Spending time with agni

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namasté

Spending time with agni can be at the knowledge level, sound level and experiential level. I hope to offer some of these as (interesting) subject matter for ones consideration. It is put in this folder of uttara as I hope to discuss the deeper and significant values associated with agni, beyond the notion of 'flame' as some Western translators may have one believe.

My intent is not academic sparing with another's view of agni i.e. Western translations. I thought it would be a delight to offer and explore a few names and mantra-s of agni, as I was reviewing some of the sūktā-s¹ of the ṛg ved.

But why agni?
Agni is quite important devatā in the ṛg ved. He is beyond the notion of simple 'fire' or tejas (point or top of a flame or ray). There are ~ 10,552 mantra-s in the ṛg ved. About 2,000 (19%) have agni as the subject. In fact the very first mantra of the ṛg ved addresses & adores agni - agnim īḷe puróhitaṃ ...
There is great interest to 'kindle agni' (ṛg ved 1.26.5) by the ṛṣi-s i.e. some would say to bring forth Divine Will. That is, agni is instrumental, say the wise, in initiating one into the spiritual path.

If we look to the great seer/ṛṣi śunaḥṣepaḥ ājīgartiḥ and his hymn 1.24.1 and 1.24.2 of the ṛg ved he asks,

1.24.1
' Being in doubt I ask, among the immortals (amṛta - immortal, imperishable) which deva/deity with an auspicious name shall we call? Who is that God who will restore us to the mighty aditi¹ (the Infinite, wholeness, fullness) so I may behold again the father and the mother ( i.e. spiritual parents) '

1.24.2 śloka gives the answer:
'Agni, the first among the immortals - his auspicious name will we utter.'

So what of this name agni ? It is said it is the mystical symbol for 'r'. Since a consonant cannot be said without a vowel, it is then said as 'ra' . What is ra? It is brightness , splendor . It is fire and heat, it is also love and desire ( the ~heat~ of passions).

This agni is also rooted (√) in 'aṅg'. And were do we find this aṅg applied? In aṅgāra -charcoal. We think of fire within coal. This aṅgāra is also another name of Mars (aṅgāraka). Aṅgiras is a noun of agni and also a family of ṛṣi-s. We can see the connection to aṅgāra and aṅgiras - both deal with luminosity.

This is a good beginning… In further posts I hope to offer some additional meaningful names we find in the ṛg ved along with some sūktā-s that may help us (me) better appreciate and understand this most note worthy devatā.

I invite all those that wish to contribute in an uplifting manner to please participate per your inspiration.

praṇām

words and references

sūktā-s are the groupings of the mantra-s. As mentioned there are 10,552 mantra-s in the ṛg ved grouped into 1028 sūktā-s or hymns. These sūktā-s are grouped into 10 maṇḍala-s. I myself am reading the first 121 sūktā-s or ~63% of the 1st mandala. I use the 9th and 10th maṇḍala-s also as references.
This aditi is made of a+diti. It means 'a' not + 'diti' splitting, dividing. So a+diti is one that is not split, not divided, hence wholeness, fullness, with no splits or divisions hence is pūrṇa - fullness.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namasté


Names of agni
We will just be looking at a few names for now , yet in future posts will revisit the mantra-s from where the name came from as they fit into the larger scope of agni.


The ṛṣi of the following verses is medhātithiḥ kāṇvaḥ
In the ṛg ved 1.13.2 and 1.13.3 we have some interesting names of agni. It is considered part of the āpṛ (āpri) family of sūkta-s. Āpṛ is defined as to give aid, to protect. Āp means 'to arrive at one's aim or end , become to cause one to reach or obtain or gain'.
tanūnapāt तनूनपात् - 'son of himself , self-generated' ; this word is also another name for 'fire' as you would expect due to its association with agni.
tanū-the body , person ; form or manifestation. It is worthy of note that tanu means small, fine, delicate.
napāt- is son, offspring

There are two ways of viewing this most delightful name.
1. He is born within the aspirant - He grows there, this divine will, the flame of purity and upliftment. He is kindled within and begins to manifest more and more. Because he is born within , the ṛṣi sees him as the 'son of the body', of the human aspirant. He is invited in and to manifest to grow.
2. In mantra 1.13.3 agni is addressed as narāśaṃsa. On first inspection many see this word as narasiṃha or 'man-lion', a noun for viṣṇu-avatāra. This is not the case here.
narāśaṃsa नराशंस means 'the desire or praise of men' . Why so? In this position it is he, agni that brings the praises from the aspirants ( the yajamāna-s) to the devatā via the yajña, hotra, puja's, etc.

If you recall agni/fire tattva is also that tattva that brings speech. The praises of men come via vāc ( or vāk) and this speech ability is kindled by fire tattva. Hence praise is enabled by speech and speech is enabled by agni.

In mantra 1.12.9 and 1.12.10 agni is addressed as pāvaka. This means pure , clear , bright , shining a perfect name for agni as luminance. Yet pāvaka is used as purifying/cleansing. We can call another pāvaka and mean a saint , a person purified as the word works back to a root 'pu', cleaning, purifying.

praṇām

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namasté


Names of agni (continues)


An interesting name of agni found in śloka 1.1.5 is:
kavikratuḥ - kavi कवि is defined as with insight , intelligent , knowing , enlightened .Yet on occasion it is considered a singer , bard , poet . Many times a ṛṣi is called a 'poet' in terms of his/her offerings to the veda-s as if a writer, yet using the word kavi defined as with insight ~enlightened~ seems to me a much (much) better fit.

Yet there are some that derive kavikratuḥ to mean divine will. How does this occur? With the advent of kavi it is not too hard to see this as 'divine' as it aligns well with enlightenment, with the notion of a sage, and in its masciline gender is considered varuṇa , indra , the aśvins , maruts , āditya-s , hence 'divine' is not a stretch in thinking.

But what of this kratu ? Some dis-assemby is required. Kra brings us to kram (krama) meaning uninterrupted, regular progress , order , series , regular arrangement , succession. Uninterrupted ( for me ) is a good fit. Yet inside this kra we have 'kṛ' as an associated root.

This 'kṛ' is to cause, to cultivate, to make happen, to procure for another , bestow , grant. Hence it seems reasonable to collectively gather these words into the notion of ~will~. But what of this 'will' ? As a noun it means 'the faculty of conscious and deliberate action ' as this aligns to the definition of 'kṛ' .

Hence kavikratuḥ as 'divine will' as a notion is reasonable, albiet there could have been a more straight foreward way of saying this no? Such as icchā-deva.

But who am I to offer madhuchandāḥ vaiśvāmirtaḥ-ji ( ṛṣi of these sūkta-s) a better way? It is MHO that the sound quality , the meter, etc. are all taken in consideration when these mantra-s are offered by the ṛṣi. That was how the vibration occurred within the ṛṣi and hence the compostion of the vibration to insure the overall perfection of this mantra stays in tact with the proper word-sounds that make up the śloka. That is, sound quality, chandas , and the like all come into view of the ṛṣi-s cognition.

praṇām

words

icchā - wish , desire , inclination + deva - divine ( from 'div' to shine, be bright).

[atanu]

Yajvan ji please allow me a few moments with the theme of Time with Vayu.

I do not know whether this will touch anyone's heart here. It is said that music touches the heart like nothing else. Yesterday afternoon I shut myself in a room and immersed in western classical music for 3 hours. I put the music loud, almost near the maximum volume. Being a music lover (without any capability myself however), I have equipped my room with the best music system of the world that throws out sound patterns without distortion at highest of driver capacity. And the driver capacity of the system is sufficient to make audible a whisper and a cannon shot simultaneously.

Lazing with half closed eyes through many pieces of divinely inspired designs, which create intricate air wave patterns that have stood the test of time, pleasuring and inspiring humankind through ages, I came to an eight minute play of Beethoven's 'Symphony No.5 in C minor "Fate"'. It will not be an exaggeration to say that I saw the music. I saw Beethoven's design as dancing air waves come to me and fade away only to re emerge with new colours, from every whatever direction. Eight minutes of wonderment. Eight minutes of dancing air waves tantalising me -- not particularly my aural senses but the whole of me. I almost became the dancing air, which actually I am.

Possibly, with appropriate music, darknesses and bumpy places in heart can be erased? Pranayama does it. But music, fundamentally being waves of prAna, should also do it. Indeed Indian Classical musicians attain yoga effortlessly. And, I remember a news of some fast food chain in USA finding out that playing Blue Danube mitigated the problems of hooliganism in their premises.

Om Namah Shivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namasté atanu

Eight minutes of dancing air waves tantalising me -- not particularly my aural senses but the whole of me. I almost became the dancing air, which actually I am.

A joyful experience that is also supported by the āgama-s.

73rd kārikā , Vijῆāna Bhairava

gītādi-viṣayāsvādasama-asukhyaikatatmanaḥ |
yoginas tanmayatvena manorūdhes-tad-ātmatā ||

Svāmī Lakṣman-jū's translation:
When the mind of a yogi is one with the unparalleled joy of music and other (aesthetic delights), then he is identified with it due to the expansion of his mind which has merged with it.

He suggests that the yogi whose mind is focused on the joy of the music while experiencing the melodious tunes, becomes united with that unparallelled bliss or asama saukhya = unequaled + health , happiness , felicity.

praṇām

[AmIHindu]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

Namasté

Spending time with agni can be at the knowledge level, sound level and experiential level. I hope to offer some of these as (interesting) subject matter for ones consideration. It is put in this folder of uttara as I hope to discuss the deeper and significant values associated with agni, beyond the notion of 'flame' as some Western translators may have one believe.
I invite all those that wish to contribute in an uplifting manner to please participate per your inspiration.

praṇām



Namaste,

This is very good explanation for Agni Dev. Share some more with me. Is there anything to do with Brahmcharya and Agni ? Brahcharya, my definition, not having sex at physical level as well at thought level.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté
Namaste,

Brahcharya, my definition, not having sex at physical level as well at thought level.
... about brahmacarya. One immediately thinks celibacy. That can be a component , yet let's take a look brahma+carya.

We know that Brahma as the creator, the creative impulse of all + carya is conduct. So , both put together, it is the conduct of Brahma, the source, Brahman. The path that leads to Brahman.

You will find that brahmacarya is connected to yajña and yajña connected to agni. More can be found on this HDF post:
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2960

praṇām

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

... about brahmacarya. One immediately thinks celibacy. That can be a component
If one considers the absense of celibacy or an active desire for sexual congress we can infer with a high degree of confidence that rago-guṇa is active. From this kāma (desire, longing) is kindled. Yet there are some ( the saṃyāsin and many a sādhu) who find this desire a nagging hinderence to their sādhana.

yajvan, what does this have to do with agni ?

They , saṃyāsin and sādhu perform the viraja homam. This viraja means free from passion, clean , pure.

In this practice ( kalpa ) or pūja they symbolically throw, give up, offer rago-guṇa & rāga¹ into the sacrificial fire ( homam¹) i.e. agni. Giving up these items to agni to burn away.

What is to become of this ? In a word nirveda. In the masculine gender this word can be applied to mean complete indifference , disregard of worldly objects. In this case passion, rāga.

praṇām

words

rāga - feeling of passion; inflammation, the color red;
homam is also homa - the act of making an oblation to the deva-s ; offering clarified butter (ghee) and other ingredients ( physical and mental) into the fire .
We can also call this deva-yajña - oblation with fire , burnt-offering , any oblation or sacrifice.

[brahman]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/photo/8016536.cms


oṁ agne,





Here is a short mantra on fire, which is meant to be recited on kindling the sacrificial fire, and is addressed to the fire thus kindled.

Seer of the mantra is Sri. Narayana Guru, a 1925 work, in this Sri. Guru was all praise for Agni and treats the seven tongues of fire as our mind intellect and the five senses.


Homa Mantra

Oh fire this effulgence of yours pertains to the absolute,

Therefore you are the perpetual form of the absolute,

The five senses, mind and intellect are your *seven tongues (sapta-jiḥvāḥ),

In you I sacrifice the samit* that represents the objects of my senses,

In you I sacrifice the ghee which represents my ego,

May you pleased with us, may you pleased.

May you grant us the values of this life (preyas) as well as the values that are eternal (sreyas)

Svaha

oṁ shanti shanti shanti
-------------------------------------------------------

* Samit(nine grains used in rituals)

* Seven tounges of fire as on shruti(First Mundaka: Second Khanda 4th matra)

kālī karalī ca mano-javā ca sulhoitā yā ca sudhūmravarṇā, sphuliṅginī viśva-rūpi ca devī lelāyamānā iti sapta-jiḥvāḥ.

Kali (the flame accompanied by dark smoke),

Karali (the leaping flame),

Manojava (the Swift as thought),

Sulohita (the Very red ),

Sudhumravarna (of the colour of bright smoke; purple),

Splulingini (the Scintillating),

Visvaruchi (the All−gleaming, all−formed)−these seven, flickering about, form the seven tongues of the fire.

Note: The seven tongues do not necessarily denote the number of flames in a burning fire, but are the seven primary ways in which fire flames, symbolising the ways in which the absolute manifests.



This thread has been really informative, Thanks to you Sri. Yajvan for this great initiative.Love:)



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