Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A Yogi's Autobiography

by Sri. M

In ancient times, there were no matchboxes. To produce fire, one went through the elaborate ritual of rubbing dry sticks together with invocations to the fire god. When the spark appeared, it was indeed a miracle. Where was this fire before it manifested, asked the ancient thinkers. Surely, it was hidden in the wood always and needed the right conditions to manifest. So, fire became a symbol of the spirit, all pervading, yet manifesting only under certain conditions. ‘Another reason fire was used as a symbol of the spirit, is that fire always burns upwards. Try holding the firewood downwards, the flames always move upwards. Also, just one spark is enough to set a whole forest on fire. You can light a thousand candles from one flame with no loss to the original mother flame. What better symbol of the spirit? ‘When it turns destroyer, it burns everything to ashes, reduces everything to dust. The sacred fire of love and compassion burns all self-centredness to ashes. The ascetics apply ashes on their bodies, to show how they are free of limitations. ‘It is not only the visible fire which is called Agni. All forms of combustion are Agni. Even the catabolic and anabolic processes that sustain the human body are called the digestive fires; as also, the fire of desire, higher or lower.