ABSTRACT
A yajna, at its most basic, is a Vedic ritual in which offerings are made to Agni or a specially prepared and invoked sacred fire to the accompaniment of mantras or chants. Each yajna thus has a specific meaning and a purpose, but the general aim is to worship and make offerings to deities, re-establish cosmic unity, and to pray for the good of the whole society. Gandhi's yajna was to stop Hindus and Muslims from murdering, raping, looting and displacing each other in the subcontinent. In addition, Gandhi is also acutely aware of how sorry a figure the two recently independent but now feuding countries present to the world: the European powers, be it Russia, France or Britain, as well as America will laugh at us and say that we are not capable of preserving our freedom. Finally, he wanted the two communities to live in peace within each country.
