Continued from page 14Co

channels between the heavens and the earth are opened so that
the Gods can enter the terrestrial sphere to spread their bene-
ficent blessings upon the earth. A large area, perhaps 30 metres
square, is cordoned off by a white fence made of bamboo poles
and white wood and surmounted by a white awning. Within the
main area are others, marked off by poles painted with red
powder, and little shrines heaped with fruit and flowers. The area
that has been chosen conforms to scriptural requirements in
terms of type of surroundings, quality of the earth and so on, and
the whole place has been purified by Brahmin priests chanting
mantras to ward off any negative influences and to set the stage
for what is to come. The yagya is taking place at a time that has
been deemed auspicious by professional astrologers, using a
system at least as old as that of ancient Babylon, yet which is
more comprehensive, including, for example, the precession of
the equinoxes, which Western astrology ignores. Without this
astrological co-ordination with cosmic rhythms, the power of the performance would be nullified.
ThWithin the innermost area are set various fire pits of different
sizes and shapes: round, square, semicircular, one is in the
shape of a bird — facing east, west or south. Each one is built
up of bricks. The fire altars represent the universe in miniature
— the realms of the Gods, the departed ancestors, the presiding
spirits — and due to the law of corre-spondences, the close attention paid to
this miniature
cosmos by the
sacrificer can
affect the cos-
mos at large.
Th‘As above, so
below,’ taught
the ancient
mage Hermes
Tristmegistus,
and in this law,
known to all the
ancients, lies
the crux of the matter. There is no ultimate difference between the vast universe
‘out there’ and the limited universe of the human being and body,
except that the individual believes it to be separate and different.
A human being is a microcosm of the universe and the
universe is a macrocosm of the human being. Each cosmos
affects the other; the universe affects us, moment to moment, and we affect it,
for good or ill.
The cosmos is
the body of the
Absolute, the
vessel through
which the
Absolute
expresses itself,
and everything
in the universe,
whether animate
or inanimate, contains at least a spark of that universal consciousness. It is this
law that the Vedic civilisation was built on and which provides an
explanation for the fire rituals. Seated by one of the fires is the
patron who has sponsored this yagya, which is for world peace and will last for
five days. He will
play a part in the
proceedings,
and pay the
priests involved
with food, gold
and some cows.
He sits with his
wife and son,
who, as his
immediate
family, are there
to witness the
proceedings and
gain some of the karmic benefit, and wears a ceremonial yellow robe and has a freshly shaven
head, one of the various ritual purifications he has undergone in
the past seventeen days so as to be fit to take part in the cere-
mony and come into contact with the deities. Today, he has
started the day with a ritual bath and a lengthy meditation, but
has been spared some of the more demanding preparatory rites attached to some yagyas, such as having to run a chariot race
against sixteen other participants, win it, and then with his wife,
mount a specially constructed grid or ladder. This post repres-
ents the Cosmic ladder that connects earth to the heavens, and
links the Gods and humanity; its rungs signify the different
ThContinued on next page (Page 16)............................TOP OF PAGE

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PICTURE CAPTIONS
Top Picture: Vedic priests
tend a fire pit, shaped like
a bird to represent
the universe.
Middle Picture: The high
point of the yagya. Vedic
priests reverently press
the divine plant Soma to
extract its essence as an
offering to the Gods.
Bottom Picture: A Vedic
priest makes an offering
of ghee, pouring the molten
butter into a square pit,
representing the earth. The
two spheres (heaven and
earth are united by the
wooden pole (yapa) in
the foreground.
Photos: Blisspix
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'Avert the danger which has yet
to come.'

Yoga Sutras 2.16

'Transcend.'

Rig Veda 10.19.1
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