Three Tenets

Yajan

The main purpose of yajan is to establish the ideal and to fulfill His interest and this means to do good to all. It is possible to accomplish it only if we make the Ideal who is the embodiment of good the object of our meditation. Meditation on Him and moving in accordance with Him lead us in the direction of becoming. So yajan involves repetition of Holy Name, meditation, devout worship, self-analysis, self-adjustment, practice of hygienic principles, study of His Holy Messages, carrying out resolves, atonement and prayer. To thus make oneself completely to His liking is sadhana or the process of actualizing the principles of life and growth. In Yajan the main factors are repetition of the Holy Name and meditation and materialization of the commands of the Lord in proper time. In Sri Sri Thakur’s words : To meditate at dead of night and dawn, To repeat the Name always while moving on, To work out in time the commands of the Lord This is called tapasya in a word. ( Translated from Bengali Anushruti, Vol 1 Chapter Sadhana – 27 ) Through meditation and repetition of the Holy Name, the brain cells are stimulated and gradually become more responsive, thus the sharpness of the senses is increased. Yajan means , “ to regulate oneself in an uplifting go by whole-heartedly and with an Ideal-minded attitude fulfilling the principles of life and growth.” ( Sri Sri Thakur – Pather Kari – 242) The greater responsiveness is attained by repetition of the Holy Name and this enables one in meditation to relate all sorts of ideas that come into the mind with the Ideal, and thus to direct oneself towards fulfillment.

Yaajan
To infuse one’s Ideal-heartedness into others is called yaajan. To try for one’s own upliftment while neglecting that of others brings failure in life. In Yaajan the Ideal is central, for it is only through Him that Dharma can be offered to others. To offer Dharma means to teach the principles of life and lift, and the embodiment of life and growth is the Ideal- the greatest fulfiller. The main function of yaajan is to form in man a link of unfailing love for Him through service, sympathy and discussion. Yaajan activates all parts of the brain and dissolves the knot of obsessions. Through Ideal-centric words and activity, a man’s regard and devotion grow. All his scattered feelings, ideas and reasonings become adjusted towards the one Ideal, as a result his common sense develops.

Istabhrity
Istabhrity is the offering of something for the nourishment of the Ideal. It is this that makes one’s initiation alive.

Sri Sri Thakur says, “ The first oblation to Him in daily life, offered with the united eagerness of body and mind being concentric in the Ideal, with desire for earning only in order to feed Him, is called Istabhrity”.

It is a fact that if one follows this practice with adherence and regard, failure can never come into his life. Early each morning after meditation and repetition of the Holy Name, and before eating or drinking anything, one should offer as much as he can. Carefully saving up his oblations, he should sent them on the thirtieth day to the place of the Lord.

Sri Sri Thakur assures us If Yajan, Yaajan, Istabhrity is done, Great fear will be overcome. And Istabhrity, He says, is our most powerful means of resisting the forces of cataclysm.