The Inner Yajna

The deeds of man elevate him or engender his fall. All deeds of his that are in consonance with the principles of righteousness deserve the dignity of the appellation, yajna (sacrificial rite). There are two types of yajna mentioned in the sacred texts; the external and the internal. The outer form is not so important or productive. It is mentioned only to be discarded and dismissed, for, of what use is a shell without the kernel? Adoring the Lord while meditating on His Name and Glory is also a form of inner yajna.

The yajna in which animals were sacrificed at the altar (balipetham), is an external act, but it has an inner significance. The mind is the sacrificial post and the animal instincts still resident in the human character are to be slaughtered on the balipetham of the mind. The megalomania in man which urges him on to blind pursuit of power is the buffalo that has to be sacrificed. The foolishness that overwhelms man and renders him weak and docile is the sheep that has to be renounced. The slyness and stratagem-filled mind of man is the cat that has to be given up in the same manner. This is the inner yajna of which the outer yajna is but a reflection. When the external rites are being performed, their inner significance must be kept in view. It is a sin to go through with the outer formalities without any knowledge of their significance.

Man Is Many Animals In One

Man has passed through many animal lives before he has come to earth in human form. Strains of animal nature such as cruelty, anger, greed and hatred still persist in him. Man is many animals in one. He has the jackal, the buffalo, the tiger, the elephant—all in him. He must cast off these traits from his composition. When he indulges in needless and useless controversy on matters beyond his understanding, he is announcing himself as a sheep; when he jumps from one idea to another, from one ideal to another, from one project to another, without fully involving himself in any, he is exhibiting the nature of the monkey.

The nature of the Inner yajna can best be understood if we examine the story of Emperor Bali. He was the grandson of Prahlada, the celebrated devotee of the Lord. Prahlada braved a succession of inhuman tortures inflicted on him by his father to force him to retract his faith. Bali placed at the Feet of the Lord, as an offering to Him, all the lands he ruled over, as well as Heaven Itself, which he could claim as a reward for his piety. Bali decided to perform the unique yajna named Vishwajit. One feature of this yajna is that it can be undertaken only by an emperor, signifying victory over his enemies and sovereign power over their peoples. The emperor announces by this yajna that he is the unquestioned master of the empire that he has enlarged, and immediately after this announcement he rids himself of the vast treasures he has earned and accumulated by force of arms, in lavish charity among all sections of his people.

Bali was a ruler who placed the welfare and prosperity of his subjects foremost in his consideration. He was the symbol of discriminating talent, Prajna-shakti. And the Lord who came to him as Vamana, is the symbol of the Divinity latent in everyone. When that Divinity manifests Its Omnipresence, It takes on the Trivikrama (the trifold aspect), covering earth, sky and the heavens.

Reason For The Lord Seeking Charity From Bali

The Lord’s Incarnation as Vamana and His Manifestation as Trivikrama, happened at the place later called Siddhashrama, abode of achievement. This was the place also chosen by sage Vishwamitra for his austerities. Vishwamitra means “friend of the Universe.” He was not merely a great sage, he was the embodiment of the Higher Will, the Ichchha-shakti (Power of desire).

Legend has it that the Lord sent Emperor Bali down to the nether regions. This only indicates the trampling of the ego into oblivion. The usual belief is that the performance of yajnas according to Vedic regulations will confer worldly prosperity and heavenly joy. But Emperor Bali renounced material benefits and illusory joys. That is the reason why he could get Divine grace to such a large extent that the Lord Himself sought charity from him!

Yajna Is An Exercise In Renunciation

Any act that is performed as a dedication to Godhead is a yajna. Manu, the ancient lawgiver, has declared that reverential prostration done before the mother, father and preceptor is indeed a yajna; when the egoistic pride or greed is absent and when the object is the good of all, certainly the deed is yajna.

Throughout the empire of Bali, there was none so poor that he was forced to beg for alms. Those who came into his realm from outside were also well provided for. The yajna is an exercise in renunciation; it should not emerge off and on, and then be submerged. The spirit of renunciation must be evident in every single act throughout one’s life. Bali was an example of this type of consistent renunciation.

Those who manage to go through life without caring for honest living are akin to the crow, and those who adopt devious ways to earn a livelihood are akin to the jackal.

Though Emperor Bali was born in a rakshasa clan (known for its demonic nature, but with the one exception of Prahlada), he had acquired a pure heart, free from hatred and pride. He had mastered the waywardness of his mind. The Lord then appeared before him as a mendicant, as a great tribute to his worthy nature. The Lord asked from him only three feet of ground. This was a symbolic request, for the three feet meant the bhu, bhuvar and suvar lokas, representing the gross, subtle and causal bodies of man. The lokas (worlds) are not placed one over the other or one after the other. They are immanent, each in the other. The visible loka is the bhu-loka, the vital atmosphere around it is the bhuvar-loka and the world of ananda which envelopes the vital is the suvar-loka. Man has five koshas (sheaths) which encase him. The material and the mental comprise the bhu-loka, the vital and the intellectual comprise the bhuvar-loka and the Anandamaya is the suvar-loka.

Man Falls By Attachment And Rises By Non-Attachment

The royal preceptor of Emperor Bali was Shukracharya. He had, by his austerities and scholarship, attained a place of high honor among the monks, but he stood in the way of the renunciation which Bali had set before himself. Shukracharya could teach, but he did not himself follow what he taught others as desirable. He was a highly respected monk, but he had this one great flaw. It is such people, who call themselves ‘theists’ and ‘believers,’ that promote atheism and disbelief. They have no faith in the validity of what they profess; their actions are contrary to their declarations. Scholars run after possessions which they declare are ‘trivial and temporary.’ They preach devotion to God but are devoted to mammon. They accuse others for causing the decline of dharma (righteousness) but they are themselves the cause.

When Bali came forward to offer to the Lord three feet of ground that He had asked for, Shukracharya, the all-knowing preceptor, protested and pointed out that the Lord had come only to ruin Bali and rob him of his possessions. But the pupil was greater than the preceptor. He replied, “Well, if He is the Lord Himself who is extending His Palm to receive the gift, I am certainly the most fortunate being on earth. The hand that creates and fosters the Universe is now held before me, and my hand held over It is dropping the gift into It. Do not prevent me. Be happy that It has become possible for me to do this. I shall renounce heaven, my empire and even my life for this one piece of good fortune.”

Man falls by apeksha (attachment) and rises by upeksha (non-attachment). Bali reached the acme of upeksha and his preceptor failed to bring him down.

The Vishwajit-yajna was the external yajna (sacrificial rites), but the inner yajna was the great renunciatory surrender of Bali at the Lotus Feet of the Lord. In the consecrated fire of the heart he poured, as offering, his ego nature; he rose, humbler and wiser, and saluted the Divine within Himself, manifest as Vamana incarnate.

Inauguration day of Yajna, Prashanthi Nilayam, 15-10-1977