Thus Spake the Divine - For Satisfaction of All Living Beings

Thus Spake the Divine

For Satisfaction of All Living Beings

How can we carry out reparations for unintentional harm or injury caused to insects and animals? This can be done by performing Vaishvadevam, says Poojyasri Maha Periyava.

Our ancestors have been performing several duties as prescribed under the Codes of Dharma. They have done Yagam (offering of oblation into the fire) to please different Devatas, Tarpanam and Shrardham to satisfy the souls of dead ancestors, hosting guests, performing pooja to God and so on. Along with these, they have also been performing what is known as “Vaishvadevam” for all living beings.

I don’t know whether all of you follow all Codes of Dharma and performs all the above-mentioned activities. But I wish you have at least heard about all these activities. Like many of you specialise in the history of other countries; you should also be aware of Codes of Dharma and their nomenclatures, which have been existing since time immemorial. Vaishvadevam is one among such duties to be performed and let me explain it to you.

We cause harm and injury to many living / non-living beings with our physical body. We are happy and proud that we keep our house spick and span. But according to our Dharma Shastras, every house happens to be a butcher’s shop! It is not one butcher’s shop, but five butchers’ shop! What are those five that convert our house into a butcher’s shop?

First one is the cutting knife, which we use to cut vegetables and fruits. Vegetables and fruits also have life. By cutting them with a knife, we are killing them. Second one is the grinding stone, paddy grinding machine etc. Despite them having life, we grind grains mercilessly amid these stones and machines. The third is the cooking stove. Lots of insects fall on the fire and die. An ant might try to cross the fire and burn to death. The fourth is the pot. When we place it in a place, insects moving around there are crushed to death. Sometimes, ants and other insects move around these pots in summers as the pots are damp. They die when we move the pot. The last and fifth item is the broomstick. While using it to clean the floor of our house, we kill many insects. This is how our houses become the butchers’ shop.

We should not harm living beings even if they harm us. But within our house, we are harming insects though they do us no harm. We are sad that we live by causing hardships to so many insects and living beings. However, this is inevitable and we cannot do anything about it. Actually, we are not doing it knowingly or intentionally. These are beyond our control. But there are certain reparations (Prayachitham) and acts of amends for the harm done by us unintentionally to other living beings. Such reparation is called the “Vaishvadevam”.

We should perform acts of amends and pray to God that He forgive all our unintentional acts of harm to living beings and liberate those living beings. Under Vaishvadevam, there are sacrifices offered to pacify living beings, which have been harmed by us. When we perform Vaishvadevam, all our offences get offset.

Many living beings are also fed when Vaishvadevam is performed. Rules of Dharma stipulate that one should perform the following five Yajnyas (Anything consecrated and offered to God). They are: Vaishvadevam (meant for pacifying animals and insects), Pooja and Homam (For pleasing the God), Manushya Yajnya (Hosting of people), Pitru Yajnya (To satisfy Pitrus, our dead ancestors) and Brahma Yajnya, which means that one should impart lessons in Vedas to other fellow beings. Rishis and sages have been performing all these Yajnyas since thousands of years. Even in our own times, from times of our grandfathers and our fathers, they have been systematically performed with utmost commitment. These Yajnyas must continue without any interruption till the time of dissolution of this universe.

I have been talking about several rituals and customs. Please give a thought as to how many of them are we doing, how many are we skipping and how many can we do. One may not be able to perform all the rituals and practices. But they should at least perform those rituals, which are feasible for them in their day-to-day life. If not, at least one should regret that he is not able to perform these Yajnyas mentioning the reasons thereof.

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.