The Power of Yoga

Enlightening thoughts of my good friend Gurvindersingh-ji in ‘Guru Wonders’

Who am I?
To find out, I must ask none other than myself.
But how can I know myself?

Alexander conquered by a Yogi

This article is a timely sequel to my earlier blog on ‘Real Yoga.’ Thanks to my good friend Gurvinder Singh for this excellent posting.

Alexander III of Macedonia, in his belief that it was his destiny to conquer and rule the world, caused much destruction and misery.

Its unfortunate that historians and many leaders glorify pillaging, death and destruction, even referring to to him as ‘Alexander the Great’.

Aristotle the teacher and guide of Alexander had told him that, in India lived great mystical, intellectual and spiritual super beings called Yogis. He told Alexander if he ever got the opportunity, to go and meet a Yogi, and if possible to even bring one back to Greece for Aristotle to meet.

Upon enquiry, whilst in India, Alexander learnt about the great and wise sage, Yogi Dandini, who dwelled deep in a forest.

Alexander sent numerous summons to Yogi Dandini, which he promptly ignored. Alexander who could strike fear in the hearts and minds of great armies and kings was intrigued. He became desperate to meet this being who assigned no importance to Alexander.

Alexander next sent messengers with lavish gifts and an invitation to Yogi Dandini for a discourse and discussion on philosophy. Yogi Dandini, politely declined both the gifts and the invitation.

Though angry Alexander, a pupil of the great philosopher and teacher Aristotle, knew very well that, great beings could rarely be lured or coerced.

Finally Alexander sent his helmsman, Onesicritus, to invite Dandini, who lavished praise and gifts on Yogi Dandini. When Yogi Dandini declined his invitation and gifts, Onesicritus threatened the yogi. He said that Alexander had ordered the beheading of the yogi should the orders of the emperor be disobeyed.

Yogi Dandini remained unperturbed, stating, he had no fear of death. Onesicritus couldn’t muster the courage to kill the Yogi, and, instead, paid his respects to the Yogi and went back to report the incident to Alexander.

Livid at being rejected by a naked forest-dweller, Alexander decided to go to Dandini himself. With his Marshal and a large entourage, Alexander made his way deep into the forest. Even though he experienced the powerful aura of Yogi Dandini, Alexander grew furious when the sage did not get up to welcome him.

“How dared you refuse my gifts?” Alexander demanded.

“They were smeared in blood.” replied the yogi.

The chilling truth, and fearless conviction in Dandini’s voice, rattled Alexander. Alexander could not let his men overhear the embarrassing exchange, so he ordered them to move some distance away.

Then, when he was alone with Yogi Dandini, Alexander dismounted from his horse, walked towards the sitting sage and menacingly stood over him.

“Do you know who I am?” Alexander roared.

“I don’t think even you know, who you are.” replied Yogi Dandini.

Alexander felt deeply insulted. He drew his sword and swung it at Yogi Dandini, stopping just before it struck the Yogi’s neck.

“I am Alexander, the world conqueror,” he shouted. “You are sitting on my land. Submit or I’ll kill y­ou … ”

“Your land?” Dandini chuckled as he cut him off. “The land belongs to no one, O King!”

“Before you, there were others who claimed it as theirs,” he continued. “After you, there’ll be others who will say it’s theirs.

All creation belongs to the Creator alone, Alexander. And no one has any right to destroy what they haven’t created. You have blood on your hands,

O Emperor! You may have a temporary claim on the land, but you have permanent scars on your soul.”

Clearing his throat, a flustered and uncomfortable Alexander lowered his sword and adjusted his posture.

“The whole world is mine, Dandini,” Alexander exclaimed. “History will remember me as the mightiest king! My men can die for me!”

“What good is your ambition or their remembrance, O King? You drown yourself in alcohol every evening so you may forget about your crimes and sins. These men who surround you, they are tired of you. You will see it, they’ll give up on you one day, in fact very soon.”

“Besides,” Dandini continued, “what will you do with the world? All you need is two yards. Two yards long and two yards deep. Ultimately that’s all that will belong to you.”

Confused, humbled and defeated, Alexander sheathed his sword, bobbed his head before Yogi Dandini and left.
________

Barely a few months had passed when his army mutinied bringing an abrupt end to his campaign in India. Three years later, Alexander died at the age of thirty-three as he tried to return to Greece.

***
Readers interested in getting full details of the conversation between the Sage Yogi Dandini and Alexander may refer to the historical account provided in the work, ‘The Legends of Alexander the Great’ by Richard Stoneman

_______

Real Yoga

Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. Since its inception in 2015, the International Day of Yoga, is celebrated annually on 21 June (today) as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

In Hinduism, there are many tools including food and the codes of conduct to master the physical self and the mind. Yoga is just one of the tools.

The word ‘Yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit root ‘yuj’ – to join. It is intended to join your soul with the divinity. Yajur Veda defines Yoga as, “When the yogin unites his breath with Aum or is united with the All in manifold ways, it is called yoga. This oneness of breath, mind and senses, the renunciation of all existence-this is termed yoga.” (Krishna Yajur Veda, Maitra Upanishad 6.25. verse, 776).

Real Yoga is explained in the Bhagavad Gita verse 6.12-13:

तत्रैकाग्रं मन: कृत्वा यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रिय: |
उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्योगमात्मविशुद्धये || 12||
समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिर: |
सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश्चानवलोकयन् || 13||

tatraikāgraṁ manaḥ kṛitvā yata-chittendriya-kriyaḥ
upaviśhyāsane yuñjyād yogam ātma-viśhuddhaye
samaṁ kāya-śhiro-grīvaṁ dhārayann achalaṁ sthiraḥ
samprekṣhya nāsikāgraṁ svaṁ diśhaśh chānavalokayan

Translation
Seated firmly on it, the yogi should strive to purify the mind by focusing it in meditation with one pointed concentration, controlling all thoughts and activities. He must hold the body, neck, and head firmly in a straight line, and gaze at the tip of the nose, without allowing the eyes to wander.

BKS Iyengar, one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world, said:

“Asanas are not meant for physical fitness, but for conquering the elements, energy, and so on. So, how to balance the energy in the body, how to control the five elements, how to balance the various aspect of the mind without mixing them all together, and how to be able to perceive the difference between the gunas, and to experience that there is something behind them, operating in the world of man – that is what asanas are for. The process is slow and painstaking, but a steady inquiry facilitates a growing awareness.”

The practice of simple yoga quietens the mind’s constant chatters and leads to silence; Interestingly, even reciting mantras that cause vibrations of sound also lead to silence – a silence that you acquire gradually by driving away stray thoughts, steadying the mind and causing an inner awakening. You need to experience it!

The inset picture is that of Patanjali, the author of Yoga Sutra.

Enjoy Real Yoga!

On Being a Hindu

We reproduce excerpts from an article by Maria Wirth in https://mariawirthblog.wordpress.com.

Is being a Hindu ok and is Hindutva not ok and even dangerous? Many Hindus seem wary to be associated with Hindutva, in spite of the fact that Hindutva simply means Hindu-ness or being Hindu. They tend to accept the view which mainstream media peddled for long: ‘Hindutva is intolerant and stands for the ‘communal agenda of an extreme right Hindu party that wants to force uniform Hinduism on this vast country which is fully against the true Hindu ethos.’

Is this true? The Supreme Court ruling of 1995 declares it as not true:

“Hindutva is indicative more of the way of life of the Indian people. Considering Hindutva as hostile, inimical, or intolerant of other faiths, or as communal proceeds from an improper appreciation of its true meaning.”

From personal experience, I also came to the conclusion that it is ‘an improper appreciation of its true meaning’, when Hindutva is branded as communal and dangerous.

For many years I lived in ‘spiritual India’ without having any idea how important the terms ‘’secular’ and ’communal’ were. The people I met valued India’s great heritage. They gave me tips which texts to read, which Sants to meet, which mantras to learn, etc., and I wrote about it for German magazines. I used to think that all Indians are proud of their ancestors, who had stunningly deep insights into what is true and who left a huge legacy of precious texts unparalleled in the world.

However, when I settled in a ‘normal’ environment away from ashrams and connected with the English speaking middle class including some foreign wives, I was shocked that several of my new friends with Hindu names were ridiculing Hinduism without knowing anything about it. They had not even read the Bhagavad-Gita, but claimed that Hinduism was the most depraved of all religions and responsible for the ills India is facing. The caste system and Manusmiti were quoted as proof.

My new acquaintances had expected me to join them in denouncing ‘primitive’ Hinduism which I could not do as I knew too much, not only form reading, but also from doing sadhana. They declared that I had read the wrong books and asked me to read the right books, which would give me the ‘correct’ understanding. They obviously didn’t doubt that their own view was correct.

My secular friends can’t really be blamed for their faulty understanding. They were taught that Hinduism is just another religion, but inferior to the two main “only true” ones. Children usually don’t doubt what they learn. Yet Hindu Dharma is in a completely different category from the Abrahamic religions:

Hindu Dharma was never based on unreasonable dogmas and did not need blasphemy laws to keep its followers in check. It is helpful to society as it imparts wisdom and gives guidelines for an ideal life that acknowledges the invisible, conscious Essence in this visible universe. It does not strait-jacket people into an unbelievable belief system. It allows freedom of thought and many parallel streams with different ways to connect to this essence emerged which co-existed harmoniously.

In recent weeks some staunch ‘secular’ Indians declared themselves suddenly as Hindus. Maybe they pave the way for others to follow. However, they seem to propagate (and portray it as a positive aspect) that for a Hindu everything goes: believe in a Supreme Being or not, be vegetarian or not, go to temples or not, follow Vedic guidelines or not. It seems to imply: be truthful or not, etc. They portray Hindu Dharma as having no fundamentals.

Yet this is clearly wrong. Hindu Dharma has fundamentals, but in contrast, they are benign and helpful.

Being Hindu means to know and value the profound insights of the Rishis and to follow their recommendations in one’s life. These insights may not be obvious to the senses, like the claim that everything, including nature, is permeated by the one consciousness (Brahman), but it can be realised as true; similarly as it is not obvious that the earth goes around the sun, but it can be proven. Being Hindu does not require blind belief.

Being Hindu also means having the welfare of all at heart, including animals and plants, because each part is intimately connected with the Whole. Especially the cow is revered and the Rishis gave good reasons why it must never be killed.

Being Hindu means following one’s conscience and using one’s intelligence well. It means diving into oneself trying to connect with one’s Essence. It means trusting one’s own Self, Atman, and doing the right thing at the right time.

Being Hindu means being wise – not deluded or gullible or foolish. This wisdom about the truth of this universe and about how to live life in the best possible way was discovered and preserved in India. Yet its tenets are universal, valid for all humanity.

Isn’t it time for our interconnected world to realise this and benefit?

Note: Thanks to Maria Wirth! 

The Five Elements and the Five Senses

What is the relationship between the five elements and the five senses? And how do we connect it with simple Puja rituals at home?

Kanchi Maha Periyava has explained it beautifully in Tamil while talking about the five upachaarams (services) to the Almighty. I am happy to share a gist of Maha Periyava’s explanation translated into English.

We are endowed with five sensory organs – Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue and the Skin. They do not create anything new. They merely sense something external to us and relay the information to the brain.

Our universe is governed by five elements of nature – Sky, Air, Fire, Water and the Earth. These elements help the five sensory organs to sense – like we can feel a        cool breeze, hear the sounds through the sky, see and feel fire, taste the sweetness of water, and enjoy all that mother earth produces including the fragrance of flowers and the taste of fruits. Without these five elements, there is no life!

Because the Almighty God has graciously endowed us the five senses and also provided the five elements of nature, we are able to enjoy various things in life. So, it is our duty to remember the Almighty in our enjoyment.

As a symbolic representation of offering to the Almighty those very items that represent our enjoyment through the five elements, there is a ritual called “Panchoparam” or “The five services in worship.” in temples and also in many homes: These five upachaarams are:

1. Placing Sandal paste on the idol – representing Prithvi or Earth.

2. Puja with flowers – representing the Sky.

3. Dhoopam by fragrant Sambrani or Udubathi – representing Vayu, the Air.

4. Deepaardhanai by showing lighted lamp-representing Fire.

5. Naivedyam by offering food items-representing Water.

Thus, the five elements that create all the matter to satisfy our five senses are included in the ‘Panchoparam.’

In short, this ritual unites the Almighty, the Universe and Us.

Jaya Jaya Sankara Hara Hara Sankara!

Health and Hinduism

Who does not want to enjoy the best of health? While everyone desires good health, rapidly changing eating habits, work patterns, and living styles are affecting human health. Trends indicate that people tend to rush to specialist doctors even for minor ailments, go through a series of diagnostic tests and eventually consume potent drugs that may be prescribed as a remedy.

The Ayurveda is the oldest of traditional healing guides that Hinduism has to offer us. In this system, diet, herbs, water, minerals, and the mind-body connection are all components that contribute to healing. Mother Nature provides all the clues to heal you – such as you feel tired after a busy day when the body needs rest, your stomach gets upset when you eat too heavy and spicy food and you are unable to sleep if you suffer from stress due to worries.

Your body is endowed with powers to heal itself but you must pay attention to the natural clues, stop overloading your systems, and follow simple remedial steps.

Did you know that many of the organic foods we consume have healing powers in them? For example:

• Ginger has a well-deserved reputation for relieving an uneasy stomach.
• Turmeric has disinfecting properties. It is used to heal throat infection and help to relieve colds and cough.
• Onion serves as anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antiviral remedy.
• Cinnamon helps to stabilize blood sugar.
• Bananas are known for their antacid effect that guard against damages from stomach ulcers.

At last, modern science is beginning to uncover the power of spices and herbs that we have used for many centuries as home remedies.

In addition to the choice of simple and healthy food, one needs to develop a healthy mind through a disciplined life. The power of mind over body is amazing.

Qualities like anger, jealousy and greed can affect the stomach or interfere with digestion.

Constant worry and nervous attitudes lead to wasted energy and weakness.

It is possible to strengthen one’s mind through meditation and simple spiritual exercises. For example, yoga and other forms of meditations are known to improve health.

Phenomena like the “placebo effect” reveal the amazing healing power of mind.

Hinduism helps to improve Health. Unleash your innate healing power by heeding nature’s simple clues and changing your approach to finding remedies.

The Concept of God

Everybody talks about God is some way or other. Some believe the existence of God; some don’t. Hinduism accepts both philosophies. In fact, “Charuvaakam” – or atheism in short – was accepted as a system in India. In Sanskrit, “Chaaru-vaakam” means that which is pleasing to the ear. Chaaruvaakam believes that there is no need to worry about God or any Spirit or to observe vows and fasts or to control one’s senses. Live as you please according to your whims and according to the to the dictates of your senses. However, sorrow is inevitable even in a life in which we consciously and continuously seek pleasure. Indeed sorrow will predominate. The purpose of religion is overcoming sorrow.

In ancient years, long before other religions appeared, Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism termed God as Brahman, Paramaatma or just “Tat” meaning “That.” Brahman is not considered a person, not a superhuman entity, neither male or female, but just an invisible basis of all creations. The Rishis meditated on Brahman and experienced it.

The concept of God is unique in Hinduism. The belief is God is not far away, living in a remote heaven, but exists inside each and every being, as Jeevatma or soul as we describe in English. It is the extremely subtle, conscious basis of everything. It means that God is here within you.

We greet each other by saying ‘Namaste.’ Nama means bow, and te means you. Therefore, namaste literally means “I bow to you.” The gesture of saying Namaste with folded hands represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us and serves as an acknowledgment of the soul. Knowing that God is always within ourselves gives us is a very satisfying feeling.

However, Hindus also believe in the existence of many deities who perform various functions, like ministers in a government or functional executives in a large corporation, each vested with a certain responsibility.

How do we reconcile these two different beliefs?

There is a nice verse in RigVeda that says:

इन्द्रं॑ मि॒त्रं वरु॑णम॒ग्निमा॑हु॒रथो॑ दि॒व्यः स सु॑प॒र्णो ग॒रुत्मा॑न् ।
एकं॒ सद्विप्रा॑ बहु॒धा व॑दन्त्य॒ग्निं य॒मं मा॑त॒रिश्वा॑नमाहुः ॥४६॥ Ṛg Veda 1.164.46.

Índraṃ mitráṃ váruṇam agním āhur átho divyáḥ sá suparṇó garútmān;
Ékaṃ sád víprā bahudhā́ vadanty agníṃ yamáṃ mātaríśvānam āhuḥ.

Roughly translated, the verse means:

They (the sages) called him Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni; yea, he is heavenly Garuḍa, who has beautiful wings.
That which is One, the sages speak of as Multifarious; they called him Agni, Yama, Mātariśv

The important part of this is “Ékaṃ sád víprā bahudhā́ vadanty” – The Truth (God) is one but the sages called it by different names.

Hinduism permits you the freedom to develop your own concept of God based on Truth and this freedom makes it unique. So, you can worship any of the deities -Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, or Krishna -as your favorite God (Istha Devata).

As Swami Vivekananda said, “Arise, Awake, and Stop not till the goal is reached.” His clarion call was adopted from the following verse in Kathopanishad:

उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत । (उतिष्ठत – utiṣṭhata – arise, जाग्रत- jagrata – awake, वरान् – varān – the great ones, प्राप्य – prāpya – find out, निबोधत – nibodhata – learn them)

Go ahead, learn and discover God by yourself.

Aims of Life

What are the aims in your life? Browsing the internet, I found some interesting answers:

– My main aim in life is to get out of this slavery corporate job.
– Improve my career and become financially independent.
– I want to live life in such a way that I will die with satisfaction.
– I want to start my own company and employ people.
– My aim in my life is to become person who has wealth and values.

Most answers were centered on materialistic pursuits.

What does Hinduism tell us in this regard?

Hinduism believes that there are four basic aims of life.

What a man wants for himself in his life- the aims of a man’s life- are called the purusharthas in Sanskrit. There are four purushartas.

What are these four purushartas?

These are Dharma, Artha, Kaaama and Moksha.

What do they mean? Dharma refers to one’s duty, a code of good conduct, Artha is pursuit of wealth and prosperity, Kaama refers to desires and pleasure, sensual gratification, and Moksha is the pursuit of liberation.

Hinduism is not against pursuing wealth or fulfilling your personal desires. It places Dharma first.

What is Dharma? The word is derived from the Sanskrit root “dhr” to uphold, sustain or nourish.

Dharma denotes beneficent action, good or virtuous deeds.

Mahaperiyavaa of Kanchi says:

“There is a law governing the behaviour of everything in this universe. All must submit to it for the world to function properly. Otherwise things will go awry and end up in chaos. It is the will of the Lord that all his creation, all his creatures, should live in happiness. That is why he has ordained a dharma, a law, for each one of them. It is compliance with this dharma that ensures all-round harmony.”

To the question,”Ko dharmah?” (what Dharma?), Sri Adi Sankaracharya’s answer is “Abhimato yah sistanam nija kulinam”. It means that dharma is that which is determined by the elders and by learned people.

There need be no doubt or confusion about the dharma we ought to follow. We are all steeped in the dharma that our, great men have pursued from generation to generation

“The principle on which the Vedic religion is founded,” observes the Sage of Kanchi “is that a man must not live for himself alone but serve all mankind.”

A Tribute to Mother Earth

We are happy reproduce the following tribute to Mother Earth from the blog of Maria Wirth. It reflects the deepest respect that Hinduism has for the planet we live in.

India had since ancient times not only a better, but the best approach to life and everything that is connected with it. So I as a westerner should not give a message to you, but you should give a very important message to us westerners on Earth Day.

You must tell us that the earth is a mother. Tell us that you call her Dharti Mata – the mother who holds us. She is alive. She is not dead matter. How can she be dead matter when she gives us thousand fold back what we give to her? We give her seeds and she gives us a full harvest – vegetable, grain, fruits. She gives us herbs when we are sick. She provides wood, stones, mud and iron ore to build houses. She gives us coal and oil for energy; she gives us trees with cotton for our clothing; she even gives us gold and diamonds. Where would we be without mother earth? We are completely dependent on her.

And yet we ignore her most of the time. This attitude has even started in India, because there are many Indians who wrongly think that the west knows better. No. I can assure you. The west does not know better. India knows better.

We need to realize again that the earth is really alive and be grateful to her. Being grateful is one of the most beautiful feelings you can have. It makes you automatically more beautiful. In some Indian families it is still common to touch the earth in gratitude first thing in the morning after getting up, and then touch the feet of the parents. It connects us with everything around us. Bhagawan is everywhere and in everything. And Bhagawan is also present in Mother Earth.

Just imagine what miracle it is: Dharti Mata provides us with everything we need to live. Yet she is also part of a bigger family – Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn… They all move around the sun. It looks as if they are paying respect to the head of the family without whom they all would be lost in darkness. The earth moves at tremendous speed, at 30 km in one second!! It means if a bullet train was travelling as fast as the earth, it would cover the distance of about 3000 km between Kashmir and Kanya Kumari in less than 2 minutes. Amazing, isn’t it?

She keeps this high speed continuously to take us around the sun in 365 days. And to give us the experience of day and night, she turns around herself once in 24 hours. It is a miraculous dance she performs while we are peacefully asleep at night or walking around during day.

There is no collision in our solar system and we don’t even notice that Dharti Mata is moving. We see only the sun moving… This is the reason why till some 500 years ago, people in the west insisted that the sun moves around the earth. In this respect also, the Indian Rishis were far ahead of their times. The Rg Veda (10.22.14), the most ancient text in the world, stated already thousands of years ago that the earth goes around the sun. However, you may have heard that Copernicus was the first who discovered this. No, he was not the first. He was only the first person in the west. But the credit for this discovery has to go to the Indian Rishis. You can be proud of them.

The celebration of Earth Day is meant to make us reflect on the bigger picture and most of all, to be grateful to Dharti Mata. Let us pledge that we will never exploit her and never take more than what we need for a simple life. And also very important, let us keep her beautiful and clean. It is our duty towards her. She fully deserves it.

Source: https://mariawirthblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/22/a-message-to-students-on-earth-day/

We acknowledge this nice article with thanks to Maria Wirth.

The Power of Fire

Today, through the courtesy of abc News, I watched the the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in London. The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, the presiding bishop of the American Episcopal Church, delivered an amazing sermon that included the following references to the revolutionary power of fire:

“French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was arguably one of the great minds, one of the great spirits of the 20th century. A Jesuit, Roman Catholic priest, scientist, a scholar, a mystic. In some of his writings, he said from his scientific background as well as his theological one. In some of his writings, he said as others have, that the discovery or invention or harnessing of fire was one of the great scientific and technological discoveries in all of human history. Fire to a great extent made human civilization possible. Fire made it possible to cook food and to provide sanitary ways of eating which reduced the spread of disease in its time. Fire made it possible to heat warm environments and thereby made human migration around the world a possibility, even into colder climates. Fire made it possible, there was no Bronze Age without fire, no Iron Age without fire, no industrial revolution without fire. The advances of science and technology are greatly dependent on the human ability and capacity to take fire and use it for human good.

Anybody get here in a car today? An automobile? Nod your heads if you did, I’m guessing, I know there were some carriages. But those of us who came in cars, the controlled harnessed fire made that possible. I know that the Bible says, and I believe it, that Jesus walked on the water, but I have to tell you I didn’t walk across the Atlantic Ocean to get here. Controlled fire in that plane got me here. Fire makes it possible for us to text and tweet and email and Instagram and Facebook and socially be dysfunctional with each other. Fire makes all of that possible and de Chardin said that fire was one of the greatest discoveries in all of human history. And he then went on to say that if humanity every harnesses the energy of fire again, if humanity ever captures the energy of love, it will be the second time in history that we have discovered fire.”

Let me draw a parallel with the beliefs in Hinduism. For Hindus, Fire is considered as most sacred. Called Agni in Sanskrit, fire is central to all vedic rituals. In the Rig Veda, Agni is the first of the cosmic gods to be invoked; The very first sloka (verse) of Rig Veda reads:

अग्निमीळे पुरोहितं यज्ञस्य देवमृत्विजम् ।
होतारं रत्नधातमम् ॥१॥
Agnimeele purohitam yagyasya devamrtvijam |
hotaaram ratnadhaatamam ||1||

Roughly translated, Agni meele means “I praise Agni.” Purohitam yagyasya means “the priest of the sacrifice.” Devam means divine and rtvijam is the priest who officiates at the sacrifice. Hotaram refers to the priest who invokes -the Invoker. Ratnadha means “the one who bestows the jewel of ecstasy or the inner physical, mental and spiritual wealth, the nectar”; tamam is the superlative of Ratnadha. So, in short, the first verse in the Rig Veda dedicated to fire god Agni means:

“O Agni, I praise Thee,
O priest, O divine minister
Who officiates at the divine Sacrifice,
Who is also the invoker, the Summoner,
Who most bestows the divine wealth upon us.”

About two hundred verses in the Rig Veda extol the virtues of Agni. We embody Agni, the flame of aspiration, in our hearts. All forms of fire are associated with Agni including the sun, lightning, sacrificial fire, domestic fires, and the digestive fire (jaataraagni) which is within all living beings. Fire is considered a witness in Hindu ceremonies such as marriages. Fire is used to cremate the dead in the Antima Sanskar – the final rites. Fire is an unique element as it cannot be polluted. To keep the fire burning at home, we light oil lamps.

The Persians too built fire temples on their mountaintops and echoed similar thoughts in their most ancient scripture, the Zend Avesta: “We worship the Fire, the son of God, the holy lord of the ritual order. And we worship all the Fires and the mountain that holds the light. And we worship every holy celestial spirit and every holy earthly spirit.”

Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon highlighted the power of fire. It matches well with the basic teachings of Hinduism. To quote Rig Veda again,

“O Agni! Master Strength! O Leader! You gather around all the peoples of the world and bind them together. You burn bright in the high seat of Revelation. You bring us all the Riches.”

Om Agnaye Namah! I worship Agni! May the Power of Agni continue to serve us as a source of constant inspiration and enlightenment!