ABSTRACT 057NF TR GREAVES, ed.
[email protected] The Immortal Fire, Sri Aurobindo, 1974; Auroville 605101, Auropublications. 216pp
The early Aryans were fire-worshipers and their earliest known doctrines are found in the Rig Veda, oldest of the Vedic corpus of hymns and rituals. This body of tradition, once transmitted orally from guru to chela, is the legacy of north Indian Brahminism. The other principle Hindu religious tradition is that of the darker-skinned indigenous peoples, more or less classifiable as Dravidians. Sri Aurobindo was a highly regarded poet and mystic of the Vedic cast. He presents in The Immortal Fire a glimpse of an ancient spir-itual heritage by way of inspired translation of the old texts, learned commentary, and his own beautiful poetry (?poets are wiser than priests? they say), composed for the most part in the early years of the last century. The book is divided into three parts, the first com-prised of extended excerpts from the Rig; the second expounding upon the role of Agni, the Vedic fire god/principle, in Aurobindo?s Integral Yoga system; and the third present-ing excerpts from the author?s epic poem Savitri. From the first we have such lines as these: ?O Son of Force, O Fire, kindling with the gods thy fires, Priest of the Call, Priest with thy many flame-armies, dispense to us the Treasures; shining with light let us charge beyond the sin and the struggle.? Or: ?Next concerning the Shining Fires. Fire is the first form, the Sun is the latter form; the Waters are the linking; Electricity is the joint of the linking. Thus far concerning the Shining Fires.? Students of the history of religion can ill-afford to ignore this profound and ancient spiritual legacy, and Aurobindo?s book is an excellent introduction to it.
KEYWORDS
Brahminism/ Agni/ fire-worship/ Rig Veda/ Upanishads/ yoga/ inspirational poetry/ Hinduism/ India/ Sri Aurobindo
