AGNI YOGA

1. By holiness in life, guard the precious Gem of gems.

Aum Tat Sat Aum!

I am thou, thou art I! – Parts of the Divine Self.

Life thunders – be watchful. 

Danger! The soul hearkens to its warning!

The world is in turmoil – strive for salvation.

Life nourishes the soul.

Strive for the life glorified,

          And for the realisation of purity.

Put aside all prejudices – think freely.

Be not downcast but full of hope.

Flee not from life, but walk the path of salvation.  

 

One Temple for all – for all, One God.

Manifold worlds dwell in the Abode of the Almighty,

And the Holy Spirit soars throughout.

The Renovation of the World will come –

          The prophecies will be fulfilled.

People will arise and build a New Temple.

from the Agni Yoga teachings Book 1 LEAVES of MORYA'S GARDEN  "The Call" 1924  

by kind permission of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York.

Agni is the ancient god of Fire, as mentioned in the Indian RigVedas. Unlike previous yogas, Agni Yoga is not a path of physical disciplines, meditation or asceticism - but rather of practice in daily life. This Yoga of Fire aligns itself with fiery energy, with consciousness and with responsible directed thought. This fire was called Agni, meaning the inner guide (agra-ni). Nicholas Roerich dedicated his life to Beauty which is a kind of Fire attracting us towards the Cosmic Magnet - the Cosmic Heart. Helena Roerich, wife of Nicholas Roerich, brought through the Agni Yoga teachings from what is believed to be the Mahatma M (or Master Morya the Dhyani Chohan of the First Ray) or else another Master from His ashram. For many years there were twelve volumes which are intended to be read in the order in which they were dictated to Madame Roerich. This order can be seen to follow that of the Zodiac. However, more recently, many years after her passing, there has arisen a few more volumes titled Supermundane (Volumes 1, 2, 3, & 4 ). Agni Yoga is a synthesis of ancient Eastern wisdom whilst also embracing modern Western thought and developments in science. It is written that the Roerich's met their Master in London between 1918-1920 whilst Nicholas Roerich began to receive thought transmissions from M.M. in the March of 1920 and this work was then carried on by Madame Roerich resulting in the first of the Agni Yoga books (LEAVES of MORYA'S GARDEN), which was originally published in 1924. There are more teachings held at the Roerich Museum New York with whom the decision to publish resides.  The Agni Yoga Society, founded by Nicholas and Helena Roerich in 1920, is also found at this same Museum and whilst it doesn't hold any formal kind of organised studies or courses, it does encourage correspondence regarding the subject of Agni Yoga.

Thou, oh Agni, shining forth throughout the days, from the waters, from the stones, from the forests and from the herbs, thou as the ruler of all human souls, are ever born pure.

                            Rishi Gritsamada RV II.1.1

from the painting Agni Yoga by Nicholas Roerich

By kind permission of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York.

 

Agni Yoga, or the yoga of fire, is an all-embracing yoga that prepares the personality for the expression of the divine fire which is the spiritual essence of Man. In writing about Agni, Roerich says: 

"In the cults of Zoroaster there is represented the chalice with a flame. The same flaming chalice is engraved upon the ancient Hebrew shekels of the time of Solomon and of an even remoter antiquity, in the Hindu excavations of the periods of Chandragupta Maurya, we observe the same powerfully stylised image; the Bodhisattvas are holding the chalice blossoming with tongues of flame. One may also remember the Druid Chalice of Life. A flame, too, was the Holy Grail. Not in imagination; verily by deeds are being interwoven the great teachings of all ages, the language of pure Fire!"

The Mahatma Morya was behind the teachings brought through by Madame Helena Blavatsky another Russian (alongside the Comte de St Germane [7th Ray], in the early days, and the Master Khoot Hoomi Lal Singh [2nd Ray] who was the Sage of Samos, Pythagoras, in a previous incarnation). These teachings became known as Theosophy (central to The Theosophical Society) and they concern themselves with those of the Trans-Himalayan occult brotherhood. This was otherwise known as the White Lodge or the Great White Brotherhood and is associated with Shambhala and the School of the Seven rays. In this School it is considered that, as the Great White Light can be broken up into the Seven colours of the Rainbow, so, too, there are Seven major paths to the Great White Light; that is to say that the White Light manifests in Seven different forms. As mentioned above, the Mahatma Morya is the Head of the First Ray. Another manifestation of the Second Ray Path was brought through by yet another woman: Alice Bailey who was the recipient of telepathic transmissions from the Tibetan Master Djwal Khul and founded the Lucis Trust which continues to assist those following the 2nd Ray. D.K., as he is called, is a Master specialising in the science of the Rays and even the Masters will consult with him upon the finer details of the subject.  

All preceding Yogas, given from the highest Sources, took as their basis a definite quality of life. And now, at the advent of the age of Maitreya there is needed a Yoga comprising the essence of the entire life, all-embracing, evading nought, . . .  You may suggest to Me a name for the Yoga of life. But the most precise name will be Agni Yoga. It is precisely the element of Fire which gives to this Yoga of self-sacrifice its name. ... Fire, as an all-binding element, manifests itself everywhere and thereby admits realisation of the subtlest energies. The fire will not lead away from life; it will act as a trustworthy guide into the far-off worlds.  (Agni Yoga, 158)

"May we abide in the favour of the universal Fire, for he is the ruler resplendent over all the worlds. Manifesting from us he perceives the entire universe. The universal Fire spreads himself through the Sun.

Present in Heaven, Agni is present on Earth. Present here he has entered into all the plants. The universal Fire by his sudden power is present everywhere. May he protect us by day and by night."

Rishi Kutsa, RV I.98.1-2

Flowers of Timur by Nicholas Roerich

courtesy of The Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York

 

Agni Yoga concerns itself with fire - actually with the Spiritual Fire of the Heart. This is also the Creative Fire of Spirit. The First Ray is the Ray of Action and hence another term for Agni Yoga is that of Living Ethics. We utilise our Will in all Action and so, too, this First Ray is associated with Will. In the early stages of unfoldment self-will predominates, with little or no concern for the suffering of others in the pursuit of the fulfilment of one's own will. For this reason Agni Yoga is also a blend of Karma Yoga (Action performed for its own sake with no attachment to the fruits of the action), Bhakti Yoga (the Way of the Heart, of the Devotee along the Fiery Path of Love for the Beloved), and also Raja Yoga (the Yoga of Meditation leading to Samadhi - ecstatic union with the Divine). The pan-Yoga nature of Agni Yoga is rooted in the Teaching of Kalachakra (The Wheel of Time), a Teaching which constructively unites many domains of Spiritual Knowledge and is ascribed to the various Lords of Shambhala. Kalachakra is a Tantra found in Tibetan Buddhism and currently periodically offered to thousands of people by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. 

The Agni Yoga books themselves are collections of aphorisms. The only ones not so are by other authors: notably the two volumes of "Talk Does Not Cook the Rice" by Guru R.H.H. (a now deceased American disciple of Roerich's) and "Talks on Agni" by the now deceased Torkom Saraydarian who embraced both Agni Yoga and Alice Bailey teachings alongside his own insights garnered from his long spiritual life. The other notable exceptions are the two volumes of "Letters from Helena Roerich." Continuing the tradition established by Guru R.H.H. is Burt Wilson who has his own website devoted to the Ancient Wisdom teachings, as they are known, and an excellent book "The Third Theory". 

Agni Yoga by Nicholas Roerich. 

With kind permission Roerich Museum, New York

277. Amidst the life of everyday, seek the gleam of Light.

The growing concentration upon Blessed forces will strengthen the consciousness of those who knock.

The token of eternal life will penetrate the lowliest mind.

 

Dear shopkeepers, what profit to cheat yourselves?

Poor rulers, what beauty is there in erecting prisons for yourselves?

Cruel sages, have you no shame in violating your beliefs?

And you, children of the crowd, forget not that the star which gleams between the houses is not a lamp.

You dive, you fly, and hear.

But where is the pearl of your spirit?

Whither are you going?

You have lost your bearings and an unfriendly bough has pierced your wings.

 

Dust is harmful to the ears.

I speak as a physician. Yet are My remedies not complex and My trumpet will not deafen –

The growth of grass is more audible.

Heart, comprehend it.

Let tears bathe thy vessel.

from the Agni Yoga teachings Book 1 LEAVES of MORYA'S GARDEN  "The Call" 1924                                 

by kind permission of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York.

 

 

 

One of the earliest sections on Yoga in the Upanishads states, "First yogically controlling the mind and extending the power of intelligence, discerning the light of the fire from the Earth, the solar Creator carried it upwards." (Svetasvatara Upanishad 11.1)

 

The Theosophical Society is a blend of the First and Second Ray because of the two main Masters behind its formation in 1875. The Second Ray is known as that of Love-Wisdom. Many creative artists became followers of the Theosophical teachings at the turn of the 20th century - especially in Europe. Lifetime adherents were Piet Mondrian and Wassily Kandinsky and Johannes Itten (of Bauhaus fame) to name but three. In music, one can find the Russian Alexandr Skryabin, the Frenchman Dane Rudhyar, the Dane Ruud Languaard, and the Englishman Cyril Scott.  

The Theosophical clairvoyants, and eventual leaders of the Theosophical Society, C.W. Leadbeater and Annie Besant in 1908 released a book titled Thought Forms in which certain thoughts and emotions were depicted either as colours or as specific coloured shapes upon the inner realms. This sparked the imaginations of many artists whilst the Theosophical teaching regarding the seven bodies of man likewise instigated a move into abstract art as a means of assisting humanity to awaken their Higher Mind (that area of the mind not confined within the limitations of Form). Another leading light in the spiritual dimensions of art was Rudolph Steiner who became the head of the German Branch of the Theosophical Society before eventually having a falling-out with the Society (especially C.W.Leadbeater and Annie Besant) over Krishnamurti and thence forming his own society known as the Anthroposophical Society.  Steiner lectured upon the arts and characterised his movement as "spiritual science" appealing to the intellectual and more rational persons interested in the occult, in Germany and Europe, at the beginning of the twentieth century.