Fire is the ultimate truth within every one of us. Even in Vedas, we respect to fire and worship it devouring the darkness within us. Fire destroys evil. It has other dimensional values within our cosmos and cultural aspects. To understand the reality of what is meant by the real Agni-The cosmic fire within us, read this article till the end.

Fire creates excitement for anyone. Some embrace the emotion and others fear its power. Some cultures consider it a danger – it is if you’re unable to handle it efficiently. Let us understand the elemental dimension of the fire or the Agni – how it is manifested, conducted, and above all, how it can be mastered. Among the five elements of nature (Sky, Earth, Water, Air, and Fire), fire has very less significance in the human body yet its influence is tremendous.

In various ways, fire represents life. One major indicator of life is if the body is hot or cold. The heat within the body indicates that there is still life in it. All life on the planet earth is essentially solar-powered. Sun is a huge ball of fire and it fuels the entire life on the planet. Machines work to generate heat, where the fire is the fuel. It has got different names to call coal, wood, petrol, electricity, or whatever else but it is the fire that allows a machine to run, even our bodies.

Vedas and other Hindi scriptures, represent or named the fire element as Agni Deva, the personification of fire. Agni Deva is a two-faced god, riding on a fiery ram. The two faces symbolically represent the giving and taking of life. When there is a fire burning within us, it is the symbolism of life. Also, fire can go out of control and destroy everything around. The fire burning our body is named Cremation. Another aspect of fire is cooking fire, which allows us to consume food.

Types of Agni

There are various dimensions of fire inside and out. The various dimensions are explained below:

#1 Jatharagni

Jathara means stomach or our digestive process. The digestive process needs a little bit of fire to digest the food we consume. Food is the fuel that we break down and release energy for the body to survive. If we nourish and supply the digestive fire with good fuel, it becomes reproductive fire. Jatharagni is directly impacting digestion as well as reproduction.

#2 Chitagni

Chitagni is another dimension of inner fire. This dimension consists of the mind and beyond. Chitta is a dimension that accesses the intelligence that transcends the limitations of the physical body. Your genetic memory and karmic history combine to create your physical form or your body. Chitta, on the other hand, is an aspect of intelligence that is unimpaired by memory. Intellect is the first level of manifestation for the fire of intelligence, which can manifest on many other levels as well.

If we examine the many fires within you, the reproductive fire will only become active if your digestive fire is functioning properly. The reproductive instincts will vanish if you are malnourished, similar to how your mind will become feeble and useless if your Chitagni is not stimulated reasonably. Even if you are not in a position to consciously access other planes of knowledge, your Chitagni will materialize as intellect if it is activated.

You will lose interest in eating, sexuality, and other physical desires if your Chitagni is burning bright. What is regrettably being promoted as surrender should rather be transcendence in this context.

You must ignite your inner intellect. Life can become gloomy and ugly when all that is blazing inside of you is the physical fire and not the fire of intelligence. People would act in the silliest ways when there is too much Jatharagni and not enough Chitagni present.

#3 Bhutagni

Bhutagni is the elemental fire within us. If this is bright, then the game of mind and body will never make sense. The interest and focus from the antics of the body and mind will be shifted to a very fundamental aspect of life – the source. 

Jatharagni – gives a robust and healthy body.
Chitagni – gives a strong and intelligent mind.
Bhutagni – gives a fundamental mastery over the process of life.

We have clear and limited boundaries of the very body we live in. But the boundaries of our minds are much larger than we imagine. For instance, it falls within the purview of your intellect if you know another region of the world. Your mental boundaries may also grow as your knowledge increases. The play of the elements takes place throughout the entire creation, but if you become aware of the dimension of Bhutagni, or the elemental fire, you will be an unbounded entity.

#4 Sarvagni

Beyond this, there is a concept known as Sarvagni since, according to modern research, less than 5% of existence is physical. In other words, if you know the entire universe’s physical dimension, you know less than 5% of existence. Sarvagni touches the realm in which there are no elements, no creation as you understand it, or, to put it another way, no physical world.

A Yogi who seeks to understand the nature of existence will typically not be interested in Jatharagni, Chitagni, or Bhutagni. Because Sarvagni is the ultimate fire, it will be the only thing he concentrates on. Jatharagni is blatantly on fire. Chitagni is present but less evident. Bhutagni is very much present but not at all noticeable. Even though Sarvagni is barely perceptible, without it, nothing would occur. It is the primary and most comprehensive fire, including all other fires.

Relation between Sky (Akash) and Fire Elements

The element that is most similar to Akash or the ether is fire. If specific fuels are employed, the akashic or etheric dimension can be accessed more easily when there is fire. For a lamp, we in southern India either use ghee or sesame oil. Coconut oil should be used if neither of the first two is available, followed by groundnut oil. There is a peculiar aspect to these oil-fueled fires. Compared to other fuels, they have a comparably higher smoke point. Because of this, the etheric plane is more accessible if you glance at the flame’s edge rather than its interior.

Lighting an oil or ghee lamp is always the first step in creating a welcoming environment. This plays a huge role in Indian culture. And for the greatest benefit, the fuel for the lamp needs to be of a particular kind. Especially when they are made of chemical wax, candles typically don’t have the same effect.

In essence, what you’re attempting to do is start a fire with a substance that emits an aura so that Akash is made accessible. You can benefit yourself and others in your house by creating an akashic field with an oil lamp. It is essential to have an oil lamp blazing, especially for children, pregnant women, sick people, and general health. Such a fire improves your Jatharagni, which will raise your body’s health and robustness, as well as your Chitagni and Akash availability.

The reality of Agni in the cultural aspect

Everything important in people’s lives in this society revolved around the fire. There wouldn’t have been any worship, marriages, or important occasions without fire. This culture gave rise to a wide variety of fire manifestations and uses, including sacrifice fires like Homas and Havanas. Akash or the ether are made more approachable by fire. Akash is the most translucent and fluid of all the substances that make up our bodies. Although the earth in your body and the earth in mine are fundamentally the same, your body and mine contain quite different substances.

You could argue that the water inside of me and inside of you is currently maintained in different vessels. However, it is impossible to separate the air we breathe. It is constantly being traded. Even more so, the fire component of who we are is shared. The Akashic component is unquestionably shared. We share a single Akash. Any environment where the Akashic element is enhanced causes a particular affinity between people. Togetherness and communication are substantially improved by fire since the Akash element is more prevalent there.

The real significance of Aarti (The rituals performed at a Deity)

Arati is performed in India in front of a guru, a god figure, or an idol. They touch their eyes or heads with their hands after moving them around the lamp. Why do they act this way? After the Arati, does the fire undergo any changes?

It’s not that the fire changes; rather if a certain form is emitting certain energy and you want to connect with it but do not know how or you’re unable to directly connect with it, fire is a fantastic intermediary to bring the two of you together. As we’ve been saying, there are numerous methods to form bonds through fire. Fire is used as a bond to bind people together, hence there is never a wedding in India without it.

Without fire, there can be no unity, whether it be psychological, emotional, or spiritual. Taking this a step further, fire is a useful tool for self-improvement if a certain form, such as a painting or a deity, is emitting certain energy. You will observe that they make an Arati with fire so that they can connect. They will connect even without fire; it’s just that it’s done to make you receptive to it. The Akash around the fire that circles the deity has taken on a divine character. When it comes to you, you don’t put your hand in the fire; instead, you grab the Akash that is surrounding it and place it over your heart, your head, or your eyes. You are attempting to appropriate a component of the Divine for your gain, to take it and incorporate it into who you are.

Agni and Yoga

All around the world, there are several fire temples. You can approximate the shape of the fire by using very potent reverberations in the form of mantras, and you’ll instantly feel a sense of freedom and release. There are several phases in the Yogic system where no external fire is lit; instead, all fires are lit internally. You may have heard that the Yogis practiced “tapas” in earlier times. Tapa is Spanish for “hot” or “fire.” Consequently, you are producing your fire. When internal opportunities are limited, external assistance is required; yet, if internal opportunities are generated, external assistance is not required.

The Fire Element Within You

To summarize: Although fire makes up a relatively small portion of you in terms of quantity, it has a huge impact because of how different it is. You have extremely little chance of touching fire. Fire is the element to which you are most sensitive, but, at the same time. Fire is a tool for creating the right environment for communication, receptivity, transcending boundaries, and connecting to the Divine or God, or whatever you wish to call the origin of all creation.