Rudra Mantras as an Internal Yajnya Dr.R.L.Kashyap (adapted from a lecture delivered at Prashanthi Nilayam, Hyderbad in 2006) N OUR CULTURE, THE BASIS OF EVERYTHING IS THE VEDA AND VEDA MAN- ati ratra paramo yajnath kratuH – Among all the yajna kra- TRAS. THE VEDA MANTRAS ARE NOT ONE OR TWO BUT OVER 25,000. SO, tus (sacrificial offerings), ati raatra is the famous one� OUR GREAT SAGE VYASA HAS DIVIDED THEM INTO FOUR PARTS. RIGVEDA, I There are three different yajnas – jyothiryajnya, Ayuryajnya Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda� But he made sure that there were no fanatical view of superiority of any of and the gowyajnya� gow is not cattle� gow is the mental the vedas� � So, many mantras that are in Rigveda are also knowledge� jyothi is the higher knowledge and the Ayu is in Yajurveda and vice versa� In the yajurveda itself there are the prana� two divisions, Shukla and Krishna� We have to understand that there is a bAhya yajnya (exter- We need to first understand who rudra is! Normally we nal offering) such as pouring of ghee, and other offerings think rudra means he who makes us cry, “rudhati” (cries)� in the oblation and then, antar yajnya (internal offering) But, that is far from the truth� He is a beneficent God� What which is in our hearts� How do we do this inner yajnya? is his purpose? We have to know a little bit of Vedic San- During bAhya yajnya, the ritwik normally shaves off his skrit for this purpose, not the classical Sanskrit of Kalidasa head before he participates in the offering� Similarly, in the and others� Vedic Sanskrit says, “dra” is that flows, and “ru” internal yajnya we have to shave off all the emotions and is that which breaks� Therefore, he breaks all our obstacles we have to take out the koshas (various internal sheaths), and makes us grow fast� That is the greatness of rudra� one by one till we locate the atman� Then it is atman that we have to offer to the higher spirit� That is Inner yajnya� Sri Aurobindo says that brahma, vishNu and maheshwara In this Inner yagnya only us, our concentration and enthu- are not some new people or things, as western academ- siasm are needed� Nothing more! We all can practice this ics portray (we have a tendency to blindly accept what Inner yajnya every day� the western academics say), but they are the prototypes st th th of brahmaNaspati of the vishNu and of the rudra of the The 1 , 4 and the 7 KAndas are very interesting in Krish- th th th Veda� brahmaNaspati is the Lord of the mantra (the po- na yajurveda� In the 4 KAnda, again, 5 and the 7 prapA- th tent word)� Lord gaNapati is the creator of the mantras� It takas are very interesting� It is in the 5 that we chant ‘na th is Vishnu who gives the space and rudra the force of evo- me’, ‘na me’, na me’, etc� So, the 5 is called as namaka and th lution� Rudra makes us go forward� He is Time� Therefore, the 7 is called as chamaka� Rudra is always pushing us and does not allow us to stay in So, what is the basis of namaka litany and chamaka litany? the same place� That is why in the Veda we call this world All said and done, these are not in the beginning but in the as ‘jagat’ – that which is continuously changing� If we think 5th prapAtaka� Then, what are the purposes of the 1st, 2nd, we are comfortable at a place, then the Lord woudn’t allow 3rd and 4th prapAtakas? Why are namaka and chamaka us those comforts� He will always break those comforts - not performed at the beginning? Normally when there is a ‘pain is the hammer of the Gods’ generally so said in the series of lectures, the most important person is given the West� opportunity to speak at the end and not at the beginning� In 7th Kanda of Krishna Yajurveda and in the 4th prapAtaka, The argument of the Vedic sages is that, before we can get “ati raatra” is described� rAtra is night and ati is exceeding� the full benefit, we have to energize ourselves� Again, for So, what this means here is that we have to exceed the example, if we do not bake a jar properly, it breaks while rAtri, - not the ordinary darkness (or night) but the dark- cooking� Similarly, it is called as ataptha-thanu (this is the ness of ignorance� In another discussion in the same place word used in the Rigveda, 9�83�1)� We want a body that they say, brahma vaadinaH vadanti – “the great people does not break; so it needs to be baked or seasoned by the who know the brahma discuss”� It is well known, they say, fire of tapas (penance)� Therefore, we need to prepare our- MAHARUDRAM 2012 27 Rudra Mantras as an Internal Yajnya selves first; then we are ready for the 5th prapAtaka which Na mama means surrender� The first thing in Vedic practice is namaka� In this namaka itself, we start saying namasthe is ‘aspiration’� We should really ‘love’ God; secondly we have rudra manyave� manyu is a anger; therefore, does it mean to reject all the ’negative qualities’ in us, and third ‘surren- Rudra is angry? If it is not so, �so, what is manyu? In the der’� In bhagavad gItA, Krishna says, nimitta maatram bha- Rigveda, in the 10th manDala, there are 2 sUktas, 10�83 and va savyasAachin – ‘I have done everything here, you just be 10�84� They are about manyu� Sri Aurobindo says manyu there as an instrument’� That is the idea of surrender� That starts with the word man ‘mind’� manyu is the ‘force of the is why we say ‘na me’, ‘na me’ ‘na me’� We want this aspect of mind’� That is why, if we want to invoke ‘Lord narasimha’ or surrender to go to every fiber of our consciousness, every ‘sudarshana chakra’ then we invoke sUktas 10�83 and 10�84 fiber of our body and into our mind� So, this way, the idea as they bring up a force� Therefore right interpretation of of all-sided perfection can surely be achieved� rudramanyave is, “Oh Rudra - who has the power and force of the control of mantra - please release all of our energies In the Veda, when we say faith, ‘Hey Agni’, He comes there� one by one”� In Sama Veda we say in the first mantra – agni ayahi vithaye – ‘Oh, Agni! Come here’, for what purpose? ‘For your mani- In this Rudram, there are 11 anuvAkas; in the 10th anuvAka festation� We prepare a seat for you� Oh agni, we do not is the famous mantra – shivAyacha, shivatarAyacha� That know what is correct, so please sit here and tell us what is means ‘Oh lord, you are not only shiva – auspicious, but correct and wrong’� That is the prayer� So, the Vedic Gods you are one degree more’; ‘tara’ means more� The point is come and help us at every stage of our journey, as our life that we can’t really describe Him, as we are just humans is a journey� Why is agni so important? agne naya – ‘Oh, and so we have to use adjectives and epithets� agni! Lead me’ we say� Lead me to what? Lead me to great- er and greater heights of consciousness and perfection� Once we develop energy, then we have to make This point is very important� prANashakti (life energy) strong� Therefore in 4th kAnda, and in 6th prapAtaka, we invoke the famous mantras of the How do we realize all this? Firstly, by having faith; second- horse, means vital energy� Then the 7th prapAtaka says - ly, by realizing the value of it� It is not an ordinary man- ‘you have to continue your journey every day, every year tra or a verse, like Kalidasa or Keith, shelly or Bering of the to go from peak to peak’� Rigveda, 1st manDala, 10th sUkta, modern world from which some people are very eager to 2nd mantra says: yatsaanoh saanumaaruhat – ‘You have to quote� That is why our Rigveda says, ruche akshare parame go from one peak to another’� But it also says that God’s vyoman – ‘the mantra comes from highest flame�’ A person help is always there� yutheravidam-ye vijati – ‘Lord Indra who does not know it – yamruthe kimkarishayati – ‘what comes on his own and offers help’� can he do with a mantra’? Therefore only when we recite a mantra with faith that it manifests its power to us� That is The goal of the Veda is all–sided perfection� What is that? the importance of the Vedic Mantras� We should be perfect in the body, perfect in the prana, mind, creativity, technology, music and everything� For People always state that Vedas are ritualistic and Upani- all these, we need powers� That is the list of powers “cha shads are the books of wisdom� We should not believe in me”, “ cha me”… stronger will power, clarity of mind and so all these things, because those who comment like that on� So they are not mere epithets we blindly use, no� Each have usually never read Veda or Upanishads properly� word therein, has a power� When does it become mantra? Among the Upanishads, the greatest is Brihadaranyaka It becomes a mantra when we make it a part of our struc- Upanishad� All the 10 Upanishads are not of equal size� ture� Then what does it do? It reveals its own power� ye- Chandogya and Brihdaranyaka are bigger, too big ones, shatama, vivruvanthe tanuswaam – is the Mundaka quota- like 300 pages� All others are smaller, 10 pages or 5 pages� tion that means: ‘Atman reveals its own body’� Therefore, when we make each mantra our own personal friend, then Let us consider one of the biggest, the Brihadaran- it says ‘Oh boy, you really deserve it, and so I am going to yaka� The last section of the Taittareeya Samhita of give you my power’� Krishna yajurveda is identical to the first section of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad� According to the Bri- 28 MAHARUDRAM 2012 Rudra Mantras as an Internal Yajnya hadaranyaka Upanishad in the first section ushava is usha� That is the beginning of our journey� Finally aswasya, medhyasya shirah – ‘ushA, the dawn, is the it says, the ‘whole world, the horse, is in