The first in a series of seven Somayags was conducted at Homa Therapy Goshala, Maheshwar, India in December, 2007.
Mr. Hari Apte with his wife Shraddha. He was the main priest in conducting this 6 day Somayag with approx. 20 other trained
priests.
Mr. Abhay Paranjpe and his wife Anjali played a main role in the beginning of the Somayag, where fires were conducted, purifying the whole area.
The Somayag was blessed with the presence of Shree Vasant and his lovely wife Kusum, who is Mother to everyone.
The fire was ignited the old way. No matches, just friction in traditional Vedic manner.
The priests are trained for many years before they can actively participate in a Somayag. Their chanting was extraordinary. All Mantras have their special vibration and special effect when done in a certain way at the right moment.
The priests sometimes chanted Mantras at the same time from different Vedas simultaneously, while others put certain offerings with certain gestures into the fire pits. Every action was accompanied by Mantras. No action was done without Mantra. The Mantras were sometimes very intense, one could feel a certain energy emanating from the sounds.
The king of the herbs, called "Soma" was used during the last days. First it was crushed with certain stones and then a juice was made as a Yajnya offering.
Certain Ghee mixtures made with Mantras created tremendous flames, which shot up to 10 meters into the atmosphere and left everybody amazed.
The instruments of different shapes and sizes are made of clay or wood and have sacred Sanskrit Mantras written on them. At the end of the Somayag the instruments were put into the Narmada River, again accompanied by Mantras.
The priests chant with all their heart and mind focused on their tasks, but they are also very joyous during the Somayag. Each priest has a certain task and every day they confirm their vote to harmoniously fulfill their duty in this Soma Yag. Truly a wonderful Team-work.
The camera captured many, many of the Light-beings present in this Somayag… Or is this photo giving us a glimpse into another Universe?…
The end of the Somayag on 28th of December was celebrated with a bath with Shree in the Narmada River, where Shree joyfully blessed everyone by throwing water on us.
