Power of the Vedas

Can ancient mantras induce rains? Do Vedic chants impact the

surrounding environment? A team of scientists will attempt to find out the

answers when they descend on the ancient village of Panjal in Kerala to study

the 3,100-year-old Vedic ritual called Athirathram in April 2010.

A team of Vedic scholars from Panjal village, home to the Namboothiri Brahmins,

say "Vedic rites are known to impact environment and human beings positively".

Panjal is located in Thrissur bordering Palakkad district of Kerala close to the

Nila River. The ritual to invoke the god of fire, to be held from April 4 to 14,

will be conducted by 18 priests led by the head priest called 'yajaman' and his

wife in the precincts of a Lakshmi Narayana shrine.

The village had played host to Athirathram 35 years ago and it was supported by

the Helsinki, Harvard and Berkeley universities. But this is the first time the

ritual will be held with people's support to promote world peace by the

Varthathe Trust, a religious forum that promotes Vedic knowledge and spiritual

systems.

A team of scientists led by V.P.M. Nampoori, former director of the

International School of Photonics, Cochin University (CUSAT), will conduct

research into the impact of Vedic chants and the fire ritual on the atmosphere.

The 12-day ritual will present the opportunity to explore the "scientific

implications on nature, mankind and all other living creatures", the scientist

said in a statement.

Nampoori said the "chanting of mantras and the worshipping of Agni with

medicinal herbs energise and protect the environment".

"The application of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and astronomy is

evident in every aspect of this performance."

The scientist said he would conduct "elaborate experiments in the areas of

atmospheric changes in temperature, humidity and pressure level during the

ritual".

"Studies will be conducted on the implications on micro-organisms in the soil

and variation in the yield from plants and animals," he said.

The research will also include the "physiological and psychological effects on

human beings, especially on those who meditate or are under medication."

Sivakaran Namboodiri, a trustee of the Varthathe Trust and a Vedic scholar and

healer, said: "The three previous editions of Athirathram had brought rain to

Panjal 35 years ago, to Kundoor where it was held in 1990 and to Kizhakkencherry

in 2006".

We want to find out whether it brings rain and increases the yield of the soil

and milch cattle, which will be exposed to chanting," Sivakaran said.

The 2006 ritual was supported by the Smithsonian School and the Rock Foundation,

the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and several scholars from

Japan and Europe.

Sivakaran said the "yajaman Ramanujan Somayaji of the Athirathram 2011 is

training a team of young Vedic priests to chant the mantras in the right pitch

for the maximum positive impact on those present at the ritual and on the

environment".

The ritual of Athirathram was first recorded in the 10th century BC. It survives

in a few Brahmin and spiritual pockets.

Indologist Frits Staal from US, who authored a book, "Agni", in two volumes

after the first ritual in April 1975, said the "ritual was a triumph of the

human spirit over the limitations of matter and the physical body."

The ritual, which revolves around a sacrificial fire, offering of medicinal

herbs and constant chanting, involves practitioners and scholars of Rig Veda,

Sama Veda and Yajur Veda.

The healing power of the Vedic chant is said to lie in its positive vibrations.