Yajna should not be performed for attaining selfish ends. It should be performed for the welfare of the entire world.

 Do not think that the Yajna is only the ceremony performed in this enclosure, marked out as specially holy, attended by readings and recitals from sacred texts and the chanting of Vedic hymns, and nothing other than this. No. Yajna is a continuous process; everyone who lives in the constant presence of God, and does all acts as dedicated to God is engaged in Yajna. Three processes go together in spiritual discipline, as laid down by the sages: Yajna, Dana and Tapas (Sacrifice, Charity and Self-control). They cannot be partitioned and particularised thus. Charity and self-control are integral parts of Yajna. That is why Yajna is translated as sacrifice, for, the process of charity or Dana is essential in Yajna. So is Tapas, that is to say, strict regulation of emotions and thought processes, to ensure peace and faith.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Objective possessions and subjective desires, both are handicaps in the race for realisation.

 Resolve this day to cleanse the mind of impurities so that you can imbibe the inspiration! Aspirants for mental peace must reduce the luggage they have to care for; the more the luggage, the greater the bother. Objective possessions and subjective desires, both are handicaps in the race for realisation. A house cluttered with lumber will be dark and dusty, and without free movement of fresh air, it will be stuffy and suffocating. The human body too is a house; do not allow it to be cluttered with curios, trinkets, trash, and superfluous furnishings. Let the breeze of holiness blow as it wills through it; let not the darkness of blind ignorance desecrate it. Life is a bridge over the sea of change; pass over it, but do not build a house on it. Hoist the Prasanthi Flag, on the temple, that is your heart. Follow the prescription it teaches - subdue the six enemies that undermine natural bliss in man, ascend the Yoga stage when agitations are stilled and allow the splendour of the Divinity within to shine forth, embracing all, at all times!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Offer yourself to God; then God will grant you jewels of limitless bliss.

 The words ‘yajna’ and ‘yaga’ are both translated as sacrifice; that is their primary purpose! You sacrifice riches, comfort, and power (all that promotes ego) and merge in the Infinite. That is the attainment and the end. Yajnas are useful because they support the ideal of sacrifice, and condemn acquisition. They emphasise discipline, rather than distraction. They insist on the concentration of the mind, tongue and hands on Godhead. Cynics count the bags of grain, kilograms of ghee, and hundredweights of fuel, and ask for more bags and kilograms and hundredweights of contentment and happiness in return! The effects of yajna on the character and consciousness cannot be measured or weighed in metres or grams. It is something immeasurable, though actual and experienceable. Moreover, cynics do not calculate the ghee, grain, and fuel they themselves have consumed, with no compensating joy! The grain and ghee offered in the sacred fire to the accompaniment of Vedic formulae give returns, thousandfold; they will cleanse and strengthen the atmosphere all over the world! Otherwise, the Avatar will not encourage or revive these Yajnas!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba