The First Jnana Yajna
October 13, 2025
With four annas (currency unit formerly used in British India) in his pocket, Swami Chinmayananda alighted at the railway station of Pune (then known as Poona) on Dec. 23, 1951 and began his first discourse that very evening. In those days, yajna meant the long traditional havans, the elaborate fire rituals. Taking cue from the Bhagavad Gita, he brought alive the jnana yajna (A series of Spiritual Discourses), where the fire of spiritual knowledge is kindled and the primal ignorance is burnt forever. The 100-day Upanishad Jnana Yajna that followed was a saga par excellence.