Importance of Hawan and yajna and science behind it in Hindu culture
Hawan is a special type of ritual performed in Hindu culture around a fire, which is performed by the priest. It is a very sacred ceremony performed in a Hindu community. While the ceremony may be same the motive for which the ceremony is held by peoples may vary. Hawan is a religious ceremony, the people today mainly perform it due to its religious and sentimental value.
However, many people do not know that hawan hold many scientific benefit also not just religious and sentimental value. Importance of Hawan by scientific perspective is supported and backed up by many researches. The ritual, mantras, equipment’s used in the ritual holds many scientific functions not just religious one. One must have deeply studied and researched about hawan if they know importance of hawan by scientific perspective.
Hawan is a ritual solely originated from Hindu or Vedic religion. The mention of hawan or yajna can be found in the ancient Hindu texts and scriptures. Nobody knows exactly who or when invented this religious ritual. However, this much is sure that the ritual is thousands and thousands of years old, and the ritual originated in ancient Indian sub-continent.
The ritual was also adopted by the different religions like Buddhism and Jainism. Importance of hawan in scientific, religious, and sentimental fields made the ritual so popular that it got integrated even into other religion. When hawan got integrated into other religions the name also got little bit changed. Homa, yajna are some of the other’s names of hawan in Hindu religion. While it is called Goma in Buddhism or fire religion. The Sanskrit meaning of hu from which homa waw derived means sacrifice to the fire, offering to the fire or pouring to the fire.
Hawan Kund
Hawan Knud is the center place for the performance of the ritual. It is the special type of pit made to light the fire. It is made at the center place where the hawan ritual is going to be performed.
Anciently for performing hawan, big square pit was dug, and big fire was lighted in the pit for the performance of hawan. However, these days people rarely light so big fire. It may be due to urbanization. Due to urbanization, there is no big open spaces left. Hence, lighting big fire in congested environment may result in big fires.
There is no specific type of standard to make a specific sized pit and specific volume of fire. The goal is to offer the offering or sacrifice to the fire. Hence fire is needed, the volume of pit and fire is not so important. If you are performing hawan in your residence then small pit and fire is sufficient. However, if a big hawan is being done with the involvement of community members or many people then the fire and pit should be increased accordingly. Try to make the length, breadth, and height of the same length, that is one important rule.
Types of Hawan
There are several types of hawan and importance of hawan is also a bit based on that type. The type of hawan is done according to the need and to please certain deity.
The several types of hawan performed are as follows:
– Mahalaxmi Havan
– Rudra Hawan
– Sudarshan Hawan
– Sarswati Hawan
– Laxmi Narayan Hawan
– Mahakali Hawan
– Gayatri hawan
– Laxmi Narshima Hawan
– Nakshatra Hawan
– Laxmi Ganapati Hawan
There are some of the most popular hawan that are performed. However, there are many other types also. Importance of hawan varies from what type it is. Some is done for economical balance, some for peace, some for energy, and some for knowledge and enlighten. However, for all various the common thing is the fire pit and offering to the fire.
It is particularly important that before performing hawan people understand hawan as well as importance of hawan. Hawan is a multi-dimensional thing when we deeply look at it. May be hundreds of years ago it was only looked as a religious point of view. However, now we know differently. We know the science behind it. It has become a mixture of religion and science.
Hawan Ingredients
Hawan has many ingredients. Some of the ingredients may vary according to the religion, culture, and type of hawan performed. However, most of the ingredients remains same.
The list of ingredients are:
Haldi, Chandan, Rice, Flowers, sandal wood, Jau, Til, Akshata, camphor, ghee, honey, Kamal gatta, cow dung, Kush, cloves, coconut, fruits, mango and peepal leaves, nutmeg, red sandal wood, hawan utensils,dhup, etc.
Many people do not understand the importance of hawan. They see hawan as a religious ritual but do not know the science behind it. Following are the importance of Hawan and science behind it:
Air Purification
One of the biggest importance of hawan is air purification. Hawan purifies the air in many ways. When big flame is lighted it heats the air around the surrounding getting rid of the potential bacteria’s and other harmful microbes. The heated air gets lighter and gets upward, then the cold air replaces the warm air and starts to get warm. This process is continued until the whole surrounding air gets cleaned.
Another thing to get noted during the hawan is the type of wood used for the fire ceremony. Sandal wood, mango, pipal are some of the several types of wood used for the ceremony. Mango wood when burnt creates formic aldehyde gas, which has the capacity to purify the atmosphere. The gas is known to kill bacteria, other harmful microbes and sterilize the environment.
During the hawan ceremony ghee, camper are the main ingredients that are poured into the fire pit. The smell of burnt ghee and camper make the surrounding purified. Also, some research suggests that the burnt smoke of ghee that goes up in the atmosphere comes down to the earth by rain. That type of rain is filled with nutrition’s and is believed to be exceptionally good for the agriculture. Another thing about ghee from smoke is that it dissolves the harmful toxic substances in it, making the environment cleaner.
Another thing about the hawan smoke is that it is an incredibly good mosquito rappeler. Not, only mosquito, it also gets rids of other insects and bacteria. These benefits and advantages reflect the importance of hawan.
Home sterilization
Sterilization of home and hawan site is another importance of hawan. Painting the hawan site and house with cow dung and red mud is the ancient rule that people even follow. People know it as rule for hawan, but do not know the scientific reason behind it.
The mixture of cow dung and red mud, when applied to the walls acts as a shield for bacteria and fungus. The mixture has a good anti-fungal, anti-bacterial property. This rule for hawan, is secretly a scientific method which makes even more curious about other importance of hawan from scientific view.
The mud homes that are painted with cow dung becomes the good insulator of heat. During summer it keeps heat out making the interior of house cool. Then, in winter it keeps the heat in making the house warm and keeping the cold out.
Agriculture and fertile land
Food is the basic need of every living beings. No one can survive without food. Agriculture is the key by which we all get food to our tables. The ancient hawan technique uses various methods to improve the overall agriculture. From vague ways to very minute microbial stage it works in all ways.
Importance of hawan is so wide that it even touches agriculture. The hawan woods are of different trees like mango, pipal, sandal wood, and other trees with medicinal properties. When these are burned the remained ashes are extraordinarily rich in minerals and elements. It is practiced from hundreds of years to put the hawan ashes into the agricultural fields for better yield.
The fumes of hawan ingredients go to the atmosphere, then comes down when they get mixed with rain. These waters now mixed with very nutritious elements acts as a natural fertilizer to the plants. These non-toxic chemicals enhance the agricultural products by making land more fertile. Moreover, this process has no drawback and only benefit.
There is another importance of hawan from agricultural point of view. When the hawan kunda is heated, not only the woods turn into ashes, but the ground also gets heated. The heated ground absorbs the minerals from under it making the surface of the land more fertile.
Mental, psychological, and spiritual peace
Among the various importance of hawan, it is the most notable and obvious one. One does not need to know the scientific procedures and facts to feel it. One can attend a hawan ritual and can immediately feel it.
The hawan environment is so made that it invokes a psychological effect in the people. It makes the person calm from the inside. The attitude of peoples attending it, the ingredients, the flowers, scent purifies a person from inside out.
When a person sees or witness a violent action, his inner psychology is teaching the person that behavior. Such is the human inner psychology. So, human need to go to peaceful, spiritual place to balance the inner spirituality and mental health. Hawan ritual is such place which helps you mentally as well as spiritually. Importance of hawan has wide range from physical body to spiritual and mental also.
Power of mantras
Mantras are the souls of hawan. Powerful mantras signify the importance of hawan in our lives. Mantras are the ancient sounds that have mysterious properties. Science do not accept that mantras have special mystical abilities, because science need facts and evidence. However, science also cannot completely reject the power of mantras.
Mantras scientifically are sound and vibrations, a form of energy. These energies when projected will definitely give the outcome. Also, the chanting’s changes the psychology of the person. It makes the person calmer, understanding and more genial towards the world. Sages say that power of hawan lies in the mantra used during the hawan.
Fight against diseases
Getting rid of diseases in also one of the major importance of hawan. Disease is the abnormality caused in the body, by the introduction of the foreign body of due to lack of essential elements in the body. Diseases and disorder have been around as long as the humans have been. Now, the scholars have hypothesized a missing link between diseases, disorders and hawan.
The passage of medicine in the gas or smoke form is considered one of the fastest methods of releasing the medicine inside the body. It has almost immediate effect to the body. The scholars had hypothesized that hawan may have created to fight with the diseases of brain and other parts. Hawan uses various Phyto chemicals and nutritional substances in the process.
Foreg, when ghee is poured into the hawan kunda, it gets transformed into ketones and go through the nasal route to the brain. These ketones supply the epilepsy (neuro patients’ brain with the energy to survive. Also, the fumes of the burnt ghee when passes through the respiratory system, it clears blood clots an heals respiratory system. In addition to that if there is any bacteria and foreign harmful microorganisms present in the system it also gets rid of that. Such is the importance of hawan.
Cleanliness and water purification
Importance of hawan is further high lightened by the benefits like water purification. Hawan both directly and indirectly plays key role in water purification and promoting health.
People back in time used to see hawan as a religious act to please gods more than a ritual with scientific act.
There is a rule that to perform the hawan, the ritual site as well as the house of the performer to be cleaned from top to bottom. Another thing is that before performing hawan the water inside the house should get replaced. All the water of the house gets replaced. Water neither have expiry date nor it deteriorates, however long-time storage of water makes it contaminated.
It accumulates dust from the surrounding, also insects and bacteria start to appear there. In the name of hawan the house will get clean water and cleanliness is maintained time to time. It is not the direct Importance of hawan or its scientific work. However, it is a psychological rule that acts are a scientific way.