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Rajasooya Yajna 2003 At the Rajasooya Yajna last year, Sri Swamiji said, “Man is the only creature who knows God. Therefore, when a man dies of hunger, in actual fact it is God who dies. By feeding man you feed God; by serving man you serve God and by honouring man you honour God. Especially the man out on the street whom you do not know, with whom you are not related, who is in dire need and distress.”
So important and ingrained is this belief that several hymns and prayers are found in the Vedas and Upanishads invoking gods and goddesses who govern the annamaya kosha. A beautiful Sanskrit stotra to Annapurna beseeches the goddess of grain, who is worshipped at Varanasi alongside the jyotirlinga known as Vishwanath, Bhikshaam dehi kripa-awalambana-kari “O Annapurna, Mother, do not delay any longer in giving me bhiksha or alms as a symbol of your grace.”
The Taittireya Upanishad, one of the twelve classical Upanishads, has several important and significant mantras devoted to the worship of anna, and direct references are given about its relation to the annamaya kosha whereby it influences the speech, thoughts, actions and emotions of man. In yoga too definite practices are taught to influence this first kosha, or sheath, which is constituted of the food we eat. Of all types of daan or charity, anna daan is considered to be the most superior. It is believed that this type of daan ties the giver and receiver with such a strong bond that it is hard to extract oneself from the rin, or debt, of anna daan. In India the daan of anna is so significant that there is a special term coined for one who gives food in charity. He is known as anna daata and worshipped as a benefactor. Not only that, there is a special abuse coined for the person who betrays his anna daata! From this it is easy to understand how revered is the person who feeds others.
Swami Satyananda has instilled in sannyasins the discipline of treating food with respect so that it is not wasted, spoilt due to neglect or carelessness, nor overeaten due to greed, but shared with all. In his life he has always regarded food as bhiksha, or alms, which he receives from the divine, never demanding more than he has received and never complaining if it is not tasty and satisfying. For it is said that those who disrespect anna meet with a pitiable fate in this life as well as in future ones, facing suffering due to starvation, disease and death. Those who wish to participate in the offering of grains may send their contributions to Sivananda Math, as this institution will undertake the task of purchasing, packaging and distributing grains to all on behalf of Sri Swamiji at Sita Kalyanam, which will be held at Paramahamsa Alakh Bara, Rikhia Dham, from 24th to 28th November 2003, during which time Sat Chandi Mahayajna will be performed to invoke Devi, the Cosmic Mother, to bear witness to this grand event and shower her grace and blessings on us all. All of you are invited to receive the benevolence of Guru and Devi Ma! Namo Narayana
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Moreover,
the offering of anna is significant because this body is made up of anna
and therefore is known as annamaya kosha or the sheath composed of food.
It is the vehicle through which you conduct yourself in this world as
well as the medium through which you can know the Divine. It is simply
for this reason that according to vedic beliefs and traditions, anna,
or grain has earned the status of being worshipped as devata.
Just
as in people, anna too is categorized as sattwic, rajasic and tamasic,
and although you may largely ignore this classification in order to satisfy
your taste buds, if you want to begin a journey inwards to the experience
of pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya and anandamaya koshas, you will have
to make certain discriminations in this regard. In order to emphasize
the importance of this discipline there is a very important initiation
which every child in India receives at the age of six months, known as
anna prashana, when he is fed the first morsel of cooked grain and his
body or annamaya kosha is introduced to the food it will relish later
in life.
Then
again there are two kinds of anna daan – uncooked grains and cooked
food, of which the latter is regarded as superior to the former for it
is food that sustains, nourishes and cures. Sri Swamiji has said that
when the rites of Rajasooya Yajna are firmly established he will offer
food to each and everyone who comes to Paramahamsa Alakh Bara for the
yajna – humans, cows, dogs, cats, goats and even the Gods! 
It
is this important and extremely significant tradition from the vedic era
which Sri Swamiji is upholding by offering grain to one and all this year
at the Rajasooya Yajna. The three primary grains he has chosen are dhaan
(rice), gehu (wheat) and makai (maize). Along with these three, jau (barley)
and bajra (millet) will be given as a symbol or token of obeisance to
the rishis and munis of the vedic era who familiarized us with and made
us aware of this subtle concept.