Dr Venganoor Balakrishnan

The vastness and depth of the lore we have inherited from our forefathers is amazing. The vedas, darshanas, upanishads, epics, puranas, and smritis are oceans of knowledge which we can hardly assimilate in a lifetime.
One peculiarity of Hindu society is that it gave more importance to the sciences and darshanas than their authors.
The ones to whom these visions and truths were revealed were called rishis. From these rishis or preceptors we get all the knowledge that smoothen our life today. Therefore we are indebted to them.
How can we pay back our debts to them? They are no longer alive. But the lore that they left behind still lives. We are supposed to assimilate it and pass it on to the next generation.
We have to teach the essence of vedas, puranas, epics and scriptures to youngsters and and help them open their inner eye.
This is how we can repay the debt. The term Rishi Yagya refers to this repayment of debt. Every Hindu has to take part in this gesture of repayment.
Yajna: Prakhyatham yajathi karma:
(Renowned yagakarma is termed yagya)
Yajna: Yajoomshi enam nayanthi ithi
(Since it is led by chants, it is termed yagya)
We are indebted to the parents who have given us this material body made of panchabhoothas (five elements).
But we have to recognise all the forefathers including grandparents and their ancestors. It is this sense of gratitude that binds society with mutual love, recognition and respect. As per the Hindu belief, we are bound to feel indebted to 12 generations of our ancestry.
Our life on earth depends on this material body. Hence it is quite logical to feel this sense of indebtedness. After death, life being relieved of material bondages, reaches a higher world. We who remain alive on earth are supposed to observe certain rites to please the inhabitants of the higher world once a year.
The day of remembrance and the rites in gratitude of our late parents and forefathers is called Pithru Yagya.
It is also a special feature of Hindu culture to consider each living and non-living organism as a spark of God. We are in fact indebted to all others. The brotherhood of humans is not simply a term, but something that is really practiced.
We cannot see God with our naked eyes. But service to the disabled and the needy ones is indeed doing service to God. Loving and serving orphans and the destitute is our duty. When we do something to better our prospects, it should promote the well-being of others too. This helps people lead a good life on earth.
All these beliefs are meant to remove our selfish motives and persuade us to think society at least once in a while.
In fact, charity should be a part of our life. Institutions like temples, monasteries, orphanages, rehabilitation centres etc. should be centres of selfless service, where individuals should work for the welfare of others. Scriptures term this mutual help as each man’s duty and observes it as Manushya Yagya.
Compassion is an essential quality a cultured person is supposed to possess. In broad terms this means love and mercy to the whole world including nature.
We can show this by growing trees, protecting forests, and providing sanctuaries for wildlife. At present, we are becoming aware of the need to maintain the rhythm of nature. But our ancestors knew this long ago. Endeavours undertaken for the well-being of all organisms of the world can be termed Bhoota Yagya.
So we can see that the definition of yagya involves many acts which are now considered to be duties of a conscientious citizen.

— Dr Venganoor Balakrishnan is the author of Thaliyola, a book on Hindu beliefs and rituals.
He has also written books on the Vedas and Upanishads. The author can be reached at drvenganoor@yahoo.co.in