by Swami Shankaratilaka
What is Homa?
What is Homa?
Homa is a sacred fire ceremony. Also known as Havan, Yagnya or Yagya. It invokes the presence of divinity through a specific process honouring it with the offering of various materials and intonation of sacred formulas, mantras.
Why do we do homa?
The fire element is present everywhere in the universe, also in our energy body called Sukshma Sharira, called existential fire, Bhutagni. It is manifested in our gross body in different forms, for example in the stomach this fire controls the digestive process or in the brain it allows the understanding of our sensory experiences.
The fire is essential and has immense power, it always remains pure.
Many people are weak due to impurities and blockages in the subtle channels of their body, through which energy flows, limiting the magnitude of the divine presence in them.
If we can overcome our weaknesses such as lust, greed, anger, jealousy and try to develop virtues like compassion, devotion and detachment, then gradually the impurities of the nadis dissolve and the existential fire, Bhutagni, will burn intensely. The presence of divinity in the external fire, homa, becomes a great help in this process of purification of the nadis.
Unlike other naturally occurring elements, the power of fire is so great that it always remains uncontaminated. During the Homa ceremony the offering of different elements invoke and feed the divine presence. This produces different energy reactions, which together with the powerful vibrations of the mantras, helps to generate a pure atmosphere, also clears the mind and positively transforms the karmas of the participants.
What should we do during the ceremony?
As if it was a meditation we seek to have our minds totally focused on the fire, on the offering and even if we do not understand the meaning of the mantras we must let our mind be flooded with their vibrations.
And if we wish to receive the divine grace to achieve a purpose in our lives how can we do that?
We write it down, along with our full name and if possible with the date, time and place of birth. Following the priest's indication we offer it to the fire.
As it is prescribed in the sacred scriptures, in the Vedas, each of the attendees make a donation to ensure the success of the homa, to help the maintenance of the sacred place and to pay gratitude to the priest.
Can we benefit from these ceremonies even when we are not present?
No doubt we can benefit from them through the formulas established in this connection, also explained in the sacred Vedas.
To do this we need to get in touch with the priest and let him know about our needs and purpose for which we want to perform the homa. We can perform either your are present or not. In both cases, details as date of birth, time and place of birth and full name are required.
Please request it in the email:
Basic protocol to be observed by attendees
It is very healthy perform this practice when fasting or without having eaten food for two hours before its realisation. This will help us make better use of our inner fire. The inner fire is responsible for the digestive process, the vision and the development of intelligence.
When we perform homa, the inner fire is increased due to the external action of the fire of the homa.
Participants must be neat, having showered and washed the mouth prior to the completion of the ceremony, which all together will ensure freshness to help the concentration of the mind.
Clothes to wear during the havan must be clean and appropriate. Preferably cotton and white colour. Lunghi and Kurta, are recommended or paijam and kurta.
The tradition is that all participants give dakshina, to buy the necessary materials used in the ceremony.
Our communication with the divine principle must be conducted in the most appropriate way, our bodily hygiene, dresses, materials, the recitation of mantras, the offerings, all form a set of tools to obtain the desired goals.
