Let mortal man adore the Will, the divine, by sacrifice to the powers divine; but thou, O Brightness, shine out high-kindled; enter into the home of the Truth, enter into the home of the Bliss.Sri Aurobindo
The Secret of the Veda
with Selected Hymns
The Twenty-First Hymn to Agni
A Hymn of the Divine Flame in Humanity
[The Rishi invokes the divine Flame to burn as the divine Man in humanity and to raise us to our perfection in the seats of the Truth and the Bliss.]
5.21.1
म॒नु॒ष्वत्त्वा॒ नि धी॑महि मनु॒ष्वत्समि॑धीमहि ।
अग्ने॑ मनु॒ष्वद॑ङ्गिरो दे॒वान्दे॑वय॒ते य॑ज ॥१॥
manuṣvat tvā ni dhīmahi manuṣvat sam idhīmahi
agne manuṣvat aṅgiraḥ devān deva-yate yaja
As the human1 we set thee within us, as the human we kindle thee; O Flame, O Seer-Puissance, as the human offer sacrifice to the gods for the seeker of the godheads.
5.21.2
त्वं हि मानु॑षे॒ जनेऽग्ने॒ सुप्री॑त इ॒ध्यसे॑ ।
स्रुच॑स्त्वा यन्त्यानु॒षक्सुजा॑त॒ सर्पि॑रासुते ॥२॥
tvam hi mānuṣe jane agne su-prītaḥ idhyase
srucaḥ tvā yanti ānuṣak su-jāta sarpiḥ-āsute
O Flame, thou burnest in the human creature when thou art satisfied with his offerings; his ladles go to thee unceasingly, O perfect in thy birth, O presser out of the running richness.
5.21.3
त्वां विश्वे॑ स॒जोष॑सो दे॒वासो॑ दू॒तम॑क्रत ।
स॒प॒र्यन्त॑स्त्वा कवे य॒ज्ञेषु॑ दे॒वमी॑ळते ॥३॥
tvām viśve sajoṣasaḥ devāsaḥ dūtam akrata
saparyantaḥ tvā kave yajñeṣu devam īḷate
Thee all the gods with one heart of love made their envoy; O seer, men serve and adore thee in their sacrifices as the godhead.
5.21.4
दे॒वं वो॑ देवय॒ज्यया॒ग्निमी॑ळीत॒ मर्त्य॑: ।
समि॑द्धः शुक्र दीदिह्यृ॒तस्य॒ योनि॒मास॑दः स॒सस्य॒ योनि॒मास॑दः ॥४॥
devam vaḥ deva-yajyayā agnim īḷīta martyaḥ
sam-iddhaḥ śukra dīdihi ṛtasya yonim ā asadaḥ sasasya yonim ā asadaḥ
Let mortal man adore the Will, the divine, by sacrifice to the powers divine; but thou, O Brightness, shine out high-kindled; enter into the home of the Truth, enter into the home of the Bliss.
1 The godhead descending into man assumes the veil of humanity. The god is eternally perfect, unborn, fixed in the Truth and Joy; descending, he is born in man, grows, gradually manifests his completeness, attains as if by battle and difficult progress to the Truth and Joy. Man is the thinker, the god is the eternal seer; but the Divine veils his seerhood in the forms of thought and life to assist the development of the mortal into immortality.