[Advaita-l] On yajna

[Bhaskar YR]

sAshtAnga praNAms Sri Vidya prabhuji
Hare Krishna

I am really happy to note that, nowadays,  you are spending more time with the list and actively participating in the discussion and sharing your knowledge with all of us.

Yes, prabhuji, as you have rightly observed, Om tatsat, tatvamasi, ahaM brahmAsmi etc. are not vidhi-para vAkya-s,  those are only jnana bOdhaka Vakya-s.  Nevertheless, since, according to Advaita vedAnta, all the karma para vidhi vAkya-s should ultimately lead the kartru to karma phala saNyAsa, karma saNyAsa through chitta shuddhi, there is an admirable effort to philosophize the ritualistic part and symbolically explaining the rituals and things involved in those rituals  from the vedAntic point of view.  I have seen this type of symbolical explanations to the yOga chakra-s, nava dvAra-s, rAvaNa’s ten heads, shumbha, nishumbha, rakta beejAsura etc.  Since vaidika karma is purusha tAntra anyathA kartUm shakyaM expecting the same result i.e. chitta shuddhi, phala saNyAsa etc. It is because of this reason, in the vaidika rituals, there is a suggestion that  some time purusha to be treated  as agni, and some time stree denoted as agni since there is ‘vikalpa’ in both karma and karaNa.  After all while  doing the vaidika karma-s if we remember the vedAntic significance in it, nothing like that IMHO.  It is like elevating the lower things to the higher level.  Like eulogizing an ordinary clerk as the head of the dept. ☺ shankara while talking about prateekOpAsana says something like this and advises prateeka should be treated as devata and it should not be vice versa.

Just sharing my thoughts with you prabhuji.  Kindly correct me if I said anything wrong.

Your humble servant
Hari Hari Hari Bol!!!
bhaskar

om tat saditi nirdeSo brahmaNas trividhas smRtaH - gItA, chapter 17.

om tat sat has never been described as a vidhi (injunction) with respect to any yajna, to my knowledge. It is verbally uttered as a benediction at the end of any karmA, when offering the entire preceding act as brahmArpaNa. om tat sat is always applicable only in the realms of meditation and vedAnta jnAna, not as a vidhi for yajna.

Vidyasankar