do it and that will be enough. But now more and more Yajnya has to be practiced. That is going to change the whole atmosphere. The time is very short now. The time is now - it is not tomorrow, it is today. Time is so short and things will move very quickly now. Just as this destruction and disease has spread all over, so will Agnihotra spread very quickly and then soon after that will be Kingdom of Heaven on Earth - peace, bliss and prosperity for each and every person. So these Yajnyas have to go all over. Main thing is, this subtle energy structure is affected. Something which corresponds to the energy cycle of the planet is affected simply by practice of Agnihotra. All these Yajnyas will be revived.

So, after getting material prosperity, we have to take the next step - Daan. Actually you will be surprised. You give that Daan (only that Daan has to be proper) and then it is all unending material prosperity. Always it comes back. You are always taken care of, if Daan is done in a proper way as told in Light Towards Divine Path, for example. This is nothing new. Same thing is told again and again in the Bible, all holy books. So, first Yajnya and Daan.

Now it is absolutely necessary to take the next step for those people who have been practicing this Yajnya and those who have been fortunate enough to teach. No new people are required. Through these instruments which are already prepared the message will go. You only have to keep yourself tuned, that is all, and the Divine will play the music. What music is to be played you need not worry about. Just keep the instrument tuned. That means always there has to be what we call positive thinking. Then always these positive things will manifest out of that. And we are going according to a certain plan. The plan is for the whole planet. You will see how quickly now things will come about. Everywhere it will be Yajnya, Yajnya, Yajnya.

The next step has to be taken now. To go into that state of bliss absolutely there is no other way unless you become non-attached. As long as you have attachment to material things, then you cannot have that state of joy. Yajnya and Daan give you all that material prosperity. The next step is Tapa (discipline of body and mind).

Shree Gajanan Maharaj said: Practice Karma for self-purification. You cannot remain without Karma for a single moment. Thinking, speaking, action are all Karma. So, if you say I do Karma for self-purification then you cannot get angry, you cannot use bad words, you cannot have a bad thought about anybody. Always forgiving and compassionate. Quickly we have to go into that state of Total Surrender. That is the next step; otherwise we get stuck there. Grace will help for that. How to keep this bodily instrument in good shape, how to keep tuned so that the SOUND CURRENT is going to lift us.

And we have to think now in terms of starting tree farms because trees are also going to die.  They are dying now in the Amazon jungle, in the Erzgebirge area on the border of Germany and the Czech Republic. Many poems have been written about that area, how beautiful it is. More than ten years ago I was there just as a matter of duty to tell the people that these things are going to happen. And you now can see all those areas are totally dead. This death is coming everywhere very quickly now and like that also it will be quickly revived. So yesterday I suggested that at this place, for example, you can approach the Forestry Department and tell them that we can start a nursery here. You know in the government nurseries they use chemical fertilizers (N-P-K) and also insecticides, pesticides and herbicides. They have to use them even for these small saplings. While planting also they have to dip the roots in the chemicals first; otherwise they don’t survive now.

So first we can tell them, if you have any saplings which are so bad that you are going to throw them away, you can bring them to us and they will survive. Second, you can give something which you have started already in plastic bags. (In a very small area you can keep a few thousand bags). Of course here we have to see about the winter, in the snow - there needs to be proper arrangements made as they do in nurseries. You can tell them, OK, we will grow them for you; they will become very healthy, very strong and also in a shorter time. Then see if they will pay you something for that. You return the same thing to them because they have to spend money in growing and maintaining those things and then they plant the forest. We will have to plant trees now grown in Homa nurseries. They have already started this work in Peru - seeds coming from Homa farms, saplings from Homa farms.

So, in a small area, how will we be able to grow things? Actually it is possible.  For example, even in one thousand square meters you can grow all types of things. Of course as you go further north from here you come into colder climate, but still one should try to become as independent as possible.

Next thing is breeding of non-hybrid cows also. I was told now that those cows which have lost their humps (in the old days all cows had a hump) because of this crossbreeding, this specialized breeding, will fall victim to radioactivity. Some scientists were telling this. So whatever it is, cows should be near such farms, because even the breath of a cow has a healing effect.

Once I asked some of the scientists to find out why the cow is given so much importance as a special creature. They said some similarities exist between humans and cows. No one has yet tried an experiment by burning cow’s ghee in controlled conditions. You will find something exceptional which you do not find by burning any other substance in the world. The loss of weight, the residual weight. In cow’s ghee, the scientists tell us, we know of no other substance which has so much carbon (from the chemistry point of view). That is another peculiarity.

In March 1997 I took up the position of manager in residence of Tapovan, the Homa Farm near Shivadham in Maharashtra State on the central plains of India. Previously, several other Agnihotris had at one time or another, for varying periods, been instrumental in maintaining Agnihotra and Homas and developing the gardens here, notably Roland & Karin Heschl, John Tylka (Siddha) and Thomas Habianitsch. However, each time after their periods of tenure the farm again reverted to the control of the local farmers who were totally committed to the use of agrochemical technology.

On my arrival in Tapovan, I was naive and ignorant enough to believe that everything beneath the surface of the land was as ‘rosy’ as it appeared above the surface. Now, looking back after my stay of 2.5 years, I can tell a totally different story. Only now am I coming to realize the extent of the environmental catastrophe which has occurred on this farm and on all the other farms in this area.

The climate in this area is extreme, characterized by three seasons - cool/dry (1 month), hot/dry (7 months) and monsoon rain (4 months). During the dry season we effectively have 8 months of drought conditions with temperatures sometimes reaching 50°C in the hottest part of the year. This leads to the opening up of huge cracks in the extremely clayey soil.

Here in India, as in many developing countries, farmers have been lured by the promise of big financial returns into the cash-crop culture with its attendant ancillaries of so-called ‘improved’ and hybrid seed varieties and the dependence on agrochemical products. The main cash-crop grown in this area is cotton which, from my observations, when grown as a monoculture, would have to be one of the most environmentally devastating crops that it is possible to grow. Large areas are also cropped with fodder crops, mainly millet for the large cattle population. Wheat is grown as the main cool season crop and to a lesser extent pulses and chilies, sugar cane and bananas.

Because of the huge proportion of land area under cultivation in India, vast tracts including our area have been deforested and have remained that way for many centuries now. This, coupled with extensive and intensive cultivation and soil compaction by cattle and more recently machinery, has led to a situation which closely resembles SOIL COLLAPSE, described in detail by Bill Mollison in his definitive text, Permaculture - A Designers’ Manual (p. 403).

All the symptoms of soil collapse were present at Tapovan when I first arrived but I didn’t have the requisite knowledge to read the signs; high salinity, topsoil layer reduced to less than ten centimeters (four inches) in parts (the fine silt being deposited as far as six kilometers away in the local town, which becomes a dust bowl in the dry season), the fine clay soil develops huge cracks in summer and in the wet season the surface is sealed like cement allowing minimal water absorption, the subsoil becoming an impervious water-repellant block of rock. This leads to a situation of major waterlogging and flooding when the rains come.

Being under the mistaken belief that farming was as simple as putting the seed in the ground and watching the plant grow, I was puzzled in the first year when so much of what I planted struggled to grow. Many seeds had lower germination rates than normal and many plants developed only very slowly and didn’t reach the mature size of plants in surrounding farms which were fed a diet of agrochemical fertilizers. I guess I was expecting instant results from my first attempts using Homa farming techniques here.

Looking back now, I am amazed that anything grew at all, given the seriously degraded state of the soil here. For many years the soil of this farm has provided the nutrients for successive cotton crops. Cotton is one of the heaviest feeders of all crops and with each succeeding year the residual nutrient level which is the fertility of the soil has gradually declined as more nutrients were being extracted by the cotton than were being replaced by the farmers in the form of biological waste. This has led to a situation in this area where all soil is seriously deficient in the major and minor nutrients.

The modern agriculturalist views the soil as simply a medium of structural support for the plant and believes that all nutrients can be provided from external sources. No consideration is given to the health of the soil itself or of its microorganisms. The farmers of this area are no different in this respect and consequently they have allowed the nutrient quota in the soil to deplete to negligible levels. This problem has compounded and exacerbated the soil collapse problem. So Tapovan has actually provided us with a perfect example of severely degraded and damaged land on which to demonstrate the power of the Homa farming techniques.

The beauty of the Homa farming system is that none of this very technical knowledge is necessary.  By simply starting the simple practices of the system, improvements occur immediately, even without our awareness.

Apart from the first year when I was very disappointed with the ‘poor’ result instead of being amazed at the miracle which had occurred (that some things actually grew), several other amazing things have happened which have left the local farmers scratching their heads in disbelief. In that first year I grew several crops without any fertilizer whatsoever, chemical or organic, in soils which were to all intents and purposes completely dead. Looking back now I can only attribute this to the miracle produced by Agnihotra and Homa Therapy.

In the second year and again this year another miracle occurred, this time with our cotton crop. We have had virtually no loss of yield due to insect damage, whereas the surrounding farmers who are using costly insecticides have suffered up to seventy percent loss. We use only Agnihotra ash water mixed with cow’s urine and extract from leaves of the Neem tree. The common belief is that it is not possible to grow cotton successfully without the use of strong insecticides. This year the only insects to be found on our cotton were identified by the local farmers as friendly, although nowhere to be seen on the surrounding farms due to the indiscriminate effect of insecticides.

As with cotton, none of our other standing crops have shown any loss of yield due to insect damage. This includes wheat, millet and pulses - pigeon pea, cow pea, green gram (mung beans), black gram and chick pea.

This year we have also seen a dramatic improvement in soil fertility which has resulted in a very obvious increase in the size of our cotton bushes and quantity of cotton bolls per bush and hence cotton yield has increased significantly.

Just recently we received a delivery of one hundred papaya saplings from another farmer who had decided not to persevere with them this year. They were six weeks old but very advanced due to being fed chemical fertilizer. Also we struggled to put them into the ground in their new home as quickly as possible in a dry period of about five days using compost and Agnihotra ash. Despite the several factors which mitigated against a successful transplanting operation we have had a 75 percent survival rate which I would attribute completely to the power of the Agnihotra ash.

An interesting phenomenon has occurred with our young mango trees. These trees were first planted here in Tapovan in 1994. This year they have started bearing fruit. But some are still bearing fruit well past the end of the mango season three months ago. This  apparent miracle actually echoes the words of Vasant: "Some fruits begin to increase their reproductive cycle if Agnihotra is performed in proximity to where they are grown."

Another fantastic thing which has happened concerns the taste of the fruit and vegetables. Previously I have noticed the wonderful flavours and taste produced by fruit, vegetables and herbs on our Homa farm in Australia. But this year I have observed the same here in Tapovan. Prior to coming to India I had never before tasted guava but they are common in this area. However, the taste and texture of our guavas are, in my opinion, far superior to those available in the local market. Also, we had wonderful feedback from the local people about our wheat crop and the taste of the chapatis (flat bread) which were cooked from the flour. And this year I have planted some basil in our new vegetable/herb garden. The taste is also quite exceptional - such a strong flavour that only a small quantity is required in cooking. Also the taste and texture of our pumpkins is excellent.

So in a period of less than three years we have seen a miraculous recovery of the soil here in Tapovan from its previously severely damaged state to the point where it is producing crops of superior yield and taste which are not troubled by insect attack. All these fantastic results, I believe, can only be attributed to the practice of Agnihotra and other Yajnyas and the use of the Homa farming techniques.

The following disciplines are also observed at Tapovan:
    --After 9 P.M. Om Tryambakam Homa and Mantras silence is to be maintained until sunrise Agnihotra the next morning.
    --Each person is to do two hours daily of Om Tryambakam Homa.
    --Silence for at least one hour daily.
    --Shower before entering Agni Shala or Yajnya Shala to perform Agnihotra or Yajnya.
    --Women are to observe the monthly period disciplines while staying at Tapovan:
        separate quarters
        cooking and serving of food to be done by others
        During this four-day period, entering the temples or garden where food is grown is not permitted.
        Meditation, contemplation, reading are ideal for this time of introspection and personal retreat
        from worldly duties.  It is a cycle of Nature which we observe and honor in this way.

All the above Tapas contribute to the energy available to sustain a very high level of subtle energies which are a potent healing force not only for this area but which are used to balance energies on a global level.

Working on oneself is an ongoing process, but not all done on a conscious level.  The idea of “learning to love oneself” and care and nurture one’s own needs is quite healthy.  But again, much can be accomplished in this direction by increasing one’s awareness and strengthening one’s devotion.  Through service to others, for example, one learns to love oneself as he loves others.  Of course, the reverse is true.

Observe your mind like a traffic policeman, watching and watching.

At the time of creation the Vedas were revealed to the Rishis (seers).  The Rishis then each selected families to whom they gave this knowledge with instructions to hand it down from one generation to another by word of mouth.  Nothing should be lost.  There was a travesty of trust in that and now much more than ninety percent has been lost.  Maharaj Shree has vowed at the feet of Lord Parashuram to resuscitate the Vedas.  Now the Rishis will reveal all this knowledge and we must preserve it exactly.

The world will be made up in small communities.  They should be self-sufficient.  A certain part of Vedas will be assigned to each of the communities.  So together we can share and utilize this ancient knowledge amongst the one culture which lives SATYA SANATAN DHARMA, true and eternal religion.

In November/December 1999 I had the very good fortune to travel to Europe for the first time and stay with Ulrich and Susanne Berk and family in Germany and Fran and Jarek and family in Poland.

Coming directly from Tapovan in India I was hardly prepared for the change in climate. In fact my flight from Mumbai to Germany was delayed six hours because of bad weather conditions in Frankfurt Airport. I arrived just after the first snowfall of the season but the freezing temperatures were more than compensated by the charming snow-clad German countryside.

The main purpose of my visits to Germany and Poland was to perform a series of Rudra Yajnyas. (Rudra Yajnya is a lengthy Yajnya which has a profound healing effect on the area where it is performed and all of life in that area. One of the associated benefits is a boost to material and spiritual prosperity.) Despite the fact that my trip coincided with the very busy Christmas rush period, we were still able to complete two Rudras in Germany and three in Poland.

The first Rudra was performed in Monika’s house and Homa Therapy centre in Bankholzen. Only Monika and I were present and it was completed successfully just before sunset Agnihotra. The next day a second Rudra took place on Ulrich and Susanne’s farm, Halden hof, near Stockach in South Germany several days after my arrival. Their farm is seven hectares situated in a picturesque area of forest. They have a large house with a large barn attached, a small wooden hut for daily Agnihotra, another building across from the main house with two rooms, one for Yajnya and the other for accommodation. It was in this Yajnya room that we performed the Rudra Yajnya. Several people from the surrounding area came to participate in the Yajnya, including Monika again, who obviously enjoyed the Yajnyas very much and also Hella from Singen.

After five enjoyable days in South Germany it was time for me to leave for Poland, first by train to Stuttgart and then bus to Kraków where I was met at the bus station by Jarek. We then proceeded to Oasis Homa Farm and Healing Centre, performing Agnihotra along the way.

Oasis community at present consists of Jarek, his wife Parwati (Fran), her son Jacob and his girlfriend Katy (young Sean who had been staying with them for some months left for the U.S. not long after I arrived), plus cow and calf, two dogs and two cats. They live in a charming mountain style farmhouse plus a second cottage for accommodation, an Agnihotra healing hut built in traditional log cabin style, a Yajnya hut for Om Tryambakam Yajnya and next to the main house a large four story building is under construction, which will provide for future accommodation needs.

On my arrival Jacob was busy enclosing the upstairs balcony for use as a Yajnya room during winter. After two or three days it was completed and this is where the first two Rudra Yajnyas were performed. It was quite cozy despite the below zero temperatures outside. The third Rudra took place in the Agni Hut which is a powerful energy experience. We all shared in the Rudra Yajnyas but Katy in particular took the lion’s share of the job as Yajaman. The following day I was very blessed to receive a profound healing in the Agni Hut through Parwati and Jarek.

During my stay we also managed to strengthen the connection which has been made with the Devas and other Nature Intelligences there.

As I farewelled Jarek and Parwati at Kraków railway station I felt extremely grateful that I had been blessed with this wonderful opportunity to rekindle old friendships, both in Poland and in Germany, while at the same time spreading a little more light through the medium of this most powerful purificatory and healing device, the Rudra Yajnya.

On my return to Tapovan it became clear to me that Rudra Yajnyas can now become a regular part of the routine here (at least once in a month if possible). We began our first Rudra soon after my return with the capable assistance of Margaret who was visiting for one month from Australia where she has recently started practising Agnihotra to complement her healing practice using flower essence modality.

Special Event at Tapovan

Dear fellow Agnihotris,
Anne & I wish to announce that there will be another reunion celebration at Tapovan this year on May 17th. Everyone is invited. We would love you to be present for this special occasion. Please inform any other Agnihotris you may know. If you are interested, kindly contact us at:

Tapovan
P.O. Ratnapimpri
Tal: Parola
Dist: Jalgaon
Maharashtra
INDIA

Tel: +91 2597 35 203
or +91 2562 36 993 (Abhay)

email: tapovan@angelfire.com

Using email from India is still a little difficult. It may take some time for me to reply to your emails. Please be patient.
Love,
Bruce Johnson

That next morning we practiced the sunrise Agnihotra. We deeply breathed in the smoke and meditated until the fire burned itself out. We noticed how the smoke filled the entire house like a mist, and all musty smells were gone, replaced by the fragrance of the fire.

We left to drive to a nearby restaurant for breakfast, and while driving down the street, slowed down for a flock of birds; one didn’t move and we hit it. I got out to pick it up, and it was weakly fluttering, with its tongue hanging out, blood dripping out of its mouth, blood dripping from its right foot where it was deeply cut and it had a limp left foot. It was a magnificent, large woodpecker. We took it back to the house and sat down by the copper pyramid in the living room and sat in meditation. Ron held the bird in his hands. The bird fluttered, then nestled down into his hands, totally relaxed, closed its eyes and laid down its head on Ron’s wrist. Ron took some Agnihotra ash and sprinkled it on the bird’s back, gently stroking it as he rubbed it into the feathers. Its heartbeat and breathing slowed down. It rested there for ten to fifteen minutes as we meditated.  Occasionally, it opened its eyes. Then it pulled its tongue back into its mouth and continued to rest. Then it stirred, stood up and flew up to perch on a piece of wood molding near the ceiling. It rested there for several minutes. We opened the front door, and it gracefully flew out to rest in a tree just outside the window. It stayed there for three hours, occasionally hopping or flitting from limb to limb. For a while it tucked its head under it’s arm and slept. Then it flew off.

While we recognize that the bird may have just initially been stunned, it also regained the use of its left leg, its right leg stopped bleeding, the blood disappeared from its mouth, and most interestingly, it totally surrendered into Ron’s care. We know the Agnihotra was at work.

During the day we continued to clean the house. Usually when we use strong cleansers, the fumes cause a toxic reaction in me and I get headaches, achy muscles and sore lymph nodes. I worked with them all day in the house and had no side effects. I literally couldn’t smell the fumes! Our daughter similarly reacts to fumes and she noticed the same benefits. It is as if the Agnihotra had totally dissolved all negative impact from the house’s environment. They used paint stripper on the cabinets - normally I would have had to leave - this time we couldn’t smell it! The real test for me is the day after when a toxic reaction causes flu symptoms and deep fatigue as my body strives to clear out the toxins. The day after this experience - I felt great!

Now Ron, our daughter Monica, her fiance and I are great believers. We had previously practiced Yajnya with our other daughter and her husband from Denver when they visited us over Thanksgiving and have sent Agnihotra equipment to them. Now Monica wants it, too.

Without going into long detail, I want you to know I have been clearly ”guided” to Agnihotra and it is now a part of our life practice. Thank you for taking time to listen to my “beginners delight”!
Ellie Hadsall

I started practicing Agnihotra regularly several years ago, and have found it to be the key to balancing body, mind and spirit.  I believe Agnihotra gently guides me to where I need to be and what I need to do to sustain and maintain a healthy life-style, which is very easy to stray from in this fast-paced world.  It gives me a push toward taking better care of myself and keeps me on track and focused on what is vital and important, with all the decisions I have to make in one day, as we all do.

Through my meditations, I may feel led to go to a certain support group, moved to read a certain book, or calmed down after a hectic day.  I may get an inspiring image or an idea about a project that I had put on the back burner.  My intuition develops and as I follow it, I become more secure and stronger in my faith, no matter what is going on around me.

When I am more centered and in tune with myself, it works out that I can focus more clearly on what needs to be done and more effectively be of service to others.

I would call this being spirit-led.  And of course, if I’m doing Agnihotra, I’m taking care of the planet.  There is a saying, “Take care of business and the business will take care of itself.”  With Agnihotra, if you take care of the planet, the planet will take care of you.

I think that’s a pretty good deal for taking a little time from the busy world to sit before the fire and listen to “the still, small voice within”.
Maureen Hayden

Published seven times yearly.
Please direct all Satsang correspondence to the Editor.
Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of Satsang.
Reproduction by permission only. ISSN 0735-1321
Hard copy of Satsang is also available from Fivefold Path Inc. at the above address. We request a donation of $16.00 for a one-year subscription to addresses in the U.S. and Canada.