2 June 2015 - QA 3

Gurudev, in the Pune Ashram there is Ayush Homa performed during birthdays and anniversaries. What is its significance?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

The chanting of mantras creates an environment of positivity and sacredness. Mantras have an impact at the subtle level also. Our physical body is the gross body, while our subtle body is 1.5 times larger than the gross body. And the Karana Sharira or Causal body is a 1000 times finer and subtler than even the subtle body itself. So we have three kinds of bodies. When the subtle body constricts and becomes smaller than the gross body, then a person becomes restless and miserable. When the subtle body diminishes even further, then a person loses his mental balance and feels like committing suicide. This is the root cause behind suicides.
Suppose the vest you are wearing shrinks too much and becomes smaller than the body, then how do you feel? You feel like tearing the vest and being free from it, right? When the inner garment you wear shrinks too much then it creates irritation, isn’t it? This is what happens in suicide too, because the subtle body shrinks too much and becomes even smaller than the gross body. By the practice of chanting mantras, pranayama and meditation the subtle body grows larger in size and also gets strengthened. When the subtle body becomes strong then one appears normal (physically). And when the subtle body expands much more than its normal limits then one feels that he is soaked in bliss. And as the subtle body expands further, it becomes finer and finer and merges or becomes one with the Causal body – that is when one gets Moksha (liberation or salvation).

Ayush Homa is a part of an ancient tradition and is performed to offer prayers for increasing one’s health and longevity. We pray for good health so that our eyes have proper sight until the last moments of our life; our ears should be able to hear properly till the time we leave this body. Along with the chantings, we also honour the Navagrahas (nine planets) and offer the sacred food grains associated with each planet into the sacrificial fire. This is what Ayush Homa is all about.
So during the Homa we chant mantras and pray to the Divine, saying, “May my lifespan increase; may I be healthy and free from diseases, and may only auspicious things happen through me. May I feel belongingness with everyone and everything around me”.
So one performs the Ayush Homa with all these prayers and wishes. This is an ancient Vedic way of celebrating one’s birthday.