Balivaishva Yagya: Significance And Importance in Daily Life

. Gayatri and Yagya have a unique position and constitute the foundation of the Vedic Culture. Rishis gave concepts of Gayatri and Yagya to practice in daily life to refine animal instincts to divine personalities with the purpose of universal welfare. For this, one of the methods given by Rishis in Vedic time was Balivaishva Yagya. Vedic scriptures described elaborately the practice of it in daily life. The present study aimed to explore the meaning, philosophy, procedure, and utility of Balivaishva Yagya in the present time. ‘Balivaishva Dev’ Yagya is defined as a divine offering for the welfare of the universe. The five offerings of Balivaishva Yagya is represented as Panch Maha (Five Great) Yagya i.e. Brahma-Yagya, Dev-Yagya, Rishi-Yagya, Nar-Yagya, and Bhoot-Yagya. Respectively, they symbolized for 1) inspiration of the self-knowledge of Brahman, 2) progression from animal instincts to divine qualities, 3) having a compassionate life for the upliftment of the backward, 4) creation of environment and social order according to human dignity, 5) extension of intimacy to all living beings including even vegetation. Thus, practicing these five principles through Balivaishva Yagya in the family can help in obtaining harmony in the family by creating a spiritual environment. The five inspirations and messages are hidden in Balivaishva Yagya can create a spiritual environment in the family as well as to solve all the problems of the individual and the world – opening door to all-rounded progress by uprising divine culture in society.


Introduction
Gayatri and Yagya have a unique position and constitute the foundation of the Vedic Culture. Gayatri is the symbol of purity of thought and Yagya is the symbol of selfless action. While Gayatri imparts wisdom and pure intelligence, Yagya inspires corresponding creativity and actions. Gayatri and Yagya work in coordination and cooperation with each other for universal welfare.
The scope of universal welfare not only includes humans but also covers every creature of the whole habitation and environment including subtle aspects. It is reflected in scripture as ॐ सर्वे भर्वन्तु सु खिनः सर्वे पि सु पिनः सन्तु ; it means let happiness prevail everywhere [Brihadaranyak Upanishad 1.4.14). To practice this in society, Rishis used concepts of Gayatri and Yagya in daily life.

Research Article
Vedic age brings the instant image of the great rishis performing agnihotra or Yagya and they used to spend at least one-third of their lives conducting Yagya. Yagya played an essential role in the comprehensive progress, prosperity, and happiness in the Vedic era. This was indeed natural, as the philosophy, science of Yagya, and the different modes of performing Yagya were discovered and developed by the rishis based on their deep understanding and in-depth research of the human psyche, the intricacies of the social fabric, and the mysteries of nature (1).
In Vedic times not only Rishis but all -the rich, the poor, the kings, and citizens had equal deep faith and respect for Yagya. They all used practice concepts of Gayatri and Yagya in daily ltor to refine animal instincts to divine personalities with the purpose of universal welfare. One such method by Rishis given to society in Vedic time was Balivaishva Yagya (बलिवै श्व).
The present study aimed to explore the meaning, philosophy, need, procedure, and utility of Balivaishva Yagya in the present time.

Definition of Balivaishva Yagya
The word Yagya is derived from the Sanskrit verb yaj (यज् ) which has a three-fold meaning: worship of deities (devapujana), unity (sangatikarana), and charity (dana). The philosophy of Yagya teaches a way of living in a society in harmony. A life with Yagya philosophy promotes and protects higher human values in the society, which is indeed the basis of an ideal human culture (2). Balivaishva Yagya ritual makes 5 oblations from the daily meal. However, the meaning of Yagya is not confined to this sacrificial ritual. It has a much wider and deeper meaning. The word Balivaishva is a popular abbreviation. The actual term is 'Balivaishva Dev'. The phrase is a combination of three words as follows. First is 'Bali', which means 'offerings or sacrifices to fire' and the ritual of offering the eatables reverentially is called Bali. The second is 'Vaishva', which means 'for all, for the whole universe'. The third word is 'Dev', which means 'for divinity'. Thus 'Balivaishva Dev' is defined as a divine offering for the welfare of the universe. In the Bali Vaishva Yagya, Yagya Purusha (supreme power) is invited and the first portion of the meal prepared is offered five times to the five dimensions of the existence as defined in Indian scripture; thus balancing ecosystem and divinity to have a healthy and harmonized society (3).

Philosophy of Balivaishva Yagya
The five offerings of Balivaishva Yagya is The visual form of the five oblations of Balivaishva may seem mere but the inspiration behind these five offerings are the basis for ideal society as well as divine individuals. These five offerings or five great Yagyas are for the promotion of five different virtuous tendencies as described in Figure 1 and Table 1 (4).
The five ideals of Balivaishva Yagya (Panchsheel) Balivaishva Yagya can also be termed as 'Panchsheel'five ideals or five principles. These five virtuous tendencies are also perceivable in the picture of Goddess Gayatri. In Buddhism, there is an elaborate discussion on the term 'Panchsheel', where they are considered of great importance. These Panchsheel have also been classified in different forms in different areas of lifestyle and social system. In this way, the class, sub-classes of Panchsheel play an important role in solving all the problems of the individual and the worldopening the door to all-around progress as described in Table 2 (5).

Brahma-Yagya Brahma
The meaning of Brahma-Yagya is the inspiration of the self-knowledge of Brahman. It represents that there is a mutual exchange going on between God and the soul.

Dev-Yagya Vishnu
The purpose of Dev-Yagya is to progress from animal instincts to humans with divine qualities, expansion of self, and greater promotion of purity and generosity.

Rishi-Yagya Mahesh
Rishi-Yagya means to have a compassionate life policy engaged in the upliftment of the backward. It also represents the penance required for virtuous promotion.
Nar-Yagya Agni (4) Nar-Yagya inspires the creation of environment and social order according to human dignity. It also inspires for protection of human dignity and the making of great personalities for humanity.

Bhoot-Yagya Varun
The spirit of Bhoot-Yagya is the extension of intimacy to all living beings with goodwill towards other living beings including even trees and vegetation.   The principle of procedure of Balivaishva Yagya includes offerings of five morsels of a fresh meal prepared to fire every day before taking the meals in the morning and evening. In the previous days, these offerings are typically given in the fire lit using cow dung-cake in Yagya Kund. For the performers of ritualistic Agnihotra, there is a provision of many mantras, many legislations given in scriptures, but for the common man, a simplified procedure needs to be adopted. The detailed procedure as per the scripture is hard to be followed nowadays (6).

Dev-Yagya
However, a socio-spiritual organization like All World Gayatri Pariwar revived the Vedic tradition of Balivaishva Yagya in modern time, keeping its spiritual core and motto to be followed; the meaning of offering for the sake of Brahma, God, Rishi, etc., who are mentioned in the Panch Mahayagya, is not to treat them as invisible persons but to give their offerings for the promotion of the divine instincts behind these words (7).

The simple procedure of Balivaishva Yagya recommended by All World Gayatri Pariwar
The simplest procedure for Balivaishva is as follows - (1) The earthen or metal vessel should be kept ready in advance to be used as a havan kund.
(2) Roti, rice, etc., whatever salt-free substances are made in the kitchen, take out equal five morsels from them and mix them with ghee and sugar. The first cooked roti or food item should be used for offerings. (3) For wood-stove: After taking out the fire from the wood-stove, it should be placed on the prescribed altar (kund). It is necessary to clean the altar every day before setting up the fire. For gasstove, the copper or metal altar can be placed on flame. (4) Put some ghee on the fire and ignite the flame with the burning fire of the stove (5) The offering of every grass along with the Gayatri Mantra should be put on the burning fire. In this way, five offerings should be completed with five grains. (6) The water vessel should be placed near the altar in advance, and taking water from it should be rotated around the fire like a circumambulation. (7) When the fire cools down, ashes should be kept safe in a pitcher, etc. and as per convenience, it should be immersed in a holy reservoir or on land.
The simple procedure promoted by them is to offer five morsels of fresh meal to fire (using copperplate / kund using kept on fire of stove) chanting Gayatri Mantra as described in Table 3 (9).

Discussion, importance, and need in daily life
As per Vedic tradition, the performance of daily Yagya is very essential for life. Scriptures describe the importance of the Balivaishva Yagya very elaborately. Balivaishva Yagya places a very important role in human life that is explained with the help of some specific scriptural references as follows. Manu 3/70 also described that these five Yagya's are not mere rituals; they represent five virtuous tendencies and have extraordinary use in the advancement of the individual and the society (3).
Nowadays familial disharmony is becoming very common. As a result, the personality of children are becoming distorted with destructive thoughts and shattered hopes. Their minds are getting overshadowed by insecurity and fear. A family always needs a healthy, happy, and harmonious home environment for maintaining culture in society (11). The five principles of Balivaishva Yagya (Table 2) can address family disharmony. With this respect, Balivaishva Yagya is a very powerful Vedic tradition that can help in obtaining harmony in the family by creating a spiritual environment. In addition, it is not a time and resource-consuming process and can be easily adopted in society by every person in their day-today life.

Conclusion
Yagya and Gayatri simultaneously complete the process of Sadhanaself-refinement. In the tides of time, the original purpose, relevance, and importance of Yagya in human life became secondary. It won't be an exaggeration to conclude that this negligence and deviation from this principle of virtuous tendencies has been a major cause of the fallen and miserable state today.
In daily life, the involvement of Gayatri mantra chanting and some of Yagya is essential in Vedic tradition. The five principles of the five offerings of Balivaishva Yagya can be, however, easily incorporated into busy daily life schedules. This is a very short and fruitful process that everyone can incorporate into their daily routine. The five inspirations and messages are hidden in Balivaishva Yagya along with its capacity to create a spiritual environment in the family, it has an important role in solving all the problems of the individual and the worldopening the door to all-round progress by uprising divine culture in society.