FIRE AND FLAME AS DIVINES & METAPHORS IN SCRIPTURES
(Compilation for A Discourse by N. R. Srinivasan from Various Schools of Thought and Authors, July 2021)
One of the first discoveries of
man, the ever-eluding fire holds a lot of significance in each culture and is
associated with wisdom and divinity. Whether you go
with the Greek belief that fire constitutes one of the four elements or
subscribe to the Hindu theory that fire is one of the five elements
(panchaboothas), fire with its leaping tongues (Flames ) and burning heat has
always been looked at with awe, fear and reverence. Described in the Vedas as one with flaming hair and
golden jaws, the fiery element evokes many images and connotes numerous
emotions like passion (fire in your belly), anger, and hunger and is associated
with hell. For spiritual seekers fire is a perfect example of what moderation
vs excess can do. When contained and controlled it has numerous uses from
providing warmth, comfort, heat and energy. On the flip side if left untended,
a raging fire is not without its destructive tendencies and is considered by
some to be a symbol of God’s wrath. At the same time, it is also believed to be
cleansing (ironical though it may seem) and regenerative.
Scriptures across
religions believe that God manifests as fire on occasions. Whether it was Lord
Shiva who turned into a column of fire and asked Vishnu and Brahma to find the
head and tail to determine who was the more powerful of the two or the burning
bush from which God spoke to Moses or Jehovah’s (God of the Israelites) descent
upon Mount Sinai in fire or the second coming of Christ in blazing fire these
incidents only reinforce the point. Again, it was a pillar of fire that led the
way and guided the people of Israel out of Egypt and through the Sinai deserts.
Agni is the most popular god of the Rigveda as is evident from the
number of hymns addressed to him in the scripture. Fire is central to all Vedic
rituals, addressed in its seven forms of sacred (Yajnya) fire and seven
flames. Agni is the primary recipient of all Vedic
sacrifices and all offerings to other gods are made through him. In
our divine body he is represented by the eyes and by the digestive fire Jatharaagni. Symbolically he represents
insatiable desire and hunger for food. As the most potent and
visible form of energy, useful but destructive at the same time, he was both
feared and revered by the Vedic people. No wonder a Western
poet expresses his feelings on Fire and Flames:
“So far away we wait for the
day
for the light source so wasted and gone!
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days
through the fire and flames we carry on”
Fire is called Vaiśvānara because He is favorable to all men by helping their cooking and worship. It is explained that fire is called Lālīla, because oblations are licked up by flickering flames.
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!
We invoke Gayatri pleading for strength to bring out the radiance in us referred as Ojas which is the same as flame in us. While bidding farewell to Gayatri, we insist on her, brahmvarchasaam dattva vrajata brahmalokam--go back to your abode after kindling Ojas or flame radiant in us. This fire needs to be kindled for the flame. This is referred as brahmatejobalam in Ramayana. MNU refers to it as tapa-oja-tejo balam, the flame of formidable strength coming from our inner-fire, Jatharaagni.
“Help us to transmit this holy Flame to all people of Goodwill, so that the Flame of Love extinguishes the Fire of Hatred everywhere on earth and that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, be the King and the center of all hearts in the Sacrament of His Love on the Throne of our altars.
To burn a fire in the dream and
see people being guided by the light of such a fire implies that the person who
had enkindled the fire will, through knowledge and wisdom,
become a guiding light for the people. Turning away from
worshipping fire to embrace Judaism or Christianity in a dream means
experiencing major changes in one's life. Worshipping fire in a dream means
desiring worldly pleasures. Worshipping the fire in a dream also means desiring
to work for the ruler or a king, or it could mean going astray. If the fire one
is worshipping is not lit in the dream, it means that he is seeking unlawful
earnings. If no flames, are seen in the fire, it suggests he will acquire
unlawful (Haraam) wealth. If one sees himself inside hell-fire, where his eyes
turn dark-blue and his face charcoal black in the dream, it means that he
befriends Allah's enemy and consents to their deception and chicanery.
Consequently, he will surely be humiliated and despised by people, and in the
hereafter, he will suffer the consequences of his sins.
Every
work has shortcomings as fire has smoke around it in 18.48; yy2) Selfish desire covers wisdom
just as smoke covers fire. 3.38; and 3) The Mind of a Yogi
is like the steady flame in a windless spot. 6.19. Let us try to
understand the wisdom contained in these slokas
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 (Jnanagni) 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 offeror 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 offeror, 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-yajnya, we gain a new perspective to take our practice
to a deeper level beyond the complications of the outer mind.
aha-jaṁ karma kaunteyasa-doṣam api na tyajet
sarvārambhā hi doṣeṇadhūmenāgnir ivāvṛtā ||18-48 ||
Every endeavor is covered by some
fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give
up the work born of his nature, O son of Kuntī, even if such work is full of
fault.
In conditioned life, all
work is contaminated by the material modes of nature. Even if one is a brāhmaṇa, he has to perform
sacrifices in which animal killing is necessary. Similarly, a kṣatriya, however pious he
may be, has to fight enemies. He cannot avoid it. Similarly, a merchant, however
pious he may be, must sometimes hide his profit to stay in business, or he may
sometimes have to do business on the black market. These things are necessary;
one cannot avoid them. Similarly, even though a man is a śūdra serving
a bad master, he has to carry out the order of the master, even though it
should not be done. Despite these flaws, one should continue to carry out his
prescribed duties, for they are born out of his own nature.
A very nice example is given herein. Although fire is pure, still
there is smoke. Yet smoke does not make the fire impure. Even though there is
smoke in the fire, fire is still considered to be the purest of all elements.
If one prefers to give up the work of a kṣatriya and take up the
occupation of a brāhmaṇa, he is not assured
that in the occupation of a brāhmaṇa there are no unpleasant duties. One may then conclude that
in the material world no one can be completely free from the contamination of
material nature. This example of fire
and smoke is very appropriate in this connection. Sometimes smoke disturbs the eyes and other
parts of the body, but still one must make use of the fire despite disturbing
conditions. Similarly, one should not give up his natural occupation because
there are some disturbing elements. Rather, one should be determined to serve
the Supreme Lord by his occupational duty. That is the perfection point. When a
particular type of occupation is performed for the satisfaction of the Supreme
Lord, all the defects in that particular occupation are purified. When the
results of work are purified, when connected with devotional service, one
becomes perfect in seeing the self within, and that is self-realization.
Shri
Krishna says that any undertaking, any project, any action will always have
some imperfection built into it, just like any
fire will have some smoke covering it. So there is no point giving up our
actions and our duties because they contain some imperfection or the other.
Even the human body, the most intricate organism on this earth, has some minor
defect in one form or the other, in the form of ill health or deformity and so
on. Therefore, we have to accept this fact and continue to perform our best
actions, not focus too much on the result.
dhūmenāvriyate
vahniryathādarśo malena cha
yatholbenāvṛto garbhastathā tenedam āvṛtam || 3-38 ||
As
fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is
covered by the womb, the living entity is similarly covered by different
degrees of this lust.
Our wisdom, or
ability to discriminate, resides in our intellect. Due to a lifetime’s worth of
conditioning, this wisdom does not become our second nature. Wisdom is like a
shining light, which can easily be covered if we are not careful. So desire, or
anger, arise from the deeper, subconscious aspects of our mind and cover this
light of wisdom. We then lose any ability to decide right from wrong, and
behave foolishly. Shri Krishna says here that our wisdom can be covered in
three ways.
When lust is compared to
smoke, it is understood that the fire of the living spark can be a little
perceived. In other words, when the living entity exhibits he may
be likened to the fire covered by smoke. Although fire is necessary where there
is smoke, there is no overt manifestation of fire in the early stage. By careful handling of the smoke in the fire,
fire can be made to blaze. Therefore the human form of life is a chance for the
living entity to escape the entanglement of material existence. In the human
form of life, one can conquer the enemy, lust, by turning spiritual under able
guidance.
yathaa deepo nivaatasthato nengate sopamaa smritaa |
yogino yatachittasya yunjato yogamaatmanaha || 19 ||
Just like a lamp in a windless place
does not flicker, this state is comparable to the yogi, having controlled the
mind, who engages his self in yoga.
The power of flames
is harnessed in meditation. By focusing on a steady flame, one can use it as a
reminder and shining example in one’s quest to cultivate equanimity and an even
mind.
The state of the
meditator’s mind is beautifully explained with a classic illustration or
“upamaa” (simile) by Shri Krishna in this shloka. He compares the mind of a
meditator to the flame of a lamp that is burning in a windless room. Just like
the flame is unwavering due to absence of wind, so too is the mind of a
meditator steady due to absence of desire.
shreyaan dravya-mayaad yajnyaan jnyaana yagnaha parantapa |
sarvam karmaakhilam paartha jnyaane parisamaapyate || 4-33 ||
Superior to sacrifice of materials is
the sacrifice of knowledge, O scorcher of foes. All actions completely
culminate in knowledge, O Paartha.
Having pointed out the defect of finitude in the wide range of
yajnyaas, Shri Krishna praises jnyaana yajnya or the sacrifice of knowledge.
Another interpretation, but on similar lines, is that the yajnya of knowledge
is the only one that leads us to the path of shreyas or bliss, rather than the
path of preyas or the pleasant.
While yajnya (Fire
sacrifice) can sometimes end with smoke if wrong fagots are used or wrongly
used. Vedas prescribe seven medicinal plant dried fagots to be smeared with
ghee and offered to the fire that raises seven kinds of smoke free flames. These
give rise to light colorless smoke that has medicinal value. But Jnana Yajnya
is smoke free arising out of fire in us ignited by the divine pilot light in us.
The sacrifice,
illuminated by knowledge (that speaks of spiritual fire), is much more superior
to the sacrifice consisting of materials exclusively. The exclusive nature [of
it] is indicated by the suffix mayat [in dravyamaya]. For, all actions attain
their finality in knowledge.
It is a unique dimension of fire by virtue of
it being associated with light thus equating it with wisdom and knowledge.
Dispelling darkness and infusing hope, fire continues to dazzle and invoke
respect all at once. Please recall my reference to the quote “seeing light at
the end of the dark tunnel” in
connection with the discovery of a vaccine for COVID 19 in the shortest time with global effort
forgetting all differences
athaidhaamsi
samiddhognirbhasmasaatkuruterjuna |
jnyaanaagnihi sarvakarmaani bhasmasaatkurute tathaa || 37 ||
Just as a burning flame turns fuel into
ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge turn all actions into ashes.
Krishna says, just as fire has the capability to burn fuel
in the form of wood or coal into ashes, so does knowledge-fire (Vedanta
vijnaana) totally destroys karmaas.
Upanishads say: “Vedantavijnaana sunschitarthah suddsatvaah
yatah sanyasayogat paramuchyanti”-- Yatis leading saatvik way of life,
practicing Sanyasa yoga attained by profound Vedanta science, reach the highest
and brightest abode of Brahman
brahmaarpanam brahma
havirbrahmagnau bramhanaa hatam |
brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahmakarmasamaadhinaa || 24 ||
This example can be
interpreted from several perspectives. Let’s first examine it from a purely
physical perspective. The ladle is made of wood, which has come from the earth,
and so has the offering. The person who performs the Yajnya is created out of
food, which also has come out of the earth. The flame and the act of Yajnya are
both manifestations of cosmic forces. Their ultimate cause can be traced back
to the cosmic big bang. The goal has as a thought in the mind of the person, a
mind that also has come from nature.
Now, how can we make it
more concrete? Consider a computer programmer writing a software application.
What should his vision become? The act of programming, the code he writes, the
computer he uses to write the code, the software application that his code
becomes a part of, his goal of writing good code, and the programmer himself –
everything is the eternal essence. This is “Brahma-drishti” or the vision of Brahman
that is achieved while interacting in this world.
In many Indian
households, people chant this shloka prior to eating a meal as a reminder that
the food, the body and the act of eating – all are nothing but Brahman. This chant reminds
us that the acts of growing, preparing, offering, and consuming food are
spiritual in nature. How does a spiritualist
view this Jnyana sacrifice? The fire of the Sun and energy of the Earth and the
fire (Agni) of consumption are sacred. Honoring this divinity with gratitude
and mindfulness is said to transform food from mere sustenance to Prasad (a
gracious gift) and fuel our Dharmic activities so that our Self and all of our
activities may be fully absorbed in Brahman.
Let us recall here what MNU
Upanishad says about the Fire and Flame in the sacrifice:
Agnayo vai trayī vidyā devayānaḥ panthā gārhapatya
ṛk
pṛthivī
rathantaramanvāhāryapacanaḥ yajurantarikṣaṁ vāmadevyam-- āhavanīyaḥ sāma
suvargo loko bṛhattasmādagnīn paramaṁ vadanti ||
The great sacrificial Fires are
indeed the three-fold knowledge and the path leading to godhood. Of them, the Gārhapatya Fire is Rigveda, the earth
and the Rāthāntara saman chant; Anvāhāryapacana
is Yajurveda mid-region and the Vāmadevya saman chant, Āhavaṇiya is the Sāma-veda,
the heavenly worlds and the Brihat saman chant. Therefore they say that the
sacrificial Fires are the supreme means of liberation.
This is a eulogy of the three
well-known sacrificial fires mentioned here by name. The Fires are said to be
the Vedas, because without them religious work taught in them cannot be
accomplished. They are the path to godhood because Yajña performed with their
help leads to godhood.
yābhirādityastapati raśmibhistābhiḥ parjanyo varṣati parjanyena
auṣadhivanaspatayaḥ prajāyanta
oṣadhivanaspatibhirannaṁ bhavaty annena prāṇāḥ…..;prāṇairmano manasaśca vijñānaṁ vijñānādānando
brahma yoniḥ ||
Those rays by which the Sun
(same as the Supreme in his transcendent and immanent aspects) gives heat; the
same rays transform water into rain-cloud which showers the rain. By the
rain-cloud herbs and trees come into existence; From-herbs and trees food is
produced. By the use of food the breaths;
with the vital breath unbroken
direct realization (Vijnana) comes and
the bliss comes from unbroken direct realization of Truth. Thus having attained
bliss one becomes the Supreme which is the source of the universe.
This passage is called
Anna-Stuti (praise of food) as Brahman. By our prayer of food, it turns Prasada
or gift from Brahman that is Brahman itself. The food thus offered to God is digested by 'Vaishwanara" in the
digestive system. Since God exists in the form of fire as Vaishwanara, He
digests the food along with the impurities. So, man will not be affected even
if the impurities enter the food.
Aham vaishvaanaro bhootvaa praaninaam dehamaashritaha|
praanaapaanasamaayuktaha pachaamyannam chaturvidham ||15- 14 ||
Residing
in the bodies of all beings, I become Vaishvaanara. In conjunction with Praana
and Apaana, I digest the four types of food.
Ishvara sustains and
nourishes all beings on this earth by providing them with nutrition in the form
of plant life and vegetation as we have seen in MNU (parjanyenaushadhivanaspatayahprajayanta ; oshadhivanaspatibhir-annam).
The energy and medicine stored in this food has to be absorbed and assimilated
into all living beings. How does that happen? Shri Krishna says that Ishvara
manifests himself as Vaishvaanara, the fire inside all living beings which
represents the process of metabolism.
It is a wonder that we
are able to eat such a large variety of food, and yet derive enough energy to
keep our bodies running throughout our lives, all due to the functioning of the
Vaishvaanara fire. It is supported by two vayus or forces known as the Praana
and the Apaana vayus. The Praana vayu brings food towards the digestive organs.
Vaishvaanara is the process of digestion and metabolism. The Apaana vayu pushes
non-essential portions of the food out into the world.
We also come across the four types of food that are referenced
in scriptures. These are: food that can be chewed such as rice, food that can
be sucked such as mango nectar, food that can be drunk such as fruit juices,
and food that can be licked such as pickles. The Vaishvaanara fire can convert
all these types of food into energy for the body.
So we see that production, distribution and ultimate consumption
of energy that happens in us, and happens in any other living being, is nothing
but Ishvara. Ishvara is the producer, distributor and consumer. Remembering
this topic is a great way to reduce our ego and see our oneness with the world.
Many people in India, in fact, chant the 15th chapter before their meals in
order to pray for good digestion.
On July 4, we look forward to
7/4 radiant Flame (Wisdom) of Vivekananda to guide us beyond religious and
national boundaries while avoiding 9/11 hell-Fire of Al-quid-a of hatred and
devastation. Let us see the Light of Fire at the end of the tunnel
to live in peace but not in pieces, and not Smoke of Fire at the end of the
smoking gun to cause self-destruction
and devastation.
Deepam jyothi para-brahma Deepam jyothi paraayane | Deepena harate paapam Sandhyaa deepam saraswati ||
I prostrate to the Flame (Jyoti) of dawn/dusk Lamp (Fire-ball Sun) whose light is Supreme Knowledge which removes the darkness of ignorance and by which all can be achieved.
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