Agni comes from the root Ag which means to move forward. It is the power of the Divine in man that pushes us to exceed itself. Therefore it is the first god who is invoked for without agni or the aspiration, the urge towards the Divine the yoga cannot begin. It is the true will in man, the representative of the Divine Will that has two powers within it, – light and heat. The light shows us the way destroying the darkness, that is to say false perceptions. Heat energises the system and thereby helps it to lift upwards. In addition heat has the unique property if refining and purifying everything and turning all that is hard and resisting the change into a malleable state preparing it for the transformation. It means the more we intensify the aspiration, the more we surrender to the Divine Will the more we regain the truth of our being and progress spiritually.
The home of Agni is in the Divine Worlds. That is the solar fire or Surya or Saur Agni. There it is known as the Seer-Will, the power that knows and executes. It is working in Matter hidden beneath it as the power concealed in the material universe as jada Agni. It is the inner compulsion of Agni that forces everything to unfold and disclose their secret truth through evolution. Hence Agni is also known as Jatavedas, the knower of all births. The third seat of Agni is in the heart as the psychic fire through which one can perceive the Divine Will.
Ordinarily this power, Agni or the creative Will is covered with the smoke of ignorance arising out of the burning of the fuel of desire. It is by removing the cover of ignorance and the desire-self that Agni flames forth in man. Reaching the mind turns it into an illumined mind of the seer and is known as Vidyut Agni, the power of spiritual progress in the subtle ether.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
