2010-2-17 04:37:00
Agni is called The Lord of Fire. He is the oldest and most revered of the Gods of India. He is said to not only rule over the fire of mind in the mental plane but the fire dormant in matter itself. From him springs the life principle itself that allows us to be born, live and have consciousness in the world of dense physical matter.
So, is Agni some godly entity sitting on a throne directing the matter of the universe?
That's not quite the way it works.
Agni is the collective intelligence in matter that has evolved to a high state in a past universe. One could say that Agni is a highly intelligent spiritual entity whose physical body is matter and form itself. This entity pushes matter forward in what is called evolution by scientists. Such evolution does not happen by chance interaction, but is driven forward by the group intelligence of Agni the Lord of Fire and giver of life.
[End Of Definition.]
Ruth and another student gave some good definitions of Agni:
A student at The Keys Of Knowledge spiritual discussion group wrote:
"Before I researched this topic, I understood that 'Agni' basically meant 'fire' -- or symbolized 'fire.' And I also was aware that 'Agni' was 'a/the lord of fire' when and as described in The Vedas -- but again, I always thought this was more symbolic rather than literal.
"I did not, however, understand that 'Agni' was and/or is literally or the literal 'God Of Fire.'
"Also in the process of my research I discovered that part of the problem -- if not entirely 'the problem' is that I still have a difficult time keeping the idea that ancient/ageless wisdom, theosophy, maintains that there IS no matter or substance that is 'inorganic' or that all substance is 'entified.'
"Agni is closely or directly associated with:
"The Threefold Fires
"The Three (or Triple) Aspects Of The God Of Fire & The Fire Of God
"Fire Of The Mind
"Spirit
"Central Spiritual Sun
"Energy
"The Solar Lord Of Life & Energy
"The Fire Devas from the Cosmic Mental Plane
"The Agnishvattas -- builders of the Body Of Consciousness
"The Symbol Of The Mental Plane
"The Sumtotal Of Systemic Vitality"
The above student also provided the following quotations taken from the teachings of Djwhal Khul (DK) through the writings and works of Alice A. Bailey (AAB):
"We proceed now to take up the consideration of the Ruler of Fire, AGNI, and are brought to the study of the vitality that energizes and the Life that animates; to the contemplation of the Fire that drives, propels, and produces the activity and organization of all forms. The realization of this will reveal the fact that what we are dealing with is the 'Life and the lives,' as it is called in the Secret Doctrine; with Agni, the Lord of Fire, the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer; and with the forty-nine fires through which He manifests. We are dealing with solar fire per se, with the essence of thought, with the coherent life of all forms, with the consciousness in its evolving aspect, or with Agni, the sumtotal of the Gods. He is Vishnu and the Sun in His glory; He is the fire of matter and the fire of mind blended and fused; He is the intelligence which throbs in every atom; He is the Mind that actuates the system; He is the fire of substance and the substance of the fire; He is the Flame and that which the Flame destroys.
"Students of the 'Secret Doctrine' (by H.P. Blavatsky) when they read carelessly are apt to consider Him only as the fire of matter and omit to note that He is Himself the sumtotal - and this is especially the case when they find that Agni is the Lord of the mental plane. He is the animating life of the solar system, and that life is the life of God, the energy of the Logos, and the manifestation of the radiance which veils the Central Sun. Only as He is recognized as Fohat, the energy of matter, as Wisdom, the nature of the Ego and its motivation, and as essential unity, can any due conception be arrived at as to His nature or being. He is not the solar Logos on the cosmic mental plane, for the egoic consciousness of the Logos is more than His physical manifestation, but Agni is the sumtotal of that portion of the logoic Ego which is reflected down into His physical vehicle; He is the life of the logoic Personality, with all that is included in that expression. He is to the solar Logos on His own plane what the coherent personality of a human being is to his Ego in the causal body."
("A Treatise On Cosmic Fire," Pgs 602-603, by AAB)
"'\The fundamental fact that should here be emphasized is that AGNI, the Lord of Fire, rules over all the fire elementals and devas on the three planes of human evolution, the physical, the astral, and the mental, and rules over them not only on this planet, called the Earth, but on the three planes in all parts of the system. He is one of the seven Brothers (to use an expression familiar to students of the Secret Doctrine) Who each embody one of the seven principles, or Who are in Themselves the seven centers in the body of the cosmic Lord of Fire, called by H. P. B. 'Fohat.' He is that active fiery Intelligence, Who is the basis of the internal fires of the solar system. On each plane one of these Brothers holds sway, and the three elder Brothers (for always the three will be seen, and later the seven, who eventually merge into the primary three) rule on the first, third and the fifth planes, or on the plane of adi, of atma and of manas. It is urgent that we here remember that They are fire viewed in its third aspect, the fire of matter. In Their totality these seven Lords form the essence of the cosmic Lord, called in the occult books, Fohat."
("A Treatise On Cosmic Fire," Pg 66, by AAB)
"Agni is Fohat, the threefold Energy (emanating from the logoic Ego) which produces the solar system, the physical vehicle of the Logos, and animates the atoms of substance. He is the basis of the evolutionary process, or the cause of the psychic unfoldment of the Logos, and He is that vitality which ultimately brings about a divine synthesis in which the form approximates subjective demand, and after being consciously directed, and manipulated, is finally discarded. This is the goal for the Logos as it is for man; this marks the final liberation of a human being, of a Heavenly Man and of a solar Logos."
("A Treatise On Cosmic Fire," Pg 611, by AAB)
"'Our God is a consuming Fire' refers primarily to Agni, the controlling factor in this age. The devas of the fire will play an increasingly important part in all earth processes. To them is given the work of inaugurating the New Age, the new world and civilization and the new continent. The last great transition was governed by Varuna.
"Agni controls not only the fires of the earth and rules the mental plane but he is definitely associated with the work of arousing the sacred fire, the kundalini."
("A Treatise On White Magic," Pg 391, by AAB)
"He is life itself, and the driving force of evolution, of psychic development and of consciousness."
("A Treatise On Cosmic Fire," by AAB)
"I would point out that the Lord Agni shows forth His fiery life on the atomic subplane of each plane; He shows forth as solar fire on the second, third and fourth, and as 'fire by friction' on the fifth, sixth and seventh. From the point of view of the microcosm, the Spark in the Flame, man demonstrates as electric fire on the second plane, or the second cosmic ether; as solar fire on the third, fourth and the three higher subplanes of the fifth plane, and as fire by friction on the lower subplanes of the fifth, on the sixth, and seventh planes."
("A Treatise On Cosmic Fire," pg 522, by AAB)
Another student, Ruth, wrote and provided the following quote:
"Fire (Air)
"Mother (Holy Spirit)
"'Agni (Sanskrit) [from the verbal root ag to move tortuously, wind].
"'Fire; as god of fire, one of the most revered of Vedic deities. As mediator between gods and humans, from whose body issue 'a thousand streams of glory and seven tongues of flame,' Agni represents the divine essence or celestial fire present in every atom of the universe. Often used synonymously with the adityas. The three chief gods of Vedas are Agni, Vayu, and Surya -- fire, air, and the sun -- whose elements respectively are earth, air, and sky. One of the four lokapalas or world-protectors, Agni is guardian of the southeast quarter, and in the Rig-Veda as Matarisvan, messenger of Vivasvat, the sun, Agni brought down the 'hidden fire' for humankind. To 'kindle a fire,' therefore, is synonymous to evoking one of the three great fire-powers or 'to call on God' (SD 2:114)."
Source: http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/adi-ag.htm
Here are additional quotes from the writings & works of AAB/DK that were included by JJ in this article:
"We are told in A Treatise on Cosmic Fire that in the ninth, tenth and eleventh Hierarchies (counting from the bottom upwards) lies the clue to the nature of Agni, the Lord of Fire, the sumtotal of systemic vitality."
("Esoteric Astrology," pg 36, by AAB)
"Most of the psychological phenomena of the earth are - as you will realize, if you think clearly, - under the control of the Deva Lord Agni, the great primary Lord of Fire, the Ruler of the mental plane. Cosmic fire forms the background of our evolution; the fire of the mental plane, its inner control and dominance and its purifying asset coupled to its refining effects, is the aim of the evolution of our threefold life."
("Letters On Meditation," pg 100, by AAB)
"There are, for instance, the denser forms of gaseous life, termed often salamanders, the elementals of the fire. These are directly under the control of the Lord Agni, Lord of the mental plane, and, in this mental age, we have the element of fire entering into the mechanics of living as never before. Eliminate the products which are controlled by heat and you will bring our civilization to a stop; you will bring all means of transportation to an end and all modes of lighting; you would throw all manufactories into the discard. Basically again, these fiery lives, are found in all that burns, and in the warmth that holds all life formation on earth and causes the flourishing of all living things."
("A Treatise On White Magic," pg 389, by AAB)
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