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yajvan
28 January 2007, 10:54 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~

Hello sadhu,
This post is directed to the pururavase, or the ones that 'seek/laments to seek the highest station' or the Supreme. Many posts at their root suggests, "I need to find God"... This is a very noble condition. If I may, I would like to address a few of these ideas and see if they resinate with you.

HE whom the SELF chooses
In the Mundaka Upanishad, it says ' This Atman cannot be obtained by much study of the Vedas or intelligence or much learning. HE whom the SELF chooses, by him the SELF can be gained. To him (the sadhu or aspirant) this Atman reveals Its true nature'. Note I use Caps for HE to denote divinity, not to suggest male or female, as the Divine is of pure spirit, neither X or Y chromosome specific .

So the deal is, HE choose us! Sri Aurobindo says it this way: He (that is sadhu-aspirant) chooses the SELF who is chosen by the SELF first. Once the SELF chooses us, then we think to chose HIM. for me this is inspiring and also suggest the responsbility that goes with this choice.

Agni
So now that that the choice part is done, what's the next step? Agni! Agni, people think is fire….hummm. This is one of His branches, but Agni is much more then fire principle (tattva). Agni in the most fundamental condition is Divine Will. Agni is known by the seer's/rishi's as 'prathamasya amrtanam' or the first among the immortals.
It's said Agni is eager to take birth in every person to lead them/guide them to higher levels of Being. He begins the task of unfolding/delivering the Divine in the sadhu. If Agni's importance could be measured by the Rig Ved, there are ~3,000 riks or mantra's by various seer's that are dedicated to Agni.( 3,000 out of 11,000 or 27%). Even the first Hymn in the Rik Ved is offered to Agni and clearly points to His importance to us.
Here's the first sukta, the rishi is Madhuchchhadas as he addresses the first hymn to Agni: ' agnimile purohitam yajnasya devamrtvijam hortaram ratnadhatamam. '
This says 'Agni, I adore, who stands before the Lord, the God who sees the Truth, the warrior, strong disposer of delight.' Now, how's that relevant to us? The rishi of this passage acknowledges his adoration to Agni, but all this is very profound insight of this Seer: It is him as aganim, that is in front, or the first to be adored, the prime activiser. He is the purihitam, he is helpful to all creatures, yajnasya, or the knowledge or sacrifice (giving) and stays as the controller of the senses, who delivers the objects to the senses (hotaram) and brings delight to the yajamana or the sacrificer, that is, to the aspirant striving for Moksha.
Agni , as Divine Will , is there to assist/lead the aspirant (*now called yajamana) to the Divine. For our HDF Members that may have participated in a Agnihomam, Agni is the ritvic (the priest who presents the oblation or who invokes or summons the deities to the ceremony. He is the ratnadhatamam or holder of jewels; ratna = wealth in general , and liberation, the final reward.

Sanatkumara
Agni , is known as the youngest of the Gods, he is the Divine Child, kumara. He also leads the army of Gods, and then is known as Skanda. So, Sanatkumara is connected with Agni, as Agni is connected to Skanda, a off-spring, of Divine substance of the Creator, Brahma. And for those that follow Krsna, you know Him to proclaim He is Skanda and Agni [BG10.23, 10.24], Krsna says,
Of all the Rudras I am Lord Siva; of the Yaksas and Raksasas I am the Lord of wealth [Kuvera];of the Vasus I am Agni, and of mountains I am Meru Of priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief, Brhaspati, the lord of devotion. Of generals I am Skanda, the lord of war; and of bodies of water I am the ocean.

I mention this to suggest that the seer's/rishi's of the Veda were very spiritually advanced… Agni is much more then fire, albeit fire is of extreme importance in and of itself. Agni as Divine Will is that inspiration that you experienced when choosing to find the SELF, the Absolute Silence, God.

Agni , as Divine Will, as aspiration in us to seek The One ( or tad ekam). Agni is knower of births of all creatures (jatavedas) and is assigned exclusively for Agni - so much for Him as just fire, or gastric fire of digestion ( another word used as agni). He is part of you and me, he is 'martyeshu amrita rta barvah' or Agni is immortal in mortals ( in us) and possessed of the Truth.

Agni, be to us easy of access, as is a father to his son; be ever present with us for our good - Rik Ved 1.1.9


Pranams on this Bhisma Ekadasi,