India

Dear friends,
We are pleased to announce that the next Somayag will be held at the Homa Therapy Goshala, Maheshwar India, between 3rd and 8th February, 2015.

This will be the sixth in the series of seven Somayags, the inspiration for which came from Shree Vasant Paranjpe.

For the past seven years a small group of people from various countries has kept this vision of conducting a series of seven Maha Somayags on the banks of the River Narmada in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, for the healing of our planet.

To date, five of these Somayags have been completed successfully. There are still two remaining.

This 6th Somayag is known as Atiratra. Amongst other benefits its purpose is to give nourishment and longevity to all living things on the planet.

In February, 2014 Abhay Paranjpe and Sanjay and Manisha Patil (photo right) visited the birthplace of Parama Sadguru Shree Gajanan Maharaj in Kharagpur, West Bengal.

Two families (the families of Gauri Shankar and Subodh Das) maintain the practice of Agnihotra in the Railway Quarter where Sonamata (mother of Parama Sadguru) used to stay with her father when she visited Kharagpur.

This Railway Quarter is quite close to the colony of Harijans (so-called 'Untouchables') in whose houses the great Saint Upasani Baba was residing in the year 1913. Part of His mission was to eradicate the curse of Untouchability which was destroying the fabric of Hindu society. Sonamata used to go with her father to this Harijan colony to feed and care for the poor. It was there at the age of thirteen, that Sonamata met her Guru, Upasani Baba. Five years later on May 17th 1918 she gave birth to the Light of the World.

In February and March 2014 Indian state of Maharashtra experienced a series of extremely destructive and unseasonal hailstorms.

At least 12 people died during the storms. Up to 100 farmers have committed suicide across the state due to crop losses from these storms.

Experts have assessed the area of loss at more than 2 million ha. and the economic loss at more than Rs50 billion.

Dr P.W. Basarkar writes about World Agnihotra Day celebration at Vita in Sangli district of Maharashtra:

We had a fantastic event here in Vita. More than 130 people participated & more than 30 people performed Agnihotra.

Jayant Barve (left) is the owner of Nature Care Fertilizers at Vita. He practises Agnihotra and has a Resonance point in his 40 acre field.

Girish Sangle writes from Sangamner, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra:
I have been performing Agnihotra since last 8 years.

Here in Sangamner, we all are celebrating this World Agnihotra day together at Ganesh temple, each with his own Agnihotra pot. Near about 250 people participating.

World Agnihotra Day was celebrated on March 12th, 2014 in various locations in India.

Vinayak Lokur writes from Belgaum city, Karnataka.

The World Agnihotra day was celebrated by conducting an awareness programme for the benefit of the citizens.

Mr. Abhay Mutalik Desai enlightened the gathering with the procedure and effects of Agnihotra. In his speech he emphasized the importance of Agnihotra in daily life and appealed to the gathering to practice, experience and spread the word to many, as it is the need of the time if we want to overcome the ill effects of environmental degradation.

Under the guidance of Ramana Rao (photo right), Dalits (formerly known as 'Harijans' or 'untouchables') perform Agnihotra and other Homa fires in their colony at Singupuram Village, district Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh.

On September 21 & 22, 2013 Agnihotra practitioners from around the globe participated in a network of Agnihotra being performed on the September Equinox. The aim was to create a grid of Sacred Fires or 'firing the grid' and to ideally have two waves of Agnihotra fires moving around the planet (one for sunrise, one for sunset).

We received many responses from people all over the world informing their coordinates. We were amazed to find every continent represented, and people from Alaska to Africa, from Europe to U.S.A., Australia to Russia, Japan to Hawaii. There were more than 450 Meridiens of Longitude represented with Agnihotra Fires in more than 50 countries. There may have been more that we were unaware of.

Two Agnihotris living in the city show the effects of Agnihotra and Agnihotra ash on their rooftop gardens.

Mr Arun Anand, an engineer who lives in the city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and Mr Chalasani Dutt, a former entrepreneur become organic gardener who now operates the mango plantation "Prakash Bio Organic Farm" in Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh.

What is HHOOF? HHOOF is an acronym for Homa Helpers On Organic Farms. This is a spin-off of Willing Workers On Organic Farms, an organization that links volunteers to organic farm hosts. Volunteers work in exchange for room and board and the opportunity to experience farm life. A Homa farm is a very specific type of farm that incorporates Vedic healing fires, vegetarian diet and ahimsa (non-violence) practices that create a unique experience for the volunteer. They blend the physical, social and spiritual worlds into one interconnected happening.

In September Anne Godfrey and Bruce Johnson conducted an Agnihotra workshop in Nashik for the Reiki group of Shri Ajit Telang (picture right).

Around 50 people participated in Agnihotra sunset.

The workshop was held at the home of Mrs Monali Rakshe who is the Agnihotra coordinator for this group in Nashik.

Dear All,
The workshop in Delhi was wonderful, thanks to all of you.

Special thanks to Ravi and his family who offered their home and were so full of love. This is what the people felt. We expected 10 to 12 persons, 22 came, many with the intent to know more and bring more people.

The first Homa Therapy Teachers' Certification Course was held at Tapovan in India from February 22 to 24. It was a 3 day residential course. A small group of experienced Agnihotra practitioners attended the course.

The Speaking Tree is a regular column in the Times of India newspaper.

June 22, 2012.
HARSH KABRA talks to IRMA GARCIA who gave up a high-profile UN job two decades ago to practise Homa Therapy and Homa Organic Farming. At 70, the indefatigable Venezuelan divides her time between the Homa Therapy Goshala at Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh and travelling around the world to propagate the benefits of Homa Therapy to restore environmental and mental balance.

Mr. Dhananjay Jog writes from Bangalore:

"I am enclosing a photo, where Mr Mulay (photo right) and his wife are establishing Homa Resonance Points on farms in Andhra Pradesh. They did that in two villages in Chittoor District. Previously I had conducted there weekly (from September to November, 2011) Agnihotra & Homa Farming awareness camps in the villages Kothaindlu in Tirupati Mandal and Chandam in Kuppam Mandal of Chittoor District.

Dear friends,

You have been insisting on capturing results of Agnihotra and Homa Therapy with photos or videos. Though we have had several experiences, up until now we have not documented them. I am pleased to enclose the first captured results.

Mrs Asha Tejasvi Naik is the recipient of the prestigious ASPEE L.M. PATEL "FARMER OF THE YEAR" Award in the women farmers category. This is a national level award and carries a cash prize, trophy & citation.

The award was presented to her by Prof M.S. Swaminathan, eminent scientist, member of Rajya Sabha who is widely recognised as the father of GREEN REVOLUTION IN INDIA, at a glittering ceremony held on 1st January, 2012 at University of Agricultural Sciences, Navsari in Gujarat state. (photo below)