Agni is symbolic of living a life of service and sacrifice. When you start working for a higher cause above yourself, you come to a point where you cease to exist, and only the cause exists. Sage Vyasa imbued a new meaning to yajna, which is to convert every action into worship.
There is a symbolic comparison of the ritualistic yajna’s basic elements. Firstly, the khund where you perform the ritual is the field of activity you are involved in. It could be your profession, family or any activity. In any field of activity, you are not a loner. There are various members on the team, and each brings their talent to enhance the organisation’s growth. It is the primary responsibility of the leader to instill the spirit of service and sacrifice. This is symbolised by an individual who comes to the yajna carrying grains with him and is offered in the fire worship. It is compared to the burning of the impurities or vasanas, ego, and selfishness. As the grains and wood get consumed, the fire keeps shooting up. The shooting up of flames symbolises the growth of the organisation. The cause you are working for grows and everybody gets blessed by the growth of the organisation. Eg: When the country prospers, every citizen of the country benefits from the growth of the country.
When we rub two pieces of wood, the fire comes from the wood. Fire is inherent in the wood. What gets consumed is the very wood itself. Fire and fuel are both in the wood. Similarly, the Spirit and matter are there within us. We are the wooden piece. If I have to invoke the Spirit in me, I should destroy the matter, and Agni is the means. There is no other way of igniting the Spirit within me. The flame gets ignited only when the wood gets burnt. Similarly, the only way I can ignite the Brahman, Spirit in me is by performing yajna, living a life of service and sacrifice. It is the spirit of yajna that converts the action into worship. You start stagnating and devolving when the Agni, yajna, is not there in your action.
Brahman is worshipped by awakened men through dhyana meditation by the symbol OM, and Brahman is worshipped by a householder through Agni. The majority of the people are householders and can practise yajna, which is all-inclusive. Spirituality is far more inclusive than exclusive. One who does this lives a life of karma yoga. Your growth is dependent on the atonement to the spirit of yagna.
And that, from which the sun rises and into which it sets, all the Gods depend on that, and none goes beyond. This is verily that.
Sun is referred to as knowledge. When the Sun rises, there is no darkness. Symbolically, it is from where the very knowledge of all knowing has begun. Knowledge dispels ignorance like the light dispels darkness. It is the light of light. It is from which Sun comes. It refers to the transient nature of life. All scientists declare that whatever you experience, the Sun, stars, galaxies, all started with the big bang theory, and all these will come to an end someday, which we call as Prabhava and pralaya. When the dissolution of the world happens, even the mighty sun and galaxies will have to come to an end. Therefore, the Lord says, ‘from which all arises, its sets’. That is the permanent, and everything is impermanent. Lord further says, ‘all the Gods depend on that’. Gods refer to the five sense organs, and deities of the five sense organs depend on pure consciousness.
The five sense organs are presided over by the Pancha bhootas. The ear is presided over by akasha space, the eye is presided by Agni fire, smell is presided over by Vayu air, taste is presided by apaha water, and touch is presided over by Prithvi earth. You cannot go beyond that which enlivens. None of the senses or Gods can take over the God which enlivens it or presides over them.
Shastras or Upanishads glorify the Self, pitching it as the highest pursuit of life. If I can remember that the Self is the essential thing in life, and seek it in whatever I am doing is to reach the Self. This is the highest pursuit of life. Brahman alone is the reality. Shastras not only give the goal, but prescribes the path as well.
What is indeed here the same is there, and what is there the same is here. He who beholds here the difference proceeds from death to death.
‘There’ refers to transcendental, and ‘here’ refers to terrestrial. So, what is ‘there’ is very much ‘here’. ‘That’ is Brahman and ‘this’ is the world. The world is Brahman, and Brahman is the world.
When one perceives the difference between Brahman and the world, he proceeds from death to death. If you do not see Brahman and the world as one, but see the difference, then you will be born again and again, confined to the cycle of birth and death. You remain a mortal. You will not reach the immortal state of Brahman.
Example:
He who sees the waves is the ocean, and the ocean is the waves.
He who understands mirage is the desert and dessert is the mirage.
He who understands the snake as the rope and rope as the snake.
He who understands all the ornaments is the gold.
He does not see the difference. He who beholds the difference in the delusory world of nama, Roopa, does not understand the substratum, reality.
If there is no truth, there is no world. If there is no dessert, there is no mirage. If there is no rope, there is no snake. If there are no oceans, there are no waves. If there is no Brahman, there is no world. If you see a difference, you are born from death to death.
At relative point of view, death to death means constant suffering in life. You see the difference and not the oneness. If I don’t identify with you, there are differences. If I don’t see your joy/problems as my joy/problems, it creates differences, and we are subjected to sorrow, suffering, and conflict. At the absolute level, you will be liberated from the cycle of birth and death.
This (Brahman) can be attained through the mind alone; then there is no difference here at all. He who sees the difference here goes from death to death.
The quintessential message is the path to Brahman. Mind alone is the vehicle to self-realisation. Mana̍saiveda̍m āpta̱vya̱ṁ means ‘Brahman can be attained through the mind alone.’
Man – Mind = God
The implication is that Brahman can be attained only through the total annihilation of the mind. Temporary annihilation is in deep sleep, bliss-sheath Ananda maya kosha. It is covering the Atman. It is the temporary and permanent annihilation of the mind that gives you the bliss of Brahman. In temporary annihilation, the thoughts have gone to seed form. The seed of thought is vasanas. In deep sleep, vasanas are in a latent stage. In the permanent state of Brahman, vasanas are annihilated.
The Lord tells a process by which you can train, control, regulate, and minimise the mind activities to a point of zero. When you come to a point where the mind loses itself to nothingness, it cognises the Self. It is amaneebhava – mindlessness. Emptiness is completeness. The moment your mind feels empty, it’s when you feel the completeness, poornam. Once you experience that completeness, cognises the Self, then there is no difference here. A difference arises when you have no control of your mind. It’s all your imagination in your mind. An uncontrolled, indisciplined, immature mind sees the difference. A controlled, matured, disciplined mind sees the oneness. It’s all a play of your mind. The world is a projection of your own mind. If you change the characteristics of your mind, you have changed your perception of the world.
You can bring down the entire spiritual sadhana to mind control. Ask yourself if your mind is under your control. You must get over the natural tossing of the mind.
Hanumanji is a monkey, but worshipped as God. He attained a state where he went against the nature of the mind. Monkey mind is constantly tossing, rambling, doubtful, emotional, and imbalanced. It is Asthira and Chanchala. Hanumanji conquered the very nature of the mind, as his mind got transfixed on Rama. He did not think of anything other than Lord Rama. When you look up to Hanumanji, he had complete mastery over the mind. He lost his monkey nature, and so you bow down to Hanumanji.
