According to the Rig Vedic mystics, a human being performs an action only because of the assistance s/he gets from the devās RV (5.4.10). As a matter of fact, the contribution of the human to each action is nominal. Even great poets like the Vedic poets obtained inspiration from superior planes and their main contribution is in transcribing the revealed verses in appropriate metres. Yajňa is any activity which recognises the collaboration between the deva and the human. Yajňa is not a mere rite or ritual. A rişhi is conscious of the Divine's Hand in the performance of all activities. The later scripture Bhagavad Gīta specifically mentions the different yajňās by name like yajňa of obtaining material objects, yajňa of obtaining knowledge, yajňa involving self-study and so on. The sages are also conscious of the role of the deva, especially of Agni, so that they request him to perform the yajňa (or the activity) on their behalf.

Let us discuss the various epithets assigned to yajňa beginning with adhvara, journey. Adhvara is derived from adhva path and ra to move. Ritualists regard this word as a synonym for rite since one of the principal priests in the rite is called adhvaryu. The function of the priest is to direct the rite and this function is in tune with the meaning assigned to adhvara. What is this journey? Every action in our life is a step in our journey towards realising the goal, namely bliss, an all-sided perfection of not only the physical body, but the vital and mental bodies, not only an individual perfection but perfection of the entire society. Veda uses the imagery of voyage for yajňa. Just as merchants go in their boats to distant countries and bring valuable treasures from these countries, a person who does yajňa reaches different states of consciousness, gets priceless experiences and brings them back to the ordinary living conditions and thus makes the human life Divine.

The yajňa is also climbing from one peak to another, from one degree of perfection to another, (1.10.2). It is explicitly stated that we are not consciously aware of the entire journey. We can know only of what can be done at that stage. Whenever help is needed in this climb, the devās again manifest and help us along.

Yajňa is also a battle. We have mentioned only helpful powers of the nature, the devās. There are also the powers that hinder our journey towards perfection. These powers are called dasyus, the thieves or destroyers, Vŗtra and Vāla being prominent among them. These dasyus impede our progress. They are called ayajvānaĥ, people who do not recognise the principle of collaboration or yajňa. They foster in human beings, who come under their influence, qualities like jealousy, greed etc. The human collaborators call upon the devās to battle these adversaries. Hence yajňa is also a battle.

Yajňa is a rite or ritual too, which is a symbolic physical representation of the various steps involved in collaboration. The ritual begins with the invocation of Agni by lighting the physical fire. The dry fuel samit is fed to the fire as representing all the qualities which are not necessary or not appropriate. The fire is nourished by the ghee which symbolises mental clarity. The Soma herb which stands for the bliss released in all actions is also offered to Agni as well as rice and grains. These are some of the steps in the famous Soma rite.

Every rite has four priests namely hotŗ, adhvaryu, udgātŗ and brahma, whose names indicate their functions. Hotŗ is the deva who calls all the other devās to come and participate in the divine activity yajňa. Adhvaryu lays down the various steps in the successful performance of the yajňa. Udgātŗ is the deva who chants the prescribed mantrās in the appropriate metres at requisite times. In RV there is no mention of the four faced creator-god of that name, Brahma. In the Veda brahma always stands for the mantra, the potent Word. Brahma is the priest who presides over the entire yajňa and makes sure that everything is performed in the correct manner. In the RV, it is the deva Agni who performs all these functions in the psychological yajňa, the collaborative and co-creative actions of the devās and the humans.

The goal of the inner yajňa is perfection of all our faculties, those of the physical body, those connected with our life energy such as passions, emotions, attitudes, ideals, etc, and those connected with the mental domain such as intelligence, analytical ability, intuition, discrimination between Truth and Falsehood, etc.

Yajňa is a collaborative effort between the Gods, the cosmic powers and human being. Each God is associated with a particular psychological faculty, Agni with the power of Divine Will, Indra with the Divine Mind and actions, Soma with Delight, Uşha with the initial Dawn of spiritual ideas, etc.

Gods are eager to extend their help to aspiring human beings. If we invoke a particular deity with faith with an appropriate hymn of Rig Veda fully knowing its deeper meaning then that deity is sure to respond to the call. If the aspirant's body is able to bear the power, the deity will plant a seed of his power and this seed will grow continuously. Sometimes the aspirant feels no effect. For instance, a student who has no mental aptitude will not feel any effect if he recites with faith the famous gāyatrī mantra invoking intelligence from Savitŗ. In this case the body of the aspirant, physical or mental, is not able to bear the power that Savitŗ wants to give, and hence Savitŗ will keep quiet.

The preparation and maturing of the body can be done by an inner yajňa. The Taittirīya Samhitā has several inner yajňas like darshapūrņamāsau, agnişhţoma etc., which are in the first kāņda. Once one of these yajnās is done the body can bear the power which the deity can pour down. These inner yajňas involve the use of the ŗk mantrās, yajus mantrās or sāma mantrās.

Another type of yajňa is the harmonisation of all the faculties. We will give some details of each of these two type of Yajnās from the Taittirīya Samhitā.

In the inner yajňa, all the actions are done in the subtle body of the yajamāna, i.e., the yajamāna is not the outward-acting human being, but the soul. There is no need for any external or material offerings mentioned above. Recall the brāhmaņa passage, "yajňo vai vişhņu'', i.e., yajňa is Vişhņu, or, yajňa pervades everything. Also yajňa is done by yajňa,

"yajnena yajňam ayajanta'',

[TS (3.5.11), RV (10.90.16)]

The subtle body of the yajamāna has the fire-altar vedi along with the fire. Yajamāna himself is also the pashu.

Aitareya Brāhmaņa (11.11) emphasises that yajňa is essentially a mental act; all the chants and physical acts that are involved must really be transformed into thoughts and resolves, for all speech and action are founded on thought. "manasā vai yajňas tāyate manasā kriyate''; tāyatemana means to extend the range of mind (vistāryate) according to Sāyaņa.

TS itself gives details about how the inner yajňa should be conducted. The different prapāţhakās of TS give different ways of performing the inner yajňa. I will choose the darshapūrņamāsau yajňa in the first prapāţhaka of the first kāņda, TS (1.1). It has fourteen anuvākās. It is done on every full moon and new moon day.

Inner yajňa in TS (1.1)

The first anuvāka begins with the mantra işhe-tvā-ūrjetvā (you for impulsion and you for abounding force). It is addressed by the yajamāna to the universal prāņa energy deity, vāyu. The whole anuvāka of eight short mantrās, ŗk and yajus, is a call for assembling all the knowledge needed for the inner yajňa. pashu stands for the ray of knowledge derived from the root pash, to see.

The inner yajňa is performed by the cosmic powers or deities Indra, Agni etc. They begin with the proclamation 'yajňasya ghoshadasi'. The Gods are prayed to take their seats on the seats fashioned by mantra, manunā kŗta [TS (1.1.2)]. It is crafted by the intrinsic law of each entity, the self-law, svadhā, 'that which bears it.'

Recall that according to TS (1.7.4), yajňa itself is the supreme deity, Vişhņu. In the third anuvāka there is a prayer for the yajňa for the manifestation of delight, one of the chief aims for performing the yajňa. The delight coming from Soma is described as (madhumattama), supremely honeyed, spread with Truth (ŗtāvari).

The next several anuvākās deal with preparing the body, both the physical and subtle, for the performance of yajňa. Interestingly enough, simple yajňas are called as pāka yajňa in the brāhmaņa passages, i.e., yajňa which matures (pāka) the body. Our petty emotions, passions, feelings and adverse forces like kāma (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (delusion), mada (arrogance) and mātsarya (jealousy) prepare a thick veil or covering over our inner soul and prevent its light from reaching the outer body; in ignorance the body does stupid things. This covering is like the husk of the rice grain or paddy (vr¤hi); which should be removed.

The anuvāka 4 is a prayer for the two principal cosmic powers of this yajňa, Agni and Soma. Agni is the Divine will and seer (kavi), Soma is the lord of the Divine Delight which upholds everything.

Anuvāka 5 deals with the purification of the physical body so that the cosmic powers can enter, grow in the body and manifest their powers as a child grows in the womb. The purifying agency is dhūrva which is the incense in the ritual. The prayer here "dhūrasi......'' in TS (1.1.4) is recited even today in all religious festivals when the incense stick is lighted. It offers protection against the hostiles who do not like the humans to enjoy (arātiyata). It ends with a prayer to Agni to protect it. The covering has to be removed by force of will invoking Agni and the force of mind invoking Indra.

In the next step, the entire body has to be integrated and firmed up. It is viewed as a support, skambha, to the heaven [TS (1.1.6)]. By the force of inward breath (prāņa) and outward breath (apāna), the primal life-energy prāņa is made to reach all the organs of both the gross and subtle bodies in us. Note that breath or outside air is not prāņa.

Next step (anuvāka 9) is the recognition of the fire inside supported by knowledge, the inner fire-altar (vedi). It is the power of will and uses the body which has been firmed up for further work. Its first step is to mature the body for further work (anuvāka 10).

Next, the role of the Gods as world- builders is recognized (anuvāka 12). By world we mean the manifestation of powers and its activities. For example, giving is an important activity. It involves acquisition of the required felicities or resources like knowledge, love, wealth, etc. Then there is the problem of finding the appropriate person to receive the knowledge or felicities or riches. Then there is the mode of transferring of the gift, i.e., teaching, etc. All these different but related activities constitute the world of giving. Obviously it is a vast structure where it takes years, even decades, to make even small progress, let alone perfection. We feel we are praying for the benefit of all, all of whom we may not even know.

Finally there is the consciousness of some progress in our spiritual body. We feel consciously the grace from above which floods the body. We feel the aura of protection (ava) which supports us (bhŗta). For the ritualists, avabhŗta is the concluding shower of water on the yajamāna. The inner yajňa ends with the adoration of the deities with the Rig Vedic mantrās which always occur in the last anuvāka.

Harmonisation of all faculties (TS 4.1)

(agnichayana with bird-shaped altar (shyenachit))

First of all we should become conscious of each and every part of our body, their functions and the relationship of each part to others. For example, become aware of the outer eye which sees, the associated inner organ of the eye which records the image seen and the part of the mind which interprets the meaning of the image and files it accordingly, and if necessary it activates the other parts of mind like the manas to take specific action. Then we firm up the operations by invoking the control of prāņa, prāņāyāma, whose outer forms are the breathing exercises. Then the collectivity of the body, subtle and gross, is a vehicle of knowledge vedi, which later became known as the fire-altar.

The cosmic power symbolised by the fire carries the collectivity or ensemble to the world of Light, suvar or svar, offers each part to the appropriate God who perfects it. Agni returns with the perfected ensemble. This is the journey of yajňa mentioned in hundreds of Rig Vedic verses. adhvara is the journey or pilgrim journey. svar is not really outside of us. It is within, it is the sahasradala, the thousand-petalled centre of the tantrics. Of course one such attempt will not give us the complete perfection. We need several more.

We give the quotation TS (4.1.10). It is also in Shukla Yajur Veda VS (12.4).

TS (4.1.10):

"You are a bird of golden wings (suparņa) capable of going up (ut) (to the higher realms) and modelling it (māna). Your head is threefold (trivŗtta) (worlds of matter, life and mind); your eye is gāyatra (all the hymns which have the power of saving). Your wings are the bŗhat and rathāntara Sāma hymns; your soul is the stoma (ŗk mantrās); your organs are the rhythms or metres (chhandas); your name is yajus; Sāma hymns of Vāmadeva are your body; your tail is the works done as yajňa and those which are not yajňa, i.e., those to be avoided (yajňayajniyam), your hooves are the masters of knowledge (dhişhņiyā). You, the suparņa and garutman, go to heaven (divah) and return (pata) from the world of Light (svar).''

The next anuvāka TS (4.1.11) gives the benefit of harmonisation. It contains several famous mantrās including (i) Gāyatri mantra and (ii) Sarasvatī mantra.

The gāyatrī mantra addressed to Savitŗ is same as RV (3.62.10).

"On the excellent splendour of the Lord Savitŗ, we meditate;
May he activate (prachodayāt) our intelligence.''

The mantra [TS (1.4.11)] is same as RV (1.3.10) addressed to Sarasvati, the Goddess of speech and inspiration.

"She, who is the impeller of auspicious truths
And the awakener of all happy thoughts,
May that Sarasvati uphold the yajňa.''

Our body is in a position to accept the powers to be bestowed by Savitŗ and Sarasvati.

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