Yajñ Sacrifice In Ancient Hindu Religion

What is yajña?

The act of offering human and material sacrifice with the motive to please the gods was known as yajña as per the ancient Vedic system. Derived from the Sanskrit word Yaj, its threefold meaning involves worship of the deities devapujana), unity (sangatikarana) and charity (dána). An essential element is the ritual fire – the divine Agni– into which oblations are poured, as everything that is offered into the fire is believed to reach the deity or deities.

The concept of Yajña shows that ancient Hindu mythology believes in the concept of merit. According to them a person should be involved in charity or good work which would eventually accumulate over a period of time and reduce the sufferings that one is to face in his next

Sacrifice can be done in a number of ways be it the sacrifice of time and energy which is a non-redeemable sacrifice, unlike money and wealth which one can eventually get back.

The spirit of Yajña is also evident in the willingness to sacrifice one’s interest and comfort, so as to help advance or protect others. For example a parent feeding their children before themselves is a sign of sacrifice and thereby leadership.

However the most powerful sacrifice which is essential to all great leaders, is the willingness to sacrifice their authority. The story of Bharatha who refused to be crowned as the king of Ayodhya, as he believed that the place rightfully belonged to Rama, is a stark example of this belief.

Bharatha made several attempts to convince Rama to return from his exile and take up the throne. However, he knew Rama was a righteous man and would not go against his father’s words, hence Bharat agreed to govern Ayodhyaya though not as a ruler but as a representative of Rama.Hence till the period Rama returned from Exile, Bharat stepped down and instead place Rama’s Paduka on the throne, refusing to sit on the thrown or to be crowned as

Hence if CEO’s of the top organisations today our ready to sacrifice their huge pay checks and bonuses and donate the same for a cleaner and greener environment, then we could probably see ourselves living the Shreyas life.

The implications of following the spirit of Yajña vs not following the same can be also seen with respect to certain industries from the recent times. In the Indian scenario company which did not follow ‘Yajña’ and was short-sighted is Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher

Kingfisher rose to fame quickly, but equally fast was its fall and bankruptcy. The CEO of the firm was concerned more about materialistic pleasures such as cars, pay checks and shooting for Kingfisher calendars. There were no efforts made by the firm to undertake any sustainable initiative. The flamboyant nature of the owner/s along with poor management is a clear example of Preyas, which eventually led to the downfall of the