Sometimes TOI does print sense. From today’s Speaking Tree, Bangalore edition
“Fire,” said Babaji, “has been sacred to all ancient civilisations. Agni, the God of fire was invoked daily in Vedic times. 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 seers. 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.”
Babaji’s insights were revealing. 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 the 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?
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