Homa Farming and Aupaasana Agni

For all practical purposes this is my first blog on a specific topic. Wish me luck!

In our family traditions, fire ("agni") has a special place. Nothing auspicious can happen without the presence of fire. The ritual of worshipping fire is known as "homa". So, let me dedicate this blog to "fire" and talk about an interesting news piece I just stumbled upon : "Homa farming:
Ancient Indian farming technique picks up in mango belt" [http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=81340]

[Excerpts: Four years ago, when a Lucknow-based horticulture institute floated the idea of homa-farming, cultivators in the mango belt of Kakori and Malihabad adopted it in droves....]

One particular comment made by the author caught me thinking. Mr. Rai quotes one Mr. R.K. Pathak, principal advisor in the National Horticulture Mission, "Homa agriculture is a scientific method which lays emphasis on fumigation of the atmosphere, an important factor to keep your crop healthy and save it from ailments".

Fumigation as a keeper of plant health? This is really interesting!

Not so long ago, my native Basavapatna was also known as "veda grama" (meaning: village of the vedas. The neighboring Rudrapatna used to be known as "naada graama", a village of music. Musicians such as RK Srikanthan, RK Suryanarayana and RK Padmanabha are all from Rudrapatna). Even until the early 90's there used be many practicing vedic scholars in our village. A few of them used to follow an interesting ritual called "aupaasana agni" (meaning: worshipping fire).

Aupaasanaagni : It is a wow taken by the groom and his bride on the day of their marriage that they would keep the fire live and burning until his/her death. It is the fire that witnessed their wedding, and it is the same fire that would be used to light their funeral pyre at the end! What a wow! I know of a couple from a nearby village, Somanahalli, who were believed to have kept their aupaasana agni live for a period of over 60 years!

Keeping the fire was a simple and daily ritual. The couple would do homa with raw rice, cow dung and ghee poured into this ever burning fire at dawn. The same practice would be repeated at dusk too. White smoke and a nice aroma would fill the atmosphere for a few minutes. It was believed that the fumes from the homa would cleanse the house and its inhabitants.

Well, I started out talking about homa farming by a farmer in the northern Uttarpradesh but then why did I digress to talk about a ritual followed by a few in a southern village? What's common between the two? Fumigation - a preventive health care process of pest and disease control.

In case you know of any vedic scholar practicing "aupaasana agni" today, please let me know. I believe there are a few people in a village called Matturu near Shimoga [heard of a "samskrita graama"? Yes, it is the same Matturu]. When I am in Matturu next time, I will try and talk with someone regarding this.

agnaye swaahaa, agnaye idam na mama! [meaning: this offering is for agni; it is not mine]