havan

A Havan is a sacred purifying ritual (yajna) in Hinduism that involves a fire ceremony. It is a ritual of sacrifice made to the fire god Agni. After lighting a Havan Kund (sacrificial fire), objects such as fruits, honey, or wooden goods are put into the sacred fire.If there are any spirits that are evil around you or even inside you they get burned off in the sacred fire.It is believed that this sacrifice will bring health, happiness, luck and prosperity.

See also

• Agnihotra
• Homa
• Puja

The havan or fire sacrifice is one of the most important duties in Vedic culture. It is performed at dawn and dusk daily. Special havans are also performed on special occasions like birth, nomenclature, admission to school and convocation, marriage, inauguration, festivals, renunciation and death. The havan comprises two procedures, i.e., the dropping of oblation ( ahuti ) and the chanting of hymns( vedic mantras). The oblations consist of four kind of substances- the nutritious, the odoriferous, the sweet, and the medicinal. The hymns are categorised according to the occasion, and some of them are common to all purposes. Man discharges a number of impurities from his body, which produce the stink, disease and sorrow. In return he should purify and enrich the air that is the common source of life and health to all beings. Since the fragrance through flowers, scented sticks and perfumes is not so effective as that through the purification of atmosphere by fumigation of healthful and anti-disease substances, it is better to embrace the latter in our daily life. It is alleged that the havan produces carbon-di-oxide gas, which is injurious to human health, and this makes the havan harmful to human beings. This charge is totally unscientific, unnecessary and misleading, although carbon-di-oxide is abundantly formed during the havan. Carbon-di-oxide is not so harmful as it is propagated to be. It is rather useful to the plants, and also to the animals in cyclic return. Even if considered with a bias, carbon-di-oxide is being continuously produced in preparing foods, manufacturing commodities, running vehicles and in respiration. Can these processes be avoided by anyone for a second ? Then why to avoid the havan that brings inumerable assets to mankind ! The harmful gas is carbon monoxide which is formed when the woodsticks are smoulderig and not burning with flames. Therefore, the woodsticks should be arranged scientifically and oblations dropped carefully in the fire pot so as to allow more and more carbon-di-oxide to evolve with less and less carbon monoxide.

THE HAVAN GAS

The nutritious, odoriferous, sweet and medicinal substances, offered in the fire pot, immediately evolve an excellent havan gas that is healthful, anti-disease, energetic and pleasing. There are people who fail to digest the oral diet containing milk, butter, almonds etc., but they can easily digest anything carried by the havan gas direct to the lungs. The havan gas contains a rich carbon-di-oxide which combines with water used at the fire place, becomes heavier to rest down, and spreads in the nearby area. This nourishes the plants grown in the area. Thus for vegetation, the havan gas is better than the normal air. The havan gas carries the rarefied ghee ( a kind of melted butter ) that possesses a disintegrating power of high order. It disintegrates the impure, stinking and infected substances present in the atmosphere, reduces them to lighter components, and drives them out of the house. The fresh and good air then comes i, purifying the house both physically and chemically. It is a common experience that ghee freezes earlier than water does. The hot havan gas carrying rarefied ghee, rises up in the atmosphere where the water vapours are in abundance. The ghee gets frozen, becomes heavier, and moves back to the earth along with clouds of water. Thus the havan gas helps a lot in bringing the rains down. The rains come to the earth through the havan gas in addition to that falling naturally.

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