'Agni', the Fire God

  "It was you, O Agni of the flaming hair, whom the peoples enthroned as their foremost guest, the master of their households, O God of the lofty ensign, of manifold shapes, the winner of stakes, our kindly protector and helper, devourer of ancient forests."

  "It is you, O Agni, whom the races of mankind acclaim as connoisseur of sacrifice, Discerner, incomparable donor of treasures, visible to all yet dwelling in secret, O God most blessed, loud-sounding, skilled in worship, glorified by the oil of sacrifice."

  "It is you, O Agni ever true to yourself, whom we mortals have ever approached with reverence, singing your praises. Wherefore, O God most noble, esteem well our sacrifice and burst into glorious flames, your Godhead enkindled by the hand of mortal Man."

  "It is you, O Agni of manifold. shapes, who impart life-power to each race of Men, as in days of old, O God highly praised! By means of this your life-power you control all sorts of food. That light of yours, when you shine forth, blazes indomitable." [Rk Veda V, 8, 2—5].

  Energy, Light, Heat, and all other manifest forms of the electromagnetic radiation have their source in the Stars. The Stars areof different size, distance, intensity of radioactivity, and many other associated aspects. Not all stars survive soon after their birth! Many stars lose half their strength the moment they appear and some may not even survive, but their traces remain! Only a moderate sized star of certain quality will produce planets from their stellar flares. The best example is the Sun. Some stars are so hot, and some are so cool that they do not produce planets! Now, the existence of the planets in our solar system can be better understood, although we do not know much about these. But one thing is certain and that is 'everything is fire'. This is supported by the Rk Veda. There is unmistakably some divine Force behind the origin of the Universe. This is stated as 'narayana' The term 'narayana' is  'chit-shakti, literally means, the eternal flow of Consciousness. Narayana is the only God who manifests in different forms! Narayana Upanishad and Mahanarayana Upanishads eulogize Narayana.. The 'chit' (the Lord's Thought-force), the 'Divine Will' only becomes, chiti, chaitya, chetasa, chetana, chitta, manas, buddhi, ahankara, and all that!  

 The Supreme Lord emphatically states that it is "He only Who Exists in All". But, an ignorant person (ajnyani), a fool (mudha), will not know Me. Only a jnyani knows Me in principle. A wise person tries to know Me thrugh the scriptures, and some try to know with steadfastness in contemplation, devotion, offerings (yajnya), dana and tapas. However, I am no something, an Object, to be known; I Am the Self of All! One has to experience My presence in every cell, every breath, every though as the principle of Existence. In fact, I the vaishvanara agn who digests four kinds of food!

 The Rk Veda has as many as 64 sukta about Agni, the Fire God. In Mandala VII, it is stated that the three relative aspects of Fire constitute the entire universe. These are Soma, Surya, Anala. The Soma is the elixir of life represented by Mood and the Sun is the Fire that supports Life as Chaitanya Rui Vishnu. The Fire is the gross form that exist in all rocks, wood, and living beings. as well. There is nothing except the Fire! Everything is Agni, the Fire.

  In humans, the three tates of existence are indeed fire only. The daily activities supported by energy obtained from food is the Vaishvanara agni deva. The Mental activity supported by energy, chaitanya, is the taihjas. Even in deep sleep it is chaitanya as prajnya that Energy operates and thus everything is operated and controlled by Agni deva!

  The great sages worshiped the Sun, the Fire God offering the 'arghya'. Many performed yajnya, yaga,  havan, and homa. The devout followers of agni, the agnihotri, kept 'fire' constantly burning! Thus, the 'Fire' is an inseparable part of Life!