AGNI DEVATHA - FIRE PRINCIPLE THAT MOVES THIS UNIVERSE

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Agni and the Fire of Self-Inquiry Published in the Mountain Path of the Sri Ramasramam (Ramana Maharshi) By David Frawley Self-inquiry (Atma-vichara), such as taught by Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, is regarded as the simplest and most direct path to Self-realization. However, Self-inquiry is also very subtle and can be hard to accomplish even after years of dedicated practice. It depends upon a great power of concentration and acuity of mind along with an intense longing for liberation. One might say metaphorically that Self-inquiry requires a certain flame. It requires that we ourselves become a flame and that our lives become an offering to it. Without such an inner fire, Self-realization may elude us whatever else we may attempt. Therefore, it is important to look at

Self-inquiry not simply as a mental practice but as an energetic movement of consciousness like the rising up of a great fire. The Search for the Universal Self In this psychological age, particularly seekers coming from the West tend to confuse Self-inquiry with a kind of psychological self-examination, a

looking into our temporal, bodily or ego self and its fears and desires as constituting a true search for the higher Self. One examines ones personal traumas and sorrows and looks for a psychological state of peace, clarity and joy, which is a kind state of personal integration, as if it were true Self-realization. However, according to Vedanta, the true Self that we are seeking to realize is not our human self but the universal Self, the Self that is present in all beings, in all bodies and in the entire world. It is the Self that is the witness of all time and space

and transcends our psychology, which consists mainly of the incidentals and peculiarities of our personal circumstances and proclivities in life. The true Self resembles more the great powers of nature like fire, wind or sun than it does our personal thoughts and feelings. The search for this transcendent Self is very different than any psychological self-examination, which is at best a preliminary stage in its approach. Other seekers with a more intellectual background tend to approach the Self in a conceptual or philosophical way, as if it were some category of cosmic existence to be appreciated by the rational mind. This too generally

misses the living reality of the Self which has the power to consume the mind and cannot be approached by any mere logic or dialectic. To question deeply about who we really are is to create a friction at the core of the mind that naturally gives rise to an inner fire. The inquiry ‘Who Am I?’ is the ultimate stirring of the mind that brings forth an inner flame that can consume all other questions and doubts, like a fire burning dry grass. It takes us back to the core fire at the core of the mind, which is the inextinguishable light of the supreme I AM. That universal Self of pure light and consciousness shining deep within us is the real goal

of our search. Self Inquiry as a Yajna or Fire Sacrifice The Self in the Vedas and Upanishads is often symbolized by fire (Agni). The Rig Veda begins with the worship of Agni, who is the deity of the sacrifice. But who is this Agni and what is the nature of the sacrifice to be offered to it? There are many forms of Agni in Vedic thought. Agni outwardly as fire and light and inwardly as life and consciousness pervades all things in the universe. In the Vedic view, Agni has three main cosmic (adhidaivic) or world forms as fire, lightning and sun which are the ruling forces in the three worlds of earth, atmosphere and heaven. These are the three

lights in the world of nature and the three manifestations of Paramatman, the Supreme Self that is the Divine Light and the light of all the worlds. In addition, Agni has three main internal (adhyatmic) forms as speech (vak), prana and intelligence (buddhi), which are the ruling forces in the three aspects of our being as body, life and mind. They are the three lights of our internal nature and the three manifestations of the Soul or Jivatman, the consciousness or light principle within us. These three internal forms of Agni create the three main paths of Yoga practice. Agni’s speech form is the basis of Mantra Yoga or the repetition of sacred sounds like OM or longer prayers like the Gayatri mantra. Mantra practice creates an internal fire that helps purify the subconscious mind and make the mind receptive to meditation. Agni’s prana form is the basis of Prana Yoga or yogic breathing practices of

pranayama. Pranayama increases the fire of prana (Pranagni) within us that cleanses the nadis of the subtle body and helps unloosen the knots or granthis of the heart. Agni’s mind form is the basis of Dhyana Yoga or the yoga of meditation. The mind form of Agni or the buddhi is the discriminating part of the mind that allows us to distinguish truth from falsehood, reality from unreality and the Self from the not Self. These three forms of Agni and their related yogic paths take us to the Jivatman or our individual Self and help us understand its basis in the Paramatman or Supreme Self. There are many Vedic yajnas or fire-sacrifices both external and internal. External yajnas consist of offerings of special substances of wood, ghee, milk or rice into the sacred fire. Internal yajnas consist of offerings of speech (mantra), breath (prana), and mind (meditation) into our internal fires. Vedic Yoga practices of mantra, pranayama and meditation are the main internal yajnas. Yoga itself is the inner sacrifice in all of its forms. The fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita explains these different internal sacrifices which reflect the different practices of Yoga including pranayama (Prana-yajna), pratyahara (Indriya-yajna), dharana (Mano-yajna) and dhyana (Buddhi-yajna). Each relates to a different form or aspect of Agni on the levels of body, breath and mind. The highest Yajna is the Atma-Yajna or Self-sacrifice in which we offer the ego into the

Self. This is also the highest form of meditation or the mind-sacrifice, as the ego is the root of the mind. For this Yajna, the Agni is the Atman or true Self in the heart. Self-inquiry is perhaps the ultimate form of this Atma-Yajna or Self-sacrifice, in which the ego can be directly consumed. It is also called the knowledge-sacrifice (Jnana-yajna) that proceeds through the power of the fire of Self-knowledge (Jnanagni) As the Gita states: Preferable to the material sacrifices is the knowledge-sacrifice (Jnana-yajna). All actions are comprehended in knowledge. As a fire when enkindled burns up dry wood and turns it to

ashes, so the fire of knowledge (Jnana-agni) turns all our karmas to ashes. Bhagavad Gita IV. 33, 37 In this Self-sacrifice, the Self is not only the offering; the Self is the offerer and the fire in which the offering is given. In this regard we are again reminded of the words of the Gita. Brahman is the process of offering. Brahman is the substance offered. Brahman is the offerer, who places the offering into the fire of Brahman. Brahman alone is attained by this action of absorption in Brahman. Gita IV.24. If we look at Self-inquiry as a Self-sacrifice or Atma-yajna, we gain a new perspective to take our practice to a deeper level beyond the complications of the outer mind. The Flame in the Heart The

Vedas not only equate the Self with fire, they also equate the heart, which is the seat of the Self, with fire. The Self is said to exist like a flame the size of a thumb in the heart. This small flame in the heart is the real person, power and presence that allows the body and mind to function. It is like the pilot light in a stove that lights all the other burners on the stove. The light of the Self lights all the other fires of the body, prana, senses and mind. Even the digestive fire can only work with its support. This flame of the Self sustains us through all our states of

waking, dream and deep sleep and through the entire process of birth or death. Even prana or the life-force is but its manifestation or shadow. This flame leaves the body at death and carries the samskaras that propel us on to another birth. Only for those who are fully Self-realized, who have totally merged into their inner fire, are able to escape this process. This Self in the heart is clearly explained in the Narayana Sukta which states: "In the middle of the heart is a great fire (Mahan Agni) that carries all light and looks to every side. It is the first eater and dwells apportioning our food, the undecaying seer. He gives heat to the entire body from the feet to the head.In the middle of this fire is the subtle crest of a

flame pointed upwards, shining like a streak of lightning from a dark blue rain cloud.In the middle of the crest of this flame the Paramatman dwells. He is Brahma (Creator), Shiva (Transformer), Vishnu (Preserver), Indra (Ruler), OM and the supreme Lord." The great fire (Mahan Agni) in the heart is the subtle body (or linga) and the being behind it of lightning-like appearance is the individual soul or Jivatman. At its core is the atomic point of the Supreme Self which is the doorway into the infinite light, the Sun of suns, the God of

Gods. Indeed we could say that the hridaya or heart that Ramana emphasizes is also this flame that dwells there. The heart, Agni and Atman are ultimately three ways of looking at the same supreme truth. Ramana, Agni and Skanda Not surprisingly as the great teacher of Self-Inquiry, Ramana himself was regarded as an incarnation of Agni. He was identified with Skanda, the younger son of Shiva and Parvati, who himself is the child of fire or Agni. Skanda is born of Agni and carries his form and his powers. Skanda is also called Kumara, the Divine fire child. This six day old child has the power to destroy all the negative forces of time and ignorance symbolized by the demon Taraka. He is also called Guha or the one who dwells in the cavity of the heart. To find him, we must trace our way back to the cavity of the heart, which is to trace our thoughts back to their origin in the I behind the I. This process is explained as early as the Rig Veda I. 65-73 in the hymns of the great Rishi Parashara, though in cryptic Vedic mantras. In the

Vedas, Agni is called Jatavedas or the knower of all births as he knows the births of all creatures as their indwelling Self. Jatavedas is the Jiva or the individual soul hidden in the body. This Jiva when awakened discovers its unity with the Supreme. Then it becomes Vaishvanara or the universal person, which symbolizes the liberated soul. Jatavedas or the individual fire becomes Vaishvanara, the fire of the universal Self, which is the other main Vedic name of Agni (not to be confused with Vaishvanara as merely the soul of the

waking state in later Vedantic thought). Vaishvanara is this Divine child who has realized its unity with the Divine Father, Shiva. Ganapati Muni, Ramana’s disciple and spiritual brother, the great mantric seer who knew both the Vedas and the Puranas, not only lauded Ramana as Skanda, he spoke of the unity of Skanda and Agni, and identified Ramana with Agni. He states in his Agni-Devata-Tattva-Nirupanam (The elucidation of the truth of the deity Agni) that "Agni Vaishvanara, who dwells in the cave of the heart, is indeed Ramana. Ramana is not different from Kumara. Vaishvanara is Sanat Kumara. " This means that Agni, Skanda and Ramana are the same. Skanda as Kumara is also Sanat Kumara or the eternal child. Sanat Kumara is the primal or adi guru for humanity in Vedic and Upanishadic thought. He is the guru of all gurus and the inner guru that we must all eventually contact. Ramana is the incarnation of that supreme Guru within us. This all-seeing flame in the heart is the true Guru of all that took a wonderful outer manifestation in the form of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. As the guru of the heart,

Ramana did not put much emphasis on outer formalities. As the incarnation of the inner fire he showed how all teachings and practices could be consumed like fuel in the great fire of Self-knowledge. Cultivating the Inner Fire Self-inquiry is a lot like cultivating a

fire. Our awareness grows by offering our speech, breath and mind into the witnessing Self that is the eternal and inextinguishable flame within us. It is the quality and consistency of our offering that is the main factor in growing this flame, not any outer formulas or formalities. We must maintain our awareness like a fire, keeping it from going out even for an instant by continually offering our mental modifications into it as its fuel. Indeed we could say that the modifications of the mind are nothing but the smoke coming forth from

an improperly burning fire of awareness. When that inner flame burns cleans and consistently then there is only pure light and the mind itself gets merged in its source. For Self-inquiry to be a living process we must invoke and incarnate that inner flame of knowing in our daily lives. Self-inquiry is not a matter of ordinary thinking or logic. It is not a matter of emotion or feeling either. It is not a matter of just blanking or stopping the mind as it is. Nor is it some esoteric

intuition. It is the most fundamental form of knowledge, perception or consciousness that we have. It is cultivating the pure light behind all the glitter and shadow of the mind and senses. The Self is the mind behind the mind, the eye behind the eye, the speech behind speech and the prana behind prana as the Upanishads so eloquently state. Behind all of our senses through which we perceive, the external world is a more

primary internal sense of self-being through which we know that we exist and through which we are one with all existence. This self-sense is more immediate than all the outer senses which are only possible through it. But it is so immediate and given, our very sense of being, that we take it for granted and ignore it. In the maze of sensory information we lose track of who we really are. We get caught in the movements of the body and the mind and forget our true nature that transcends them and for which alone they work. We must remember this very subtle inner fire through which the mind and senses shine and reveal their objects of perception.

Cultivating this direct awareness of the Self (aparoksha anubhava of Vedanta) is a lot like conducting a fire sacrifice. Behind all of our states of mind, even the most ignorant or confused, like a flame hidden in darkness, the Self shines as the eternal witness of all. What is important is to bring that flame out, like a fire hidden in wood, through the friction of inquiry. This Self within the heart transcends all the worlds. As the supreme Agni or digestive power, it has the capacity to eat or absorb the entire universe. As the Taittiriya Upanishad ends; I am food. I am food. I am food.I am the eater of food. I am the eater of food. I am the eater of food.I consume the entire universe. My light is like the sun! A

Vedic Consecration to the Spiritual Heart By Vamadeva Published in the Mountain Path of the Sri Ramasramam (Ramana Maharshi) The heart (hridaya) is the seat of the Self or Atman in Vedantic thought. Realization of the Self in the heart is the main Vedantic formulation of Moksha or liberation. The Upanishads laud the Self in the heart in many verses and make it the object of many vidyas (ways of knowledge). So do many other Vedantic texts up to modern times. When we refer to ourselves we point to the heart. Compared to the

heart, the mind is just our computer system where we hold our information, not our real consciousness or self-identity. Yet the heart is not just the seat of the Self; as such, it is also the source of all the main aspects and faculties of our entire nature as embodied souls. It is the seat of the mind (chitta) as the Yoga Sutras indicate. By this is meant not the outer mind but the inner, core or source mind, the source of all our karmas and samskaras. The heart is similarly the source of Prana or

our life energy, the force that animates our various bodies from birth to birth, not merely as the breath but as the power behind all that we can do or think. The heart is also the ultimate source of speech and when we speak truly we speak from the heart. The heart is the source of our entire being. All our different faculties are like different rays branching out from the central light of the heart which is like the Sun. All our energies are conduits of the energy of the heart, however far they may wander from it. In deep sleep we return to this inner light for peace and renewal, showing that we cannot remain apart from it even for a day. Yet the heart is not just the source of our individual existence (Atman). It is also our place of unity and connection with the cosmic existence (Brahman). It spreads not just through our entire individual beingness but throughout the entire universe. In the heart resides our main connection with the Devatas, the great cosmic powers, the Gods and Goddesses which rule the universe, its evolution and its different planes of existence. Each one of our individual faculties arising from the heart has its corresponding cosmic Deva ruling a corresponding power of nature and the greater universe. The sun, the moon, the stars, the earth and all aspects of the cosmic creative force dwell within the heart. This heart or hridaya is obviously not the mere physical organ. Nor is it simply the heart center, the anahata chakra of the subtle body, though it is closely related to it. This heart is the core of our being, which is the core of Being itself. The heart is where we experience our own self-being and through it contact the nature of all things. This hridaya could be better called the ‘spiritual heart’ in distinction to the physical and subtle heart centers. The following is a beautiful prayer of

consecration to heart from the Krishna Yajur Veda (Taittiriya Brahmana). It is still commonly chanted in ashrams and temples today, though not everyone contemplates its true meaning. It is often included in the greater Rudram chant sacred to Lord Shiva. It consists of a consecration of all of our faculties, along with their cosmic counterparts, into the heart and the Supreme Being within that. In this way, this heart prayer reconstructs the Cosmic Person (Purusha), the universal Self that is our true Being and is the Brahman, the being of the entire universe. Only when we place the cosmic powers into our individual faculties can we return them to our true heart that is universal. Such a consecration in the heart is true Pratyahara in the Yogic sense, withdrawing all our faculties for the highest meditation. It is the reintegration of our scattered energy and attention into the Supreme Self, which is the supreme Yoga, the Yoga of the spiritual heart. It can be performed as preliminary to or along with Self-inquiry in order to make it more effective. It can be done along with any other Yoga practices as well. I have added a short commentary to make this ancient Vedic prayer more relevant to the modern reader who may not understand the underlying Vedic concepts. 1. May fire (Agni) be placed in my speech (Vak), my speech in the heart (hridaya), the heart in me (mayi), the I (aham) in the immortal (amritam), the immortal in

Brahman. By Agni or Fire is here meant the Divine light hidden in matter, the way fire is hidden in wood. Through this hidden light of the immanent Divine alone are we able to articulate ourselves, bringing the light of the Self into our activities through the power of speech. 2. May the Wind (Vayu) be placed in my breath (Prana), my breath in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman. By Vayu or Wind is meant the Divine energy that operates in the universe on all levels of matter, life and mind. Through this Divine cosmic energy alone all action occurs and our own Prana is able to function, giving us life and capacity on all levels. 3. May the Sun be placed in my eye, my eye in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman. By Surya or the Sun is meant the Divine light that

illumines the world, which inwardly is the light of consciousness through which the eye functions and the mind perceives 4. May the Moon be placed in my mind, my mind in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman. By the Chandra or the Moon is meant the reflective power of the Divine light and awareness to feel and to understand, which is the basis of our emotional nature. 5. May the Directions be placed in my hearing, my hearing in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman. The directions of space reflect the Divine presence that envelopes and comprehends everything. Through these powers of space through we can hear, listen and know and become one with the cosmic space that is the space within us. 6. May the Waters placed in my generative fluid, my generative fluid in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman. The cosmic Waters are the creative powers in the universe, the Divine Mothers through which all creativity occurs down to the level of procreation. When we link our creative powers with those of the heart, we are reborn

through the heart, into immortality, entering into the cosmic waters of consciousness. 7. May the Earth be placed in my body, my body in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman. The entire Earth is our real body, of which our physical body is but a representative. This essence of the body dwells in the heart. It is created out of the heart’s desire for embodied existence and lasts as long as this desire continues. By returning the desire for the body into the heart, we can experience the entire universe as our own greater body. 8. May herbs and trees be placed in my hair, my hair in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman. All of nature is part of our greater or cosmic body, as we are all the Purusha or Cosmic Person in various forms. By placing all aspects of nature in our heart, which is their true home, we can experience all of nature as ourselves. 9. May Indra be placed in my strength, my strength in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman. Indra is the Lord of Power or Shakti, who rules over the universe both externally and

internally, as the master force behind all energies and actions. Our true strength, which is that of the heart, is only that of Indra. When we know this, we have the strength of Indra, we gain the universal power! 10. May the Rain God (Parjanya) be placed in my head, my head in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the

immortal, the immortal in Brahman. Parjanya here is the deity of the brain marrow, the subtle fluid or Soma that exists in the head. Placing this creative force of the sky in our heads, we can experience the rain of bliss. 11. May Shiva be placed in my spirit, my spirit in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman. Shiva here is Ishana, a Vedic form of Shiva, as the supreme power behind the universe. His spirit or manyu is his energetic spirit, his will-power that directs all things. Placing that Divine will in us, our natural motivation must take us to the Supreme. 12. May my self be placed in the Self, the Self in the heart, the heart in me, the I in the immortal, the immortal in Brahman. All these consecrations are different forms of placing the Self into the Self, merging the powers of the universal Self into

the individual Self, into the heart, into the I, into the immortal, and finally into Brahman, the Absolute. All life really consists of such offerings of the Self to the Self, Brahman to Brahman, God to God. 13. May my Self return again. May my life (Ayur) return again. May my Prana return again. May my will return

again. As long as we are caught in the ego-self, we don’t really have a Self. Our self is another, an object, an image, a worldly appearance or a bodily form. When we offer all aspects of our nature into the heart, we return to our true Self that is everyone and no one. Similarly, as long as we are caught in the ego or worldly life, we don’t have a real life. We are ruled by Death, desire and compulsion. Only when we contact the universal life in the heart can we be said to be truly alive and to gain

our true term of existence, which is immortal. Then all things and all creatures are our life! How much more wonderful this is than merely being trapped in a personal life that is of little interest to anyone but ourselves.Through this mergence in the heart we gain the highest Prana, which is not just the power of the breath, but the universal vitality and energy. Then our true will, which is for the good of all, natrually returns. Our lives become an offering of joy to joy. 14.

May the Universal God (Vaishvanara) increasing with his rays dwell within me as the guardian of immortality. Agni Vaishvanara or the Universal God is the Vedic symbol for the Supreme Self and liberated soul according to great modern Rishis like Ganapati Muni and Kapali Shastri. All our individual faculties and all their corresponding cosmic powers are portions of his being, which also transcends them. The Vedic sacrificial journey takes us from the lower form of Agni or fire, which is speech, to the highest form, Vaishvanara, the universal being, the

Supreme Self identified with the Sun or the supreme light, Vishnu himself. A related teaching about Agni Vaishvanara occurs in the Chandogya Upanishad. Notes: Each of our individual faculties (those of the individual Self or Jivatman) has its cosmic counterpart or correlation with the Universal Being (those of the Supreme Self or Paramatman). Those listed here are the typical Vedic correspondences starting with our five main faculties of speech, breath, eye, mind and ear and their cosmic counterparts of Fire, Wind, Sun, Moon and the Directions of Space. These are the five main faculties of the subtle body or linga sharira. They represent not only the outer organs but their inner essences – our inner

speech, inner breath, inner sight, inner mind and inner hearing. Our outer faculties are merely manifestations of these inner powers that are inherent in the soul or Jiva. These five are the five main factors of the internal Vedic sacrifice (Antaryaga) which is the Yoga offering. Ganapati Muni created new modern yogic sacrifice using Vedic verses relative to these five factors called Indra-Yajna. When Bhagavan Ramana achieved

his Self-realization as a mere lad of sixteen, he first simulated the death experience and merged all of his attention and vitality into the heart. This Vedic prayer provides a good method for doing this. It outlines the process of Self-inquiry, not only through the mind, but through all of our faculties. All of our energies have their root in the heart, even the core energy of the body itself. To really practice Self-inquiry is to practice it in such a complete, integral and holistic manner, not simply to repeat the question ‘Who am I’ mentally. Yet it is not

necessary to follow the details of this prayer in one’s meditation. What is important is to learn to merge our speech, breath, mind, eye, ear and other faculties into the heart, along with their cosmic counterparts. Whatever we trace to its origins takes us back to the heart, whether it is the thought-current, the breath-current, the current of speech, the current of attention through listening (the ears), or the place of focus of perception (through the eye). This return to the heart is the return to our true origin and to the Self. It is our real journey home to immortality where our True Being ever abides. This Hridaya-Vidya, expressed in this manner, can be used to combine and fulfill all other yogic approaches and all of our spiritual

striving. Thou, oh Agni, shining forth throughout the days, from the waters, from the stones, from the forests and from the herbs, thou as the ruler of all human souls, are ever born pure. Rishi Gritsamada RV II.1.1 The Secret of Agni (Agni Rahasya): The Journey of the Soul through the Kingdoms of Nature By David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri) www.vedanet.com In ancient Vedic thought, the individual soul was symbolized by fire. Our inner soul, hidden like a secret flame deep within our hearts, abides inextinguishable throughout all our states of consciousness of waking, dream and deep sleep. It endures as the witness through our every birth and death, through all the many sojourns in the various worlds and planes of existence of our soul’s vast

manifestation. The Rigveda—the oldest of the Vedas and perhaps the key to our ancient spiritual heritage as a species—begins characteristically with the image of the fire sacrifice as a universal metaphor, the underlying process of all existence. This spiritual fire sacrifice indicates that all our thoughts and actions are offerings to our soul in order to help it grow and evolve in consciousness as it moves through the world of

nature on its way back to the Godhead or Brahman. This fire was called Agni, meaning the inner guide (agra-ni). Agni is the Divine child, seed or embryo (kumara, putra, sunu, sishu, garbha, napat), the spiritual consciousness that enters into creation and builds it up from within. Agni contains the essence, the source and the matrix of who we are and all that we can become. All the forces of nature are the mothers of this Divine child that nothing can limit or overcome. Agni is the mystery of our birth and death and the doorway to the infinite and the eternal. Let us take a quick look at the journey of this Divine flame or Agni because it is the journey of our own souls. Of course, one could write volumes on this process. In this short article, we can however touch a few of its rays and shadows on the different levels of our world. Agni, symbolically the Divine fire

child, represents the soul on Earth that evolves through the world of nature. The soul is like a flame that moves through the kingdoms of nature both creating them and participating in them. It is the fire that develops their particular substances and structures and becomes the beings or life-forms which inhabit them. Yet this Agni is not only fire but also color, heat and light, which are the outer factors of fire, and inwardly life, perception and consciousness, which are the inner factors of light. Each one of us is a flame, a form of Agni, which is the light that lights our body, senses, breath, mind and consciousness. We are fire beings,

not simply as portions of a material fire but as manifestations of a spiritual and universal fire (symbolized by the God Shiva or Rudra). All that we see is a form of fire, light, color, heat, energy or motion and spiritually is the great God Agni. And as a manifestation of Agni, we are all that as well. Where does this flame of the soul come from? It is a portion of the solar fire that has descended into the Earth, which in turn the Sun receives from the light of consciousness (Chit-tejas) behind time and space and from the lords of universal life and karma (the Bhrigu and Angirasa Rishis). The Soul in the Mineral Kingdom Agni or fire is the ruling deity or spirit of the Earth in Vedic thought, just as the Wind or Vayu is deity of the Atmosphere and the Sun or Surya is the deity of Heaven. This is not only a statement of mysticism or Yoga but also one of science. The planet Earth has a fiery core as science has revealed. This is its portion of the solar fire that it received at the time of the formation of the solar system. Agni or the individual soul’s (Jivatman’s) first level of manifestation is the mineral kingdom. Science teaches us that all the rocks on Earth originate, directly or indirectly, from only one source, which is volcanic activity, or through the Fire inherent in the Earth as it bubbles to the surface. This ‘mineral fire’ is a manifestation of the Earth fire or fire at the planet’s core. The mineral or volcanic fire has several forms. The first is the fire that erupts in volcanoes, which builds up extrusive igneous or fiery rocks.

The second is the fire that builds up the great mountain ranges of the Earth. It does not reach the surface in a molten form and builds up intrusive igneous or fiery rocks, like granite, which become the backbones of the continents. The dominant mineral on Earth is silica and quartz, which has a capacity to reflect light, showing its connection to Agni. The mineral kingdom manifests various qualities of Agni like color, heat and light. This is most obvious in gemstones and in metallic ores, particularly

gold, which is the main and purest form of Agni in the mineral realm. The mineral fire builds up various crystals that are the first forms of life and possess great conductive powers for cosmic, spiritual and physical healing forces. That is why gemstones are so important in Vedic healing. The most obvious outer mineral or Earth form of Agni is the mountains. Mountains are built up by Agni or volcanic activity deep within the earth and rise like a flame to reach the Heavens. Indeed the mountains are said to be the houses of the Gods or cosmic powers that can descend and perceive this earth through the eyes of the mineral kingdom. The

mountain is the main mineral manifestation of Agni or the soul, which reflects the cosmic mountain as a universal image, the different levels on the pyramid of existence. There are many sacred rocks, like sacred pillars, in which the Divine fire can be worshipped or like Shiva lingas. This Earth Fire is connected to the Water Fire, which is also part of the mineral realm and the interrelated rock and water cycles. The third form of the mineral fire is the ‘oceanic fire’ that builds up the ocean floor, which exists in the mid-ocean ridges. The oceanic fire both heats and energizes the waters, and strange new forms of life have recently been

discovered deep in the ocean, living on its heat and the sulphur-based minerals that arise from it. Water on the surface of the Earth brings in an additional portion of the solar fire from the sunlight that is reflected upon it. Water can receive light and through it conceive life. The solar fire descends and impregnates the Waters. This is quickened by an additional spark of fire that comes into water from the lightning and is transmitted through the rain. Lightning is part of the atmospheric fire, which itself is magnetically connected to the earth or volcanic

fire. The atmosphere also participates in the unfoldment of the mineral soul. Atmospheric forces break down the rocks through the wind and water—the forces of the weather—and help turn them into the soil necessary to nourish plant life. The soil is the ultimate product of mineral evolution and sets the stage for the plant evolution to follow. The mineral kingdom itself has many domains as igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock, as minerals, metals, gems and fossils, as the continental plates and the ocean floors. Those who look deeply into the forms of the mineral kingdom can discover their own soul and contact the Divine fire working through it. The Soul in Plants The combination of these earthly, watery, mineral, atmospheric and solar fires gives rise to life through the plant kingdom, which is the second level of manifestation of Agni or the individual soul (Jivatman). Plants use minerals to build up their tissue structure, which is earthy in form. The bioelectric or lightning fire gives plants their Prana. The sap of plants carries a fiery energy or heat. It is a kind of pranically energized water containing nutrient minerals. So the plant fire is more of a water fire, while the

mineral fire is more an earth fire. Agni, the soul that was asleep in the rock, now wakes in the plants. It develops a new form which is the Agni or fire of photosynthesis. The digestive fire of the plants has the unique ability to digest sunlight and turn it into energy, which it conducts through its water or juice. Plant material contains fire in many forms. Plants are generally combustible as in the case of wood, dry grass or peat. Plant remains in the Earth like oil and coal create our fossil fuels, which are our main energy sources today. Plants manifest fire in the form of color in a more evident way than the rocks, particularly as flowers, but also as colored fruit, bark and leaves. Fiery plant derivatives include spices, oils and resins that can burn. All of these plant qualities are new plays of Agni, new displays of our own soul, which finds a feminine beauty in the plant kingdom. The plant kingdom itself has many domains as trees, herbs, grasses, lichens and mosses. Plants are also dwellings of the Gods, particularly the Goddesses, who dwell in flowers and herbs. The most developed of plants is the tree, which is the main plant form of Agni or the soul. Trees are the human beings in the plant kingdom and they carry the energies of the Gods who can descend into them. Trees mirror the universal process of the One being becoming many forms and branches, which is the image of the cosmic tree. That is why sacred trees are common objects of worship in ancient and nature-based religions. Great yogis and mystics have always frequented forests where the plant force and energy of peace acts as a powerful catalyst for their meditations. In Vedic thought, the fire that is naturally produced through the rubbing of the wood of certain sacred trees is especially powerful. It is the very life fire in manifestation, not simply a material fire. Through such a natural fire Divine forces can descend into our environment and purify them. In fact, all creatures and all worlds are essentially plant—that is, organisms which contain fire and convert sunlight or starlight into energy and consciousness. Connected to the mineral soul which sustains, the plant soul dwells in the ground, particularly in the roots of plants, where it is held in the bosom

of the mineral fire. The plant is unable to move or to heat itself, so it requires the protection of the heat of the earth. Those who look deeply into the forms of plant kingdom can discover their own soul and contact the Divine fire working through it. The Soul in Animals The plant soul or Agni over time evolves into the animal soul, which produces a new abundance of mobile creatures. Agni that woke in the plants now moves in the form of the animals. The animal realm brings in several powerful new types of Agni. First is the digestive fire or fire in the belly (Jatharagni) that is able to digest food, whether of

plant or animal origin. While plants can digest sunlight, animals must actively find food that hold its. Each animal contains a zone of fire within it, a digestive system around which its physical body is built. This material fire burns the semi-liquid food, like a wick flame burning on oil. Second is the fire of Prana, breathing or respiration, which allows animals to move. In this regard, Agni or fire brings in Vayu or wind, the atmospheric force, to allow motion to occur. Vayu descends into the animal through the help of the digestive fire, which in turned is sustained by the heat of the breath. Prana or the breath descends via Vayu from the

Sun. It is a portion of the solar fire transmitted via the lightning or wind force. This fire of the breath, like the solar fire, is a gaseous fire. These two fires, the earthy or food-based and the solar or air-based, develop the animal body and mind. Together they build up the appropriate sense and motor organs designed to find and grasp food, along with the mind necessary to direct the process of food-seeking. Animals develop limbs mainly to find food or to catch it. Their sensory acuity develops mainly in the search for food. Their mental cunning develops primarily from hunting or searching for food. They are the intelligence of

food. The breath, Prana or the solar fire creates the mind and sense organs. The digestive fire creates the motor organs and the tissues of the body. But in the animal, the digestive fire predominates over the fire of the breath, meaning the motor organs rule the sense organs. While minerals manifest the earth fire

and plants manifest the water fire, animals have a more ‘fiery fire’, as it were. In them fire is quite impetuous and hard to tame or control. Animals are like a wild fire on the earth, driven by hunger and desire.. The animal is a living fire in motion. The digestive fire and the fire of respiration go together and are connected through the circulatory system. The animal fire, centered on food, is connected to other vital passions like sex and the development of territorial boundaries. It builds up the kingdoms of the senses and of instinct. The animal kingdom itself has many domains as amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, humans and even

insects. While plants must rely passively on Prana from the sunlight, animals can create that actively through the breath. While plants must passively absorb minerals from the earth, animals can actively eat matter from which to grow. While the mind and senses in the plant function in a general way, these become differentiated organ systems in the animal. Animals demonstrate many aspects of fire in their colors, bodily heat and passions. Their fur, feathers, markings and sense organs reflect the forms of fire. Animal matter is not as combustible as plant matter, but oils and fats derived from animals are flammable. Of these, the best animal oil is ghee or clarified butter, which is the ultimate material transformation of sunlight through grass and cow’s milk. Ghee is said to be the best offering for the sacred fire. Its quality is that of the nerve tissue (Majja dhatu) in creatures. In fact, in Vedic thought, the main animal manifestation of Agni or the

soul is the cow. This is the basis of the sacred cow in Hindu culture. The cow symbolizes the nurturing force of nature in general that suckles and carries our soul or Agni. Another important sacred Agni animal is the horse, which manifests speed, energy or Prana. Mammals, the most evolved of animals, are very fiery creatures. Their digestive fire is strong and allows them to live in cold climates (as opposed to reptiles that are cold-blooded). It produces a warm red blood, along with powerful and aggressive senses and great powers of movement and adaptation. Generally, carnivores have stronger animal fires than vegetarian animals. It makes them

more cunning but also more prey to powerful hunger and thirst. Those who look deeply into the forms of animal kingdom can discover their own soul and contact the Divine fire working through it. The Soul in Human Beings The human soul or Agni is the ultimate result of the evolution of the animal soul and of the plant and mineral realms as well. It evolves a new type of Agni as intelligence (called buddhi, dhi, prajna, kratu or medha in Vedic thought), manifested by our manual and vocal skills, our unique hands, mouths, brains and nervous systems. Humans have not only an instinctual mind that can find food and

protect the body, but an intelligence that can digest ideas and discover the nature of truth beyond all bodily concerns. They can look beyond the outer forms of nature to its inner spirit. They have a conscience and can discern right from wrong and truth from falsehood. Through this higher intelligence, they can develop philosophy, art, religion and spirituality. The human fire of intelligence can extend the range of the sense and motor organs by developing various tools, machines, vehicles and instruments, which has produced modern computers and the mass media. We can delve into nature with such tools and extract her animal, plant and mineral

essences as metals, gems, fibers, dyes, spices, oils and medicines. We can develop our own plants varieties and breeds of animals, becoming mini-creators of our own. The human kingdom itself has many domains or breeds including different races, ethnicities, cultures and languages and various social orders as priests, warriors, merchants, farmers, intellectuals, artists and so on, each with its own type of Agni, fire or activity. This fire of intelligence is a development out of the fire of the breath or solar fire. It is fed by the essences of both the digestive fire and breath fire, on top of which comes in a fire of communication and understanding through speech. In the human being, there is a battle between the solar fire of intelligence and the earthy fire of desire inherited from the animal kingdom, the so-called Devas and Asuras. Our intelligence can not only open up to the higher light, it can also artificially augment the drives, passions and egoism of the lower nature. Unfortunately, our human species is not yet very evolved, being probably a young species that has yet to manifest its real potential and the higher aspects of its intelligence. The animal fire still burns strong within us, but without the grace of nature that the animals have to keep it in harmony with the world of nature. We have cultivated an artificial animal fire through meat-eating, the use of intoxicants, excessive sexuality and a cult of aggression and violence that pervades much of our culture extending even to our religions. Instead of using our higher intelligence to breed a higher human type, we have turned it into an artificial cunning that is destroying the very planet on which we live. We have bred a human species that is against both nature and the spirit, trapped in a world (a concrete jungle) not of spiritual intelligence but of artificial intelligence and artificial cravings. The human soul that should be the crowing glory of nature and the protector of the Earth is trampling upon the very animals, plants and even rocks through which it evolved and which are its mothers. This is because we have forgotten our soul, our Agni, our flame portion of the Divine light. We have lost touch with our heart, our origin and our goal. Our artificially cultivated ego has become our dominant motive force and it is fed with the dark fires of greed, lust and ambition. This is the tragedy of our current civilization and the global crisis it has created. Instead of promoting the Divine light, we have created a false Agni or fire of consumerist desires that may end up destroying

ourselves as well as our environment. In little more than a century, our species, almost like a disease, has devastated the beautiful planet that gave it birth. As human beings, we are or should be the intelligence of fire. Fire was our first guru and guide in the infancy of our species. It taught us how to cook our food, how to forge metal and many other skills of early humanity. It taught us our first religion, our most ancient rituals, and functioned as our first doorway into the cosmic mind. Today we need to return to that original fire spirit and discover its inner message. While minerals represent the earth fire, plants the water fire, and animals the fire fire, humans can manifest the air fire. Through the cosmic air element the human fire can transcend form and enter into the cosmic spirit. We can liberate the soul fire from its bodily limitations so that it can freely move through the entire universe. We can free the bird of the soul from its bodily shackles. The Soul in Yoga Yoga’s main concern is a higher human evolution—the manifestation of the soul or Agni in its full glory, to turn the human being into a universal being. The fire of Yoga is meant to turn our crude human nature into something genuinely spiritual, to replace our egoic mindset with pure awareness beyond desire. It can help us realize our higher human potential which is universal. One of the earliest sections on Yoga in the Upanishads states, "First yogically controlling the mind and extending the power of intelligence, discerning the light of the fire from the Earth, the solar Creator carried it upwards." (Svetasvatara Upanishad II.1). The Agni or flame within us naturally seeks to

return to his Divine solar home. Our soul’s fire is the Divine will within us to return to God. We must bring that spiritual fire out of the Earth of our hearts to illumine our lives and reconnect us with the greater universe of consciousness. All the different practices of Yoga serve to develop Agni on different levels. Asana practice purifies and balances the digestive fire (Jatharagni). Pranayama purifies, balances and energizes the pranic or breath fire (Pranagni). Pratyahara or internalization purifies and internalizes the fire of the sense and motor organs (Indriya-agni), particularly the eye and speech, which are the main forms of Agni in

the sense and motor organs. Dharana or concentration focuses and heightens the fire of the mind (Manasa-agni). Dhyana or meditation increase the fire of wisdom (Buddhi-Agni). Samadhi or absorption merges us into the Divine fire to transform our consciousness at a soul level (Jiva-Agni). So too, the different paths of Yoga cultivate different forms of fire. Jnana Yoga or the Yoga of knowledge burns our samskaras and karmas in the fire of knowledge (Jnana-agni). Bhakti Yoga or the Yoga of devotion burns our lower passions in the fire of Divine Love (Prema-agni). Karma Yoga burns our egoistic impurities in the fire of sevice (Seva-agni). Raja Yoga,

the integral Yoga, burns our conditioned habits in the fire of Samadhi. Hatha Yoga, the Yoga of psycho-physical practices, use Yoga postures and Pranayama to purify the body and mind. We must learn to sublimate our fire from an animal to a Divine level. This is not to suppress it or try to put it out but to take it to a higher level of manifestation. It requires the fire of austerity and simplicity (tapas), recasting the base metal of our lower humanity into the pure gold of the enlightened nature. This is the Yogic fire alchemy. In this process, a new form of the Divine fire, the Kundalini force, which is a higher aspect of the Pranic fire,

arises from the base of the spine and carries our consciousness upwards out the top of the head and into the higher consciousness beyond all time and space. The Universal Soul Through the process of Yoga, the individual soul can expand into the universal soul, which is the real goal of our journey

through Nature. In Vedic thought, the individual soul is called Agni Jatavedas, the knower of all births. As the Rishi Vishvamitra states (RV III.1), "Oh Agni, these your eternal births for you the ancient we proclaim anew. Hidden in all births is the knower of all births. By the sages he is enkindled inextinguishable." We must learn to awaken at the level of the soul and the spiritual heart, as beings of consciousness seeking immortality through many bodies and many births. We must awaken to our Divine mission of Self-realization, not just for our individual needs but for the evolution of life and consciousness in the world of nature. This

Divine fire is born within all creatures as their soul and sense of Self. Through Yoga it expands into the universal and becomes Vaishvanara Agni, meaning the fire as the universal soul person. In the process Agni unfolds all the Gods or Divine powers (the Vasus, Rudras and Adityas of Vedic thoughts) and takes us through all the worlds or realms of consciousness from the Earth to the highest formless heavens (the Lokas and Rochanas of Vedic thought). Notably, Agni unfolds the Lords of Dharma as the great Gods, Varuna and Mitra, who symbolize the truth principles of purity and compassion. Agni merges with the descending Vayu or electrical/lightning force of Indra (truth perception), which destroys all ignorance and brings the soul into the infinite. As the Rishi Bharadvaja states, "The eternal light is placed within us for the vision, the swiftest consciousness among the moving senses. All the Divine powers of common mind and common perception follow perfectly that single Will. Wide moves my ears and wide my eyes facing this light that is placed within the heart. Wide moves my mind in a deep understanding. What can is say, indeed what could I think? All the Gods surrendered to you in awe, Oh Fire, as your enduring throughout the Darkness. May the universal soul (Vaishvanara) protect us with his grace. May the immortal one protect us with his grace." Bharadvaja, RV VI.9.7 Whatever we see on Earth is a form of Agni. All human beings are forms of Agni. The Sun, Moon and stars in the sky above are also forms of Agni. The highest form of Agni is the Brahmagni (Agni or Brahman or the Absolute). This is the Agni of pure being (sat). This is Shiva, the fire

that creates, preserves, destroys and transcends the entire universe. May that Agni awaken in you! May all human beings manifest the Divine Fire and restore the Divine Light to this troubled world! Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. "May we abide in the favor of the universal Fire, for he is the ruler resplendent over all the worlds. Manifesting from us he perceives the entire universe. The universal Fire spreads himself through the Sun. Present in Heaven,

Agni is present on Earth. Present here he has entered into all the plants. The universal Fire by his sudden power is present everywhere. May he protect us by day and by night." Rishi Kutsa, RV I.98.1-2