Fire attributes to many understandings of human knowledge and wisdom, which is the reason the Yajna is still popular in Hindu religious and spiritual practices. This attribute of fire has deeper and more meaning to it. It is that first it burns its fuel and then burns itself. As soon as the fuel turns into ashes the fire is extinguished. This is deeply representative of knowledge, which first burns the gross of ignorance and then burns itself. It means to say that after our ignorance is dispelled, the ego, the knower himself disappears. The Upanishad says, “While the ignorant wander in darkness the knowledgeable wander in blinding darkness.” For sure this has been said to ridicule the pundits and scholars who subsist on borrowed knowledge. One who attains to true knowledge, what is called wisdom, disappears as an ego, and so there is no way for him to wander in darkness. True knowledge first destroys ignorance and then it destroys the knower too, who ceases to be an ego, an entity. It is like fire that after burning the fuel extinguishes itself. So those who came to know the truth realized that knowledge is like fire. It burns ignorance like fuel, and then burns the knower as an ego, who disappears into emptiness. Therefore, he alone can embark on a journey to knowledge, who is prepared to become an utter emptiness, nothingness.
There is yet another attribute of fire which is still more relevant to the knowledge of truth. As the fire’s flames rises upward it is visible only to an extent and then disappears into vast space- it becomes invisible. The same is the case with the knowledge of truth. It is related with the knower only to a small extent and then it disappears into that which is unknowable. The visible part of reality is very tiny in comparison with its invisible part which is immense and infinite. For all these reasons fire became a very useful and powerful symbol of knowledge and Krishna ushered in Jnana- Yajna. Worship of knowledge is like worship of fire.
We shall see more about Japa- ritual chanting in the coming week.
Wishing you good health & happiness,
Dr. Dwarakanath, Director, Mitran Foundation- the stress management people
No comments:
Post a Comment