“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance… a time to keep silence and a time to speak…a time for war and a time for peace”. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
Which brings us to the middle of 2023.
There may be times when we value the challenge more than the results. There may be times, however, when results are so crucial that they indeed are all that matter most.
I mentioned in a previous article the woman who did Agnihotra for six months and then stopped. When I asked her about how beneficial Agnihotra had been for her, she immediately checked a long list of how the fire had indeed helped her.
So, I asked why she had stopped. She said, “I want to do it on my own without being helped by Agnihotra.”
Well, well, well. How noble in a fashion, to do it the hard/harder way. And I too avoid the elevator often and walk up the stairs. But not if 1) I’m in a crucial hurry or 2) I’m recovering from knee surgery.
To be generous, some of us may be ‘recovering’ from the effects of Climate Change. Others of us may be experiencing a relative calm before a big, big storm. If we face the music (see reality), we must admit that the time for fun and games has expired. Now is the time to keep/put our noses to the grindstone, to step up to the plate, to exert maximum effort.
Agnihotra copper pyramid healing fire, the first step on the Fivefold Path, is like an elevator—a means of lifting us up, a means to push us to where we want to be. I’m free not to take the elevator, I’m free to play with fire or use Vedic fire to transform my mind, hence, nearly all aspects of my life?
Better to recall the essence of Agnihotra and Homa Therapy: ATMOSPHERE, PRANA, MIND. The fires improve atmosphere allowing Prana to harmonise and be attracted, and the resultant effect is purified mind. If enough humans purify their minds, the chances of proper, environmentally sound behaviour manifesting on our planet, are exponentially improved.
There may be other modalities to accomplish these important results, but our experience over 5 decades is that the easiest, most efficient, least expensive, and method without negative side effects is Agnihotra and Homa Therapy.
We are free to ‘do it on our own,’ certainly, but besides self-preservation, the benefits to other people and the rest of nature through our doing Agnihotra are substantial.
And that’s the point. Service is not a one-way street nor is it meant for self-indulgence. Yes, there are win/win situations where I and my brethren and my climate all benefit from my actions. And that’s where Agnihotra comes into the picture.
“Heal the planet and the planet will heal you.” How simple, how perfect. Currently, however, we are experiencing quite the opposite. Treat the planet with disdain, greed, and conflict, and we should not be surprised if what goes around, comes around.
Indeed, more than one red line may have already been crossed. We are literally walking on thin ice—or no ice at all in some places ravaged by disturbances in climate, playing with fire and seeing Mother Nature taking her toll on us—not undeservedly. Until we can walk on water, best we concentrate on what is in our realm of possibilities.
So unless our hero is Nero and our least favourite city is Rome, best we avoid playing our violins while Planet Earth burns—and drowns, and gets blown to bits.
(Painting to the right: Nero supposedly played the fiddle while the city of Rome burned to the ground.) Photo: BoksBurgAdvertise.co.za
