Satsang
VOL. 26, NO. 7, NEW ERA 56,  May 1, 1999

---

Sufficient data on scientific effects of Agnihotra on atmosphere to be compiled.
Germany to lead way.

This planet is in close proximity with the planet Mars.  The effects of vibrations
from other planets will be felt greatly now.
Ayurvedic medicine to be used in conjunction with Agnihotra in case of several
“unknown” diseases.

Hyperactive children.  Hyperthyroid.  Pollution has direct effect on thyroid and
pituitary glands, particularly in children.  Agnihotra atmosphere will cure the child
of this ailment over a period of three months maximum.

Fresh water supply to be found free of chemicals and pollutants in areas
surrounding the sites of fire temples. 

All these fears and worries are all ego.  Mind is a subtle instrument, so to have an
effect on the mind, one must approach it with subtlety.  Do not apply “guerilla
tactics” to mind.

One need not focus one’s attention on the problem, in this case on the fears or
worries.  Finding out why a fear began, then recalling all past events which reflect
this fear, then concentrating on the fear itself, yields little of an intellectual
understanding.  It is good to know from where the fear began, but even that is not
entirely necessary because mind has a tendency to dwell on things, particularly
thoughts of pleasure and pain.

Breath meditation is a very effective tool in mind training.  In times of fear and
worry one can practice breath meditation, through conscious breath.  One first has
to breathe deeply, as we have shown many times.  Follow the breath.  If one is in
a fearful or anxious state, breath will have an immediate calming effect.  One may,
in course of this breathing, begin to feel emotions.  Allow these emotions to flow.
Do not try to change them.  Breathe deeply and just allow them to surface.  If you
continue, the emotions will subside.  This is not “blocking” emotions, but allowing
them to rise and fall.  One can experience one’s emotions.  The point is to let
them go.  One may feel a momentary sadness, for example; feel it and let it go.  It
is when the mind holds onto a particular feeling that the trouble starts.  We allow
the feeling or emotion but we do not become attached to it.  It is like the mind
must mind its own business—feelings and emotions the mind has no business
with.

Preoccupation with emotional matters breeds fear and worry.  Do not eradicate
these.  Give them very little focus.  Focus instead on the present moment.  USE
BREATH TO TRANSMUTE EMOTIONS.  You will find your energy increase tenfold.
When emotions are your biggest block, use breath.  BHASTRIKA (bellows
breathing) is very good, generally speaking, because it is very forceful.

(To begin practice of breath meditation, it has been suggested that one take ten deep
breaths, then focus the mind on the ingoing breath and the outgoing breath.
Automatically, one’s breathing begins to slow down after some following of the breath.
It is ideal to practice this or other breathing exercises in Homa atmosphere, after the
performance of Agnihotra and/or other Homa healing fires.—Ed.)

The dawning of the new Golden Age (Satya Yuga) will be accompanied by the
gradual adoption of a new almanac, a new calendar. Just as 25th December and
Easter are important Christian festival dates in the west and Krishna's birthday
and Buddha's birthday are important festivals for the Hindus and Buddhists
respectively of the east, so too will certain dates assume greater significance in
later times.

One of these dates of new significance will be the birthday of Kalki Avatar (Parama
Sadguru Shree Gajánan Maháráj of Akkalkot, India).  In 1918, the year of Shree's
birth, this day fell on 17th May.  May 17 is also the day on which Jesus delivered
His sermon on the mount.  This date is already assuming some significance in
western countries at places where Shree's message of Agnihotra and Fivefold Path
are followed.  Also, December 25th,  traditionally celebrated as Jesus's birthday, was the day in 1941 when Shree's universal mission was revealed to Him by Divine will.

Another date which will no doubt assume greater significance as time passes is
Dassera or Vijaya Dashmi¹, of the Hindu calendar. On this day in 1944 (which
according to the western calendar fell on 27th September), Shree took the most
potent vow at the feet of His Guru, Lord Parshuram, the Eternal Avatar:

The full impact of this epoch-making event may not dawn on humanity for several
decades.

Six years earlier in 1938, at the age of only twenty years, Shree took over the
responsibility for Balappa Math², which was to become His abode for the next
forty-six years.  Six days before that fateful day in 1944 (i.e. 21st September), just
a few months after His twenty-sixth birthday, Shree was blessed with the darshan³
of Lord Parshuram in the Math itself. During His visit, Lord Parshuram pointed out
to Shree four dogs nearby which seemed to be suffering from starvation and
whose condition was lamentable. Immediately afterwards the Lord asked for Guru
Dakshina⁴. Shree realized that these four dogs were symbolic of the four Vedas
whose present pitiable state in the eyes of mankind encompasses the two
extremes of self-serving distortion and abject oblivion. Shree further realized that
the Guru Dakshina asked of Him by Lord Parshuram was not what we would
normally understand in worldly transactions, but rather resuscitation of Vedas
from their present deplorable condition.

By the time Shree realized what His Guru was asking of Him, Lord Parshuram had
disappeared from the Math. Shree decided that He would take a vow of
resuscitation of Vedas, which He did that very day. However, He became agitated
on reflection of the momentous event which had transpired that day. For three
days thereafter He was plagued with the recurring thought that once He had
grasped the meaning of His Guru, it would have been good had He taken the vow
then and there in the presence of His Lord. Finally at the end of these three days
He decided to observe silence for the next three days and break it only by uttering
the vow on Vijaya Dashmi (Dassera) three days hence. He also resolved to make a
draft of the exact text of the vow in order that the words should reflect precisely
His intention. He furthermore affirmed that He would take the vow exactly at 9
A.M.

All preparations were made as per His decision prior to the occasion. On the
morning in question, as Shree waited for the exact moment to arrive, Lord
Parshuram suddenly reappeared in the Math. Shree was filled with utmost joy,
realizing that He would now be able to confirm this most powerful vow at the feet
of His Guru. Exactly at 9 A.M. on Dassera, with full solemnity, Shree poured water
over and put Tulsi (Sacred Basil) leaves on the holy feet of His Lord and Master
and uttered the most potent vow:

On the same day, after He had taken the vow, Shree gave Sapta Shlokí (Seven
Verses) to the world. Written in Sanskrit, Sapta Shlokí explain in simple terms the
essence of Vedas. Its construction and choice of words clearly demonstrate that it
is a Divine composition, since it is beyond human intellect to explain the essence
of Vedas in so few words and yet in such simple and powerful language. Shree
once explained that Sapta Shlokí was not actually composed like a typical poem,
but it "descended" on the day He took the vow. Sapta Shlokí is recited daily by
people from all over the globe after morning and evening Agnihotra.

Shree once told one of His devotees, Mr. S.K. Kulkarni from Pune:
“You are witnessing and experiencing the age during which the entire Nature
undergoes a tremendous transformation. For hundreds and thousands of
years, that which was prophesied and that which was awaited is this era.
Whenever the Divine
 Power incarnates (to re-establish religion) it descends charging the five
primordial elements with the Divine Message. Now Nature's cycle itself is
bringing about the transformation of mind in line with the message of Vedas.
You are going through this experience. How the mutation in the entire thought
process is taking place is being witnessed by you. If you want to trace and
identify the same kind of age in the past, then you will have to go back
thousands of years in the annals of history. Whatever is now told (by
resuscitating Vedas) will be everlasting in its effect. From now onwards this
alone will be the regulation and discipline as far as religion is concerned."

On another occasion Shree told another devotee, Sardeshmukh, who was residing
in the Math:
"Whenever a great resolve is made by a Divine Incarnation the Divine Power
works in the direction of the fulfillment of that resolve. For the upliftment of
your own self if you want to participate in this mission, you may do so.
However, the Lord Divine does not need your participation. Divine
Incarnations by virtue of Their Yogic powers establish religion the very
moment They resolve to do so. They do not need help from anyone in this
work."

At another time Shree paraphrased the same message to S.K. Kulkarni, in a voice
full of authority:
"The day We took the vow of resuscitation of Vedas, that very same day it
grew into a giant tree. It pervaded the whole planet. Only an earthly
manifestation remains to be witnessed by you. Satya Dharma (Eternal
Principles of Religion) is not established by S.K. Kulkarni's lectures. Instead, it
is because the establishment of Satya Dharma has already taken place, that he
can give lectures (and people will listen to him)."

On yet another occasion Shree said in reference to the tremendous change which
resulted when He took the vow:
"Don't expect the change to come in a day. The wheels are set in motion.
Changes will be there but they would be experienced slowly. Satya Dharma is
established but what you call practical change takes time."

Interestingly enough, this particular date has been foretold as being significant a
long time back. One Indian saint by name Surdas, a poet who was blind from
birth, foretold the event in a poem written in old Hindi language. In that poem he
declares that in the year "Sanvat 2,000" the time wheel will change and the whole
world will experience the re-establishment of Satya Dharma. This refers to the
date Vikram Sanvat 2,000 of the Hindu calendar which corresponds to the year
1944 AD of the western almanac.

Another well-known saint from Maharashtra state in India, Swámi Ramdas, told
his disciples:
"A king will be born who will be well-read in Vedas and an ardent follower of
Satya Dharma. He will study all the books of sacred knowledge and elucidate
the essence of these books."
In one of his poems he subtly indicated that the actual day of the great change will
be in fact Vijaya Dashmi (Dassera).

So this Vijaya Dashmi day in 1944 is arguably the most important day mankind
has witnessed for the past several thousand years. From this day Satya Dharma
has been re-established by the power and will of the Avatar. The sun has clearly
risen on a New Era. Sunrise was that particular day. That day saw the close of the
previous Age of Darkness which had lasted several millennia and the birth of the
new Golden Age. The new almanacs and calendars will no doubt be reckoned
from that date.

¹  The festival of Dassera is little known outside of India.  It occurs on the tenth day after the new moon of day of the Hindu month of Ashwin, which usually falls some time in September.  Dassera is also known as Vijaya Dashmi.
²  Math may be rendered in English as monastery.  Balappa Math was constructed in Akkalkot by Sadguru Shree Balappa Maharaj, continuing the work of his master, Akkalkot Swami Samarth.
³  Being in the presence of a Guru or holy man.
⁴  Gurus traditionally ask of their disciples a fee of some kind in return for their teachings and guidance.

The energy here is exquisitely beautiful and the climate at the moment (middle of
Indian winter) is also very pleasant.  I have noticed that since I was here last there
are so many birds!  And they are so happy!  Every day they parade before me in
the courtyard where I do Yajnya, as joyful as can be. There are two special larger
birds which every sunrise appear and enjoy the atmosphere of Agnihotra before
leaving.  It is said, in this culture, that if you see these birds at all then it follows
that you will have a good day.  Needless to say, I have had many.

I have been enjoying the gardening.  The local boys who come for work have
joined me in planting vegetables and putting straw and grass all around as mulch.
The veggies are growing beautifully.  This is the only farm in this area that has
grown a cotton crop without the “aid” of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.  The
other farmers say that it is not possible to control the pests without them.  (See
“Cotton Pickin’ Miracle at Tapovan” in the January/February 1999 issue of
Satsang.—Ed.)

I am finding my retreat here very enjoyable and a rest from the busy life in
Australia.  There are so many wonderful books to read also in the new library.  I
am fascinated with the Natural Therapy books expounding on the use of natural
clay as a miracle healer. I have been trying it out on myself, both taken internally
and used externally as a poultice.  I have had noticeable excellent results for
detox.

If there is still some time left in the day I find some brick paving to do to make the
place more attractive and easier to keep clean.  Also, attending to the people from
as far away as Mumbai who have been beating a track to the door to purchase
pyramids and ghee to begin practice of Agnihotra in their own homes keeps me
out of mischief and on my toes.

We are hoping that the May 17th  inauguration of the new Agni Shala and Yajnya
shala will lead to a twenty-four hour round-the-clock continuous fire being done
here.  All it would take is six people staying here for one month at a time.  You
could call it a spiritual retreat.  Think about it and let us know if you are interested.
Please!

You can contact myself or Bruce at Tapovan at:
 Tapovan
 P.O. Ratnapimpri
 Tal: Parola
 Dist.: Jalgaon
 Maharashtra
 India
 Telephone:  91—2597—35—203

• Let the situations in the world come and go.  You do not allow yourself to fall victim to disturbance.  In this world you will always have to face conflict, stress, uncertainty, and resultant confusion.  If you do not utilize the tools given, you will become entangled in a web of confusion.  But if you intensify your meditations, practice repeating Mantra, or Holy Name, you will rise above all these problems with ease.  With ease.

• If you truly become full of love, that alone is sufficient.  Through that love anyone with whom you come in contact will feel the healing vibration of love.  Can you imagine the positive effects if you let go of fear, refuse to give in to anger and maintain a positive state of mind?  Then GRACE escalates.  Love is the most powerful energy available.

• When two people seek to control what is uncontrollable, inevitable disagreements arise.  Let one person take another approach.  Then the whole thing changes.

• Outwardly you blame each other.  Inwardly you blame yourselves.  Better to have full forgiveness of yourselves, of each other and be full of love towards each other.  Don’t say, “Oh!  There is no love here.”  Bring your love here.

•  Never be too tired to become an instrument.  It doesn’t depend on your own strengths or weaknesses.  It all lies in His power.  It is His will.

• You must not lose one precious moment.  Don’t talk about yourself and do not discuss the shortcomings of others.  There is little time.  It is not necessary that you discuss someone else’s faults.  Until you become faultless do not indulge in the habit of finding fault with others.  When you become faultless you will also not do this, as it too is a fault in oneself.

• There are disturbing forces on the planet.  They are affecting everyone.  We must be armed with only one weapon and that weapon is LOVE.  None other will combat the forces of evil.

• All houses in which Agnihotra is performed regularly will be blessed.  No harm will come. 

  ---

In autumn, 1998 we had the pleasure to meet Aleta Macan, who does service in
South America with the Homa Therapy resonance technique to eradicate plant
diseases and bring nature back to harmony.

Aleta Macan giving a class on Homa Therapy at Kriya Yoga Schule, Germany.

She has been a wonderful example of devotion to us.  It was just so fortunate for
me to be in her company and witness talks she held at Werner and Erika
Metzger’s Kriya Yoga Schule in Engen, Germany, and at the Divine Light Center in
Winterthur, Switzerland, as well as to a gathering of farmers in Switzerland.  Her
talks were solely related to the importance of Agnihotra and Yajnya.  She also
shared her own agricultural experiences from Panama, Colombia and other
countries with us.

One more highlight of our visit from Aleta was her performance of Rudra Yajnya
at the Homa Hof in Bankholzen, Germany.

Wolfgang & Aleta performing Rudra yajnya.

Thank you, Aleta.  Come back soon.

(This Rudra Yajnya is very important for seeding the atmosphere with specific
vibrational effects which help plants, animals and human beings to be in
harmony.—Ed.) 

 Some things in life touch all of us deeply.  A campfire is one, music another, a
stream of water with its eddies and backwaters.  In fact, the parts of nature which
affect us most are those where the four “elements” of the ancients—earth, water,
air and fire—are each strongly present.  One example is the beach on a summer
day.  The sand is the earth element, the waves the water, the breeze carrying
spume, clouds and birds the air element and the sun brings the fire.  I remember
as a child the joy of arriving at a beach where I could see so far and wishing I
could be on a boat and go out to sea.  later, when I was able to do that, the
disappointment—it didn’t get better as you went out; the magic was at the
shoreline.  Another example of the four elements in balance is a waterfall on a
sunny day—a rock face and boulders for the earth element, a very active stream
cascading into a pool of water, a mist of water making the air visible and creating
rainbows in the sun.  A magical place to be even when we just picture it in our
imagination.

In the campfire we usually have a few rocks for windbreaks and as hobs for the
pots.  No campfire is complete without the billy boiling for a “cuppa”.  The warmth
of the fire generates its own breeze even on the stillest night, wafting the smoke
and steam hopefully up and away.  Instead of the direct sun we have the fire of
the sun in the fuel we are burning.  In this balance of the four elements we are
drawn away from our “busyness” into a more meditative space as we focus on the
flickering tongues of flame or glowing red embers, and savor the warmth we are
receiving.  How often we regret when the holiday is over and we are back in the
“real” world, that we can’t be nourished spiritually that way ongoing.  The reality
is that we can!

We do it using a simple fire ceremony each sunrise and sunset, which takes about
twenty minutes and sets the mood for our days and nights.  It is the Agnihotra
ceremony described in the book, “Secrets of the Soil”  by Tomkins and
Bird—recommended reading for much more than the Agnihotra chapter.

Basically, Agnihotra is a fire of dried cowdung, using ghee as kindling, in an
inverted copper pyramid with three small steps and a flat bottom, about six inches
square.  The fire is lit a few minutes before sunrise and sunset, and at the EXACT
time , an offering of a pinch of rice is made to the fire as a short mantram is spoken in Sanskrit.  The ceremony comes from the Vedic tradition, the same source as Ayurvedic medicines and yoga, and was revived this century for the purpose of clearing atmospheric pollution and helping us think more clearly.  It has been found to do not only that but to strongly benefit plants growing in the vicinity, and the ash remaining after the fires has quite miraculous properties.

Unless there is something which prevents us, each sunrise and sunset we light the
fire, say the mantra and make the offering, and tune in to what is happening in
nature and in our lives, seeing it from the perspective of the Divinity within us,
desiring what we would like to happen, what changes we would like to make in
ourselves, always with the proviso that it happen only if it is for the highest good.

So why not use a simple candle?  Why go to the bother of getting the right
pyramid, learning a Sanskrit mantra and getting the exact time for the offering of
rice to the fire?

Basically, for two reasons:  One is because God has told us that this is the last
healing tool He gives to humanity, and we have been asked to spread the word to
as many as possible and leave to each person the freedom to take it our leave it.
The second is because we have seen the miracles which ordinary people have
brought into being through the agency of Agnihotra.

To those who may be put off because they see it as a “pagan” fire-worshipping
ceremony, I would ask that you look again.  We may associate the Vedas with
India, but in fact they are universal humanity’s, and Sanskrit is no national
language.  I understand that it predates and forms the basis of several languages
but belongs to everyone. The sun is undeniably the source of all life on Earth and
can be validly used as an image to connect us to the unimaginable Creator God, by
whatever name we choose to call Him or Her.  To my understanding, the relating
of the little ceremonial fire that we bring into existence each time to the
unimaginably huge fire of the sun which we watch in the sky is a powerful analogy
to the spark of Divinity in each human being in relation to God the Father, and
somehow connects us so that absolute miracles happen.

We have met a beautiful being who was a heroin addict for three years until she
watched an Agnihotra ceremony two years ago.  Her experience of the fire gave
her the same “high” that the drug did, but without the corresponding “low”.  She
“cold turkeyed”, hasn’t taken any drug since, and now is very happy with her life.
That is not a unique case.

We have a friend, an Australian woman living in India who had chronic back pain
after the birth of her second child.  The pain was so bad that she could not sleep
well.  Eight months ago we visited her, performed sunset Agnihotra, and
suggested to her husband to rub some of the ash on her back.  She had the first
ten hour sleep that she had had in three years and awoke free from pain.  The
pain has not returned.

As I have a lifetime connection with biodynamics, I was struck by the connection
between biodynamics and Agnihotra.  Both use cowdung.  Biodynamics honors
the annual cycle of the sun in that the dung is buried from autumn to spring, and
the 501 preparation from spring to autumn.  Agnihotra honors the daily cycle of
the sun.  Since the stirring process which BD sprays are subjected to before
application involves making and breaking vortices for one hour before use, it
made sense to me that the Agnihotra ash be stirred the same way.  I found that
after fifteen to eighteen minutes the water cooperated with the stirring in the same
way it does after about fifty minutes with the BD preps, as though the viscosity
increased slightly, so I settled for twenty minutes of stirring for Agnihotra ash
before using it before healing.

One use was with an eleven-year-old boy with severe eczema all over his body.
The doctors had tried everything without success and were recommending
cortisone, which neither the boy nor the mother were happy with.  We suggested
leaving a bowl of tap water in the sun for a few hours and showed the mother how
to create and break vortices.  For twenty minutes before his evening bath she
stirred Agnihotra ash in the bowl of water, then added it to the bath water.  Within
a few days the eczema had completely cleared.

Another use was to clear the energy in a rundown rented farmhouse in N.S.W.  I
pruned and cleaned windows one day and the next day I stirred and sprayed
Agnihotra ash inside the house and outside on the garden.  It happened that my
wife, Mary, was in bed suffering from a severe headache and nausea which we
understood to be the result of psychic attach.  As soon as the spray hit her bed,
the headache cleared and the nausea stopped—instant relief.

Stirred Agnihotra ash was used by a friend in India as an insecticide on a cotton
crop.  The farm workers reported an infestation of cotton weevils in the buds,
saying that if nothing was done there would be no harvest.  We showed them how
to stir the ash and asked them to appeal to the Indian equivalent of Pan for help
with the problem.  The next day there was not one weevil to be found, alive or
dead, and the yield was greater than the previous crop without the use of any
chemicals.  Quite an achievement for cotton!  (See “Cotton Pickin’ Miracle at
Tapovan”, Satsang, January & February 1999.—Ed.)

These are just a few of my own experiences of healing with Agnihotra ash, apart
from the primary purpose of the fire—clearing of pollution.  The ash is often taken
internally with honey or with propolis as an ointment, as a water purifier (it has
cleared blue-green algae infestations), to revive sick plantations (particularly
banana plantations in South America), and so on.

In Australia, if you require the equipment or more information please contact:
The Homa Therapy Association
Narada Ashram
Lot 107 Cedar Creek Rd.
Millfield, NSW  2325
or
Om Shreedham Sanctuary
Lot 6, Wollombi Rd.
Sweetmans Creek, NSW  2325 

Experience with Agnihotra Ash

I thought I would tell of some healing that I attribute to ingesting Agnihotra ash. I
had my second flare-up of arthritis on the knuckle of the  fourth finger of my right
hand about two days ago.  The last time it flared up it was really red, inflamed and
painful, and it stayed that way for several weeks.  On Tuesday evening I was
experiencing the same symptoms.  I ingested some ash on Wednesday morning
and went to work. I did experience some discomfort throughout the day, but it
was not as painful or as inflamed as it had been before. This morning I ingested
some ash and noticed that there was only a little redness and no pain at all. I think
that the ash did the trick.

Brooke Knight
California

Healing with Agnihotra and Yantrams

In June of 1998 I was diagnosed with severe anemia and had to be hospitalized
and given blood transfusions.  I knew this was only a temporary fix and had to
find out some way to naturally nourish my blood, since taking iron tablets
(prescription and natural store kinds) caused my body great distress.  I then
discovered spirulina and blue-green algae and for a while they felt like the answer,
but my body started rejecting them, too (severe anxiety, nervousness, insomnia,
hyperactivity and feelings of being out of balance).  So here I was back to zero
again and praying for answers.  I started doing Agnihotra in September and
decided to take the ash.  The ash was much better than the spirulina and blue-
green algae, but after taking a dose, my eyes would water, I would start sneezing
and my nose would start running.  I decided to try a Yantram as a last hope (and
because I’m so persistent), and IT WORKS.  Now, with Agnihotra and the
Yantram, I have good energy, ability to concentrate and focus, peace and balance!

This is a true blessing and I’m so grateful that I thank God every day for my good
health.

Trudy Hanzmann
California
 

Letter from a new Agnihotri

This is so great!  Last night, the first time we did Agnihotra, as soon as we added
the rice, we felt the enlivening of the atmosphere. I know it's going to make a big
difference in our lives, and I hope that this small act on our part will inspire many
more people to add their little flames to heal the earth and everything on it.

I can tell you, there aren't many things that make me look forward to getting up
before sunrise!

This morning, my husband had a really early appointment and was meditating
when I performed the offering. He said that all the birds started singing like crazy,
and they settled down a few minutes later. He also felt great bliss at this time.
My experience wasn't as strong as the evening before. I kept worrying that the rice
wasn't going to be consumed (it wasn't). But a little bird that skims bugs off of our
pool every morning did not mind either my presence (or the cat's), and came
within eight or ten feet of the pyramid, singing.... He's usually shy and flies off if I
go outside.

I'm sending another post with some questions about correct practice. Thank you
for making this wonderful knowledge available.

Highest regards,
Marylou Brown
California