Namast,
Ramakrishna, I indeed started practicing agnihotra last year, and since you asked for experiences, I'll share mine. Please understand that this is not meant to be a discouraging story; in fact, I hope it will help anyone considering the rite to be less stupid than I was.
I work night shift, usually 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., and a midnight to 4 a.m. on Sundays as well. Since I knew of the importance of being awake and spiritually aware during brahmamuhurta, I decided to arrange my schedule to sleep during the day. I would wake at 5 p.m., work til 2 a.m., and then stay awake until 9 a.m. In this way, I was always awake for the twice-daily agnihotra offerings.
The practice felt right, though not comforting or joyous for me personally. I was always worried about getting it right, was often exhausted, but focused, meditated upon sacrifice without taking for myself. And it felt soothing to the environment, to my home, to the world in the sense of doing something correct and truthful, giving because it was right to do so. I don't know if this makes any sense. It didn't make me happy. But my home and life were better because of it.
But I started with nausea, headaches and other symptoms, some of which I detailed in a question on the Ayurveda thread some months ago. Per the excellent advice there, I changed my diet to a Pitta-reducing one and altered my sleep schedule to get a little more rest. When I remained ill, I decided to sleep all of the night possible after work, and set an alarm to wake me for morning agnihotra. I would burn the offerings each morning and go back to bed as soon as the fire was out. I was too dazed to meditate or even remember the rite very well, but I reminded myself that it wasn't for me, and as long as I didn't burn myself or the apartment, it was alright to be tired.
I rent a tiny, third-floor apartment in downtown central Canada, surrounded by parking lots and street (no yard). The temperature here drops as low as -40C in winter, and even if one would be unwise enough to open the windows at that time, it's physically impossible; they're hard-frozen shut. So after performing agnihotra for many winter weeks in an unventilated apartment, my walls started turning grey from soot. Soot found its way all over the apartment, in every room, even inside my refrigerator somehow. Every time I blew my nose, the tissue was black, so I made a few jests about "agnihotra black lung" and purchased a neti pot.
I still thought that maybe my earlier symptoms had just been laziness/weakness, so I started a forty-day sadhana in April-May, and returned to my earlier practice of staying awake, meditating, etc. during brahmamuhurta. (That was foolish. You can guess that I got sick again.) I had just enough of the cow dung cakes to finish agnihotra during this time, and had ordered more. When sadhana was complete, I switched to coconut pieces for fuel and waited for my order to arrive. But, despite having received three packages previously with no problem, Canadian customs opened this particular box and promptly removed my "soil/peat material."
I felt a duty to the practice of agnihotra. I didn't feel I had a right to stop just because it was "hard" or because "I didn't feel good". And I am stubborn. But I was sick, tired, and out of supplies, as if my fuel and the fire's fuel had run out at the same time. So I decided to stop.
It still weighs on me, to have taken up the task and then laid it down, and I'm hoping to find a better living and working situation when I move at the end of the year. So, since you are considering it for the future, here are ideas I can share for you to think about.
-Burnin' stuff twice a day is hard.Once you take on the responsibility, it alters your schedule every day after. Errands, parties, club meetings, sports activities, everything that you might wish to pursue during the evening hours especially, all must work around this daily task, and planning is difficult because the timing continuously changes. I did consider all of these things before beginning, but having the experience of something is often different from considering it.
-Consider ventilation and space. I started agnihotra at my parents' home while on vacation, and found it quite pleasant, but they had a large backyard in a subtropical climate that allowed me winter-time outdoor ritual. Once in my apartment it was a whole different situation. (Lest anyone think I'm the only one who's done this, there's an e-group discussion I'm watching right now regarding soot in the home and the damages it's caused. The agnihotra websites don't really mention this - probably because they assume that most house-holders aren't dumb enough to wreck their own homes - but, um, some of us are.
-There is the matter of not being initiated into the rite. On the one hand, even many non-Hindus practice the simplified agnihotra, and do not seem to suffer for it. I read, meditated, thought, and did my best by this duty as a Hindu, but after the problems described above, I have wondered, was it indeed my work schedule, diet, sleep, environment? Or were those obstacles really physical symptoms of a spiritual mistake or problem? I cannot say.
Having said all of this, I would still recommend agnihotra to anyone who considers the above carefully, as well as the importance of performing the rite correctly and with respect, and is able to proceed. Even in simplified form, the ancient way of worship of and through fire is profound and great. It's cosmic order in a little copper kund. It's needed.
Indraneela
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Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.
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