hymn for divine straw

taittirya samhita 1.1.2

a Thou art the substance of the sacriflee.
b The Raksas is burned up, the evil spirits are burned up.
c The Vedi hath come to the sacrificial straw,
Made by Manu, fashioned with the Svadha call.
The sages fetch it from in front,
The delightful straw for the gods to sit on here.
d Thou art impelled by the gods.
e Thou art made to grow by the rains.
f O divine straw, lot me not hit thee either across or along,
g Let me hit thy joints,
h Let me come to no harm in cutting thee.
i O divine straw, rise with a hundred shoots,
Let us rise with a thousand shoots.
k Guard from the contact of earth.
l I gather thee with good gathering.
m Thou art the girdle of Aditi, the cord of Indrani.
n Let Pusan tie a knot for thee, that knot shall mount me.
o I hold thee up with the arms of Indra, I seize thee with the head of Brhaspati.
p Fare along the wide atmosphere.
q Thou art going to the gods.

1. 1. 6.
a The 7 Raksas is shaken off, the evil spirits are shaken off.
b Thou art the skin of Aditi, may the earth recognize thee.
c Thou art the supporter of the sky, may the skin of Aditi recognize thee.
d Thou art a bowl of rock, may the supporter of the sky recognize thee.
e Thou art a bowl made of the rock, may the rock recognize thee.
f On the impulse of the god Savitar, with the arms of the Açvins, with the hands of Prisan, I pour thee out.
g Thou art stimulating, stimulate the gods.
h For expiration thee, for inspiration thee, for through−breathing thee (I pound).
i May I extend for long the life (of the sacrificer).

k Let the god Savitr, of golden hands, seize you.

the divine sacrificial straw which is talked in the hymn must be the subtle nerves.
" Guard from the contact of earth", the earth must be the basis from which nerves rise.
" Let me hit thy joints," joints should be the nodes of nerves.
"Let us rise with a thousand shoots." the thousand shoots can be none other than numerous branching of nerves. 
"The Raksas is burned up," the rakshasas are the blocking of nerves which create obstruction in flow of prana through it. 
"Thou art going to the gods", it's those subtle nerves which make prana reach to the devtas. 
"The 7 Raksas is shaken off", talking about cover over seven chakras as nodes of subtle nerves.
"For expiration thee, for inspiration thee, for through−breathing thee (I pound)." talking about the pranayama effect on nerves. 


a careful study of all the characteristics of the divine straw indicate that it cannot be a normal grass during sacrifice rituals. the sacrifice has to be done within the body, and the straw is nothing other than subtle nerves. 

brahman

SELF-REALISATION

Brahman is, subjectively, Atman, the Self or immutable existence of all that is in the universe. Everything that changes in us, mind, life, body, character, temperament, action, is not our real and unchanging self, but becomings of the Self in the movement,
jagat.
In Nature, therefore, all things that exist, animate or inanimate, are becomings of the one Self of all. All these different creatures are one indivisible existence. This is the truth each being has to realise. When this unity has been realised by the individual in every part of his being, he becomes perfect, pure, liberated from ego and the dualities, possessed of the entire divine felicity.

ATMAN

Atman, our true self, is Brahman; it is pure indivisible Being, selfluminous, self-concentrated in consciousness, self-concentrated in force, self-delighted. Its existence is light and bliss. It is timeless, spaceless and free.

THE THREEFOLD PURUSHA

Atman represents itself to the consciousness of the creature in three states, dependent on the relations between Purusha and Prakriti, the Soul and Nature. These three states are Akshara, unmoving or immutable; Kshara, moving or mutable; and Para or Uttama, Supreme or Highest.
Kshara Purusha is the Self reflecting the changes and movements of Nature, participating in them, immersed in the consciousness of the movement and seeming in it to be born and die, increase and diminish, progress and change. Atman, as the Kshara, enjoys change and division and duality; controls secretly its own changes but seems to be controlled by them; enjoys the oppositions of pleasure and pain, good and bad, but appears to be their victim; possesses and upholds the action of Nature, by which it seems to be created. For, always and inalienably, the Self is Ishwara, the Lord. Akshara Purusha is the Self standing back from the changes and movements of Nature, calm, pure, impartial, indifferent, watching them and not participating, above them as on a summit, not immersed in these Waters. This calm Self is the sky that never moves and changes looking down upon the waters that are never at rest. The Akshara is the hidden freedom of the Kshara. Para Purusha or Purushottama is the Self containing and enjoying both the stillness and the movement, but conditioned and limited by neither of them. It is the Lord, Brahman, the All, the Indefinable and Unknowable. It is this supreme Self that has to be realised in both the unmoving and the mutable.

When this Soul of things is seen to be Sachchidananda, then knowledge is perfected. For we see Matter to be only a play of Life, Life a play of Mind energising itself in substance, Mind a play of Truth or causal Idea representing truth of being variously in all possible mental forms, Truth a play of Sachchidananda, Sachchidananda the self-manifestation of a supreme Unknowable, Para-Brahman or Para-Purusha.
We perceive the soul in all bodies to be this one Self or Sachchidananda multiplying itself in individual consciousness. We see also all minds, lives, bodies to be active formations of the same existence in the extended being of the Self. This is the vision of all existences in the Self and of the Self in all existences which is the foundation of perfect internal liberty and perfect joy and peace.

- aurobindo ghosh. 

The Divine Dawn [ Rig Veda III.61 ]

उषो वाजेन वाजिनि परचेता सतोमं जुषस्व गर्णतो मघोनि |
पुराणी देवि युवतिः पुरन्धिरनु वरतं चरसि विश्ववारे || 

Dawn, richly stored with substance, conscious cleave to
the affirmation of him who expresses thee, O thou of the
plenitudes. Goddess, ancient, yet ever young thou movest
many-thoughted following the law of thy activities,Obearer
of every boon.

उषो देव्यमर्त्या वि भाहि चन्द्ररथा सून्र्ता ईरयन्ती |
आ तवा वहन्तु सुयमासो अश्वा हिरण्यवर्णां पर्थुपाजसो ये || 

Dawn divine, shine out immortal in thy car of happy light
sending forth the pleasant voices of the Truth. May steeds
well-guided bear thee here who are golden brilliant of hue
and wide their might.

उषः परतीची भुवनानि विश्वोर्ध्वा तिष्ठस्यम्र्तस्य केतुः |
समानमर्थं चरणीयमाना चक्रमिव नव्यस्या वव्र्त्स्व || 

Dawn, confronting all the worlds thou standest highuplifted
and art their perception of Immortality; do thou
move over them like a wheel, O new Day, travelling over
an equal field.

अव सयूमेव चिन्वती मघोन्युषा याति सवसरस्य पत्नी |
सवर्जनन्ती सुभगा सुदंसा आन्ताद दिवः पप्रथ आ पर्थिव्याः || 

Dawn in her plenitude like one that lets fall from her a sewn
robe moves, the bride of the Bliss; creating Swar, perfect in
her working, perfect in her enjoying, she widens from the
extremity of Heaven over the earth.

अछा वो देवीमुषसं विभातीं पर वो भरध्वं नमसा सुव्र्क्तिम |
ऊर्ध्वं मधुधा दिवि पाजो अश्रेत पर रोचना रुरुचे रण्वसन्द्र्क || 

Meet ye the Dawn as she shines wide towards you and with
surrender bring forward your complete energy. Exalted in
heaven is the force to which she rises establishing the sweetness;
she makes the luminous worlds to shine forth and is a
vision of felicity.

रतावरी दिवो अर्कैरबोध्या रेवती रोदसी चित्रमस्थात |
आयतीमग्न उषसं विभातीं वाममेषि दरविणं भिक्षमाणः || 

By heaven’s illuminings one perceives her a bearer of the
Truth and rapturous she comes with its varied light into the
two firmaments. From Dawn as she approaches shining out
on thee, O Agni, thou seekest and attainest to the substance
of delight.


रतस्य बुध्न उषसामिषण्यन वर्षा मही रोदसी आ विवेश |
मही मित्रस्य वरुणस्य माया चन्द्रेव भानुं वि दधे पुरुत्रा ||

Putting forth his impulsions in the foundation of the Truth,
in the foundation of the Dawns, their Lord enters the Vastness
of the firmaments.Vast the wisdom ofVaruna, ofMitra,
as in a happy brightness, orders multitudinously the Light.

from - secret of vedas.

Surya Savitri, Creator and Increaser Rig Veda V.81

युञ्जते मन उत युञ्जते धियो विप्रा विप्रस्य बर्हतो विपश्चितः | 
वि होत्रा दधे वयुनाविद एक इन मही देवस्य सवितुः परिष्टुतिः || 

1. Men illumined yoke theirmind and they yoke their thoughts
to him who is illumination and largeness and clear perceiving.
Knowing all phenomena he orders, sole, the Energies of
the sacrifice. Vast is the affirmation in all things of Savitri,
the divine Creator.

विश्वा रूपाणि परति मुञ्चते कविः परासावीद भद्रं दविपदे चतुष्पदे | वि नाकम अख्यत सविता वरेण्यो ऽनु परयाणम उषसो वि राजति || 
 
2. All forms he takes unto himself, the Seer, and he creates
from them good for the twofold existence and the fourfold.
The Creator, the supreme Good, manifests Heaven wholly
and his light pervades all as he follows the march of the
Dawn.

यस्य परयाणम अन्व अन्य इद ययुर देवा देवस्य महिमानम ओजसा |
यः पार्थिवानि विममे स एतशो रजांसि देवः सविता महित्वना || 

3. In the wake of his march the other gods also reach by his
force to the greatness of the Divinity. He has mapped out
the realms of earthly light by his mightiness,—the brilliant
one, the divine Creator.

उत यासि सवितस तरीणि रोचनोत सूर्यस्य रश्मिभिः सम उच्यसि |
उत रात्रीम उभयतः परीयस उत मित्रो भवसि देव धर्मभिः || 

4. And thou reachest,OSavitri, to the three luminous heavens;
and thou art utterly expressed by the rays of the Sun; and
thou encompassest the Night upon either side; and thou
becomest by the law of thy actions the lord of Love, O God.

उतेशिषे परसवस्य तवम एक इद उत पूषा भवसि देव यामभिः |
उतेदं विश्वम भुवनं वि राजसि शयावाश्वस ते सवित सतोमम आनशे ||

5. And thou art powerful for every creation; and thou becomest
the Increaser, O God, by thy movings; and thou
illuminest utterly all this world of becomings. Shyavashwa
has attained to the affirmation of thee, O Savitri.

from - secret of vedas, by aurobindo ghosh.

The Meaning Of Devtas

devtas are generally only considered to have some body like humans, however in the vedas they are actually flow of energies, which are portrayed as human body. the definition of devtas is given in nirukt as follows.
deva is so called from making gifts (root da) or from being brilliant ( root dip ) from being radiant ( root dyut ) or because his sphere is heaven. ( nirukt 7.15)

in brahmana scriptures, devtas are described as channels of energy of praana ( life ). for example:
'prana vai deva manujaata' ( taittirya samhita 6.1.4.5) - praan ( life ) is devtas, born of mann ( mind).
'prana vai deva dhishnayaste hi sarva dhiya ishnanti' ( shatpath brahman 7.1.1.24) - ' it is praan who is devta, that inspires the mind.
'praana vai deva, dravinoda' ( shatpath brahman 6.7. 2.3 ) - dev that provides wealth is praan. 
(this above verse also tells us that the wealth about which we talk in vedas are not physical gold or something else. but it comes from praan, means it is spiritual upliftment or knowledge is considered as wealth. wealth we generally talk hiranyam ( literal meaning 'gold') is truth, gau ( literal meaning 'cow') is rays, ashva ('literal meaning horse) is energy flow etc.  

as praan flows all over the body devtas also seem to be anthropomorphic because they all live inside human body , in aatma and are different features of pran, but by vedic verses we know devtas have both anthropomorphic and unanthropomorphic features ( see nirukt 7.5-6) as with respect to the praan / aatma prevailing in entire universe, their anthropomorphic feature do not hold. that's why it is said in nitukt 7.4, 'all devtas are limbs of single soul. they are produced from karma ( yajna sacrifices ), soul is even their chariot, weapons, arrows. soul is indeed all in all of devtas.' 

The Methods Of Yajna

 ॐ

Taittirya Samhita

1.6.7.3) 'The sacrificer should win both beasts of the wild and of the village', they say; in that he refrains from those of the village, thereby be wins them; in that he eats of the wild, thereby he wins them of the wild. If be were to fast without eating, the Pitrs would be his divinity. 

here word beasts ( pashu ) is used to symbolically represent the inner powers, energy flows inside the body. as the meanings of four pashus are described in previous post. there are two types of pashus, of wild, and of village. that means one type of energy is uncontrolled (wild / aaranyam ) and another is controlled ( of village / gramyam ). [ similar types of beasts of wild and of village is seen in shukla yajur veda 13.48, there also it should be understood that those energy inside the body are asked to be destroyed which are uncontrolled and harmful but to protect those energy which are controllable. ] here the yajna is described as fasting process by which he wins both powers of his body, controlled and uncontrolled. 

1.6.7.4)  he eats of the wild, the wild is power, and so he bestows power upon himself. If he were to fast without eating, he would be hungry; if he were to eat, Rudra would plan evil against his cattle; he partakes of water; that is neither eaten nor not eaten; he is not hungry and Rudra does not plot evil against his cattle. The sacrifice is a bolt, the enemy of man is hunger; in that he fasts without eating, he straightway smites with the bolt the enemy, hunger.

in this fast, sacrificer is said to eat the wild energy that gives him strength, because of he fast without eating he will be devoid of energy and become hungry. but if he eats, his organs will deviate him from his sacrifice and he may loose his spiritual energy ( the village cattles ). there are 11 rudras discussed in scriptures which are 5 gyanendriyan ( 5 sense organs ) and 5 karmendriyan ( hands, legs etc ) and 11th is mann ( mind ). so after getting power from wild energies, the rudras may lead him to loose his spiritual energy. therefore, sacrificer is told to take only water, and not food. but his hunger is still a big deviation from his sacrifice. so, for that last line says, "the yajna is thunderbolt ( vajra ), and hunger during the karma of yajna is enemy, sacrificer smites the enemy by the bolt. that means, by the power of yajna, hunger itself goes away. and thus, sacrificer is able to put the wild energies inside him for his inner development. needless to say that the last line saying yajna is bolt and hunger is enemy, especially in the context of fasting, is itself a proof that the animals about which we are talking are not real but metaphorically describe the inner energy flows. 

2.3.2.8.)  He who desires cattle should offer a cake on eight potsherds to Agni, the giver, and a cake on eleven potsherds to Indra, the bestower; verily Agni produces cattle for him, Indra makes them grow up. These are curds, honey, ghee, waters, and parched grain; that is the form of cattle; verily by their form he wins cattle; there are five takings, for cattle are fivefold; I it is of many forms, for cattle are of many forms,

it can be easily understood that cattle which are said to be produced from agni would not be an animal but should have characteristics of agni only, thus it can only be energy, nothing else. when devtas are pleased, they provide spiritual energy to sacrificer, that's said in the way that devtas provide cattle to him.  now the form of useful cattle or spiritual energy are "curds, honey, ghee, waters, and parched grain". all these forms also have spiritual meanings. waters is flow of energy, ghee is purified mind, and for honey, there is next verse.

2.3.2.9)  cattle are connected with Prajapati; verily Prajapati produces cattle for him; honey is the body of man; in that he offers honey on the fire, verily thus the sacrificer places his body in the fire; the Yajya and the Anuvakya are in the Pañkti metre, man is fivefold, cattle are fivefold; verily ransoming his body from death he wins cattle.

the body of sacrificer is itself the honey , that is to be sacrificed in agni. body is actually just subtle body , and not physical body. subtle body is offered in inner fire ( agni ) for purification and perfection like honey. thus prajapati produces spiritual energy for him by which he wins death and attains immortality. ( here also word immortality applies to subtle body, not physical body ) one another important thing is, many times in yajna , it is told that different body parts of sacrificial animal is put down in fire. that also means that while doing yajna in subtle body, one has to bring the spiritual fire to his different body organs for purification and perfection. in this way, he rises above and achieve salvation. that's the real meaning of sacrificing 'pashu'. that suksh sharir ( subtle body ) is itself the offering to devtas and by placing himself in agni, he rise above to dyulok. 

- yash vardhan

The Purusha medha

purush sukta itself give detail explanation of how purush medha is performed. but basic idea is the animal tied as offering in purush medha is purusha itself. and this purusha doesn't mean a person but the aatma as the purush sukta is regarding the purusha which pervades entire universe. 

Verse VI:
When the devas (gods) performed a sacrifice with the Purusha as the offering, the season of spring was the molten butter (used in all sacrifices), summer the sacred fuel and autumn the oblation.

Verse VII:
When the devas performed the sacrifice, in which they bound the Purusha as the sacrificial animal, there were seven poles in the sacrificial enclosure and three times seven logs of sacred firewood.

Verse VIII:
They placed Him, the Sacrifice, Purusha, the firstborn, on the sacrificial grass and besprinkled Him with the sacred water. Then the devas, the sadhyas and the rishis performed the sacrifice with Him as the offering.

Verse IX:
From that sacrifice, in which everything was offered as an oblation, was collected fresh butter. Creatures living in air (birds) and those living in forests and villages came in to being.

Verse X:
From that sacrifice, in which everything was offered as oblation, came the Riks (Vedic Hymns) and the Samans (Hymns which are sung - the Saama Gaana). The Chandases (Vedic Metres) came from it; and from it the Yajus (mantra for the ritual) was born.

Verse XI:
Horses were born of it, and animals with two rows of teeth. Cows were born of it, and so were goats and sheep.

though it appears from first reading that some animal is tied in yajna, but it's context itself says that the purusha is aatma of universe. and if one has to perform purush medha, it does in it's aatma. some other terms like names of animals may be confusing in this context, so the meanings of asva ( horse ), aja ( goat), avi ( sheep ) and gau ( cow ) is as follows.

 real meanings of ashva are:
1)'ashnute adhvanam' ( one with high speed).
2)'ashnute vyapnoti' ( the which spread rapidly)
3)'bahu ashnaniti ashvah' ( one which eats too much is also called ashva).
in vedas, it's meaning have actually double significance, anything that moves with high speed is portrayed as horse animal. brahmana scriptures has called rays, fire, sun and even god as ashva. for example:
'sauyaryo va ashvah' (gopath brahman 2.3.19) - rays of sun is ashva.
'agnirva ashvah' ( shatpath brahman 2.6.2.5) - agni is ashva.
'ashvo it ishwaro wa ashvah' (shatpath brahman 13.3.3.5) - being in all over the world, god is ashva.
other synonym for ashva used in vedas are 'arva', 'vaaji', which mean restless and strong respectively.

similarly, aja do not mean goat, but voice or something that is born of agni, as sound is also said to be born from agni.
'vaak va ajah' ( shatpath brahman 7.5.2.21) - sound is aja.
'aagneyo va ajah' (shatpath brahman 6.4.4.15) - that born from agni is aja.

word 'avi' is used for sheep as well as protecting feature. 
shatpath brahman 6.1.2.33 says earth is 'avi' as it protects the praja. 

word 'gau' is used for that which moves. mostly it is used for rays, but portrayed as animal cow, as that which nourish the body. other meanings of 'gau' are;
a) worlds- 'ime loka gauh' ( S. Br. 6.5.2.17)
b) antariksh - 'antariksham gauh' ( A. Br. 4.15)
c) sun - 'gavo va aaditya' ( A. Br. 4.15)
d) food- 'annam vai gauh' ( T. Br. 3.18.3)
e) life - 'prano hi gauh' ( S. Br. 4. 3.4.25)
shatpath brahman 8.5.2.11 says, "gau is born of agni" ( aagneyo vai gauh )

similar meanings of animals are applied while performing animal sacrifices like ashvamedha etc.