Homa: the sacred fire ritual

 Hari Aum.

As yogis, most of us will be familiar with the role of fire in worship. Many of us light a lamp at the altar when we sit to meditate. We also light lamps during arati and puja ceremonies. During festivals such as Deepavali, we light multiple lamps as we celebrate the victory of good over evil.

The light of the lamp signifies many things in worship--- it represents God who is the Supreme Light, it represents auspiciousness, goodness and prosperity. It represents all that is good, both spiritually and materially.

Fire is one of the five 'great elements' that constitute the material universe according to the yogic scriptures. The deity who rules over this element is known by many names, particularly as 'Agni'. He is also known as 'pavaka', the one who purifies. Many metals are purified or refined by melting them over fire. In common language, we talk about 'trial by fire' meaning an extremely challenging situation that seriously tests our capacities (In Sanskrit, this is known as 'agni pariksha' or 'fire test'). 

Fire in the material world can be external or internal according to the yogis. The external fire is the one that is visible to our eyes. The internal fire is energy, a force-- invisible but still powerful. One example would be the 'jathar-agni' or 'fire of digestion'. The divine energy known as Kundalini is also a type of sacred fire that resides within us. 

Fire, thus, is a key part of our nature. We cannot live without fire, both internal and external. It is no surprise, therefore, that fire plays a key role in the rituals of worship of many of the religions of the world.

In the world of yoga or the Vedic tradition, there is a special type of worship using fire. This ritual is popularly known as 'homa' (some say 'homam') or 'havana' in Sanskrit ('Havana' is a another word for Agni, the demi-god of fire).

According to our Gurus, in ancient times, this ritual used to be a key aspect of daily worship in households. It was performed by both men and women. Over the centuries, this ritual became largely restricted to temples, and was performed mainly by priests (who, for social rather than spiritual reasons, were mostly men). The training required to perform elaborate homas was given only to a select group of people and was not available to all.

Times have changed (fortunately) and knowledge of the method of performance of this ritual is increasingly available to all regardless of gender, background, culture or anything else. Some homas are simple and can be performed relatively easily. Some are more complex and elaborate, and training would be required to perform them correctly (if one has not had the training, as with any other field, it would be wise to consult someone who is more experienced such as a priest).

The principle of a homa is this: 

-God is invoked in the fire using mantras

-Offerings are made into the fire with the utterance of mantras. These offering are usually 'ghee' or clarified butter, and other plant-based materials such as raw rice, milk, sesame seeds, herbs and so on. 

These are regarded as 'sattvic' or energetically 'clean' substances (usually mild and sweet in flavour). Other materials are generally avoided. (In particular, hot, pungent substances such as onion, garlic, chillies, meat, alcohol, stale foods etc are generally never used in sattvic forms of worship). The type of offering may vary slightly depending upon the deity being worshipped (but ghee is almost universally used).

-Agni, the deity of fire, is here seen as the messenger or 'portal' between our human world and that of the demi-gods or the Supreme Being. When we make offerings into the fire after invoking God in it, it is said that he 'transports' the subtle essence of these to the Supreme. And in return, we are able to receive blessings, both spiritual and material (depending upon what we are praying for).

-The utterance of mantras while making offering into a fire is said to significantly magnify the effects of those mantras (some say it is a tenfold increase but one may not be able to put a precise number upon this). 

A homa will usually involve reciting one or more mantras a certain number of times (often multiples of the sacred number 108) while making offerings (of ghee, rice etc) into the sacred fire with each recitation.

-The word 'Svaha' is crucial to the performance of a homa. This word is said to represent the wife of the deity 'Agni'. It is uttered at the end of every mantra recitation during a homam and is said to 'open the doorway' of the sacred fire. Therefore, it is regarded as important to time the release of the offering from the homa ladle or spoon into the fire with the exact utterance of the word 'Svaha'.

For example, if one wanted to offer worship to Shiva via the performance of a homam, one would invoke His presence in the sacred fire, and then make offerings into the fire while reciting one of His mantras with 'Svaha' at the end, e.g. Om Namah Shivaya, Svaha.

-The smoke generated by the performance of a homa is regarded as being energetically (and some say, even physically) cleansing or purifying. It is said to create a positive atmosphere in the surroundings and a feeling of general wellbeing in the performers of the homa and others who may also be present. It is said to provide divine protection and create a strong sense of inner connectedness with the Divine if performed correctly with faith and devotional feeling.

Needless to say, therefore, a homa or havana is a valuable addition to a mantra japa practice. It enhances, magnifies and builds upon a mantra japa practice (hence it is also a part of the purascharana practice).

As I mentioned earlier, simple homas can be performed by anyone who is willing to study the subject just a little. There are Gurus and other excellent teachers online who have kindly provided 'do it yourself' manuals to conduct a simple homa.

One example, whom I have mentioned previously on this website, is Shri Narasimha Rao. He has done an excellent job of making the homa ceremony easy to understand and perform even by those with no previous experience. 

I have used his homa manuals to perform homas occasionally for Narayana, Shiva and the Divine Mother. I have always felt a great sense of joy, peace and contentment afterwards and felt that the atmosphere was somehow cleansed. 

Please see link below for his website with a lengthy list of wonderful manuals for various forms of the Divine: https://www.vedicastrologer.org/homa/download.htm. I have mostly been using his 'simplest' manuals in recent years due to the lack of time in performing the more lengthy ones and even these have been a wonderful experience.

I would like to say a little more on the subject of simple homas. Life, as we all know, can be very busy. And the idea of performing even the simplest homa of the type mentioned above can take around an hour or more from scratch (getting together all the materials, doing the homa and tidying up afterwards). For many of us with work and home-related commitments, along with our mantra japa sadhana, this may be tricky to do regularly. However, with regard to spiritual sadhana, it is regarded as far more effective to do a simple form of worship regularly rather than an elaborate one very rarely.

Therefore, I would like to mention another even easier sort of 'homa' that I discovered some time ago. This is known as a 'deepa homa' or 'lamp homa'.

In essence, the deepa homa involves lighting a lamp (an ordinary lamp like the one we would have on our altars) and then making offerings of little drops of ghee into this. This is relatively easy to perform as it requires minimal materials and preparation and can be done even weekly if not more often (the duration of time required for this may be as little as 10-15 minutes to longer if one wishes).

You must ensure that you take all precautions for fire safety while performing this form of worship (make sure your surroundings are safe and appropriate; also ensure that children do not have access to the fire). If you have a fire alarm at home, and wish to perform a regular homa, you will either need to do this in the garden (when not too rainy/windy) or if doing it indoors, figure out how to manage your fire alarm. This will not be an issue with a deepa homa generally as there is virtually no smoke produced.

Based upon what I have read and understood regarding this subject, the procedure for a deepa homam is broadly as follows:

1. Light a lamp (with ghee ideally) and a cotton wick (it is possible to buy ghee from grocery stores in most countries; alternatively, one can make it at home by gently heating unsalted butter; there are websites that explain how to do this; fresh ghee is lovely, both for homas and to eat!).

2. Obtain a bowl with some melted ghee in it and a spoon to make the offerings

3. Sit down next to the lamp and offer some simple initial prayers. This is in order to mentally prepare for the ceremony, to connect with the Divine within yourself and within the fire, and invoke the blessings and protection of God. 

For example, spend a minute or two invoking/reciting the mantras of Ganesha, your Guru (if you have one, otherwise simply say 'Om Shri Gurave Namah to invoke the Universal Guru/God) and your favourite deities.

4. Start the ceremony: 

Invoke the form of God whom you wish to worship in the sacred fire of the lamp. Ask Him/Her to be present in full manifestation and accept the offerings that you are going to make. State the purpose for your conducting this worship (i.e. the spiritual or material goal).

5. Perform the ceremony: 

Recite the mantra you have selected and utter 'Svaha' at the end. As you say, 'Svaha', offer a drop of ghee from the spoon into the fire of the lamp (be careful not to accidentally extinguish the flame when offering the ghee as the fire here is a small one; this is not usually an issue in a regular homa where the fire is much bigger).  

These drops of ghee will be consumed by the fire gradually over time. Let the fire extinguish itself after consuming the ghee (this usually occurs within a few hours; do not artificially put out the fire). 

You can also recite slokas (such as the Saptasloki Durga) or a set of mantras (such as the 108 names of Vishnu, Kali etc) and make offerings while adding 'Svaha' in the same way as with a mantra.

5. Complete the ceremony:

Once the ceremony is completed, offer gratitude to God for being present and for His/Her blessings and help in performing it. Make an apology for any accidental mistakes or lapses in concentration/devotion, and surrender the doership of the ritual to God. 

Here is a useful website of the Guru, Anandi ma, with a video by her disciple demonstrating the performance of the lamp/deepa homa: https://dyc.org/simple-ghee-lamp-fire-ceremony/

With Navaratri coming up next week, I have taken up the chanting of some mantras of the Divine Mother, particularly the Navarna mantra which my Guru advises should be chanted during this time. 

I have also performed the above deepa homa a couple of times in recent days with mantras for Narayana, Durga and Kali (including the 108 mantras for Kali https://www.drikpanchang.com/deities-namavali/goddesses/parvati/mahavidya/kali/108-kali-names.html). The purpose of this has been to pray for protection of innocent people (especially children) on both sides of the current unfortunate war in the Middle East. I plan to continue this worship and prayers in the coming days and weeks, particularly during Navaratri and the upcoming eclipses.

In times of distress and suffering, it is the Divine Mother and Narayana who are associated with taking avatars and actively intervening to protect the good, destroy evil and grant protection and peace. 

I very much hope and pray for Their divine intervention in this extremely sad situation. I pray that They may protect both the people of Israel and Palestine, especially those who are young and vulnerable. I also pray that They may do whatever They feel is right to resolve this situation and bring lasting peace to this region. 

May They give strength, courage and protection where They feel this is needed; may Divine justice be done in full; may Divine will be done. 

Please do also consider doing some mantra japa and homa for peace in this region.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Om Shri MahaKalikayai Namah.

Om Shri Durgayai Namah.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

P.S. Kali kavacha (the shield of Mother Kali):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TURckgElHg&list=RDLDsNoU4pbzY&index=2

I recently discovered this very beautiful prayer for protection addressed to Mother Kali. Like other 'kavacha' prayers of various forms of God, this is not merely a prayer but rather, is said to be a 'shield' of mantras ('kavacha' means 'shield' in Sanskrit). One who recites or hears this prayer receives Her protection. 

I have been listening to this quite a bit in recent days as a form of prayer for the people caught up in the war in the Middle East. May the Mother's protecting hand shield the children on both sides of the war especially, may Her will be done. 

Hari Aum Tat Sat.