Fire Ceremony Instructions
FIRE CEREMONY at the Haidakhandi Universal Ashram
Fire is used as a symbolic form of worship in religions all around the
world. It has many symbolic uses. In religion and science, it is
considered a source of energy. The sun is a source of energy without
which the Earth could not support life, and it has been and still is
worshipped as a manifestation of the Divine Energy. Fire, a familiar
form of the sun's fiery energy, is a potent Purifier. Whatever we offer
to the fire is changed instantly; the gift to the fire is irrevocable.
Fire is symbolic of the flame of purity and devotion within the
individual, which transforms individual lives.
Fire worship is probably the oldest form of worship still in use. The
ceremony we participate in at the Ashram has developed from the
traditions of the Aryans who entered India thousands of years ago. Many
historians say the Aryans came into the Indus Valley about 4000 years
ago; religious tradition puts their arrival thousands of years earlier.
They came from Eastern Europe - perhaps the Ukraine, or Poland - and
spread in many directions. The Persians (also Aryans) still celebrate
their New Year (the first day of spring) by jumping through a blazing
bonfire to burn away their short-comings of the past year and enter the
new year without those encumbrances. Until recent years many Europeans
celebrated the Christmas and New Year season by burning the Yule log.
In India, the fire ceremony (called a Yagna or havan) developed into a
ritual filled with symbolism and meaning. The Aryans were a nomadic
people who moved with their flocks. They carried their fire in clay
pots; from the ashes of their last fire came the coals from which a new
fire was made. When they settled for a time in a new place, they built
an altar - either a pyramid of mud bricks built up from a rocky base, or
a pyramid down into the earth, as we have at the Ashram. Onto or into
the pyramid, they built a fire from the coals they brought with them.
This fire was kept lively as long as they stayed in that place. It was
the center of their lives and worship - their temple.
Every morning the priests purified the area and prepared for the tribe's
fire ceremony. The people gathered around, with heads of household
sitting close to the fire and making offerings directly. Wives and
children sat behind the head of family, participating in the offerings
by putting their right hands on the right shoulder of the person in
front of them, so their energy flowed through each act of offering.
These Aryan precursors of the Hindu faith called themselves followers of
the Sanatan Dharma. "Sanatan" means eternal; the Dharma is a way of
life, in which people live in harmony with the Divine process of
Creation, with the Divine Will, and with all other created beings,
animate and inanimate.
It is believed in much of India that the creation process begins with
the Divine expressing the sound "OM". The vibrations of this sound
reverberate throughout the universe and start the sub-atomic bits of
Energy bumping into each other. They form atoms and the atoms collect in
different forms by many processes until the universe we see (and those
parts that we do not see) is formed. So every element of the Creation
has the spark of the Divine Energy within it. Therefore, human beings
with consciousness and the power of thought, can live in harmony with
this process of Creation and with all created elements in the universe.
Like the ancient Aryans, we do the ceremony with clean hands, mouth
rinsed, our bodies bathed and covered with clean clothes. The
officiating priest or priests open the ceremony with mantras to purify
the area. Then, a sprinkling of water cleanses the fire pit, and a
symbolic bath of the Shiva lingam (a symbol of Lord Shiva's creative
powers) and/or of the form of our guru (in a photograph). As a guest is
welcomed in the East, this invocation ceremony offers water and
ointments for the bath, perfumed oils, chandan, kumkum and rice. A
sacred symbol is put on the Shiva lingam, on the form of the guru and
into the fire, which is also honored as a manifestation of The Divine.
Flowers and incense are offered to provide beauty and sweet scents.
Next all present make offerings together. Each offering is preceded by a
mantra, which invokes the energy of a particular aspect of the Divine.
Each mantra ends with the word "Swaha." Swaha has several meanings, one
of which is "I offer."
While the mantra is being said, each person offering picks up from his
or her plate a bit of the offering. It is taken with the second and
third fingers of the right hand, using the thumb to hold the offering on
the two fingers while picking it up. Keep the index finger out of this
offering process. The index finger is also known as the ego finger
(because we use it to point at people, often in an accusing, egoistic
manner). Ego and self-interest are not part of this ceremony. When the
officiating priest utters the word "Swaha," all repeat "Swaha" in unison
and, at the same time, make their offering to the fire in an
underhanded, gentle throw into the fire. Aim at getting your entire
offering into the fire; if any part of your offering falls short of the
fire pit, leave it there; this is the share of the asuric forces. (The
birds, mice, ants and chipmunks love it.)
Each offering is made to a specific aspect of the Divine. With each
offering, we offer something the Creation has provided for us. We are
symbolically offering back to Creation and to the Divine something
material that the Creation provides for our well-being. Each offering is
an act of sacrifice and of thanksgiving. With each offering we also have
an opportunity to offer something of ourselves. We can surrender anger,
greed, pettiness - or whatever - to the fire, with the conscious thought
that what we offer will be burned away and that our character will be
purified. We can offer hopes, dreams, our good qualities to the Divine
in the fire with the thought of their being purified and strengthened.
In this way, our every act of offering is a symbol of our sacrificial
offering of ourselves and our possessions to the harmonious operation of
the whole of Creation.
At some point, the officiating priest will state that we are ready for
the last five offerings. At this point, whatever is remaining in your
plate of offerings should be divided into five roughly equal portions.
These last five offerings are made with both hands and for the fifth
offering everyone stands. With the fifth offering, a coconut or other
nut is offered. This is a symbol of ourselves, our egos, as the last
offering.
The last portion of the ceremony is an aarati ceremony. A ghee lamp is
lit and each person at the ceremony may offer the Light to the Fire, to
the Shiva lingam, and to the guru. The symbolism is the burning away of
the darkness of ignorance that we have allowed to come between ourselves
and The Divine. Hold the lamp in your right hand and offer it clockwise
three or four times and pass it on to the next person. At the end of the
aarati, make a pranam (bow) to the fire as a guru - because it has
taught you something valuable - and sit for a few minutes in silence.
