In India i had seen it many times that People perform Havans in their home.But most of these people in India and around the world do not know the actual reason behind it. So, I decided to do some research and find out the truth behind it and found out some really knowledgeable and must share stuff.

Why do we do Havan?

Well there are two type of belief for the Havan Tradition. One is traditional belief i.e. what people believe and other is scientific belief . We will talk about both traditional and scientific (or ancient) belief with some of its history one by one:

◾Traditional Belief (what people think):

Havan is one of the ten positive virtues or niyam that is prescribed for the devotee whose aspiration is to draw closer to the Divine, ultimately acquiring Oneness with Him. It is also one way of performing Deva yagya, one of man’s five daily duties, according to the tenets of Sanatan Dharma.This is an age-old Hindu ritual in which offerings of ghee, googol, sugar and other saamaagri are offered into the sacred fire to the accompaniment of Sanskrit mantras.

◾Scientific (Ancient) Belief:

The man has not realized the significance of the other living world i.e. the plant kingdom around him that how important it is for his survival. One can live without food for few days and water for some hours but cannot live without AIR i.e. oxygen known as PRAN-YAYU. The greed and wish to accumulate more and more than our needs has caused a severe damage to the plant kingdom which has now become a threat for human survival so much that it has become an issue of GLOBAL concern. Havan is an ancient ritual which is performed to purify the atmosphere and the environment.

HOW HAVAN PURIFIES THE ATMOSPHERE:

when the havan is performed the air touches the fire, gets purified and becomes lighter in nature. So this light air goes up and replaces the cold/ the impure air and this process continues (as we studied in geography ; how the lighter air from the plains replace the heavier air from the poles) and the air keep getting purified till the ritual is being performed.

The main ingredient in havan is mango wood which when burnt releases FORMIC ALDEHYDE a gas which kills harmful bacterias thus purifies the atmosphere as per the research of (scientist TRELLO from FRANCE). It is then scientists made FORMALIN from formic aldehyde gas which is used to preserve the fruits, vegetables and species in the medical laboratories. The jaggery burnt in the havan also releases the formic aldehyde gas. A scientist TAUTLIK found that if we stay in a place where havan is being performed for ½ an hour the germs of typhoid fever are killed. The cow’s ghee the very important ingredient of havan has been referred as an antidote to the poison in VEDAS. Its fragrance purifies the physical atmosphere. Ghee when burnt in fire goes up in the atmosphere and the fat particles get laden on the dust particles in the atmosphere (somewhat similar to the stickiness on the objects in the kitchen) and comes back to the earth in form of rain thus nourishes the vegetation on the mother earth. Dr. Shirowic a RUSSIAN SCIENTIST says that if cow’s ghee is put in fire its smoke will lessen the effect of radiation in the atmosphere to a great extent. Sweets like honey and gur (jaggery), nutrition like ghee and dry fruits, aromatic herbs like ela, dalchini. Lavang rose petals, antibiotic herbs like guggal and gyal, and matter like ghee and samigri when burnt cause rain and purify the atmosphere. {SAMVEDA MANTRA 534} Havan ritual is like giving back to the atmosphere what we have taken from the atmosphere. The aromatic herbs when burnt remove the foul odor in the atmosphere by their fragrance.

Prof. Tilward says that fumes of havan kills the bacteria of T.B., Measeles, Cow pox, Small pox.

As it is said that basis of food is EARTH and basis of earth is WATER and basis of water is AIR and if air is pure; everything would be pure. Even the ash from the havan seems to be having cleansing effect that is why it is a ritual to immerse the havan ashes in the water. EAST EUROPIAN countries use ash as soil treatment which has shown positive results. Formaldehyde is sprayed to disinfect walls and ceilings and is also used to preserve the fruits as formic acid which is produced by burning mango wood and jaggery (gur). Havan has been found an effective method to reduce the FUNGAL load in small office or room. As per the experiments conducted the havan fire smoke has the potency to kill fungi like Aspergillus, Penicillium, Curvuleria and cladosporium etc. (Earth environmental science) in June 2007 in Acrobiolagia A Journal published in NETHERLAND.

The oxidation of hydrocarbons in (ghee and oils found in dry fruits) produce formic acid and acetic acid (vinegar) used to preserve food material. Since, the formaldehyde is effective only in the presence of water that is why there is a ritual of sprinkling the water around the HAVAN –KUND and in the air. The water is also available in form of water vapours found in the atmosphere.

Heal the atmosphere with havan and the healed atmosphere will heal you says Dr.madukar giakwaad.

DR. Hafkin says that inhaling the fumes of havan from distance induces secretions from certain glands related to wind pipe that fills our mind and heart with relaxation.

The use of carbon dioxide as CEREBRAL STIMULANT suffering from lack of ventilation (mouth to mouth breathing technique) is a common practice in medical world. Similarly carbon dioxide produced in HAVAN is at a very slow pace and then this smoke is rich with the AROMA of all the material burnt in it acts as stimulant to the BRAIN and the same carbon dioxide is used by the plants also. This was published as YAJNA’S SCIENTIFIC INTERPRETATION (an article published in the proceedings of ashawmedha yajna held in Montreal CANADA 26-28 July 1996).

The chemical reaction which takes place during the burning of all the havan samigri during the process of HAVAN is as----

  Carbon-dioxide + Water+112,000 Cal ---> Formaldehyde + Oxygen

So, to large extent carbon dioxide is converted into oxygen by havan.

While performing the ritual of HAVAN it has to be kept in mind that there should absolute combustion of the material in the havan samigri to tap the maximum benefit of the havan.I remember the fact as a child when we used to attend the havan ceremony in ARYASMAJ that the seniors always laid stress on how to arrange the SAMIDHAS (the wood used in havan) in the havan kund. They ensured it that enough space is left for the proper circulation of the air, and moment there was smoke; seniors used to say loudly “ghee dalo aur Agni prajawalit karo” means that pour enough ghee so that it catches fire as ghee is known to help in the process of combustion. Other than purifying the atmosphere Havan has the capacity to influence the local rains .Since, the havan is performed while chanting the HOLY MANTRAS. So, the havan ritual charges the ATMOSPHERE with positive energy also. Havan smoke is like inhalation therapy derived from AYURVEDA and as described above it relaxes the mind and heals the body and has positive effects spiritually too because of the holy verses (mantras) chanted during the havan.