Question on Fire!?!

[Visitor]

|| Ram ||

 

A thought/curiosity

 

we consider all objects in this world as being made of material elements, e.g. our body. However our soul is spiritual.

 

So is FIRE a material element or is it a spiritual element?

We believe in Agni deva, so does this make fire a spiritual element? We also believe our bodies are made of earth, water, fire, sky, space. Are these also material elements or are they spiritual elements?

 

just a thought!

haribol

[theist]

Krsna is the fire of digestion. The heat in fire. The light in all lumious objects.

 

Perhaps a more fundemental question would be what is the difference between spirit and matter.

 

There is a flower on a bush. Is it material or spiritual? Is it material until you offer it to Krsna and then it becomes spiritual? Or was it always spiritual?

[premasagar]

The answer is going to depend on the level of realization.

 

At the material level, fire has both material and spiritual aspects (with the material aspect being primarily manifest), as it is involved with the creation and dissolution of material substances. But at successive levels of consciousness, fire becomes less and less involved with phenomena (whether physical, mental or spiritual), becoming neither a substance composed of finer elements nor an element which composes grosser forms.

 

At successive levels of consciousness, "spiritual element" becomes more and more of an oxymoron. The realization of each level depends on the Lord's grace, of course.

 

Starting from the perspective of this world, the material aspect of fire is commonly seen in its power to burn. But the aspect of fire which is essentially spiritual and detached from involvement in creation and dissolution...this fire does not burn.