Sanatan Dharm
- Ilakkiya Megam Srinivasan
It's Eve of Deepavali.
Very apt would it be to begin with 🙏 prayer to Agni Dev, the Fire 🔥 God.:
My Lord,
The Agni,
Minister of sacrifice - yajna, வேள்வி,
Thou grant all boons,
We the mortals crave for,
Salutation to Thee.
- Rig Veda.
What's there in the Macrocosm is very much there microcosm as well. The microcosm is the miniscule borderless world in itself. Needless to say, The Microcosm comprises the fire element too. Aeons before science found this advent - of fire being part of the cosmos -, our Rishis cognized and sang in praise of it.
All humanity has this fire in themselves right from the time the mother conceives. This fire 🔥 is the hunger. Pattinathar sings it, அன்னை இட்ட தீ அடி வயிற்றிலே. Yoga sastra calls it the fire spirit, மூலாதாரக் கனல்.
This fire is Dharmic one to enable one lead a life of good conduct, ensure one doesn't swerve from discipline and go astray. The words of one who adheres to the codes of Fire God are very powerful. Their words will turn real. Instances are aplenty both in epic era and contemporary lifetime. Ma Sita told Lord Hanuman, "My words will fire this borderless world" - Canto Sundara Kandam. Hanuman sent missiles of fire in the Kingdom of Ravana. Kannagi enflamed Mandurai when Pandya King swerved from path of justice.
Coming to contemporary time, Kaviarasar was producing a movie. Many busy actors were to be enrolled. In the hectic times of busy artistes, it was very difficult to get their call sheets all at once. Despite this constraint, Kaviarasar managed to get them and scheduled the shooting on a particular day in a studio. He had hired it already. To his shock and surprise, the studio was let out to yet another producer on the very day Kaviarasar's shooting was scheduled. Very aghast the poet cursed the studio, 'may your studio go to ashes' and returned home. No sooner did he reach home, he got a call. The message was that there was fire in the studio. The Telugu producer had planned a scene that day. In that scene, a lion had to spew Fire from its mouth. This misfired.
Repenting the Kaviarasar said, "I'm neither a Rishi nor a Jnani. Even then my words turned to reality."
According to Tiruvalluvar, if people suffer and shed tear, these would have the power of weapon to destroy the wealth of the ruler. It's the fire of the burning heart.
The fire is in and out.
The fire out is the light of the lamp 🪔.
It guards us in many, myriad ways - as yajna during marriages, temple rituals etc. In Sanatan Dharma, we hold Fire as witness - Agni sakshi.
The world hinges on Sun and Moon.
Ilangovadigal, the creator of Silappathikaram sings in praise of Sun ☀️ and 🌙, " ஞாயிறு போற்றுதும்! திங்கள் போற்றுதும்".
ஞாயிறு = Sun ☀️
திங்கள்= Moon 🌙.
Viswamitra offers a prayer,
ऊँ महाज्वालाय विद्महे अग्नि मध्याय धीमहि |
तन्नो: अग्नि प्रचोदयात् ||
Om, Let me meditate on the great flame, Oh, God of fire, grant me with higher intellect, Oh, let the radiant God of Fire illuminate my mind.
The raison d'etre why we keep Fire as witness in all our rituals are two-fold:
We will never deviate from the sankalp - vow we make;
And if we do the same fire will act against us.
Hence when we are good at heart, the actions outside too would be good and life would be successful. No ignorance, negativity, defeat.
We worship all these Fire Gods:
Dharmic
Fire of brlliance - good intellect
Fire of life
The aptitude - vairagya to hold on to fasting
The fire of anger
The fire to keep off hatred, violence.
We wrap with Rig Vedic 🙏 prayer:
Oh!
God of Fire,
Thou art valour,
A good friend.
And with Maha Kavi's song,
"தீயே நின்னைப் போல் எமது அறிவு சுடர் விடுக".
Oh Fire,
May our brilliance light like your brightness.
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