Akanda Jyoti - Our ever burning lamp is herewith offered to all the Rishis known and identified and those not known. Vedic wisdom has been passed down through many great sages who were free from the bindings of this world. Their minds were connected to the inifine ocean of wisdom within, their light will radiate for all eternity. With eternal gratitude we keep this lamp burning in their honor.
Ayurveda (Devanagari: आयुर्वेद ) or ayurvedic medicine is a form of alternative medicine in use primarily in the Indian subcontinent. The word "Ayurveda" is a tatpurusha compound of āyus "life" and veda "knowledge", and would roughly translate as the "Science of Life". Ayurveda deals with the measures of healthy living, along with therapeutic measures that relate to physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony. Ayurveda is also one among the few traditional systems of medicine involving surgery.
The ancient Vedic sages viewed the Earth[Bhu Matha - Mother Earth] as a divine goddess, a being who had feelings and consciousness, and who responded to our prayers and actions. The sages sang beautiful hymns of gratitude to Mother Earth, wished her peace in rhythmic peace prayers, and also performed elaborate fire ceremonies for her peace and happiness.
Jyotisha (jyotiṣa, in Hindi and English usage Jyotish) is the Hindu system of astrology, one of the six disciplines of Vedanta, and regarded as one of the oldest schools of ancient astrology to have had an independent origin, affecting all other schools in and around India. The Sanskrit word derives from jyótis (disjointed as "Ja"+"Ya"+"O"+"T"+"ish" to get the root meaning as "water or birth"+"in addition to" + "earth" and "stars" + "knowledgeable" equating as one who is knowledgeable, or enlightened with knowledge, of birth, fate, and relationship to water, earth and stars) or which means "light, brightness", but in the plural also "the heavenly bodies, planets and stars".
Around the world there are special places where spiritual energies are more concentrated. In this section we take you on outer journeys to these places through various authors so you may experience a little of their magic.
Four systems of organic farming are prevalent in India: Biodynamic Krishi, Rishi Krishi, Panchgavya Krishi and Agnihotra Krishi. Biodynamic Krishi has a strict sowing and planting calendar. Rishi Krishi involves boomi sanskar and application of amrit pani.
Vaastu Shastra (aka Sthapatya Veda and Vastu) is the ancient Vedic science of design and architecture. It is a detailed science of how to place and construct buildings for harmonious life on earth.
The world has and continues to be blessed with spiritual saints who, through Divine inspiration, offer us deep and profound spiritual insights to uplift and inspire in us to live a life of Higher Consciousness.
A look into the basics of Vedic culture and its philosophy.
Many people do not know quite what it is, and it is often described incorrectly by many who are not a part of it. However, it is not as mysterious or complex as it is often portrayed to be.
Yagya is the science of purification of the atmosphere through the agency of fire given through Vedas, the ancienmost body of knowledge known to humankind.
Vedic Society is a worldwide project dedicated to make today's world more harmonious for all through the eternal wisdom of Vedic science. Vedic science does not change through time it is like a gem ever in same form as it is revealed from inner perceptions by Rshis./
Agnihotra is a beautiful home practice that anyone can do anywhere. When I say anyone I really mean it, I have a remarkable friend who sadly lost both his limbs when he was in his late teens he was a young man from Austria. When he was recovering in hospital someone came to demonstrate Agnihotra and from that time he has performed it regularly without any limbs.
Agni is fire, fire is not just fire as we imagine it when someone says the word fire but all transformation and the underlying principal of transformation means one substance becoming another is agni. Agni is needed for the entire creation to exist. The very act of creation comes to life because of Agni. In Vedic tradition ‘Agni’ is a ‘Dev’ or a prime aspect of the creation and also another way of understanding god as where ‘Agni’ is ‘God’ is and Agni is one of the subtle qualities of God.
In our solar system Agni is very much personified by the Sun. Without the sun our human body could not exist nor any of the plants or life forms on planet earth. If the sun just stopped for short while all “life” would cease. The sun is radiating intelligent fire prana from its core out to all around. It is one of countless stars but in our solar system its presence is empirical to our life. Trees consume and store this Agni from the sun and create great renowned structures this is nothing but son of the sun.
Our physical bodies are comprised of the food we eat and this comes from the sun. So our body is just re-organized Agni. If we awaken to the presence of Agni around us we understand the world in a much deeper way. Ultimately Agni will take all as through time and transformation we get what we call physical “death” where our body will no longer be containing the soul and ultimately the body returns back to the earth through Agni.
So to understand Agni is to understand life itself. Agnihotra is a Vedic practice to prepare a special fire from sacred substances. In Vedic science when a substance was “sacred” this would mean that it had immense value to energising and purifying the atmosphere and our consciousness. Sandalwood is a good example of the most “sacred” of woods. After 30 years the Sandalwood tree gives a fragrance that is nothing but heavenly. The inate intelligence of the tree forms this special substance that is known from Ayurvedic texts to be able to cure countless diseases. The smoke cleans the physical atmosphere removing bad odour and also cleans the vibrational atmosphere. Soma, Agni and Marut are the three basic principals of nature Soma being the cooling lunar essence, Agni being transformation and Marut being the animation of it all, what is also called Prana. In Ayurveda these are also called Kapha, Pitta and Vata. The prior names are more ancient and also the names of Devatas or facets of the gem so to speak the gem being the totality of all. When one sees all facets, one can subsequently grasp the gem itself.
So Sandalwood would be a sacred wood and it happens to have a very special vibrational fingerprint. Modern scientists can make chemical smells that are similar to the original like vanillin as a copy of vanilla, but the vibrational intelligence that is underlying the “fragrance” is what can not be copied, this is from the heart of the Divine in the countless forms that the Divine energy takes.
So with Agnihotra a sacred fire is prepared. Sandalwood can be used if it is available or affordable (at time of writing it is nearly as dear as gold itself). Most common is to use dried cow dung cakes. Since millennia cow dung has been used in daily living it is the basis of Rishi Krishi agriculture which fed India since the beginning of its history, it is used in Ayurveda and is renowned in such formulae such as Panchagavya Grtham which is exemplary for unmade or chronic mental disorders. The floors of homes in Indian villages are all “sterilised” with cow dung. What an amazing magic, the cow’s excrement is actually anti-bacterial and once it dries it has a remarkable and beautiful fragrance.
One of the oldest incenses in existence is simply to dry cow dung and burn it. The smoke is highly medicinal, now the modern labs will show it has so many special effects but Rishis new its value as they understood the cow. The cow is a highly magnificent creature. The reason cows became “sacred” as in reality all creatures are “sacred” was because the Rishis understood it’s magnificence, the wonderment of it’s immense value to society on so many levels that they had to make it stand out that this should be protected, at all costs. Of course this does not mean one can worship cows but neglect other animals. Each and every creature has the Divine spark.
So once the fire is going an “offering” is made which is where the word “hotra” comes into play. The offering is simply an advanced form of smoke therapy on its very basic level. The offering is of cow’s ghee and whole rice. In other forms of Agnihotra other “offerings” are there, it is always a substance that has a particular vibrational fingerprint and when consummated by the fire it’s smoke and residual ashes will contain much potency. With Agnihotra one does the offering at a time that nature is extremely charged, the time of exact sunrise and sunset.
Did you notice how excited all nature gets at the time of sunset and sunrise. Time was taken seriously in the Vedic calendar and the calendar itself followed the very rhythms of nature’s cycles. So at the exact juncture of day to night or night to day there was a special flood of prana to the entire creation. Firstly the cycle is changing so there is a phase change for the entire planet. This phase change creates more harmony and coherence. This is why people often find sunrise and sunset very romantic.
From a Jyotish perspective Sun rise is sun in the 1st house in the place of source of beginning and of soft and powerful strength. Sunset means sun is in the 7th house, sunsets are often romantic times, romantic just means a time for falling in love it could be with a person or with God. So this time is a good time to fall in love with God. The absolute dance of colours that come which are all within our own physiology is a reminder of the source of all. All this creation is just different intelligent forms of vibration. We call it light or we call it sound but it is just vibration, intelligent vibration.
So there is the fire burning, the offering and the exact timing.
The final ingredient is the chanting of a mantra.
Sound is just a vibration that is within a specific frequency range (our ears here say from 20Hz to 15,000 Hz or a bit more if lucky or younger). Hz just means sine waves or cycles per second, pulsed intelligent frequencies.
Sanskrit was engineered that through the sounds the pulses would be perfect and coherent and represents the pulses of the creation itself. So when we opened our mouth to “chant” means reproduce a Sanskrit sound, we were tuning ourselves to the source of the creation. A recent study by a Sanskrit institute found the sound paters of recorded Sanskrit when analysed had waves within waves of the same mathematical formulae that life itself is using for all. This is called Golden Mean.
So by creating coherent harmonious pulsed vibration (called mantra) we get a specific effect. So when doing Agnihotra, this offering to the sacred fire, we offer the sound too.
And finally the offering is done in a specific vessel; its measurements are not abstract, but perfect ratios. The word Pyramid means fire inside and the offering is performed in a pyramid. Fire was inside a pyramid as the triangular shape is ideal as an amplifier or condenser depending which way you sit it. If sit with the small base on the bottom it will amplify like a sound speaker will amplify as it directs the prana upwards and outwards no matter what it’s form is. With Agnihotra the form is the substance being burnt (cow dung), rice, ghee and dung. Also trace amounts of the copper which the pyramid is made from are released. So it is a powerful home alchemy of purifying the world around us.
Subsequently the performer also gets much benefit by “living” in the purified atmosphere. The released smoke is highly fragrant (the ghee gives it a particular sweetness) and very pleasing to all around physical beings, birds, insects, trees and all that we can not see too.
NOTES:
If you wish to learn Agnihotra then you can start by downloading our free software which has an interactive tutorial which will teach you and also give you easy reminders on your computer (or mobile). This software was produced by Vedic Society for a better world. If you enjoy it please contribute to continuing more projects like this.
You will also need to order Agnihotra equipment which we can send to you wherever you are on planet earth.
A simple program that has been designed to help spread the beautiful healing practice of Agnihotra around the globe. This software calculates your Agnihotra timesheet and runs on your computer reminding you daily of the correct Agnihotra time. If you are new to Agnihotra it can teach you the mantras and the practice./
Awakening to the wisdom of Jyotish is awakening to the invisible laws that underly this creation. We are constantly being influenced by the rhythms of the creation we call them months, years or days and so much more and these are simply cycles caused by the planets and the sun. The stars which are much further and are a dance of distant suns also create their own field of resonance that is silent but very much heard if you go out of the city life and visit the vast open spaces where starlight can still be seen. All of these planetary and stellar songs of light weave the tapestry of what we call time. From a point of pure awareness there is no time but in the relative world of day and night and the cycling of the earth around the sun and the moon around the earth we get what we call time. Understanding even the basics of Jyotish is like awakening from a long deep sleep to see there is a world that is bigger than our world, brighter, clearer and more beautiful and it's always there for you to see, if you simple remove the blindfold./
The Vedic approach to learning is to learn from inside out. Knowledge is carried by teachers who embody the knowledge. If one is to study Ayurveda one should approach one who is a living example of Ayurveda, not just one who knows some theories and can recite the shlokas. I met a renowned “professor” of Ayurveda one day who would call his son on the house downstairs on his mobile phone. I remarked to him that he is no professor of Ayu-Veda or life knowledge and he asked why I deem so and I explained that if he does not have the basic understanding of what is good for his own health (means microwaving his head daily for no good reason) then how can he profess to even understand the most basic concept of Ayurveda. He might be able to stand in front of a class of fools and fool them but the Rishis who gave the wisdom of Ayurveda deserved more that one would embody this wisdom.
In ancient times knowledge acquisition was a very hands on experience where one would literally live with, serve and be 24 hours with the “guru”. This would allow the guru to observe the student and find the points that needed development better and understand the gurus approach to life, work, reality in a total immersion way. So sadly when “modern” education came, people soon forgot this precious master, disciple method of education and traded it in for the flashy teacher classroom model. It can’t work well for imparting the deepest of truths. Sadly the real and genuine teachers are few and far between now. But that is no reason to throw in the towel here at Vedic Society we are dedicated to reawakening true heart based education for all aspects of Vedic wisdom. Vedic wisdom is a vast ocean of knowledge all leading to the realization of the absolute truth and of living a life of absolutely harmony with ones self, ones society and the entire creation./
A mantra (Devanāgarī मन्त्र) (or mantram) is a religious or mystical syllable or poem, typically from the Sanskrit language. Their use varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra. They are primarily used as spiritual conduits, words or vibrations that instill one-pointed concentration in the devotee. Other purposes have included religious ceremonies to accumulate wealth, avoid danger, or eliminate enemies. Mantras originated in the Vedic religion of India, later becoming an essential part of the Hindu tradition and a customary practice within Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. The use of mantras is now widespread throughout various spiritual movements which are based on, or off-shoots of, the practices in the earlier Eastern religions.
Mantras are interpreted to be effective as sound (vibration), to the effect that great emphasis is put on correct pronunciation (resulting in an early development of a science of phonetics in India). They are intended to deliver the mind from illusion and material inclinations. Chanting is the process of repeating a mantra./
Nakshatra or lunar mansion is one of the 27 divisions of the sky, identified by the prominent star(s) in them, used in Jyotish.
Each nakshatra represents a division of the ecliptic similar to the zodiac (13°20’ each instead of the 30° for each zodiac sign). The orbit of the moon is 27.3 days, so the Moon takes approximately one day to pass through each nakshatra.
The starting point for the nakshatras is the point on the ecliptic directly opposite to the star Spica called Chitra in Sanskrit. It is called Meshadi or the "start of Aries". The ecliptic is divided into each of the nakshatras eastwards starting from this point.
The list of Nakshatras is found in the Vedic texts (AV 19.7; Taittiriya Samhita) and also in the Shatapatha Brahmana. The first astronomy text that lists them is the Vedanga Jyotisha of Lagadha.
In Hindu mythology, the Nakshastras were invented by Daksha and are personified as daughters of the deity and as mythological wives of Chandra, the moon god. Some even make them the daughters of Kashyapa, the brother of Daksha.
Each of the nakshatras is governed as 'lord' by one of the nine graha in the following sequence: Ketu (South Lunar Node), Shukra (Venus), Ravi or Surya (Sun), Chandra (Moon), Mangala (Mars), Rahu (North Lunar Node), Guru or Brihaspati (Jupiter), Shani (Saturn) and Budha (Mercury). This cycle repeats itself three times to cover all 27 nakshatras. The lord of each nakshatra determines the planetary period known as the dasha , which is considered of major importance in forecasting the life path of the individual./
Our projects merge two worlds always - the world of eternal spiritual wisdom and the practical problems of today's world - we bring the two together so the modern world can learn from the ancient way of doing based in being. The value of applied Vedic wisdom is beyond measure as it raises awareness of individuals and the society thus having an impact and ripple effect throughout the entire country and planet./
Discover our growing list of resources to uplift, enlighten and simply brighten your world. Vedic knowledge is becoming more and more available in today's we world. We share with you our favorite resources to access this knowledge for self and planetary healing and evolution./
It is our wish to make available the treasures of Vedic wisdom to all. Vedic knowledge has the very purpose to increase harmony in the lives of all. It is there to aid andguide our spiritual unfoldment and knowledge of our true self. Vedic Society has a number of projects that provide the world access online and offline to more healing, peace and harmony./
Somayagyas bring prosperity, peace, harmony and happiness to the kingdom. They work by creating continuous waves of harmonious resonance using sound (mantra), medicinal substances (sacred woods and special rare medicinal herbs) at specific astronomical timing with focused and purified intention.
The actual process of a Somayagya is one of deep transformation for the individual and for the society at large. It is a living tradition passed down from father to son in India and has been present since living memory./