The Agnishvattas

Wisdom Teachings
Sublime Beings
The Kumaras

Reading a scripture is not the same as reading a novel; it is like seeing without eyes, like hearing without ears. An intuitive thinker understands the subjects and ideas better than a superficial person. The books of the teachings reveal to the degree of the comprehension of the reader. Most people read the teachings too fast; they overlook essential elements and thus miss the treasure which is contained in the statements of the great initiates. When we unfold our consciousness through a spiritual discipline, the scriptures slowly reveal in their fuller significance. To make the wisdom teachings understandable to an average intelligence, symbols and allegories are used. They serve to awaken the intuition; they should not be taken literally.

The evolution of man took place over tremendous periods of time. The wisdom teachings explain that man is a descent from heaven, not an ascent from matter. The body is the vehicle of the human being; it has ascended through evolution and is not different from an animal in his nature. The body contains consciousness if the soul is present in it. The quality of the body is much lower than the quality of the soul.

About 18 million years ago, sublime fiery beings came down from higher planes to endue man with the mind principle. These beings had already gained perfection in previous cycles. We know them by many names including Solar Devas, Solar Pitris, Manasa Devas, Dhyanis, Kumaras and Agnishvattas. The Solar Angels or Agnishvattas descended up to the third sub-plane of the mental plane to remain near the dense physical worlds and to stimulate the mind in man.

Agnishvattas means that they have put off the fire of procreation in themselves. Their energy always moves upwards, and thus they are also called the Eternal Youth. They did not actively participate in creation but went into contemplation. It is they who formed the Hierarchy.

The Agnishvattas emerged from Brahma, the Creator, through the will of the Cosmic Person. Brahma thought, “They are my sons and therefore they should take part in my work.” However, they knew that it was their mission to be present in creation but not to create. The Creator did not realise it, and thus, allegorically speaking, he cursed them to descend into creation. But this was just what they intended to do. They were not obliged to descend but created a reason for the descent by the “curse” and the related karma. Therefore, they had to descend according to the Law. In the West, this is also called the fall of the angels.

However, the descent of these fiery egos was an act of compassion; for they came down to enable their brothers, who live on the lower ranks to ascend. This is not just an allegorical depiction, their act was and is a great help. But in the scheme of things this group of Devas is seen as rebels. The rebels are our saviours who decided out of love to give us the free will and thus to speed up our evolution. Other Devas considered this as a danger, and indeed the freedom bears its own dangers. For the other specie the evolution takes place in an unconscious and slow way. Whereas earlier we were like sheep and moved like in a dream, we now can decide for ourselves. We can use the gift for good as well as for evil.

Other groups of Devas cooperated with the Creator. Thus the Barhishads, also called the Lords of the Moon or the Lunar Pitris, did not put down the fire of procreation and allowed the beings to come through them. And thus, they have brought forth the form of the human body. The Barhishads are also called the Seven Seers. Through them, the seven races come; they also relate to the seven centres in our body.

The Agnishvattas correspond to Prometheus of the Greek mythology as well as to the serpent of the Biblical Genesis. Prometheus brought to humanity the self-consciousness as the fire of the Gods. He was punished for this by being chained to the rock of matter. In Genesis, the serpent seduced Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, “to become like the gods”. They were banned from paradise and took to “coats of skin”, the dense bodies.

These allegories are very true. There are great differences in the tissue of these coats, just like there are hard and soft clothes. And thus there are differences and gradations in consciousness, even though all humanity is equal on the monadic level. Depending on the form in which the divine spark, the monad, may be, the differences can be big, particularly with the other kingdoms of nature. We are souls; we have a body of matter which exists in different gradations. It is important to understand that we are a double. We can only realise and experience the beauty of the human being when we learn to experience the double energies which are in us.

Most people in the West find it difficult to understand this double nature, and that we have received our self-consciousness as a gift through the descent of sublime beings, the holy Manasa Devas or Agnishvattas. Darwin’s theory accepted by science says that the monkey is the ancestor of man who has developed from the animal kingdom. If however, you compare the brain of a monkey and that of a very primitive man, you will discover that the human brain is much more developed than that of a monkey. Between them, there is a gap which could not be explained until now.

In nature, all evolution is very gradual. However, between the consciousness of an animal and the consciousness of man there is an unbridgeable divide. Even the best evolved animal is no comparison to a human being. We have a soul, self-awareness, and this through the Agnishvattas. They have descended from their sublime spheres and have sacrificed themselves to be with us and to speed up the unfoldment of the mind.

There is an eternal law where each human being has to work out his own unfoldment. The Grand Existence, also called the Heavenly Man or the Super Soul, only does a supporting act but not the direct action to unfold us. The Super Soul also exists in us, and we call its light “the light of the Agnishvattas”. We are spirit enveloped by light. The soul is spirit enveloped. This envelopment is light, and this light is called Buddhi. Until the soul has received its body, it is a double being, of Atma-Buddhi. When the mind, Manas, is added, it becomes a triple being.

Through the Manas principle we became aware of the objective worlds. Previously we lived only in subjectivity in a dream-like state. We experience this daily during sleep where we have no relation to the things in our surrounding. In deep sleep we know nothing about us, neither our names nor where we are sleeping. As soon as we awake we can feel that we exist. As soon as we are conscious the Agnishvattas start functioning as thought. They are so active that we do not have time to feel the second step, the awareness of existence. After awakening, we therefore have to ask ourselves certain questions: “Who am I?” The answer is, “You are the dawn.” These are very sacred statements from the scriptures. When we ask, “Who am I?” there is already the awareness of existence. We awaken into light, therefore the answer, “You are the dawn.” Then, “Where am I? - “You are in the East.” The East is the source of light, in the Ajna. And, “By what name am I called?” If we do not pick up the name given to us, then The Name is realised, or “I AM”. And finally, “What shall I do?”

Every morning during the twilight we have the visit of the Agnishvattas, the Devas of the 5th plane, the mental plane. They carry the spiritual as well as the material energies. Once a month they visit us in a greater measure, during the 24 hours after the new moon point. Then annually there is also a bigger visit in the month of Capricorn, the dawn of the year. With every dawn, when darkness is turning into light, it is the visit of the Agnishvattas, and it happens daily. Whenever we think of them, there is a dawning. And thus, the light slowly dawns in us.

In an undeveloped state our mind is like a closed bud which cannot be opened from outside without destroying it. When the flower increasingly orients to the sunlight, it will slowly open itself. The presence of the Agnishvattas is light, and therefore the bud develops with the time to a blossomed egoic lotus. It consists of four layers of three petals each, and in the centre there is a radiant jewel of electric blue light, our divine spark.

We should use the energies of the dawn for spiritual work so that our lotus can receive the light in purity and blossom. Most of us feel sleepy during the dawn hours because the matter in us is so strong that it resists the light. Unfoldment takes much time. The Agnishvattas do not compel us, they just keep on giving us the light of their Presence, since millions of years.

Sources: K.P. Kumar: Mars – The Kumara / notes from seminars. E. Krishnamacharya: Spiritual Psychology. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India.