SACRIFICE mangaldhanram

Often one hears that the goddess needs blood. All this is nonsense. The portion of Shakti (feminine creative principle symbolized by the goddess) residing in us causes the blood to ceases to flow the instant this divine power dissociates itself from us (dissect a corpse. Not a drop of blood will flow from it), hence how come the goddess will ‘need it?
Cutting down animals, birds or fruits is not Bali (sacrifice). Bali is an act of soul surrender. Only an able person can perform such an act. In Bali, the worthy person is made to bathe and then he is offered flowers and akshat (unbroken grains of rice) and there after the prana (life breath) present in him is ‘sent abroad’ pushed further in its voyage (beyond the physical body). Next, a mantra is whispered into his ear and in the process the sacrificer’s life breath is made to enter into the sacrifice “victim”. One who is capable also possesses the power to bring the sacrifice victim back to life.
Similarly qurbani (giving up) is performed by giving up that which is dearest to one rather than sacrificing birds and animals. The rule to bring about this intense affection is that the person doing the qurbani should bring up the thing being ‘giving up’ as one’s own children. He should invest all his love into it. Although all this is a mere formality, because is effectively performed the moment one surrenders one’s self to the deity. Sacrifice of one’s dearest is an act incomparable in the quality of surrender.