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Darshan begins: Yajina
Everyone crowds into the hall and sits in readiness, some meditating. Bábá arrives and takes His place at the front of the hall seated on a daybed. He begins this Darshan with what will be a series directly related to the ritual of sacrifice, Yajiṋa, begun over fifteen thousand years ago by the Aryans. When Aryans entered India they brought Yajiṋa with them
and it is still widely performed today. These Darshans cover the creation and significance of the Vedas (four compositions creating a religious school of thought emphasising the use of ritual to gain the intercession of the gods) and the effect indigenous Indian Tantra has had on them. Bábá also speaks about the emergence of various languages and scripts in
India over this time. Many practices of the immigrating Aryans have been mixed up with Tantra practices of the indigenous Dravidians, resulting in these topics being mired in controversy, misunderstanding and debate within Indian history/archaeological circles and the spiritual community.
Yajiṋa – The Beginnings
Bábá describes how, fifteen thousand years ago, the nomadic Aryan people passed through Iran and Afghanistan and started entering India from the north-west. When they proceeded further east, they came to an area of abundant green vegetation.As they proceeded they also saw rice paddies. Further east they ultimately arrived where the two rivers Ganga and Yamuna meet, known now as the modern day Allalabad. Bábá continued, saying that the Aryans arrived at the extreme
junction where the rivers merged. With plenty of water and very fertile land for cultivation, they thought it was a good place to
stay and continue their religious practices, the rituals of Yajiṋa. They named the place Pra-yag. The meaning of Prayag is the place where all the mundane actions (eating, bathing, etc.) could be done in the very proper way.
He goes on to say that the people of those days depended on the rain. To ensure this they wanted to invoke and please the Rain God. Ghee would be offered into a fire, creating enough smoke that looked like clouds, which they believed would make rain. These were the rituals of Yajiṋa. Bábá outlines how the Aryan people came from a cold place where they drank intoxicating drinks to keep warm. In India, they found some herbs in the forest and they prepared a form of wine called Somarasa. They would drink this during the Yajiṋa. They realised that if everybody drank wine during the ritual, then the Yajiṋa rituals may not be appropriately performed and therefore disturb the God. Bábá concludes by detailing how this prompted them to appoint some people who would not drink during the ritual to see that all was done appropriately. So that others could recognise the performers of Yajiṋa, they would wear a deerskin on their right shoulder. This person became elevated in the society because of this position.
At the end of His Darshan, Bábá requests that táńd́ava and kaośikii dance be done. These are vigorous dance exercises that develop the endocrine glands in a way that encourages the practitioner to overcome psychological complexes and strengthens the body and nerves. While some margiis dance, the rest of the group chant Bábá náma kevalam
in the prescribed rhythm metered out by a drum and the call of a lead Ácárya. Bábá has sat sternly during this procedure. Now He namaskárs the gathering, slips to the edge of His couch and leaves. Come evening, it is pouring with rain. Maybe someone has been pouring a lot of ghee into the Yajiṋa fire because it is pelting down. Áshrava, Púrńa Premá and I are crowded under the small guard’s shelter at the front next to the gate doing kiirtana. Bábá comes downstairs,
protected by an oversized black umbrella carried by His assistant and calls out over the din of the rain, “Aren’t you getting drenched?” Áshrava replies, “No Bábá,” but He apparently does not hear and again queries about us singing in the rain. In our camaradrie we are happy here singing. We reply in unison, “No, Bábá” and I cheekily add,
“We are drenched only with your sweetness Bábá.” At this, He throws His head back and gives a hearty laugh before leaving.