Havan is prayer for divine salvation

 

As per the philosophy of Sanatan Dharma, an As seeker (sadhak), sooner or later, has to seek liberation from the cycle of birth and death, and there are prescribed ways and means to achieve that. In good olden days, people followed an order where God was first, society was second and self came only at the end to achieve spiritual bliss. But, nowadays that order is in topsy-turvy God is the last thing in the lives of many a people especially among the younger generation. 

Therefore, rituals like Havan become more important both for the individual as well as the community to underscore the virtues of religious rituals. Havan is one of the ten positive virtues or niyams that is prescribed for the devotees whose aspiration is ultimately to draw closer to the Divine and be one with Him It is also one way of performing deva yagya prescribed among the five daily duties to be done by a person as per tenets of our Sanatan dharma.

Havan is a vedic ritual. The offerings of ghee, guggal, shakkar (form form pure sugar) and other materials to the sacred fire amid chanting of mantras is a performing ritual, which is believed to have a purifying effect on the devotee who performs this oblation. Through the chanting of mantras and offerings into the sacred fire, one's body chakras are re-energized and create a revitalising and rejuvenating effect for both the body and the mind. Positive thoughts, words and actions should pave the way for further success.

The combined effect of the materials (samagin) used in the Havan produces gases that help in purifying the environment. The fumigating effect produced dispels negative energies and provides a protective shield around the house where the ritual is performed, thereby warding off any untoward energies. This induces peace, prosperity, and good health conditions which create clarity of thought, and improvement in the usage of mental faculties. The result then is success in all actions.

The process of "Bhoot- Shuddhi "or purification of the tattvas or elements within the individual who performs havan is also established Scientific experiments have proved that Have Destroys harmful bacteria in the atmosphere. For instance, a scientist called Tautilk proved that a patient stricken with the typhoid disease can be freed of this scourge if he is exposed to the smoke of Havan for half an hour.

The combination process helps transform one's thought patterns. Anger, rash reactions and irrational thinking are replaced by calmness, tranquillity, and controlled emotions. The individual acquires greater control of his life which offers wider scope for daily success. The performance of havan, while essential in the spiritual evolution of every devotee, is also important in fostering family togetherness. Through the practice of mantra recitation and the various activities involved in the physical preparations for havan, devotees develop a greater appreciation for the traditional religious practices of Sanatan Dharma. All of this helps to build Hindu pride and resilience. May Divine Mata Bless us All! 

Learning about Havan

Havan, or Yagya, is performed to propitiate the blessings of Devis and Devtas for seeking penance or boons at individual, family, community levels or for the universal good or Jagat Kalyan.

Havan ( हवन ) is an initiation (आवाहन) for sacrifice (आहूती) of some articles like (हवन सामग्री) and our ego, into the sacred fire, in the (84) while recitation of Mantras (Vedic or otherwise) is done, in an orderly manner. The sequence for performance of Havanor Yagya, has come down through generations /ancient times by word of mouth, and later in writing on birch leaves (45) and now in the form of (पोथी/पांडुलिपी) form after the invention of the printing-press and paper. The sequence of Yagya used to be performed under the guidance and supervision of the spiritually exalted Rishis and Munis, and later by the leamed Purohits (practising brahmins) after the division of society on caste lines. 

There are two types of Yagyas 

In the first, Aahuti is offered in the sacred fire and the second type is called the Mantra Yagya (Japa Yagya) or Purushicharan

Havan is the act of putting efa/food, for Deltas/ Devis into the sacrificial fire (3) It is also called Homa (8) In the Kashmiri language, we call it as हुमुन The ladies used for it are called वोमन हुर, a deformed version of हमन हुरि

Classification of Yagyas

There are mainly three types of yagyas 

1. Soma Yagya. This Yagya lasts for several days and requires many Purohits (learned Pandit and Priests) This Yagya is hardly performed now, because of of paucity of time and of qualified Purohits The last one (Yagya) is reported to have been performed in Chennai in 1995. This is also called Maha Yagya

2. Haavir Yagya. This Yagya is mostly performed now for achieving fulfilment of certain desires by offering oblations into the sacrificial fire (Agni) to various deities This is what we Kashmiri Pandits have been doing when we perform a HAVAN It consists of Aajaya (आजय), Homa (होम) for oblation of Ghee E, havi, tundalitila homa (4) e fam (81) or oblations of barley, rice and till Anna homa (होम) for oblation of Ghee घी ,havi tundalitila homa यव   

तुन्ढल तिल (होम) or oblations of barley rice and till or oblation of cooked food. 

3. Paka Yagya. This homa is done on the occasion of performing Shradha T of our pitris' (पित्र) 

Kalshapooja is the start of this Havan, in which we pray to deities to come into the Kalash, a pot filled with water and walnuts (use of beetle ge leaves is done in the rest of India) for distribution of Naivaidya नवीद

Starting with the Ganapati homa, Vishnu homa, Surya homa and then the Devi homa. The Vedic homa vidhi constitutes offering oblation to deities from Ganesh Thavarajah, purusha Sukta, Sri sukta, 

Rig-Veda, Yajurveda and Rudra Mantras. 

For Surya homa, we follow Aaditya Hridiyam Stotramand Richa from Rig-Veda, devoted to jata vedas or Agni dev, which is taken as representing Aditya or Surya deva.

Swahakars

These are separate 3 a anushthans for these deities, which are appended with Vedic homa These 1000 names of deities are taken from f Ra of MahabharAta. These are :

1. Shiv swahakar, 2. Vishnu swahakar, 3. Bhavani swahakar from Rudrayamala Tantra

At the end of each name, word 'Swaha' is uttered and oblation is put into Agni. During Paka Yagya the word "Swadha' is uttered at the end of the offering. Behind all this is the belief that the Agni will take our oblations to the desired quarters (Agni here is not the literal fire, but the deity that is in the consecrated fire). 

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Courtesy: B.L. Reshi Koshur Samachar 2017, October