The 6th essay in the book by Feuerstein and Miller supports their thesis that Agni is the most enigmatic and dynamic of all ghe dieties in the RigVeda, and although western commentators may have overlooked it, it is clear from the mantra portion of the RigVeda itself that the deeper and sublter forces represented by the fire element were not unknown to Vedic rishis. In fact, very often, the mantras indicate a sublter meaning, and extremely literal translations are not sufficient. At the outset, they mention that Agni represents so many different things - at the very least, it stands for the warmth which sustains creation (sub-atomic forces), the fire of destruction, the flame of purification and the flame of love. Across nations and over the ages, it has held its special place. Deuteronomy says "The Lord is a consuming fire". The Lord descended on Mount Sinai in a fire, and only Moses could stand this fire. He had to veil his face when he turned to talk to other common folk because they would otherwise have fled in terror. The prophet Elijah was taken up to the heavens in a fire. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit manifested as tongues of fire at Pentacost and illumined each apostle with divine light. In the Vedas, water was the element chosen to represent matter, the great nurturing mother, while the seed of life within the mother was represented by fire, Agni. The authors say that a deep spiritual experience underlies this special place given to the fire element, and that the richaas (mantras) of the RigVeda show that the rishis implied these deeper meanings often. In fact, the cryptic statements in some mantras point to whole science underlying the praises and exaltations, which has unfortunately gone unnoticed in western commentaries.
Here, I would like to remind readers that the ancient Indian tradition talks of all manifest creation as arising from the five basic elements - translated loosely as earth, water, fire, air and space. Since all material creation comes from their combinations, it seems obvious that a rishi praising external gross water or fire or air would also be implying the subtle nature of the deity. Perhaps to some Indians, therefore, such subtler interpretations would not be surprising at all. I believe the confusion is because the mantra portion of the Vedas was used, historically, for collective yajnas (fire sacrifice rituals), and therefore, a large number of mantras pray for peace, prosperity, children, cattle, horses, protection, wisdom and happiness. This is why the mantra portion in the samhitaas is called the ritualistic portion (karma kaanda). On the other hand, the upanishads speak almost exclusively about self-realization, the supreme Truth, and the meditative practices required on the inner path, so the upanishads are called the knowledge part (jnaana kaand). This segmentation has probably led to the belief that the mantras, being older, are merely "songs of cowherds", while the later upanishadic texts are written by a society capable of philosophy and scientific knowledge. This is an extreme view and is found wanting when we focus attention on the numerous instances in the mantras where literal meanings simply do not apply and a subtler interpretation has to be explored.
The authors mention that at least 3 different forms of external, physical fire are mentioned in the hymns of the RigVeda - fire by friction, solar fire and electric fire (lightening, etc.). However, western (and some eastern) commentators have often failed to notice that along with the literal physical meaning, each type of fire also has its symbolic and spiritual significance. The three births of Agni and his three abodes have been mentioned in several places in the RigVeda. The Brihad-devataa of Shaunaka mentions the three ramifications of Agni as Agni in this world, Indra and Vayu in the middle regions and as Surya (Sun God) in the heavens. These regions are also to be understood as the material, spiritual and intermediate realms. So when RigVeda 1.59.2 (Mandala 1, 59th sukta, 2nd mantra) talks of Agni as the forehead of the sky and the navel of the earth and the messenger between them, it also implies the uniting of the opposite poles in the awakened man, besides the fact that the Sun above and the sacrificial fire below on the earth are both essentially Agni's forms and Agni himself performs the role of the link between them too. So agni does not only represent fire, heat and electricity or the fire of creation, warmth and destruction, but also the inner fires, and in particular, efforts made by the seeker on the spiritual path.
The authors have quoted several mantras from the RigVeda in particular, to support this. Some mantras do not even allow a purely physical interpretation. For example, RigVeda 4.1 (1st sukta of the 4th mandala), by Vamadev Gautam is considered to be highly symbolic. The 13th mantra of the sukta talks of how our forefathers freed milk-giving cows (go, in sanskrit) from dark caves. The 15th mantra of the same sukta says that the cows were freed by chanting holy mantras in the name of agni, which helped open the blocked door of the cave where they were held. The forefathers were desirous of cattle and hence did this, says the earlier (13th) mantra. Even common people today are aware that the sanskrit word "go" also means rays of light, and has forever been a symbol of spiritual illumination in literature. With this in mind, the symbolic meaning of these verses becomes absolutely clear. The writers note that the 4th mandala is considered to be among the most ancient of the vedic mantras, implying that this symbolism in the vedas cannot be dismissed as a much more recent addition.
While the authors have referred to numerous mantras in their support, let me point to a few others which are even more explicitly spiritual and cannot be called songs of cowherds desirous of health and progeny. RigVeda 1.36.1, by Kanva Ghaur, says that we, the performers of these yagyas, by our subtle mantras, describe that greatness which develops the divinity in man, and that this greatness has been praised by rishis everywhere. Sri Aurobindo's translation (added below) also attests to the fact that the mantra talks of spiritual search, not cattle or riches.
"The master of many peoples who labour towards the godhead, we seek for you with words of perfect expression, Agni whom others also everywhere desire." (- from Hymns to the Mystic Fire)
Similarly, Sri Aurobindo has mentioned RigVeda 1.164.39 in his introduction to "Hymns to the mystic fire". In this mantra, rishi Dirghatamas says that the indestructible hymns fill the entire sky (ether) and all gods reside in them. Moreover, he adds - for those who do not know this, whst can the rik (vedic hymns) do?
Another example is from from RigVeda 10.85.3, where the rishikaa (lady rishi) Suryaa Saavitri says that in preparing and drinking the juice from the soma plant, people think they know Soma, but the real Soma known to the wise knowers of Brahman - that is never drunk.
These examples are not all. In other places too, the poets of the mantras have indicated that the real meaning is different from the literal one. Sri Aurobindo has also mentioned in his introduction mentioned above that the way "go" means light and stands for spiritual illumination, so does the vedic horse symbolize spiritual power. The vedic fire ritual also stands for the ritual between the heavens and the earth, and as mentioned earlier, the sky often stands for the spiritual sky and earth for material creation. The bull's lair, therefore, must be interpreted as the home of the gods, otherwise we would be ignoring how many times Indra has been called a great bull in the vedas.
The list goes on, and the authors of the essay make no mistake in pointing out that in light of numerous such suggestions, many seemingly simple mantras also need to be re-interpreted. In case of Vamadeva in the 4th mandala, for example, they point out that simply the use of the words "chakrapanta dhi-bhih" for praying with vedic mantras, suggests the use of mantras as chariots which take the chanters to higher realms. This idea of mantras as chariots was certainly present in those days, according to the expert authors. The fire "produced by rubbing lotuses" hardly has any interpretation unless we think of either the puranic tale of creation from the lotus which arose from Vishnu's navel, or of the energy centres (chakras) in the human body which are symbolized as lotuses everywhere in later tantric and yogic literature. Agni must therefore be understood as the fire of penances, or spiritual practices in general, and in this sense, agni is not just the beginning and end of material creation, it is also the heart of RigVedic religion.
So the authors have supported their view with dozens of quotations and we may agree that the mantra portion of the vedas may need to be interpreted keeping in mind these symbols. However, it is well accepted that going by the number of mantras dedicated to them in the RigVeda, Indra was probably number one and Agni, the "number two" of the vedic deities. Surely, Indra and all other gods have also been called sustainers of creation, omnipresent, etc., in addition to specific roles given to their personified images. Then why do these authors not pick Indra and Agni both as the heart of religion? While guessing comes with its risks, it is likely that Indra, being the cow which was milked by the great powers in different ways to create the material universe, may have come to be associated with the "passive Brahman" from whom all creation arose. Possibly, only in his fire form, as Agni, could Indra reside in dualistic or manifest creation, and help in the work of liberation. As they say in India, the path to all the higher realms opens only with the blessings of the "devi", the mother goddess. It is easy to pray to the devi because she is present to the seeker as a mother who understands her children's needs. It is not possible to simply jump from dualistic reality to the supreme non-dual One, without this intermediate stage, and religion is needed mostly for these intermediate seekers. Maybe this is why none but Agni, the Fire God, the symbol not only of physical but also of spiritual effort and desire, could be called the Heart of RigVedic religion.
Sadanand Tutakne
