Arya Samaj

Shishya

Agnihotra: An Ancient Science with Modern Applications

Agnihotra is a healing fire from the ancient science of Ayurveda. It is a process of purifying the atmosphere through a specially prepared fire performed at sunrise and sunset daily. Anyone in any walk of life can do Agnihotra and heal the atmosphere in his/her own home. Thousands of people all over the world have experienced that Agnihotra reduces stress, leads to greater clarity of thought, improves overall health, gives one increased energy, and makes the mind more full of love. It is a great aid to drug and alcohol deaddiction. Agnihotra also nourishes plant life and neutralizes harmful radiation and pathogenic bacteria. It harmonizes the functioning of Prana (life energy) and can be used to purify water resources.

Agnihotra is an ancient science given in Sanskrit language at the time of creation. Sanskrit was never anyone's mother tongue; it is a language of vibration. We can make changes in the atmosphere with Sanskrit mantras and fire prepared with specific organic substances, timed to the sunrise/sunset biorhythm. The fire is prepared in a small copper pyramid of specific size and shape. Brown rice, dried cowdung (manure) and ghee (clarified unsalted butter) are the substances burned. Exactly at sunrise or sunset the mantras are spoken and a small amount of rice and ghee is given to the fire. There is not just energy from the fire; subtle energies are created by the rhythms and mantras. These energies are generated or thrust into the atmosphere by fire. This, in addition to the qualities of the materials burned, produces the full effect of this healing HOMA (healing fire). Much healing energy emanates from the Agnihotra pyramid.

Tremendous amounts of energy are gathered around the Agnihotra copper pyramid just at Agnihotra time. A magnetic-type field is created, which neutralizes negative energies and reinforces positive energies. Therefore, a positive pattern is created by one who does Agnihotra merely by his/her performance. Agnihotra purifies the atmosphere of pollutants and neutralizes harmful radiation. The resultant atmosphere gives nourishment to plant life.

Agnihotra and Plants: The ghee is thrust into the atmosphere and attaches itself to the molecular structure of the soil, allowing the soil to retain more moisture. Plants grown in Agnihotra atmosphere are better able to withstand droughts. Agnihotra causes a change in the cellular structure of the plant which sends more nutrients to the fruit of the plant and less to the leaves, stem and roots. Many people have found that the size, taste, texture and yield of fruits and vegetables grown in Agnihotra atmosphere are superior. Performance of Agnihotra in the garden reduces pest problems and organic gardening and farming are made easier by using Homa (healing fire) techniques.

Medicinal properties of Agnihotra: Agnihotra renews the brain cells, revitalizes the skin and purifies the blood. It is the holistic approach to life. Many people who are normally allergic to smoke experience a healing effect by sitting in Agnihotra atmosphere. The healing effects of Agnihotra are locked in the resultant ash. Thousands of people in different parts of the world have experienced wonderful healings of all types of ailments by using Agnihotra ash.

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Shishya · Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 6:05 pm Post subject:

Agnihotra and Microbes, A Laboratory Experiment
by
Dr. Arvind D. Mondkar M.Sc; Ph.D (Micro)

Our way of life has intensified the quantum of pollution. No place can be called safe from pollution. What varies is the type of pollutant and the degree of pollution. Pollution is of various types such as gaseous pollution, water pollution, food pollution, radioactive pollution and so on. Of these types microbial pollution is the most important type of pollution for people in the medical or paramedical field. Microorganisms are ubiquitous in nature.

There are mainly two types, namely non-pathogenic or saprophytic (harmless and not causing any disease) and pathogenic (disease producing). There are certain opportunistic pathogens which, given a chance, can produce disease in human beings. Thus the mere presence of these microorganisms in a definite strength in various media can produce contaminants. Microorganisms like Salmonellae, Shigellae or Vibrios contaminate water, eatables, milk and milk products. When the contaminated eatables are consumed the individual suffers from typhoid, bacillary dysentary or cholera. Similarly, organisms like Staphylococci cause food poisoning by increasing toxins in food. This microorganism also causes wound infections with pus formation. Streptococci infect the respiratory tract after inhalation of the droplet nuclei on which they are settled. Hospital infections by Staphylococci and Pseudomones are not uncommon. Recently, Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been reported to have entered the space age. This microorganism was isolated from the lining of the fuel tank of a jet engine and was found to be responsible for the corrosion of the tank.

It is stated that Agnihotra helps to undo the effects of pollution. In this respect it was decided to observe the last type of pollutant, i.e., microorganisms and the effect of Agnihotra on them. The present article restricts only to the effect of Agnihotra on microorganisms as observed in a microbiology laboratory.

Agnihotra Effect on Bacterial Population

A preliminary experiment was carried out to study the effect of Agnihotra on the bacterial population in a room where Agnihotra was performed. For this study, two rooms of equal dimensions (13¼’ x 8’ x 11’) were selected. In both rooms fire was prepared from dried cowdung cakes in copper pyramids and the basal reading of number of microorganisms in both the rooms was taken by exposing blood agar plates at four corners of the room for 10 minutes. This was done exactly half an hour before Agnihotra time. Agnihotra was performed exactly at sunset in one of the rooms. Bacterial counts were taken again in both the rooms in a similar manner at half hour intervals. Thus readings were taken in both the rooms up to two hours after performance of Agnihotra. It was quite interesting to note that microbial counts in the room where Agnihotra was performed were reduced by 91.4% whereas the room where only fire was generated did not show appreciable changes in the microbial counts. This leads one to think that it was the process of Agnihotra which was responsible for the reduction of bacterial counts and not the mere presence of fire.

Two other similar experiments revealed similar findings. The phenomenon could be explained by giving two reasons:

Agnihotra fumes are rich in formaldehyde and other substances which have inhibitory effect on microorganisms.
A phenomenon like smog formation and its diffusion in the upper strata might be a likely postulation.

In the regions of North and South poles, many times, carbon particles accumulate to form a layer called “smog”. When fire is lit the hot currents push the smog into the upper strata and it is diffused in such a way that the carbon particles are no longer harmful in the residual concentration. In the present study perhaps Agnihotra fumes might have dissociated the microorganisms in such a way that the residual population was no more harmful and was well within tolerable limit to human beings.

Agnihotra Effects on Bioenergetic Systems of Individual Microorganisms

This kindled our interest and it was decided to study the effect of Agnihotra on the bioenergetic systems of individual microorganisms. A strain of Staphylococci pyogenes isolated from a pus sample was selected for the study. The strain showed all the characteristics of a pathogen. It was isolated from a lesion, produced beta haemolyses on blood agar, showed a positive coagulase test and fermented mannitol with the production of acid. The strain was innoculated on a pair of blood agar plates, one of which was kept away from the Agnihotra atmosphere (control plate). The other one was exposed to Agnihotra fumes for five minutes and was allowed to remain in that atmosphere till next Agnihotra was performed (approximately 12 hours). Agnihotra is to be performed on the biorhythm of sunrise/sunset. Surprisingly, it was observed that the plate exposed to Agnihotra (test plate) showed a tremendous reduction in the zone of haemolysis as against a wide zone of haemolysis in the control plate.

Organisms from both the plates were then subjected to coagulase test. The organisms from the test plate showed a negative coagulase test demonstrating their inability to produce coagulase. Finally, the organisms from both the plates were emulsified in one ml. of normal saline separately to give suspensions of equal strength. This was achieved by use of Brown’s opacity tube no. 3. The suspensions were then injected intradermally into the thighs of an albino mouse. The mouse was kept under observation for five days.

It was very interesting to note that the suspension from the test plate failed to produce any lesion in the mouse wheras the suspension from the control plate produced typical abscess. These results suggest that Agnihotra played a pivotal role in controlling the metabolic activities of this microorganism. In this case, a pathogenic strain of Staphylococcus pyogenes showed characteristics of a nonpathogenic strain ofter exposure to Agnihotra atmosphere. This was just an observation and triggered quite a number of questions in the mind:

Is this effect phenotypic or genotypic?
Is it necessary to expose the strain for a prolonged time interval or will a short exposure cause a similar effect?
Will the progeny of these microorganisms behave in a similar manner?
Does the small or microdose of substances released from Agnihotra process boost the immunity mechanism of the patient to get rid of the infection or does the infecting agent lose its virulence? Perhaps both the effects go hand in hand.

Answers to these questions are still beyond sight and show a need for further experimentation in this field.

Therapeutic Effect of Agnihotra Ash

An attempt was then made to study the therapeutic use of Agnihotra ash against scabies in rabbits. Rabbits are quite often infected with scabies—marked by snow white crust formations on their nose, ear margins and skin. The infection then becomes systemic and the animal dies. Normally this sort of scabies is cured by daily application of benzyl benzoate and salicylic acid for about 6 to 8 days, depending upon the severity of the infection.

In one study, Agnihotra ash was homogenized with an equal volume of cow’s ghee (clarified unsalted butter) and applied over the infected area above the nostrils of a rabbit. Agnihotra ash worked extremely well and the crust was detached on the third day of application—and that too with a single application. With benzyl benzoate and salicylic acid, it took five days for the crust to detach itself from the control rabbit. Another notable advantage of this was that the preparation was not irritating like benzyl bezoate or salicylic acid. The rabbits always lick that application because of irritation and the young ones die of poisoning. This risk could be avoided with Agnihotra ash.

These results promise a solution to microbial pollution by the performance of Agnihotra and ingestion of Agnihotra ash medicines.

(Source)

Shishya · Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 6:13 pm Post subject:

Agnihotra Ash and Water Soluble Phosphates
by
Dr. Tung Ming Lai, Denver, Colorado

I did some lab testing on Agnihotra ash. The results are interesting. 0.10 g. of ash was shaken with 25 mi. of water for forty-eight hours and then the water soluble phosphate content was measured. The same amount of ash was shaken with two different soils (5 g.) from Colorado (also 25 mi. of water) and phosphate content was measured after forty-eight hours of being shaken. The results are as follows:

(The values are the average values of duplicates.)

The non-Agnihotra ash was produced with the same ingredients in the same copper vessal as Agnihotra ash. The only difference was the non-Agnihotra ash was not produced at sunrise or sunset, and no mantras were chanted.

(All growing plants need phosphorus; however, regardless of how much phosphorus is added to the soil, only the water soluble portion can be utilized by the plant. On an average, only about five percent of the phosphorus in conventional chemical fertilizers is water soluble.--Ed.)

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Shishya · Posted: Sun May 28, 2006 6:20 pm Post subject:

Agnihotra and Grapes
by
Dr. B. G. Bhujbal
Research Officer Maharashtra State Grape Growers' Association, Poona, India

Grapes are a difficult crop to grow under Maharashtra's climatic conditions and also equally difficult to study. I have been associated with research work on grapes while studying for my M.Sc. degree at the University of Poona, India since 1967. Various problems faced by the workers since then were finally put before the research workers at the Agricultural College, Poona.

Hybridization work with grapes had already commenced before my association with this work. I have been observing the results of that work. It was reported that the germination of hybrid grape seeds had been very late and low. When I conducted hundreds of crosses at the Ganeshkhind Fruit Experimental Station, Poona-7 and sowed the seeds after treatment by advanced techniques which included hormones, scarification, stratification etc., the results were discouraging. The germination percentage was very low, i.e. below 20 % and some of the seeds even took 300 days for germination.

Meanwhile I came to learn of Agnihotra and Homa Therapy farming and thought why not have a trial of this therapy in grape research. There was a solar eclipse on 16th of February 1980. I had also read previously that the no-moon day was the best day for seed treatment and sowing. With this background and not to miss the opportunity I coIlected seeds of the Anab-e-shahi, Pandhari Sahebi and Kali Sahebi varieties, local vinifera varieties, as well as some crossed seeds which were collected using the Thompson seedless variety as a male parent to make the cross. In order to conduct the experiment properly, I applied for leave on 20th of February 1980 in time for the treatment to commence on 16th of February, 1980. Some unrooted cuttings of local grape varieties were also collected for additional treatments.

Experimental Plot

All the seeds and the unrooted cuttings were kept in an environment open to Agnihotra fumes. As far as mantras were concerned, I began with the "Tryambakam" Mantra and Homa continued for 2 hours, after which the samples were treated with Agnihotra ash and then put into pots ready for planting. An untreated lot of samples served as a control.

Observations

It was indeed a surprise not only to me and my wife but also to friends who had been laughing at my expenments to observe the first seedlings sprouting on the 21st day of sowing. Some of the recorded observations are given in a table below. The second experiment concerned making raisins. At present, raisin-making is not carried out in Maharashtra except on an experimental basis using the dehydration and sun-drying methods. I collected a few bunches of grapes from growers and hung them in the environment where I was performing Agnihotra. Similar clusters were kept with the growers for making raisins using their own method of sun-drying. After 21 days the drying was almost complete, and after 35 days I collected the clusters and tested them. The raisins were very good in appearance and taste. Special interest rallied around the evidence that the raisins prepared from the Anabe-shahi variety and having low TSS contact were also good. Equally good results were obtained by the Thompson seedless variecy growing in the Agnihotra environment as compared to those varieties generally available in the market.

Another experiment was performed in a grower's field. Mr. Pundlik Khode, a small farmer from the village of Pimpalgaon-Baswant, Nasik District had been much worried about his crop and was doubtful regarding repayment of his bank loan obtained for the vineyard. Agnihotra was done regularly and Agnihotra ash was applied to his vines. The observations which were recorded at harvest time proved very good. The grower, Mr. Khode, had never believed in such a possibility until he saw the actual results. The individual berry as well as the cluster was superior in colour, taste, sweetness and weight. About 150 observers said that the crop was the best in that locality.

Effect of Agnihotra on Grapes

The above experiment was conducted in the vineyard of Mr. Pundlik Khode on Thompson seedless grapes at Pimpalgaon Baswant, Nasik, during the year 1979-80.

1. Agnihotra was performed by Dr. B. G, Bhujbal, Asst. Horticulturist, M, Phule Agricultural University.

2. Other Homas were performed by Mr. Ranade, Manager, State Bank of India.

3. Regular operations were carried out by Mr. Pundlik Khode, owner of the vineyard. Mr. Khode was very happy with the Agnihotra results.

Agnihotra was also performed for raisin-making. This was done in March 1980. Clusters were hung from the roof, and under the clusters Agnihotra was performed regularly, twice daily. In 21 days the grapes dried under room conditions and the quality of the grape raisins was excellent. The variety used was Thompson seedless.

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