On Apr 14, 2005, at 12:31 AM, demaris4 wrote:
> Can anyone explain how a yagya works? The basic philosophic underpinning for yagyas are covered in purva-mimansa. According to the tradition coming from Sw. Karpatri and Guru Dev, mimansa tries to establish via symbol, rites, sacrifices (yagnas) and other magical practices, contact with beings who inhabit the subtle worlds--but which typically can not be meditated by other ways. Since these beings often exist in different dimensions of time than our (human) realm, there developed rites which allow harmonious co-participation with this extended environment based on direct insight developed by yogis over time. Some yagyas would be similar to what are called "imitative magi", e.g. the famous horse sacrifice (yajna). The horse was a symbol of fertility and pranic power, so what would happen in the making of a king (raja) was the queen would copulate with a male horse. At the moment of ejaculation, the horse would be slaughtered--the queen thus taking on the vitality of the horse. She would then join with her husband, the king, so he could take on this essence and power. Some sacrifices, such as the horse sacrifice, became quite elaborate--in some cases financially draining entire states. This tendency reached a peak around the time of the historical Buddha called Shakyamuni. The ruling kshatriya class began to resent this imposition of sacrifices by the Brahmin, priestly caste. This is part of the reason that Buddhism had such a rapid rise to power, as the kings, the kshatriyas, saw it as an opportunity to get away from Brahmin domination imposed by the costly yagyas. Other, more typical yagyas, are simply magical rites using mantras and magical diagrams (yantras), etc. So essentially what you are doing with a yagya what you are doing is paying a priest to perform a magical rite on your behalf to appease some aspect of your subtle environment, for your benefit. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
