Havan

Feeding the Gods

It is early morning. Way too early to be up and about, if you ask me. Yet here I am, bundled up in my car with the heater blasting. It is still dark outside.

I am on the way to meet Anthony Zafer, a Yoga Australia teacher from Western Australia and practitioner of tantric rituals and rites. Today I will sit alongside him as he performs havan, a yogic fire ceremony. I glance at my watch. 5.30am. I am on time. Turning into the quiet, leafy street, I pull up alongside his house.

I step out of the car and grab the recording equipment and camera from the back seat. Heading up the stone pathway to the front door, I knock lightly.

Next to me sits a portly Ganesha statue, adorned with flowers. Wisps of fragrant bluish smoke waft upwards from a nearby stick of agarbatti. The door opens and I am met by Anthony’s partner, who leads me through the living room and outside to the balcony, where the ringing of bells, Sanskrit chanting and heavy aroma of burning ghee and mango wood is thick in the air.

Anthony lifts his gaze as we enter the area, smiles at me, then returns to the ritual before him with reverence. The area past the balcony is engulfed in darkness, a striking scene as the flames dance and leap upward to receive every offering. I quietly settle onto the cushions a few metres away.

In the half-light, Anthony sits erect on a deerskin, wrapped in a white cotton dhoti and shawl, with malas of rudrakshas on his chest and vibhuti on his arms. The havan kunda, a pit for invoking the fire god Agni, sits before him. The paraphernalia required for this ritual surrounds him –bells, incense, herbs, flowers and wood from sacred trees.

There is a tangible sense of something in the atmosphere. With every libation of clarified butter into the flames, every mudra of the hands and mantra uttered, I become more entranced by the beauty of this ancient ritual. Minutes turn into an hour.

As the ceremony approaches its conclusion, Anthony holds up a burgundy silk pouch containing seeds, herbs and dried fruit. Dipping it in the ghee pot, he begins ringing a large brass bell, and with the final ‘Swaha’, the offering is placed into the fire. More ringing of bells, waving of lamps and hand gestures, and the ritual is over.

I shuffle closer, and turn on my recording equipment.

I come to know that in 1996, Anthony travelled the whole length of India in search of an accomplished teacher. A sequence of events led him to a Yogini who had emerged from a decade of silent meditation in the forests of Andhra Pradesh.

Anthony settled into a nearby bunker and commenced his sadhana under her guidance. For the next 2 years, from 3am to 8pm, he alternated long rounds of meditation with pranayama, mantra japa and tantric rituals. He taught in Asia for 6 years before returning to Perth. Twenty years later, Anthony continues to teach and practice. He visits India twice a year.

I used mantra for a while but gave up, as I could not feel the benefit. What are your thoughts on this?

‘Practices always bear fruit, though each person’s experience will differ. If we commence with a heavy karmic load, it will take longer before we feel the benefits, as we first need to purify the system. Patience and commitment are required. Some people are like dry wood. They have done much sadhana in the past lives. Their karmic burden is light. They approach the fire and are instantly ablaze. Others are like wet wood. They too sit by the fire but are only in the process of drying. It takes a little longer for them.’

Can you tell a little about this Havan ritual that you are performing?

Here is the kunda, the fire pit. We start with mantras for invocation, protection and blessing of the space. We purify ourselves with mudras, mantras, sipping and sprinkling of water. We also state our intention, our sankalpa, addressing the devas and those to be blessed.

We light the fire, and invite Lord Agni into the kunda. This becomes the ‘mouth of the gods.’ Agni consumes the offerings and transports them into the heavens. There is a reciprocal blessing from the gods.

The subtle beings exist in a spiritual body, so they cannot eat gross food as we do. The devas ‘eat’ through sound, vibration and scent. This is why we offer the foods with mantra into the fire. This is also why we find chanting, hymns, bells, incense, resins, flowers, herbs and fire throughout all world religions and esoteric traditions. These are all forms of nourishment for the gods.

What are some of the benefits of a yogic fire ritual?

This ceremony brings both material and spiritual benefits. It is also important for burning off karma and for achieving mantra siddhi.

Anthony glances up at the clock mounted on the wall and smiles. It is time for us to depart.

‘Come back again when you have time,’ Anthony says, as he ties a raksha, a blessed cotton bracelet, around my right wrist.

‘Yes, I would like that very much,’ I reply, as we make our way to the door.

Back in the car, I take a few moments just to sit in silence. I wind down the window, close my eyes and breathe in the fresh morning air. I can smell the scent of pine trees. There is a curious but pleasant humming sensation through my body. I feel lighter. Quieter.

Somehow, I feel that I’ll be meeting Anthony again before too long.

Anthony Zafer is a Physiotherapist and Senior Instructor with Yoga Australia. He delivers Higher Limbs CPD Workshops for Yoga teachers

and conducts yogic fire rituals

for studios, events and retreats.

He is also a Corporate Wellness Presenter through his company, Present Minds Australia.

Email: Anthonyzafer@hotmail.com

Facebook: Sacred Fires Yoga

Website: www.present-minds.org