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basis of the identification of the individual self with the
universal. The power of ‘tapas’ (fervour/heat) in the
formation of the mind and the sense faculties in the
macrocosm before the creation even of the gods is vividly
depicted in AV XI,8:
3. Ten Gods before the Gods were born together in the
ancient time.
Whoso may know them face to face may now
pronounce the mighty word.
4. Inbreath and outbreath, eye and ear, decay and
freedom from decay,
Spiration upward and diffused, voice, mind have
brought us wish and plan.
5. As yet the Seasons were unborn, and Dhātar and
Prajāpati,
Both Asvins, Indra, Agni. Whom then did they
worship as supreme?
6. Fervour and Action were the two, in depths of the
great billowy sea;
Fervour sprang up from Action: this they served and
worshipped as supreme.
The descriptions of the Light of Brahman and the inner
fire of the tapasvin [practictioner of austerities] in the
yoga-based Upanishads provide further clues to the
1914.
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cosmic significance of the Vedic deities invoked during
the fire-rituals of the Indo-Āryans. We may, for instance,
recall the extraordinary description that is to be found in
the yoga-based Mandalabrāhmana Upanishad, I of the
different forms of primal light that the enlightened yogi is
able to perceive:
In order to cross the ocean of samsara … one should
adhere to the subtle path and overstepping tattva
and other gunas should look out for Taraka. Taraka
is Brahman which, being in the middle of the two
eyebrows, is of the nature of the spiritual effulgence
of Sachchidananda. The (spiritual) seeing through the
three lakshyas (or the three kinds of introvision) is the
means to It (Brahman). Sushumna which is from the
muladhara to brahmarandhra has the radiance of the
sun. In the centre of it is kundalini shining like crores
of lightning and subtle as the thread in the lotus-stalk.
Tamas is destroyed there … When the mind is fixed
on it, it sees a blue light between the eyes as also in
the heart. (This is antarlakshya or internal introvison).
In the bahirlakshya (or external introvision) one
sees in order before his nose at distance of 4, 6, 8, 10,
and 12 digits, the space of blue colour, then a colour
resembling syama (indigo-black) and then shining as
rakta (red) wave and then with the two pita (yellow
and orange red) colours. Then he is a yogin. When
one looks at the external space, moving the eyes and
sees streaks of light at the corners of his eyes, then
his vision can be made steady. When one sees jyotis
(spiritual light) above his head 12 digits in length, then
he attains the state of nectar. In the madhyalakshya
(or the middle one), one sees the variegated colours
of the morning As if the sun, the moon, and the fire
had joined together in the Ukas that is without them.
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Then he comes to have their nature (of light). Through
practice, he becomes one with akas, devoid of all
gunas and peculiarities. At first akas with its shining
stars becomes to him Para-akas as dark as tamas
itself, and he becomes one with Paraakas shining
with stars and deep as tamas. (Then) he becomes one
with Maha-akas resplendent (as) with the fire of the
deluge. Then he becomes one with Tattva-akas, lighted
with the brightness which is the highest and the best
of al . Then he becomes one with Surya-akas (sun-
akas) brightened by a crore of suns. By practicing
thus, he becomes one with them. He who knows them
becomes thus.
As regards the physiological constitution of the human
microcosm, the Yogatattva Upanishad, for instance,
specifies the parts of the human body governed by the
several cosmic deities:
83b: There are five elements: Prithvi, Apas, Agni, Vāyu,
and Ākāsha.
84-87a: To the body of the five elements, there is the
fivefold Dharana. From the feet to the knees is said to
be the region of Prithvi
87b. The region of Apas is said to extend from the
knees to the anus.
91. From the anus to the heart is said to be the region
of Agni.
94b: From the heart to the middle of the eyebrows is
said to be the region of Vāyu.
97-98. From the centre of the eyebrows to the top of
the head is said to be the region of Ākāsha.
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In the Brahma Upanishad, the macrocosmic Man,
or Purusha, itself is revealed to be entirely concentrated
within the human microcosm:
2: This being or Self is ful y self-extended (into world-
forms), he is the indwelling controller of things and
beings, he is the Bird, the Crab, the Lotus, he is the
Purusha, the Prana, the destroyer, the cause, and the
effect, the Brahman, the Atman, he is the Devata
making everything known.
3: Now this Purusha has four seats, the navel,
the heart, the throat, and the head. In these shines
forth the Brahman with four aspects: the state of
wakefulness, of dream, of dreamless sleep, and the
fourth or transcendent state.
––
21: The heart (i.e. the inner chamber of the heart)
resembles the calyx of a lotus, full of cavities and also
with its face turned downwards. Know that to be the
great habitat of the whole universe.
22: Know the wakeful state to have for its centre the
eyes; the dreaming state should be assigned to the
throat; the state of dreamless sleep is in the heart, and
the transcendent state is in the crown of the head.
The Katha Upanishad II,4,12, identifies the Purusha with
the Self in the following manner: ‘The person (Purusha),
of the size of a thumb, stands in the middle of the Self, as
lord of the past and the future, and henceforward fears no
more’. SB X,6,3,2 and understands the Purusha as the Self: 150
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this golden Purusha in the heart [is] even as a
smokeless light, it is greater than the sky, greater
than the ether, greater than the earth, greater than all
existing things;–that self of the spirit (breath) is my
self: on passing away from hence I shall obtain that
self.
The Garbha Upanishad outlines part of the yogic method
to be employed in the realisation of the individual self as
the Supreme Self or Purusha:
Through yoga, it should be brought from the middle
of the eyebrows to the end of sushumnā ( viz., the
pineal gland), when he becomes the cognizer of the
Real like the child in the womb. In the body of this
nature, Āṭmā is latent and deathless and is the witness
and Purusha. It lives in this body, bei
ng enveloped (by
māyā). Prānī (or the jīva having prāna) has abhimāna
(identification with the body) on account of avidyā.
Ajñāna [ignorance] which surrounds it is the seed;
the antahkarana (internal organ) is the sprout and the
body is the tree.
The jīva or personal ego is deluded by the il usory power
of māya into thinking that it is identical to the body and
it is this error that is sought to be corrected through yoga.
By contemplating the Yajna Purusha as the Supreme Soul,
Ātman, however, we may acquire the cosmic consciousness
of Brahman. The identification of the individual ātman
with Brahman is the same as the attainment of the abode
of the Purusha/Vishnu, which is informed by Brahman,
and hence equal to Brahmaloka, from which one is not
reborn. As Biardeau explains,
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il y a une hiérarchie de plans qui va des organes
sensoriels au Purusa suprême, nommé … Visnu …
L’atman est au-delà de l’ego limitateur et fait accéder
à un stade où le Réel est non manifesté, l’atman lui-
même se trouvant absorbé dans ce Réel informe
avant d’accéder au Purusa Visnu, en qui il trouve la
délivrance finale.317
***
The esoteric significance of the various components of the
Vedic fire-rituals is explained in detail in the Upanishads.
The ‘Vaishvānara Vidya (knowledge of the soul of the
universe)’ at the conclusion of Ch.V of the Chāndogya
Upanishad points to the different forms of the divine Soul in the individual body as well as in the All (Vaishvānara).
Of particular interest is the association of the heart, mind
and mouth with the three sacrificial fires of the Āryans:
Of that Vai s vânara Self the head is Sute g as (having good light),318 the eye Vi s varûpa (multiform),319 the
breath Prithagvartman (having various courses),320 the
trunk Bahula (full),321 the bladder Rayi (wealth),322 the
feet the earth,323 the chest the altar, the hairs the grass
on the altar, the heart the Gârhapatya fire, the mind
the Anvâhârya fire, the mouth the havanîya fire.
317 See M. Biardeau, op.cit., p.75.
318 i.e. Heaven (V,12,1).
319 i.e. the sun (V,13,1).
320 i.e. air (V,14,1).
321 i.e. ether (V,15,1).
322 i.e. water (V,16,1).
323 Prathishta (V,17,1)
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The Vaishvānara, however, is the same as the Purusha
within the human soul “as a span long and as identical
with [oneself]” (V,18,1).
Indeed, the Vedic texts reveal a more than scientific
understanding both of the several forms of heat that
pervade the human microcosm and of the different parts
of the flames of external fire. The metaphysical significance
of the fire-rituals is detailed in the Panchāgni Vidya of
the Chāndogya Upanishad,
V,4ff, which identifies
the five spiritual fires within the macrocosm (heaven,
the atmosphere, and earth) and the macrocosm (man
and woman). Such an understanding is clearly due to the
supernatural yogic discipline that informed the original
religion of the brāhmans and identifies them not just as
wise men but indeed as “magicians”. This is, of course,
the reason why the term “magi” used for their Iranian
counterparts has long been equated with “magicians”.
The Prānāgnihotra Upanishad similarly mentions five
fires, four of which are within the human body:
19.The fire of the sun in the form of the solar disk
whence millions of rays are diffused is found in the
head corresponding to the Ekarshi fire.
The fire of vision is found … in the mouth
corresponding to the Ahavaniya fire.
The gastric fire which supports the digestive function
is found … in the heart, corresponding to the
Dakshinagni.
Then there is the intestinal fire which cooks that
which has been eaten, drunk, licked and masticated
and is found towards the navel, corresponding to the
Garhapatya fire.
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20. Final y, there is the expiatory fire which is found
under [the navel] and shares with it the three principal
nadis (ida, pingala, and sushumna) as its common
spouses and activates the process of procreation by
means of the lunar light which circulates through
them.
The Panchāgni-vidya includes not only knowledge of
the fires within the body but also that of the different
intensities within the flames of fire. According to
the Mundaka Upanishad (I,2,4), Agni contains seven
flames, Kâlî (black), Karâlî (terrific), Manogavâ (swift as
thought), Sulohitâ (crimson), Sudhûmravarnâ (purple),
Sphulinginî (sparkling), and brilliant Visvarûpî (having
all forms), which, like the sun-rays bear the sacrificer to
the world of the gods. Agni is thus the vital link between
Heaven and Earth. Within the body itself the ancients
identify the following fires:
Durgarshatā = bodily strength
Jyoti = aura
Tāpa = body temperature
Pāka = digestive fire
Prakāsh = wisdom
Shauch = fire that destroys bodily dirt
Rāg = fire that possesses magnetic attraction
Laghu =fire that makes the body light
Taishnya = fire that raises the mental powers
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Urdhwagaman = fire that joins the mental powers to
the divine powers (demigods)
As Shriram Sharma points out,324 these ten qualities and
functions of fire are related to the five prānas and five sub-
prānas of the body.
The Garbha Upanishad mentions three forms of
fire within the human body, koshta agni, darshana
agni, and gnāna agni, relating to digestion, sight, and
knowledge. These are located in the stomach, face, and
heart respectively and correspond to the three fires,
gārhaptniyāgni, āhavaniyāgni and dakshināgni, in the
fire-ritual:
And of how many kinds is that agni? It has three
bodies, three retas (seeds or progeny), three puras
(cities), three dhātus, and three kinds of agni threefold.
Of these three, Vaiśvānara is bodiless. And that agni
becomes (or is subdivided into) Jñānāgni (wisdom-fire),
Darśanāgni (eye-fire), and Koshthāgni (digestive fire). Of
these Jñānāgni pertains to the mind; Darśanāgni pertains
to the senses; and Koshthāgni pertains to dahara and
daily cooks (or digests) equal y whatever is eaten, drunk,
licked, or sucked through prāna and apāna. Darśanāgni
is (in) the eye itself and is the cause of vijñāna and
enables one to see all objects of form. It has three seats,
the (spiritual) eye itself being the (primary) seat, and the
eyebal s being the accessory seats.
This Upanishad also describes in great detail
the internal heat within the human body in terms of an
internal fire-ritual:
Dakshināgni is in the heart, Gārhapaṭya is in the bel y,
and in the face is Āhavanīya. (In this sacrifice with
the three agnis), the Purusha is himself the sacrificer;
324 S. Sharma, op.cit., Ch.9 .
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buddhi becomes his wife; santosha (contentment)
becomes the dīkshā (vow) taken; the mind and the
organs of the senses become the sacrificial vessels;
the karmendriyas (organs of action) are the sacrificial
instruments. In this sacrifice of the body, the several
devas who become the rtvijas (sacrificial priests)
perform their parts following the master of the
sacrifice, ( viz., the true individuality), wherever he
goes. In this (sacrifice), the body is the sacrificial
place, the skull of the head is the fire-pit, the hairs
are the kuśa grass; the mouth is the antarvedi (raised
platform in sacrifice); kāma (or passion) is the clarified
butter; the period of life is the period of sacrifice; nāda
(sound) produced in dahara (heart) is the sāmaveda
(recited during the sacrifice); vaikharī is the yajus (or
yajurveḍa hymns); parā, paśyanti, and madhyamā are
the rks (or rgveḍa hymns); cruel words are the atharvas
(atharvaveda hymns) and khilas (supplementary
texts of each veḍa); true words are the vyāhrtis. Life,
strength, and bile are the paśus (sacrificial creatures)
and death is avabhrta (the bath which concludes the
sacrifice). In this sacrifice, the (three) fires blaze up
and then according to (the desires of) the worldly the
devas bless him.
We see therefore that the fire rituals of the Āryans
involve magical evocations of the macrocosmic fire
through manipulation of the fire within the ritual-altar
(represented by the three sacred fires) and that within
the human microcosm. These rituals serve to sustain the
entire cosmos as well as the sacrificer, who, guided by the
brahman priest, becomes identified with the solar force,
Brahman.
***
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We may briefly compare here the Zoroastrian
understanding of and reverence for the sacred fire, Atar,
which is symbolic of Ahura Mazda himself and of the
Truth. The Greater Bundahishn, a describes the process whereby Ahura Mazda manifests himself material y. First,
he draws forth, from his own Endless Light, Fire, and
then Ether (the Sky) out of Fire, Water out of Ether, and