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A glimpse of the goal

A couple of helicopters took off from the airport in Manila that lovely autumn afternoon taking a few devotees to the Yagnasala in the Lubang Island in the Philippines. As diplomats, we were the lucky ones to ride the helicopter with the prohita of the Yagna, Rev. Swami Chinmayananda who was on a special mission to conduct the first Jnana yagna cum retreat in that country.

The yagna was a popular ritual of the Vedic age. The people under the guidance of a prohita, the Vedic priest, assembled in the hermitages along the banks of the Ganga to perform the yagna.

Both men and women tended the blazing sacrificial fires in a spirit of sharing and surrender, offering a mixture of nine grains, ghee, milk, grass, fruits and wood while chanting the Vedic mantras.

The whole ritual was a prayer, an invocation to the Lord in a spirit of yagna - "Lokaah samastaah sukino bhavantu," for the community's happiness, for the nation's glory and for the welfare of the world. All prayed and made their offerings together without attachment and egocentric desires in the true spirit of yagna.

Unfortunately, this grand spirit behind the yagna gradually faded away.

Swami Chinmayananda in more recent times brought it back into our mundane lives, homes and work places. His yagnas take the form of spiritual discourses where the Vedantic truths are taught.

The island of Lubang played host to the first Chinmaya yagna and retreat in the Philippines. At this yagna, discipline was paramount. A few hundred people from different strata of society were present. At the inaugural session, Swamiji insisted that we should assemble in the yagnasala in time - not a minute late; no smoking, no lounging.

In the course of time all of us, Hindus and non-Hindus, the curious and the genuine, the sincere and the agnostic learnt to enjoy the quiet disciplined atmosphere prevailing in the yagnasala, dining hall and dormitories of the Training College we were housed in.

It gave us an opportunity to watch Swamiji's expressions and gestures at close quarters. His tall, thin and frail figure with flowing beard and sparkling eyes in ochre robes was impressive.

At 6 a.m. the following day the participants assembled for Swamiji's guided meditation. This was a wonderful experience for all of us with his imposing presence and baritone voice guiding us through the intricacies of meditation beginning with the chanting of the mantra "Om...Om...Om...” long and vibrant, sending a thrill down the spine.

All was still that crisp autumn dawn. Swamiji explained the significance of the peace invocation as being one that is chanted daily to our own higher self, which would lessen all agitations and establish peace within ourselves. This would gradually remove the veil of ignorance.

Swamiji chose two simple texts - at the yagna in the evenings he spoke on the Gita - chapter XII. We sang with him in chorus, sloka after sloka as he explained each verse. He taught us that Bhakti yoga is the path of devotion where devotion becomes the devotee's identification with his Ishta Devata. By worshipping him with intense love and dedicating all actions to Him, we attain salvation.

In the morning with japa, the text was the Kenopanishad. The B.M.I. (body, mind, intellect) chart and the long stick pointer became very familiar to us over those four days and he kept us alert and vigilant.

He spoke of being conscious of our duties and that work with surrender and devotion leads us to the goal of human life. To listen to his profound wisdom was ennobling as he used the most contemporary examples to illustrate the various concepts. These study sessions were interspersed with the singing of bhajans.

Though Swamiji did not introduce the 'fire ritual,' at this yagna, the Nambiars who accompanied the Swami, related vividly the ritual, and the legacy, from the Vedic period.

In the early yagnas, the turf was specially prepared for this ritual with flowers, grain, ghee and other puja materials. A priest would recite the mantra offering the oblations into the fire. The devotees repeat the mantra and at the end, each makes an offering into the fire - in reality offering one's ego and negative tendencies into the fire.

The ashes would be the prasad, the grace received from the Lord of the ritual. This was the yagna done with materials - dravya yagna, while the yagna that Swamiji was conducting was jnana yagna as means of self-purification through spiritual discourses.

During the yagna in the Philippines, Swamiji replaced the fire ritual with an archana, the offering of flowers together with the chanting of the Name of the Lord.

The last day of our yagna was a day of offering unto the Guru of the yagna - Guru dakshina - or the exchange of love offerings.

Swamiji himself came down from the dais and walked majestically amidst the devotees sprinkling water on us. To us it was a kind of baptism to reconvert ourselves to the purity of Hinduism with the blessing of the Master.

With the chanting of the final Peace Sloka the curtain came down on the spiritual session, leaving the devotees richer and purer than when we left Manila for the yagna sala.

"All that the Teacher can supply is a clear vision of what is involved, a glimpse of the goal to be achieved and logical arguments to convince the student of the blessedness and perfection of both the God and the path but each one must walk the path by himself."

Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!