AGNI THE MESSENGER

The Messenger God

I often wondered why Agni was the second most important deity, next only to Indra, to the vedic civilization (if importance is measured in terms of the number of hymns in the Rig Veda). After all, fire would have been common place at the time of the vedic people and therefore the mystique would not have been great enough to accord a Godhood to the fire element.

As I research, it has become apparent there are more than one reasons to explain the prominence of Agni.

One of them is the role that Agni played in the Vedic pantheon. To the Vedic people, Agni was their messenger to the Gods. It is Agni who bears to the Gods the prayers, praises and oblations of his worshippers and brings the Gods down to their sacrifices or their homes.

Hymn 2 of Mandala IV has a detailed account of how Agni was the messenger to the Gods for the Vedic people.

Rig Veda 4.002.01
THE, Faithful One, Immortal among mortals, a God among the Gods, appointed envoy,
Priest, best at worship, must shine forth in glory . Agni shall be raised high with man’s oblations.

Source The Vamadeva Danastutis

THE SACRED FIRE AND AGNI

Messages from Our Ancestors

The great spiritual teachings of the ancient world-deriving from an era before our consciousness became dominated by the rational mind-speak primarily in terms of symbols. Vedic sages articulated this approach stating that ‘the Gods love the mysterious and dislike the obvious’.[i] The wise often avoid stating anything directly because most people are unprepared to see the truth. The wise prefer to intimate the truth for real seekers whose minds are receptive, rather than trying to broadcast it to those who are not really interested.[ii] Their goal is to stimulate our own insight and experience, not merely to pass on a belief or idea as final.

Spiritual truth transcends mere words. Whatever is put into words immediately becomes profane, a commodity capable of manipulation and distortion. Truth is not the evident form, but the hidden fire. We cannot find truth in outer forms any more than we can see fire in wood that has not been enkindled.