After creating the heaven and the earth, the Abrahamic God says, “let there be light”, and so, in that moment, God was able to see what he had created. In the Lalita Sahasranama, after establishing Lalita Devi as creator, preserver, and destroyer, she is described as emerging from the fire pit of the consciousness.
In Vedic tradition, Ganapati, the god of obstacles, is worshipped before any other god. In Yoruba religion, the same is the case for Eshu, the trickster god who creates and removes obstacles. In Hellenism, Hestia plays a similar role, as the fire in the home, who is given an offering before anyone else, and plays the intermediary between the earthly and the divine realm.
Agni (the god of fire, ruler of Krittika) is the first god to be mentioned and celebrated in the Rig Veda. He is also called Purohita, which literally means “one who is placed in front”, but is also the term for a religious officiant, the priest who officiates ceremonies such a yajnas (sacrifices), marriage, etc. This is due to the fact that every single religious ceremony requires the presence of fire. Agni is the conveyer of the gods, bringing messages from the gods to the people, and bringing back from the people, the sacrifices to the Gods.
While Bharani is related to creation of what exists, with it’s symbol being the womb, Krittika relates to the entrance of a person into the world after it has been created. In this case, the fire that rules Krittika is what gives life to a human. It is the electricity that reanimated Frankenstein. It is the fire in the stomach, that helps you digest food and keeps you alive, sustain your existence in the world.
In a sense, fire represents the birth of civilization. It is the biggest key to the success of humanity, the first natural thing to be discovered, that made our lives easier. Opened us up to deeper realities, brought us light in darkness, and then, gave us the ability to eat better.
This is why, when you first enter into any kind of spirituality, the first thing you do is meditate on fire. The fire symbolizes burning up of whatever is not meant to be, burning up whatever you have achieved, that is not yours. When everything is burnt up, that is when you can have a true fresh start, when your rebirth from Bharani starts giving you insights. The purpose of fire is to destroy and consume whatever is not meant for you, giving it to the heavens. And then, through this destruction, it brings you life and knowledge.
Agni’s epithets, Vaiśvānara (all pervading), and Jātavedas (knower of beings, knower of family) relate to fire existing in every person and every being, and knowing the entirety of all of history. Jātavedas, in fact, is also an epithet of the Sun, the Vimshottari ruler of Krittika.
The knowledge contained in fire, which exists everywhere and sees everything represents the higher understanding of the collective consciousness. While the collective consciousness is generally associated with water, the difference is that the knowledge contained in fire is the most purified. Unlike in the knowledge of water, there is no pollution in the knowledge of fire. This relates to another name of Agni, which is Apām Napāt (child of the water). It relates to the lighting that is formed when it rains.
Krittika nakshatra is where you develop the ability of discernment, of channeling the lighting in the rain. It represents the first time one acts on their free will, where you understand that despite the rhythms of the Earth, you have agency. It is where you understand that you can affect and change the Earth, as much as the Earth changes and affects you.
Through the agency of Humanity, the Gods and Humans are then able to commune together. Without fire acting as a mediator for humans and gods, the Gods are simply unchanging forces of nature, moving in the exact same way. But, through the ingenuity and imagination of Humans, the Gods become more than just nature, they become ideals, and beings with personalities. They become a symbol that give meaning to humans, because humans give meaning to them. The creativity and forceful ambition of humanity is necessary for the Gods to survive.
Leave a Reply