In Hinduism, Yajna or Yagya यज्ञ(Sanskrit yajñá "worship, prayer, praise; offering, oblation, sacrifice") is a Vedic ritual of sacrifice performed to please the Devas, or sometimes to the Supreme Spirit Brahman. It involves pouring oblations into the divine Agni (the sacrificial fire). Everything that is offered in the divine Agni is believed to reach the Devas. A yajna is typically performed by a hotar, with a number of additional priests playing a supporting role, chanting Vedic verses. Often there will be a ...

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yajna

Vedic sacrifice, or any work done for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord Vishnu.

(See also: yajna, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

yajna:

sacrifice, sacred ritual

(See also: yajna, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Yajnas

These are the outer forms of worship in Hinduism, reminders of its direct connection with the Vedic religion of the ancient past. During the performance of the yajnas, offerings are made to different deities in a prescribed and systematic manner by qualified priests to supplicate them, so that they would assist the worshipper in achieving certain results in life.

Read more here: » Yajnas: Hinduism Rituals - Yajnas

There are five great daily sacrifices that are to be performed by every householder. They are: Brahma Yajna, called also Veda Yajna, sacrifice to Brahman or the Vedas or the sages; Deva Yajna, sacrifice to the celestials; (iii) Pitri Yajna, sacrifice to the manes; Bhuta Yajna, sacrifice to all the creatures; and Manushya Yajna, sacrifice to men.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Pancha Mahayajnas: The Hindu Ritual Pancha Mahayajnas

For the living, death is certain and for the dead, birth is certain. Since death is definite for all embodied beings, the Bhagavad Gita enjoins the seeker to aspire for that state of attainment, after which there is no return or rebirth.

Among the paths leading to the deathless state, Krishna discusses jnana -yoga, the path of contemplation, and karmayoga , the path of action. All actions, he says, finally culminate in knowledge.

For the common man, whose senses and desires are rooted in this world and who craves desired results, the shrutis - the Vedas and the Upanishads - prescribe various types of yajnas . Among the yajnas , the Maharudrabhisheka is accorded high status.

(See also: Mantra, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Hinduism and Worship: Yagna - the ritual worship of Hinduism

Yagna or yajna is an outer form of worship in which offerings are made to different deities in a prescribed and systematic manner by qualified priests to supplicate them, so that they would assist the worshipper in achieving certain results in life.

Read more here: » Hinduism and Worship: Yagna - the ritual worship of Hinduism

According to Kalki Bhagavan, teachings and sadhanas (spiritual practices) has never brought anyone to liberation or enlightenment, at the most they will create a transformation. Kalkis advice is to be fully aware of who we are, to confront ourselves and to fully experience the pain inside of us. This will lead to joy and be the best preparation for enlightenment.

Read more here: » Kalki Bhagavan on the path to Liberation (Mukti)

yajna: (Sanskrit) "Worship; sacrifice."

One of the most central Hindu concepts - sacrifice and surrender through acts of worship, inner and outer.

1) A form of ritual worship especially prevalent in Vedic times, in which oblations - ghee, grains, spices and exotic woods - are offered into a fire according to scriptural injunctions while special mantras are chanted.

-       The element fire, Agni, is revered as the divine messenger who carries offerings and prayers to the Gods.

-       The ancient Veda Brahmanas and the Shrauta Shastras describe various types of yajna rites, some so elaborate as to require hundreds of priests, whose powerful chanting resounds for miles. These major yajnas are performed in large, open-air structures called yagashala.

-       Domestic yajnas, prescribed in the Grihya Shastras, are performed in the family compound or courtyard. Yajna requires four components, none of which may be omitted: dravya, sacrificial substances; tyaga, the spirit of sacrificing all to God; devata, the celestial beings who receive the sacrifice; and mantra, the empowering word or chant.

-       While puja (worship in temples with water, lights and flowers) has largely replaced the yajna, this ancient rite still continues, and its specialized priestly training is carried on in schools in India.

-       Yajnas of a grand scale are performed for special occasions, beseeching the Gods for rain during drought, or for peace during bloody civil war. Even in temples, yajna has its Agamic equivalent in the agnikaraka, the homa or havana ceremony, held in a fire pit (homakunda) in an outer mandapa of a temple as part of elaborate puja rites.

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2) Personal acts of worship or sacrifice. Life itself is a jivayajna.

-       The Upanishads suggest that one can make "inner yajnas" by offering up bits of the little self into the fires of sadhana and tapas until the greater Self shines forth.

The five daily yajnas, pancha mahayajna, of the householder (outlined in the Dharma Shastras) ensure offerings to rishis, ancestors, Gods, creatures and men. They are as follows.

-       brahma yajna: (also called Veda yajna or rishi yajna) "Homage to the seers." Accomplished through studying and teaching the Vedas.

-       deva yajna: "Homage to Gods and elementals." Recognizing the debt due to those who guide nature, and the feeding of them by offering ghee and uncooked grains into the fire. This is the homa sacrifice.

-       pitri yajna: "Homage to ancestors." Offering of cakes (pinda) and water to the family line and the progenitors of mankind.

-       bhuta yajna: "Homage to beings." Placing food-offerings, bali, on the ground, intended for animals, birds, insects, wandering outcastes and beings of the invisible worlds. ("Let him gently place on the ground [food] for dogs, outcastes, svapachas, those diseased from sins, crows and insects" Manu Dharma Shastras 3.92).

-       manushya yajna: "Homage to men." Feeding guests and the poor, the homeless and the student. Manushya yajna includes all acts of philanthropy, such as tithing and charity. The Vedic study is performed in the morning.

The other four yajnas are performed just before taking one's noon meal. Manu Dharma Shastras (3.80) states, "Let him worship, according to the rule, the rishis with Veda study, the devas with homa, the pitris with shraddha, men with food, and the bhutas with bali."

Mystics warn that all offerings must be tempered in the fires of kundalini through the power of inner yajna to be true and valuable, just as the fire of awareness is needed to indelibly imprint ideas and concepts on one's own akashic window.

See: dharma, havana, homa, puja, sacrifice.

(See also: Yajna, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Yaga can refer to: Yajna (Hindu mythology) Baba Yaga (Russian mythology) Yaga (clothing company) Other related archivesBaba Yaga, Yajna

Read more here: » Yaga: Encyclopedia - Yaga

Yagya has different meanings: For the ritual of sacrifice performed to please the Devas, see Yajna. For ancient Vedic performances, see Yagyas. Other related archivesYagyas, Yajna

Read more here: » Yagya: Encyclopedia - Yagya

Vamana is the Fifth Avatara of Vishnu, a dwarf brahmin. He is also known as Upendra. He defeats the Devas' (Gods') enemy Bali Chakravarthi (of the demon race) into giving up all of the heavens and earth. King Bali, in an attempt to cement his place as the ruler of all Three Worlds (i.e. the Universe), performed a series of grand yajnas (prayers/sacrifice). The Gods feared that this would cause evil to stalk the Universe, so they prayed to Mahavishnu to assist them. On King Bali's last yajna, Vamana a small brahman ...

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An Ashram (Pronounced 'aashram') in ancient India was a Hindu hermitage where sages (See Rishi) lived in peace and tranquility amidst nature. Spiritual and physical exercises, such as the various forms of Yoga, were regularly performed by the hermitage residents. Other sacrifices and penances, such as Yajnas were also performed. Many Ashrams also served as Gurukuls or residential schools for children. The word ashram is derived from the Sanskrit 'aashraya', which means 'protection'. (In the pronunciation of 'aashraya', the ending 'a' is not lengthened to 'aa'.) In many respects, a Hindu ...

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Yagna, also transliterated as yagya or yajna is an ancient Vedic ritual of Hinduism, where sacrifices are made to a particular divinity, or maybe to the SUpreme Spririt Brahman, using fire (Agni) as a medium. The words homam (havan), and yagna are used interchangeably today. However there is a difference between homam and yagna. Yagnas of ancient times probably involved an animal sacrifice at some special occasions, which could have been a cow or a bull,(a hotly debated theory), goat, horse, sheep or buffalo. Yagna in its prese ...

Read more here: » Yagna: Encyclopedia - Yagna

Yajna - a sacrifice in which a deity is propitiated by the chanting of prayers and mantras and the offering of ghee into the sacred fire.

(See also: Yajna, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

yajna:

yajna - a sacrifice

(See also: yajna, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Yajna:

Yajna: a sacrifice.

(See also: Yajna, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Yajna:

Yajna. Name for Hayagriva.

(See also: Yajna, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

yajna:

yajna. Holy ritual, sacrifice, or rite. Also, personification of rite (when capitalized).

(See also: yajna, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Yajna

1) A sacrificial fire ritual in which Vedic mantras are recited while wood, fruit, grain, oil, yogurt, and ghee are poured into the fire as an offering to the Lord.

2) Any work or spiritual practice that is offered as worship to God.

(See also: Yajna, New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)