1224. Masculine and Feminine...

In Vedanta philosophy, the highest word used for the Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient entity is “Brahman” (Absolute Consciousness) and word only slightly below that is Iswara Chaitanya (Cosmic Consciousness). Iswara is Brahman with attributes. Scholars call this as the union of Purusha & Prakriti. 

Purusha symbolises masculinity and Prakriti symbolises feminine energy. It is the fusion of these masculine and feminine energies that has brought in the creation, and so, the two forces always co-exist. This fusion is depicted by the union of Shiva and Shakti, as the androgynous deity Ardhanaareshwara.

Interestingly, this dual energy is not limited to the cosmos alone but is within each of its creation. Thus every individual living here on this earth harbours a masculine and a feminine side. This duality is present irrespective of their physical structure which only signifies their nature. We should know that a few qualities in nature have been identified as masculine and few as feminine. If there is an urge to conquer or subdue it is the nature of masculine, being kind and compassionate is the nature of feminine (please do not relate the terms mentioned here as masculine and feminine to the gender of a person).

Masculine has the natural tendency of being outward bound wanting to be the custodian in the survival process. Feminine natural tendency is to be inward and create an ambience of love, care and gentleness. Every individual has these qualities but in an imbalanced state. If the creativity of feminine nature is balanced with the concierge of the masculine nature, the individual hits perfection.

The nature of masculine is to protection and that of the feminine is to take protection. Unfortunately in the name of “Independence” we are killing the feminine in us. In the race to be successful economically we have forsaken to nurture our creativity and innovative skills. There is no dictum that cooking is the work assignment meant for individual born with female physical anatomy. We have had Bhimasena and Nalamaharaja as ace cooks. Monarchy is not labelled as the triumph of those who possessed the male body, we had many Jhansi Rani Lakshmi Bai, Kittur Rani Chennamma, Obavva, Rudramma Devi and many more. Even today we have individuals born in female structure managing efficiently in their work place. Showing love and compassion towards the family and friends is the idiosyncrasy a male displays which is from his feminine facet. 
There is nothing to feel great in the body of a male or a female as we do have both masculine and feminine quirk. The masculine and feminine which appear as physicality is just an identity of the body, but our thoughts are processed by the mind which decides actions according to the appropriate situation. Instinctive action is the feminine quality and intuition is that of masculine, as a human we do have both of them which we use accordingly. 

Ardhanaareshwara is the representation of Shiva & Shakti depicting that the male is as much female as the female is male. This clarifies that masculinity and femininity are mere attributes to take the progeny forward. We just have to accept that in this physical body we have both masculine and feminine angle from which we perceive the activity and perform the action. This acceptance will let us understand that there is necessity to fight against gender inequality or gender discrimination. 

1223. Hurdles are Inevitable in the life track....

Hurdles are inevitable in the track called life. Nothing is a cakewalk here and to live on we need to learn to handle them whenever they crop up. Even though we plan our actions in advance and take extra caution to have a trouble free execution, there is no assurance that everything goes according in the flowchart. Every conscientious person develops the attitude to fight the hardship and look for means to overcome them successfully. Today’s hurdles cannot be jumped over unless yesterday’s obstacles are cleared. Nastiest situations cannot be turned nice in a jiffy, but they can be tackled in a way that they turn out to be favourable to us. Courage is the key to tackle such nasty situations.

Being courageous does not mean to be daring but to be able to gaining victory over fear. Courage is the by-product of self-confident. Without self-confidence everything around seems to be gunning for us. Self-confidence is not having solution to all problems, but it is a trait to face them. A self-confident person can easily win over the confidence of others.

Low self-esteem, dearth of trust in self and lack of self-belief are the symptoms of poor self-confidence. Belief in self is exactly what is required at any given moment to make fear drift away. Fear that started in the mind will fade away in reality.

The way we behave at work and interact with our colleagues has its roots in the self-confidence that we have. The workplace is not a ruthless arena if we have self-confidence. When we are on guard and have enough faith we can mould our career well. Positive thinking generates positive attitude, response and feeling, which in turn design the blue print of success. On the other hand, negative attitude, full of fear, doubt and worry, reinforce negative behaviour. Fortunately we can empty our mind of such useless thoughts and feed them with positive information. We can replace fear with faith, doubt with determination, worry with wonder and hate with humane.

Hurdles are never a nuisance, if we have the strength to accept them as challenge for which they are. They are positioned there to be jumped over. Sometimes the hurdles we face in our daily life might appear to be intimidating. We may feel as if we are not ready to overcome what lies before us. But the truth is that we are always ready. Every event in our life is customized to our utmost needs, regardless of our readiness. Hurdles are here to mould our personality and make us aware of our potential which lies beyond our capabilities; we need to put an extra effort when facing hurdles.

In the tug-of-war between Free-Will and Destiny, the Grace supports the one with the upper hand. Absolute helps those who help themselves. Don’t worry about hurdles, with determination take a giant leap and glide over them.

1222. Self-Interest or Selfishness???

I was watching a discussion in one of the regional channels on “Svartha” (Self-Interest). A group of youngsters were talking against Self-Interest while a few felt Self-Interest is the way to self-actualization. In the heat of discussion  one of the youngster talking for Self-Interest was saying, “Every action we perform is encrust in Self-Interest. Even in charity there is Self-Interest of emancipation. A devotee praying to God in the place of worship also wants grace and even that amounts to Self-Interest. A employee working in a corporate company toils to see that he is escalated to higher position, that is Self-Interest.”

When I heard the Youngman’s argumentation astonishingly for a few minutes I too was inclined to think what he is saying was true. I started to think that Self-Interest could be the real motivator to get one to wellbeing. To be happy one has to be interested in the self. As the young man had said there is Self-Interest in every act we perform. Then after a few seconds I thought if Svartha was a requirement then why did our elders insist we do not develop Svarthabuddhi???

A few days back while walking on the beach bare foot a thorn stuck to my foot. I suppose it was a dry bramble floated back to the shore and its tip had pieced in my sole. I had to remove it so that I can walk comfortably. Thought it was not causing me pain there was a discomfort which made me look for something sharp to dig out the thorn. Fortunately I happened to see the thorny twig and I pulled a thorn from the twig and using it I was able to remove the sharp spike out of my foot. I felt relieved of the discomfort in my foot.

To get the thorn out of my foot I had amazingly used another thorn. And as soon as the thorn in the foot was removed I threw back the thorn I had used in the operation. So there was a thorn which caused discomfort and another thorn that relieved me of the discomfort. 

Just like how the young man in the debate had felt that Self-Interest is the same in mundane and spiritual sense. The thorn is the same but it is the usage which makes all the difference. Self-Interest can be a discipline and also can work as detractor. Self-Interest which started as discipline transform into Selfishness and act as detractor,  individual unaware of it.

Self-interest carries within it the seeds of its own destruction. It drives to achieve a goal, but once it reach a certain level it no longer function as a discipline. When goals are within reach, Self-Interest is tempered by the need of rising the comfort level and it is here that it becomes a detractor.

When any action performed has a tinge of altruistic attitude then there is no question of Self-Interest as the Sanskrit verse say, “Paropakaram Idam Shareeram” (This body is to serve others).

1221. Life Problems....

Life is filled with problems that have solution ingrained in the situation. It appears to be unsolvable only if I try to find for solutions with the same mind which has made me think that particular situation is a problem. This tendency is called the “Tunnel Vision Tendency” where I focus only on the negative aspect of the situation more than seeing the positive in it. Under such a stress it is obvious for me to find the situation worse and more complex than it really is. The solution for this is to be aware of the situation and to look at it in a different perspective. If the situation was really bad I become nervous about things going from bad to worse and there was a fear of failure and embarrassment. The solution for it is to think that this is not the end, and it would not get me death sentence. Just thinking that I have made a valiant effort to see that the situation did not go from worse to shabby really helps.

Earlier I was confused and uncertain of the right priorities. The solution which I could find for this was to take the help of the moral compass which could guide me as to what should be done at the right time.

Even after taking the guidance if I ended up fearing a problem and believed that I have made a blunder and deserve punishment, I am in a guilt feel. There is a solution for this also. If I had really made a lapse there was no shame for me to make restitution and ask for forgiveness and have a thought not to repeat it again. I become more aware that it was always wise to learn from mistakes and move on. If it was a phoney guilt I needed to set it right and bring down that unnecessary and illogical burden.

Self-pity was one problem in me which made me think I am less worthy than others. It was a terrible and incurable flaw in me to constantly compare myself to people whom I think were perfect. The solution to this was for me to be aware that there is no Mr. Perfect and everyone has stumbled at some point of time before they learned to walk.

Another most evident problem in me was to hold on to the grudge and refuse to bulge and move on. My mind would not let those bitter thoughts to fade out; it would re-project every time my sight fell on either that thing or the person. It would flare up the thought and make me lose my peace of mind. Amazingly that thought would swell in size every time it surfaced just like the wound on a monkey which aggregated every time it scratched. The solution for it was in developing the attitude of Let go! Holding resentment never worked, I used the ordeal to make myself wise, compassionate, and also mentally strong.

Resentment presented me with another gift of being stubborn, the refusal to re-examine the situation and find out if I was wrong. I never had the will to change the mind when I knew that I was wrong. I was in the intention that reconciliation would hamper my pride. The solution emerged when I noticed that for the fresh air to get in the ventilator had to be kept open so that the carbon dioxide go out of the room. It would be foolish to live with the unwanted and useless thoughts, it is wisdom to flow according to the tide and adjust accordingly and set a new course.

Eventually I understood that a problem is in fact like a small sand grain if I take it too close to my eye it covers the whole world and if I put down below my foot and crush it, it will turn to dust. It is the way I perceive the problem which make it bigger that what it is.

Ultimately as time passed and with maturity taking centre stage I stopped finding solution for the problem that arise every now and then instead I noted that “Life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experience.”  

1220. Unsour Curd....!

“Anamala Dadhi Ksheera Saman” (Unsour Curd is equivalent to Milk).

Ayurveda treats unsour curds as milk. Milk gets converted into curd through fermentation process. A bit of old curd is added to warm milk and the Lactobacillus bacteria present in the old curd converts whole milk to curd. Bacteria consume lactose, the sugar component in the milk and produces lactic acid. Thus giving a tangy taste to curd, the more the lactic acid the more sour it turns out to be.

It so happened in Mahabharata that Shakuni and Duryodhana planned to eliminate Bhishma, Sri Krishna and Bhima. They went into a forest where a Tantrik (Occultist) lived. The Tantrik worshipped Goddess Bhairavi and was practising Vamachara (Black Magic). He was believed to have power to invoke the Goddess and instruct her to eliminate any person.

Shakuni and Duryodhana felt that Bhishma was a hindrance as he was always advising Dritharashtra to consider “Dharma” whenever he had to take decisions regarding his own sons and the sons of Pandu. Then there was Sri Krishna was the power behind Arjuna, without Him Arjuna was a dummy, so Sri Krishna too was to be eliminated. Bhima was invincible and since the day of childhood, Kauravas had failed in many occasions to kill him so he too had to be eliminated.  Shakuni and Duryodhana approached this Tantrik to make offerings to Goddesses and invoke her to eliminate all the three.   

   

The Kshudra Pooja (Occult Worship) started with fire offering and the Tantrik was able to invoke Goddess. The Goddess asked, “Who has to be eliminated?”

Tantrik said, “Bhishma.”

The voice said, “Bhishma has the boon of Iccha Mrityu (Death on Desire), and so it is impossible to eliminate him. Who is next?”

Tantrik said, “Sri Krishna.”

The voice said, “He is divine, no one can touch Him, even death.”

Finally Tantrik said, “Bhima.”

The voice said, “Make appropriate rituals and offerings, let me see.”

Bhima who was hiding behind a tree rushed and pulled down the thatched roof which fell on the fire before the Tantrik. Tantrik was burnt alive. Shakuni and Duryodhana ran away.    

What I understand from this episode is that Sri Krishna was Divine and hence he could not be touched and this made him a bit like immortal. Bhishma by his good virtues had gained the boon of Iccha Mrityu that was equal to Amarattva (Immortality) from his father Santanu which he got for taking a vow to get his father married to Satyavathi, the fisher woman. Sri Krishna is Shuddha Atma, while Bhishma is a Jeevatma. As told in the verse above Curd can also be considered Milk if it is not sour. If the Antahkarana (Inner Conscience) is Shuddha then Jeevatma is also Shuddha Atma.

For the Antahkarana to be pure one has to have Trikaranasuddhi, (Congruence in Trio) indicating purity and harmony in Kaaya, Vaacha and Manasa (Thought, Word and Deed).

(my sincere and special thanks to Nand Kishore Jha ji for the Sanskrit sentence in the Pic.) 

1219. GOAT No.3

Mandya in my state Karnataka is a place which is vibrant in agricultural activities. It is one of the region which is green with vegetation. The K.R.S dam provides all the water needed for irrigation. Major cultivation is Sugarcane and Paddy. It is 100 Kms from the state commercial capital Bengaluru and 50 Kms away from the cultural capital Mysore. Sugar factories contribute to the major economic output of the state. Hence this place is called “Sakkare Nadu" (Sugar Territory). People residing here are also like Sugarcane sweet but fibrous. Though the Kannada they speak is rough like the fibres in the sugarcane the content is as juicy and sweet as cane juice. 

The youth of the region are always joyful and jubilant. They are used to playing pranks and being mischievous with the new face in the town. The number of hours they spend more in the compound of the college is more than the time they sit in the classroom. 

One evening a group of college students had a crazy idea. They rounded up three goats from the neighbourhood and painted the number 1, 2 and 4 on the side of each goat. Purposefully they left out the number 3. That night they let the goats loose inside their college building with a sack full of leaves from shrubs for the three goats to much on the whole night.

The next morning, when the authorities entered the college the wrenching smell of urine and dung hit their nose hard. They knew some cattle had strayed inside the campus. One of the attendants saw the goat droppings on the stairs and near the entrance and realized that some goats had entered the building.

A search was immediately launched and very soon three goats were caught and tied to the pole. Goat No.1, Goat No. 2 and Goat No. 4 was there but the authorities were wondering and bit worried as to where was goat No. 3? Amazingly none of those searching for Goat No.3 anticipated the possibility of Goat No.5. Since they had Goat No. 4 they were sure of Goat No.3. They all spent the rest of the day looking for goat No.3.

Gradually there was panic and frustration. The college declared classes off for the students for the rest of the day. The lecturers, readers, security guards, canteen staffs, students both girls and boys were all busy looking for the Goat No. 3 which of course, was never found as it simply never existed.

It is not just those people who went after Goat No.3 there are many among us who inspite of having a good life are always feeling a “lack of contentment”  looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent Goat No.3. This is a syndrome called “Missing Tile Syndrome” it is trying to attain what is not in life rather than enjoying what us already got.

Whatever the area of complaint or search or dissatisfaction be it relationship, job or materialistic achievement. An absence of something is always larger than  the presence of many other things.
The best way to avoid lamenting on the missing tile is to do a balance sheet of life. The chances are that if you are ones among those reading this write-up you are better off than 98% of the population right away. 

So don't worrying about Goat No.3 just chill and enjoy.

1218. Fire of Knowledge....!

Karma is suggested to be of three namely Sanchita*1, Prarabdha*2 and Agami*3. It has to have a Kartha (Doer) and his Kartritva Bhava (Emotion of Doer-ship). Karma is not that of Deha (Body) it is Achetana (Insentient) without Chaitanya (Consciousness). As long as there is Dehatma Buddhi (Body Identity) Karma sticks on. Transcending the Body Identity one becomes a Jnani. Does a Jnani not need his body??? Yes, he does but only as a vehicle to manoeuvre him in the journey of life.

How does a Jnani deal with Karma???

We all are told that Jnana (Awareness) is Agni (Fire) that burns away all Karma (Resulatant Fruits). Sanchita and Agami will be burnt away for a Jnani but what happens to the Prarabdha???

In one of the Pravachanas (Discourse) I heard the propounder say, “Jnanagni sarva karmani bhasma kurute” (The fire called Knowledge burns off all Resultant Fruits). This is actually what Sri Krishna tells Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 verse 37. He continued to justify with an interesting analogy: Suppose a man having three wives dies, is it wise to say that his first and second wives are widows and the third is not? So accordingly for a Jnani who is no longer a Kartha and hence all the three, Sanchita, Prarabdha and Agami no longer exist for him.

Though the speaker gave a very good explanation, however as far as my knowledge on Karma Siddhanta, Prarabdha has to be endured and so Jnana can burn Sanchita and Agami leaving Prarabdha alone.

Now I was in a fix, does a Jnani remain helpless to his Prarabdha then??? Is he unable to subdue his Prarabdha???

Just as I had these kinds of thoughts I remembered the words of Sri Krishna in the previous verse where He compares Jnana (Awareness) to Plavaka (Boat). Sri Krishna tells Arjuna, “When you are situated in the boat of knowledge, you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries.”  

So well Sri Krishna has cleared the case of Prarabdha to Arjuna first in verse 36 by saying, Jnana is a boat with which you can transcend Prarabdha, which is inevitable. Jnana helps the seeker to go beyond the turmoil that the Prarabdha Karma has in store. The Jnani is aware that his body functions for which it has taken its birth and will enjoy and endure all that it has to. From the Jnani point of view it is only the Self which manifests in such variety taking various bodies as vehicles so Prarabdha does not affect him. In these two verse 33 and 37 in the chapter 4 which deals with Jnana Yoga (Incantation of Knowledge) Sri Krishna gives us all the clarity on our Karma Phalas. With this Jnana one can take part in Karma (Action) without much of a bother.

   

*1 Sanchita - Store house of the Resultant fruits of our Actions from all our past many lives.

*2 Prarabdha - The stored Resultant fruits from our Sanchita store that are ripe and we have to bear its impacts be it enjoyable or remorseful.

*3 Agami Karma - The Actions performed action now in this life which is a new load added to Sanchita store.

1217. Human Rights OR Human Duties???

Today is World Human Rights Day.....Congrats!!!

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status be. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. These Rights sometimes are enforced by the court of law taking jurisprudence into consideration. In few occasions Rights may be entirely based on morality in which the court of law cannot enforce. For example, the obedience on the part of teenaged children towards parents and the respect on the part of adults towards elderly parents. 

Everywhere in the world we see fight for Rights. Much of the discord is a result of one’s belief that if one is being denied of his Rights and he has to fight to regain it.  It has become a general trend for everyone to demand for their Rights even if it is hampering the Duty they need to perform. The Duty takes a beating here as he wastes his energy in regaining his Rights and has no time to perform his Duty.

It is a debatable question whether Rights and Duty are necessarily co-relative. As I understand every Right has a corresponding Duty. Therefore if they are not co-relative they are interlinked, as every Right claimed involves two or more persons bound together by Duty. There can be no Duty unless there is someone to whom it is due. Likewise, there can be no Right unless there is someone from whom it can be expected from.

Duty also sounds to be similar to Rights as both are used in jurisprudence as well as in morality. Duty is that which is performed
and Rights are those which are claimed. Duty also sometimes attributed to a good action which is prescribed for us to do. But there are actions which are obligatory and many are tempted to avoid. However the claim of Rights is never spurned as they are considered mandatory.

If Rights are justifiable as claimable in a community then Duty has to be an obligation to fulfil that claim. Duty may thus be defined as the obligation of an individual to satisfy a claim made upon him by other in the society living with him for a common good. The child has a Right for education and it is the Duty of the father to ensure it is provided. Rights are claims for which Duty is never a requirement. A son is obviously the claimant of the father’s ancestral property even if he fails to perform his Duty as a son.

It is not only in the Father/Son arrangement but even in society we have seen that there are many organisations fighting for the Rights but I have never noticed any organisation which is highlighting the Duty that has to be performed. 

An organisation is formed to agitate to claim reservation for certain community but have they ever stroked the Duty conscience of that community. A legislator who is elected to represent us also wants to know about his Rights as a politician rather than knowing his Duty. An accused in the police station is more knowledgeable about his Rights and it becomes more relevant than the duty of the police officer at the station. We have Human Rights Commission have we ever thought of having a Human Duty Commission???

"Karmaneva Adhikarasthe" (Your Rights is in performing your Duty) says Sri Krishna to Arjuna In Bhagavad-Gita. This words from the Lord prompted Mahatma Gandhi to decline to say about Human Rights when Julian Huxley, English evolutionary theorist and the then director-general of UNESCO wrote to Mahatma asking him to contribute his reflections on human rights when it was intended to be commissioned. Mahatma had said, “I learnt from my illiterate but wise mother that all rights to be deserved and preserved came from duty well done. Thus the very right to live accrues to us only when we do the duty of citizenship of the world.”

1216. Hardware and Software of Life....!

The word Yajna is used many times in Prasthana Traya, the three authoritative primary sources namely Upanishads, Brahmasutras and Bhagavad Gita. Yajna in simple word is Sacrifice; it is misunderstood to be a ritual where offerings are made to Devas through Agni, the Fire God. Though it is one of the aspects of Yajna, it is not the one and only. The basic idea of Yajna according to the Vedic thought is for the human to be happy and have a prosperous life living in harmony with Prakriti (Material Nature) and the Purusha (Spiritual Nature). Hence just a selfless performance of our prescribed duty for the welfare of all beings will account as Yajna.

There are different kinds of Yajnas to be done of which the Dravya Yajna and Jnana Yajna seem to be important. Whatever action we undertake to transform Matter into Food it becomes Dravya Yajna which is also termed as Karma Yajna. In the daily work we perform we fulfil our basic necessity called “Annam” (Food) and help others to garner the same for themselves and their family this is Dravya Yajna. The quest to analyse and acquire knowledge from various scriptures or to achieve it by experience is called as Jnana Yajna.

In Dravya Yajna, I am a part of the Brahmanda (Macrocosm) in working for the well being of all my co-existing entities. Collective Consciousness is at work here. It is important for every being to be a part of anything and everything that is happening which is ensuring the harmony and wellness of the society. My factory is the Yajna Kunda (Offering Place). The raw material at my factory is made into finished product by adding some value to it. In this process there is acquiring of wealth by righteous means for my living and giving an opportunity for others to be a part of it and aid them to make their living as well, this is taking part in Dravya Yajna.    

While a part of our scriptures gives importance to Dravya Yajna there is another part which encourages us to go for Jnana Yajna. Jnana Yagna implies to gaining knowledge by enlightening ourselves to know what is not known about our own Self. In Jnana Yagna, I am a part of the Pindananda (Microcosm) working for the betterment of my existence and be aware of it. There is my Consciousness from within at work here. My five Jnanendriyas namely Shotra (Sense of Hearing), Tvak (Sense of Touch), Chakshu (Sense of Sight), Jivha (Sense of Taste) and Gahana (Sense of Smell) become the Yajna Kunda (Offering Place) where those which I listen, feel, see, eat and sniff become the Ahuti (offerings). Buddhi (Intellect) is the Ghee which is the supporter of combustion to know Self. The question “Who I am?” is the Fire. In this process there is acquiring knowledge of Self and to be Self-aware by becoming one with it.

Both the Dravya Yajna as well as Jnana Yajna is required just as how both Hardware and Software are required to run a programme in our computer.

1215. Agnihotra.....for Honey Bees, Earthworms and my Mind!

“If insects were to disappear, the world would fall apart — there’s no two ways about it,” said Goggy Davidowitz, Professor in the Departments of Entomology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. 

About 60-70 % of our diet is from flowering plants so our food depends on insects for pollination. Honey bees are considered the best pollinators as a single bee visits nearly 5000 flowers each day and helps pollinating 1/3 of our food supplies. Extinction of honey bees would be catastrophic, destabilising important ecosystems and threatening global food security for humans as well as animals.

Earthworms are natural tillers feeding on dead and decaying organic matter present in soil they egest compost. This compost is very fertile with essential nutrients N.P.K (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potash) required for the growth of a plant. There are several other minerals in compost that suppress disease in plants and increases porosity and microbial activity in soil. Presence of Earthworms assist in keeping the land aerated and help in retaining water as well.

It is important for us to take extra care in protecting Honey Bees and Earthworms for our survival. The first step towards the protection of these two species is to see that Desi Cow (Indian Breed Cows) are domesticated more and more.  How does rearing a Desi Cow protect Honey Bees and Earthworm??? What is the connection between these three??? 

Let’s go deep into this:  

For the Honey Bees to survive air should not be polluted. Bees’ ability to forage decreases as air pollution increases. Polluted air disturbs scent signals that bees need to locate and reach flowering plants for their nectar hunt. Earthworms populate high if the soil is rich in Bio-nutrients. Earthworm multiply quickly in micro-organic matter. Desi Cow dung ash has the ability to increase the pH level of the soil as it is alkaline in nature and surge the micro-organic culture and soil organic matter. Our farmers preserved the seeds by smearing Desi Cow dung ash as it is very effective in keeping the pest and insects away.

Air pollution is the presence of pathogenic bacteria and viruses which gets annihilated by the fumes from burning of dry Desi Cow dung cake with rice using ghee as supporter of combustion. This fume purifies air and the ash from this when spread out on soil enriches it with bio nutrients making it feasible for the Earthworm to flourish. Desi Cow, Honey Bee and Earthworm thus have an invisible connection. 

Agnihotra is a simple Vedic ritual where ghee & rice are given as oblation by burning it over dry Desi Cow dung cakes at the time of Sunrise and Sunset while chanting of two different mantras (for Sunrise and Sunset). The fumes and the ash do what is needed for protecting Honey Bees and Earthworms. Now, in this whole exercise we can take care of “thought pollution” too. The mantra while offering oblations end with words “Idam Na Mama” (It is not Mine) so that the seeker is reminded that whatever he thinks is offering is from God and for the benefit of all. Agnihotra enhance the state of tranquillity of mind. The fume from Agnihotra gathers particles of harmful radiation in the atmosphere and on a very subtle level neutralises their radioactive effect. 

Worship of Agni and Surya is always been a part of life style for a Sanatani and I feel fortunate and blessed to have the opportunity to practice Agnihotra.