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Sri Aurobindo describes Agni as "the most important, the most universal of the Vedic gods." (The Secret of the Veda, pg. 265). Agni is the divine will, the mystic fire, the flame of aspiration, and the "knower of all things born". Sri Aurobindo focuses considerable attention on Agni in both The Secret of the Veda and in his translation of the hymns to Agni in the volume titled Hymns to the Mystic Fire. He devotes an entire chapter in The Secret of the Veda to Agni. It is this chapter covered here with extracts from Sri Aurobindo's commentary and the first hymn of the Rig Veda, Mandala I, Sukta 1, recited in the Sanskrit to illustrate that commentary. (The Secret of the Veda, Chapter VI, Agni and the Truth, pp. 54-64). The English translation of this hymn is from Hymns to the Mystic Fire, pp. 39-40
The Rig Veda sets forth in symbolic language the spiritual aspirations and teachings of the Vedic sages. The outer sense and symbolism often breaks down as the true, inner, psychological meaning breaks forth to reveal the profound meaning of the Veda. The Secret of the Veda provides an expansive review of the psychological method of interpretation that Sri Aurobindo employed, along with numerous illustrations of the method. Hymns to the Mystic Fire provides translation of the large number of hymns of the Rig Veda devoted to Agni.
The recordings were made at Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1973. Sanskrit recited by Sri Vinayak. English translation and any excerpts from Sri Aurobindo's commentary recited by Santosh Krinsky
