Agni and the First Hymn of Rik Veda

Agni and the First Hymn of Rik Veda

(All Sanskrit words which are written in italics fonts are available in the Sanskrit English Lexicon by Sir Monier Williams. These are the ‘ITRANS’ version of ‘DEVANAGARI UNICODE’----- http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni- koeln.de/monier/ )

(Written by following the teaching of the Seers Shri. BijoyKrishna Chattopadhyaya {1875-1945} and his principal disciple Shri. Tridibnath Bandyopadhyaya {1923-1994}. --debkumar.lahiri@gmail.com)
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Rik veda means vedana or the streams of consciousness from the Universal Consciousness called Rik. Ri means to move ; Rik means moving toward 'ka' . ' ka' is the first consonant. Consonants are also known as vya~njana (coloured, manifesting) varNa (alphabet). So, Rik veda means that aspect of Universal Consciousness from whom the perceptible, coloured, dimensional universe is manifesting. So, the Universal Consciousness is addressed as agni, the lord of fire in the first and subsequent hymns of Rik Veda. agni is the self-manifesting, self-illuminated Universal Consciousness by whom everything is manifested.

Hymn

“agnim Ile purohitam, yaj~nasya devam Ritvijam, hotaaram ratnadhaatamam.”

Overall meaning

Let agni flow in us, (who is) the god (revealer / who brings everything into expression) of yaj~na (event, activities), the Ritvik (implementer), the hotaa (the host; one who summons or invites everyone and runs the event), the (ratna+dhaatRi) holder of the gem.

Word by word meaning; significance of the words and brief narration.

agni ----god of fire. agni----ag (front) + ni (lead)----who leads being in the front.
agnim is the accusative case of agni. The root word ‘nI’ means ‘to lead. The word ‘agra’ means ‘foremost’ or ‘front’.

agni is the self-revealing active Universal Consciousness, who is before every manifestation and whose manifestation is the entire universe. agni is also called praaNa or praaNa-agni.

Ile (pronounced as 'eele') means ‘let flow’.

Ile (eele) is from the word ' Il ' (eel) meaning 'to flow'. This root word ' Il' (eel) is also is the base of the word 'Electricity'.

This flow, described by the word ‘Il’ implies the ‘flow that takes along everything in oneness’. As the electricity flows through a conductor, the material is polarized in opposite charges and an associated magnetic field or domain of electricity is created and we say that the conductor is electrified; similarly as ‘agni’ the ‘eternal praaNa’ or ‘eternal consciousness flows in us we are blazed or illuminated in Consciousness. This flow is happening whenever we sense anything.

As a vision comes in me, it is agni the Consciousness in the form of that visionary sense flows in me. The Consciousness takes the form of ‘vision’ or what is seen.

In Consciousness, the vision, the center of visionary function (eye) and the beholder, all are created instantaneously. Our vision is a part of this entire process. Thus, in every sense or perception, agni takes us in Him (in agni) and flows. This is ‘Il’ (eel). Knowing agni like this, the seers have also addressed agni as ‘agnim Ile’!

Notes

As we live by eating food, assimilating and getting calories, conversely as the Consciousness or agni flows (or knows) in us, He burns us. Anything in fire becomes fire. This is ‘Il’ ---- flowing of senses, flowing of Consciousness and taking us in that.

The seers have mentioned about two naaDI or two streams of Consciousness------ IDaa and pi~Ngalaa. The stream in which we are assimilated in agni or Consciousness is IDaa. It is like going back to our source or core along with a feeling or an action. agni takes us along with Him during the course of every event and that event becomes past.

pi~Ngalaa is where we are scattered in the Consciousness, where we are coloured with feelings and senses as we go through an event or as we feel or sense.

purohitam is the accusative case of purohita.

purohita----puro (in front) + hita ( situated, placed)---who always
remains ahead of everyone, who is the frontier.

purohita---- pura (body, abode) + hita (placed inside or resides inside)---who is inside us; hita also means 'welfare or good'; so purohita also means who is inside us for our good and welfare.

praaNa or fire is inside our body and is burning as life. praaNa is purohita. 

praaNa is in us in five forms called praaNa, vyaana, apaana, samaana, udaana. These five forms are also called pa~ncaagni = pa~nca (five) + agni.

One aspect of agni is anva-aahaarya- pacana-agni----the fire or agni by which assimilation happens. (Chandogya Upanishad—4/12/1)

anva---anu+ a—following; aahaarya— foods; pacana---digestion;

anva-aahaarya-pacana-agni is agni whom foods / senses and the assimilation follow.

purohita ---pu (repeatedly) + rohita (red)---who reddens every now and then.'

Red in Sanskrit is 'rohita' and originates from the root word 'ruh' which means to grow, to sprout, to ride.

Thus, Consciousness reddens before creation. This is stated as "yad agne rohitam rupam tejastad rupam"....the red hue of 'agni' is that of his 'teja' or vibration / energy. (Chandogya Upanishad---6/4/1)

teja means tad(that—Consciousness) + aejati (vibrating); the vibrant aspect Consciousness as the source of any event or creation. Vibration means, ‘though moving, still the movement is contained within the soul or self; the motion that does not throw the moving away from the source of motion.

yaj~na…to control by knowing or the control by the Consciousness. yaj~nasya is the genitive case of the word yaj~na.

‘ya’ means to control. ‘ya’ is a semi vowel corresponding to the vowel ‘e’ (meaning 'to move') and E (meaning 'energy or shakti'); energy in consciousness is the 'act of knowing'.

Thus, the word yaj~na implies that in any event, the Consciousness remains within and by the act of ‘knowing’, controls the event. (More precisely, everything remains within the Consciousness.)

Thus, any activity, any action anywhere is yaj~na'. The 'Universal Consciousness knows Him /Her as that activity or as that event and that’s how an event is created, gets into action and ends. In Consciousness, 'to know' means 'to become'.

As each of us is a form of Universal Consciousness so every action in us and by us is the part of the action or knowing by Universal Consciousness and is ‘yaj~na’.

Thus, everything and every event is ‘yaj~na.

(It is interesting to note the following.The word ‘havana’ also means ‘yaj~na’ or the action of Consciousness which creates the ‘events’. The word ‘happen’ in English has some resemblance with ‘havana' and so also the Bengali word ‘haowaa’ meaning ‘to happen’. Also, the word ‘have’ in English is a sort of auxiliary verb related to ‘activity’ or ‘action'.)

devam> accusative case of the word ‘deva’. The word deva means someone who is self- revealing or radiating, self -expressing. Our nature is to receive and live on that. This is characterized by planets and the characters of the creatures who are dwelling in the planet. Thus, planets are called 'graha' and the word also means 'act of receiving or obtaining'. The planets (graha) receive light and motion from the sun. Light is the revelation, creation and motion is the flow of life. In the earth, the environment is already created for us to live and we get all the living from the mother earth. In deva loka (divinity), the act of living happens by revealing or expressing everything from the self or soul. Each aspect of Universal Consciousness is represented by such a revealing personality called 'deva' or a deity. The water, air, sky, earth etc. everything in divinity is an eternal personality of the Universal Consciousness, each representing a particular aspect or form of the Universal Consciousness. agni, the Universal Consciousness, from whom everyone is created or revealed, has been addressed as 'devam'.

Ritvijam is the accusative case of the word ‘Ritvik’.

Ritvik means who makes everything 'realized". Rita means ' flow' or who flows or comes out to become 'satya' or realized. Thus, the words 'Rita' and 'satya' are paired words. Rita is like the 'negative' of a photo film; satya is like the picture developed from the negative film.

So, Ritvik means the implementer. The Consciousness brings out each and every event, each and every moment from Him /Her as Ritvik. He /She gives it a realization and thus everything is materialized and materializing.

hotaa means who is calling or the caller of an event.
hotaaram is the accusative case of the word hotaa.

hotaa is from the root word 'hu'. The word 'hu' means 'to sacrifice', 'to oblate' etc. 'hu' also means 'to call to the self or to the soul'. Thus, one form of 'agni' is called 'aahavanIya'. 

'ahavanIya' is from the word ‘aahava’ or 'aa +hu. ‘aa’ means to call to merge in aatman or Oneness and hu means to sacrifice (which means to ‘happen’ or ‘become the same’ with aatman or the soul).

The Universal Consciousness is always calling us to integrate in Her/Him, in Oneness. So, this is 'hotaa' the 'caller'.

Thus 'hu' means to summon everyone in the soul.

Every action is originating from agni and ending in agni. As the action or an event originates and progresses, at the same time it regresses or simultaneously returns to the source. Thus, everyone and every event has a beginning and ending. So, we say that everything is from the past and everything goes back to the past. This is how everything happens or is done. The English word 'do' is probably the word 'hu'. ' havana ' is 'hu +ana', i.e. hu in animation or hu in action.

ratnadhaatamam--- ratna (gem or treasure) + dha( to hold).

ratnadhaa means the one who is holding the treasure or a gem.

ratnadhaatamam is the accusative case of ratnadhaataa.

This entire creation is the treasure of the Universal Consciousness and She/ He is holding the universe. Everyone is held and placed in one's respective orbit.

The word 'rata' means 'the act of remaining in a certain state'. Each such state or stationary status is a creation of the Consciousness and is a 'ratna' or a gem. Each such gem has specific lusters of the Consciousness or of the self- revealing 'agni'.

Universal Consciousness is One and Only one and everyone is from this Universal One and made of this Universal One.

When this Oneness is revealed to an individual, he or she finds this Oneness as his or her root. This is called aNu (micro/atomic) aatman (soul) or pratyak (pointer / inward) aatman. When he or she realizes that this ‘One’ in him or her, is the ‘One’ everywhere then such 'One' is the 'Universal One /Universal Soul' or ‘paramaatman’. Thus, every micro soul is held by the Universal soul. This is the meaning of holding the ‘gem. In each individual, this soul or micro- soul is behind the sense or the assertion ‘I am’ (aham). It is called ‘savyam’ or ‘assertion less self’ in Sanskrit.
I die, I sleep; but ‘savayam’ neither dies nor sleeps. ‘savayam’ is immortal, immutable.

A few significant Vedic words related to agni.

vahni---- agni is also called vahni. vahni means the one who carries. The verb form is vahana which means the act of carrying and also ‘vehicle’. The words are sometimes formed by retroversion and alphabets are rearranged. Like vahana and havana. All sorts of communications and transports are controlled by agni and are within the domain of agni.

agni is also the carrier or the vehicle of all the deities. Thus in 'havana' when the gods or the deities are invoked, they are carried and led by 'agni' to the invoker. Whatever forms of communication exist, whatever ways of transport exist, be the wireless communication, be the verbal communication, be the communication in nerves and cells, be the transport by fuel propulsion or whatever, are within the domain of 'agni'.

Rik--- Ri means to flow; k or ka is the first consonant of Sanskrit alphabets. The expressed universe, the dimensions, anything that has a name, that has a definition or a dimension, are the expressed words or the words spoken by the Universal Consciousness. Words are the defined expressions. Thus, Rik means that aspect of the Universal Consciousness from whom everyone is expressed in a defined manner.It is the eye of the Universal Consciousness from where the defined, perceptible Universe is emerging.

Rik, archi, arka------The expansion of the word Ri is 'ar'. So, when Rik is expanded it becomes 'arka'. arka also means the sun or a flashing light or an arc of electricity. Thus, arka is the self- illuminated Consciousness behind every expression of Rik.

The root word kRi meaning to do or perform and is also related to the English word ‘create’. kRi is ‘arka’ in reverse way. kRi if expanded becomes ‘kar’ or ‘kara' which ‘means ‘hand’ or the ‘doer. ‘kara’ also means the rays. If you see your activities in your Consciousness, inside you, rested in your soul or Consciousness, then they become ‘arka’. Any work or an activity is the formation or dimension by the rays of Consciousness. (Work and arka sound somewhat similar.) The physicality or the physical plane (which is actually the physicality of Consciousness or His/ Her physical form) is the dimensional form of the Consciousness. The dimensions, shapes, colours etc. are made by Consciousness out of Consciousness. These are the rays of the Sun or the Soul. Consciousness becomes everything by knowing HIM/ HER as that thing. Thus, this Universe is the knowledge of the Consciousness and we are tiny and micro forms of the Universal consciousness.

The word archi, means rays or self - illuminating rays and is from the word Rich which means verses of Rik veda. The word archna means psalm or hymn and more correctly ‘the self-praising or self-narrating hymns’. Thus archi, the rays, are from archana.

The English word ‘arc’ is related to the word arka and also means the bending or curved motion of the Universal Consciousness. The revelation, vision or the light of Consciousness (or Conscious light) bends to create. Thus, it has been mentioned in Upanishad that the deities or the devas (who are revealing,shining personalities of the Universal Consciousness) always love the indirect dealings and they hate the direct dealings. The words parokSha (parah > para = indirect or different; akSha=eye; akSha=axis) and pratyakSha (prati =direct + akSha = eye / vision or axis) are mentioned with regard to the deities in Upanishad / Veda. As deities are
behind the creation of the universe or behind all revelations, so (in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad) it is said that they like the indirect look or the indirect deals. If the deal is direct, the creation will not be stable; it will merge in the Creator or the Universal Soul.

In Chandogya Upanishad it is said that the divinity is the bent stem or bent line of genealogy of ‘aaditya’ the centre of ‘Oneness’ who is radiating into many. (Chandogya, 3/1/1.)

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Other articles:

The five vital airs, the five aspects of praaNa <https://www.scribd.com/document/310401 05/Five-Vital-Air-Five-Aspects-of- Praana>

Agni-Self-revealing-Universal- Consciousness <https://www.scribd.com/do cument/16364338/Agni-Self-revealing- Universal-Consciousness>