Agni

Wisdom Teachings
Sublime Beings
The Fire Ritual
Book: Agni - The Symbolism and the Ritual of Fire

The Vedic scriptures declare that the first manifestation of creation happens through fire. The fire consumes the underlying essence and forms all that is out of it. As the all-consuming fire it also can dissolve all forms and turns them back again into essence. In the Old Testament there is a similar statement: “Our God is the all-consuming Fire.” This means that the Lord assimilates again the whole creation, just like he has formed it with the help of fire. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus also taught that the universe was created from out of the state of fire and that it is the one principle which underlies all phenomena in Nature.

The Vedas call this fire Agni. Agni means the first, the foremost one, the one without whom nothing exists. Agni is the first impulse, the cause for the emergence of the visible from out of the seeming nothingness.

The Rig Veda, one of the four Vedas, begins with the sukta on fire: “Agni mile purohitam…” “Let us worship the Lord who is the forerunner! Let us worship the Lord of all sacrifice! Let us worship the Lord of all rituals!” The ‘Treatise on Cosmic Fire’ is a commentary on the Agni Suktas which Master Djwhal Khul has imparted through Alice Bailey. The oriental scriptures say that Master Djwhal Khul was recruited into the ashram of the first ray to learn the Agni Suktas, and he was initiated into the work of the first ray. In fact, Djwhal Khul is a title given to him by his teachers to designate the energy that he carries in himself: The name means a garland of flames (Djwhala: flame; Khula: garland), with the 7 centres as fiery flowers. Since Master Djwhal Khul was initiated into Agni, he could transmit so much cosmic wisdom through HPB, AAB and Master EK.

If we wish to learn and practise Agni, this requires that we bring out pure fire. This means that we strive to keep our mind, speech, and action pure. Otherwise a book like “Treatise on Cosmic Fire” will not reveal itself to us, even if we try to study it. There will come disturbing influences or we get tired when we open the book, and we feel that it is not the time. Such a book is a living being which sees with what kind of vibration we are approaching it. It is fire arranged in the form of paper. Each time we connect with it the fire rearranges the matter in the body, and we experience changes in our daily activities.

To be able to approach the book a certain preparation is required. We cannot study it with a busy mind. If we simply read it, everything is like evaporated after a day or two. If, however, we read it with the right preparation, the intelligences described in the book are stimulated and awaken in us. If you want to associate with such books it is best to read them at a place which is prepared for this purpose. It is best if we light a candle and incense and sit in a reverential posture facing east or north. It is recommended to never read the scriptures lying on the bed like a novel. We invoke the Master whom we follow and then start reading the book and making our own notes.

If we have thoughts or emotions worrying us we can light a fire, look into the flame and propose that the fire might absorb all impurities. During a fire ritual there can be high vertical flames which are not possible with a candle. We visualise during the ritual and with closed eyes also afterwards how the vertical flame rises from the base centre to the Ajna centre and beyond. Once the Ajna centre receives the flame the whole brain and cerebro-spinal system is illumined and enlightens us. With the help of Agni we can purify profound impressions of our psyche and the karma of the past. Agni also makes the senses and the mind more radiant and we progress on the path more easily.

While visualising the flame we can seek to see the disc of the Solar God. In “White Magic”, Master DK gives a wonderful hymn from the Isa Vasya Upanishad: “Unveil to us the face of the true spiritual sun, hidden by a disc of golden light, that we may know the truth and do our whole duty as we journey to Thy sacred feet.” The disc of light shines between the two eyebrows like the sun rising between two mountains. The related bliss cannot be expressed in words.

A seat of Agni in our body is the month. It is regarded as a fire pot in which the food is transformed into energy. The energy serves as food for the Devas within the body so that all parts can cooperate well. We can also express fire through our speech, to heal or to destroy.

Other points in the body presided by Agni are the spleen and the place between the shoulder blades where the body takes in prana and the warmth of the Sun. These points correspond to the south-east. Kitchens are set up in the south-east of the house so that the energy of Agni vitalizes us well via the food.

In India, Agni is invoked before cooking so that no accident with fire happens and that everything might turn out well. Also when you switch on an electric stove, this should be done consciously, invoking the Deva of fire. Our conscious action invokes and creates the corresponding energies. Taking fire just as an impersonal thing generating heat is an understanding in ignorance. If we consider the fire as an active intelligence and invoke it consciously even in the kitchen, it will cooperate with us.

In the wisdom teachings there are terms describing the subtle work of fire for which there are no equal terms in the western languages. What is important is to understand the concept instead of stumbling on names.

At the periphery of the fire we can see dancing fire spots called salamanders. In the flame there are intelligences forming the vortexes from out of which the spherical forms develop; these are the Agni Chaitans. The Sun globe is made of this fire, and it also brings about the rotary movement of fire in us. Another aspect are the pranic elements. They are of a very fine nature and minutest in their form. They keep the texture of the body together and thus enable its animation. The Agni Suryans regulate our desire body and enable us to grow upward or downward from matter. When we are attracted by the objectivity, these fire elements make a downward move. And if we are aspiring for something good for humanity, they make an upward movement, and this again enables matter to ascend into subtler states. The Agni Suryans support us on the spiritual path if we dedicate ourselves to an ideal or a goal and work for it.

This categorisation is very general but it is sufficient for a basic understanding.

The Agnishvattas are the sacred Manasa Devas which descend from the solar fire, the Second Logos of Love-Wisdom and complete the formation of our mind. The name of these Devas means that they have put down their fire to procreate. The Agnishvattas are also known as the Kumaras or the Lords of the Flame. They are the Eternal Youths, because they stay in the proximity of matter but they do not get involved in matter. They are our awareness. When we become conscious, the Agnishvattas start functioning as thoughts. They visit us every morning when we awake, and through them we are mentally active when we get up. They are so active that we do not have time to feel the awareness of existence. Their presence is like a light in a dark room. It does not create order in the room but gives us the clarity to clean up the room. Like this, the light of the Agnishvattas does not create anything new but it gives us awareness, and in this light we can perceive and act. This light of the I AM consciousness is a form of Agni. Agni awakens as the point of ignition of consciousness.

Sources: K.P. Kumar: Agni. The Symbolism and Ritual of Fire / notes from seminars. E. Krishnamacharya: Agni Yoga. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India.