YAJNA FOR AGE OF KALI.

Our family is Family of Krishna, Family of Gauranga! Jai Sri Ram!! Family of Sri Ram.

And we say “family that chants together, stays together.” Chanting of ‘Hare Krishna’ is a prayer. Mentally we are all one. We have one vision; we have one goal.

Eko dev devaki putra Eva. (Geeta Mahatmya from Padma Purana)

For all of us Devaki-putra is our Aaradhya Dev. All of us have one Dev.

Ekam sastram Devaki-putram gitam. For all of us there at One scripture i.e. “Srimad Bhagvad-Gita As It Is” one scripture for all. Mantra ekam tasya namani yani. For all of us there is one mantra. This mantra is full of Lord’s Names.

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA
RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

For the whole world, one mantra. That is ‘Hare Krishna Mahamantra’.

Karma api ekam tasya devasya Seva. ( Gita Mahatmya verse 6). For all of us one activity. What is that activity??

Tasya devasya Seva. Tasya devaki putrasya Seva.

Service unto the lotus feet of Devaki or Son of Nand Baba & Yashoda. So, like that. Family that prays together, stays together.

Yadnyarthat karma Anya lokayam karmabandhanha (BG 3.9)

Krishna said in Bhagvad-Gita, yadnyarthat karma. We should be performing activity, or whatever we do, should be for Yajna. Yadnyarthat karma. All activities should be dedicated to Yajna. Swaha! Yadnyarthat… anyartha – otherwise. Lokoyam karma bandhanha. Perform every activity as an offering to the Lord. If it is not done that way, then that activity will become cause of our binding. To get more into Maya. We go further away from the Lord. Yadnyarthat karmano – all activities for karma. Lord is also called Yajna or Yajna-purush. One of the name of the Lord is ‘Yajna’. Same Lord said in Bhagavad Gita, in 10th chapter, yajnyanam japa yajnosmi (BG 10.25) – of all the sacrifices -japa yajnaha asmi. Aham japa yajnaha asmi. Lord said , ‘japa yajna, that is Myself.’ Of all the Yajnas, Japa Yajna is most important. He said, ‘That Japa-yajna is Me’. So during Chanting sessions, we become Japa-yogis. Who are we? What is our ID? We are Japa-yogis. Lord says, this Japa is Me & I am the Japa.

Jai Sri Ram. At the time of Ram Chandra, krte dyayate Vishnum tretayam yajato makhai (SB 12.3.52 ). In Treta Yuga, way to realize the Lord, the process in Treta yuga is Yajna. Tretayam means in Treta Yuga. Getayam means in Bhagvad Gita, like that. So Tretayam yajato makhai. In Treta Yuga you will realize the Lord by process of Yajna. Lord Sri Ram appeared to establish that kind of Dharma. Dharma Sansthapanarthay (BG 4.8) that is why, when he was just a young boy , sage Viswamitra had come. No no! Please come! Please come! Dasharath I need your sons, Ram & Laxman. What for?? They are just children of unshodasha varshiya (15 years) & you want to take them to the forest? Sage said, they would protect the fire sacrifice. They would establish & protect the fire sacrifice.

So Lord had appeared as Sri Ram for Dharma sansthapanarthay – to protect Dharma of that age. Dharma of age of Treta yuga is Swaha! Swaha!! There used to be the Agnihotra & Agni kunda, Ahuti & offerings & like that.

Tretayam yajato makhai so to protect the dharma of that yuga, Ram & Laxman both went with Viswamitra.

So those kind of yajnas were very very expensive. In Hastinapur Rajasuya yajna was going to take place. Yudhisthir maharaj sent his brothers in four different directions, to gather lot of wealth. Arjuna was successful in collecting lot of Dhan (wealth), so his name became Dhananjay- the conqueror of wealth, Gatherer of wealth. So not only wealth, but you need lot of preparations. Big field etc. Yajna of those days used to be a big or mega event. Sometimes 108 kundas were required. There used to be lot of Invitations & guests would come in large number to participate in that Yajna. Qualified Brahmins are required to carry out such Yajna. You need accommodation for guests, you need to feed them properly. So it used to be a big endeavour. This is not possible in this age of Kali. Specially not possible by non qualified Brahamins.

Kalau shudra sambhavaha- Kali is full of Shudras. Treta yuga was full of Brahmans. Satya yuga had lots of Brahmanas. Treta Yuga had little lesser in numbers. Much more lesser number of Brahmins were there in Dwapar Yuga & the least number of Brahmanas you will find in Kali Yuga. People perform yajnas even in the age of Kali. But they don’t get the results.

I remember, thirty years ago, I was in Ahmedabad & at Sabarmati river, there 1008 Kundiya yajna was to be performed. I was in ‘Narad Muni Sankirtan party’ travelling & preaching & distributing books. Then we saw big big pandal & lot of loud speakers etc. So we had gone to visit the yagyashala.

I will explain my experience briefly. It was winter time, as we were moving around yagyashala there, we found one purohit (brahmana), he was making offering of ghee with one hand – Swaha! Swaha!! But in the other hand we saw there was a ‘bidi’(cigarette). He didn’t lit it with matchbox or something. Fire was right there. So he lit his bidi in the fire of Yajna. Those were winter days, fire of Yajna was giving him warmth from outside but he wanted to have some heat, internally also. He was making two kinds of offerings, one into the fire & other into the mouth for self. Atmendriya Priti vanchha tar bale kam (CC Adi 4.165). For own sense satisfaction he was making offering of smoke of bidi.

So this is a state of affairs of Yajnas. There is also difficulty to find all the pure ingredients, pure ghee etc. Nowadays, we find only Dalda. Not only Dalda but in that also animal fat is added. So it is not possible to perform those kinds of Yajnas. So taking in consideration all such situations of Kali yuga, about what is possible in this age & what is not possible, Lord has given us another kind of Yajna. Name of that Yajna is Japa-yajna.

[Haribol! Don’t sleep! We are not supposed to sleep in the Yajna. If you sleep during Japa-yajna, then Yajna is finished. Then you will not get the Yajna-phal, i.e. benefit of the Yajna. So we should not sleep during this Yajna. Soega wo khoega! (One who sleeps will be looser, won’t get benefit of Yajna)]

So yajna of Kali Yuga is much simpler & cheaper version, it’s free. Easiest Yajna is Japa-yajna. If we wish wish to begin the Japa-yajna, take your mala which lot of time is hanging around your neck, wherever you are, sit down as doing japa in standing state is not the good thing to do, you can stand & dance in Kirtan & begin Chanting ‘Hare Krishna’. Such a simple thing.

In three seconds , you can begin this Yajna.

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA
RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

So we had been giving guidance regarding this through japa & during Japa-talk. That is for guiding how to improve Japa, how it can be done attentively. So every day we talk something about Japa. To conclude we can say one thing, it’s from Bhagavatam, the talk of Yajna, specially Chanting or offering Mantras, it could be said in essence (listen properly) Chanting & hearing of ‘Hare Krishna’ Mahamantra that we do acts like a bow. Living entity or the chanter becomes arrow. Mahamantra which is Lord Himself acts like a bow & the chanter takes part as an arrow. Radha Giridhari’s lotus feet becomes the target of this arrow. When we shoot, there is always a target, right? Goal is to throw that arrow & make sure that arrow lands at the lotus feet of the Lord. Or next to the Lord, being in association of the Lord, & doing his service.

Contemplate on this. Remember what we are doing while Chanting & what is its Goal.

Okay. We will meet again another day. Gaur Premanande Hari Hari bol!!