The God Series:Episode 2-Fire!

A Havan fire in a Hindu ceremony, Trinidad and Tobago
Meady's Musings Production 2010


Worshippers at Jing'an Temple, Shanghai China Jun 2010.
Meady's Musings Production 2010

Today on the God series we examine the concept of God as fire…from the Ancient Vedic Homa and Havan to the Old Testament’s fiery appearance before Moses to UCP’s recent visit to China where it was pyrotechnics galore…what’s man’s obsession with God like fire?

Well we here at UCP have been thinking…the gyan yoga caps on…not the bhakti ones…so we thought and thought and thought some more just like Winnie the Pooh and here is what we came up with after we thought even some more!

Well if we look at what fire is used for and if we go with what modern science tells us about the ‘evolution’ of man well if they were cave men…well they must have once they discovered fire’s presence first of all…either when lighting struck something and it burned or when a volcano erupted or a fire just burst out on its due to the searing heat focusing on dry wood for instance...well they must have been amazed! And I guess first they would have been scared of it but then they would have played around with it and realised that if they was its friend well hmmm...it could do loads for them couldn't it? Warm them from the cold...cook their food so it could taste better...melt some materials so they could join together...all sorts of things...but the fire had to be feared too...I mean it could burn you...kill you even...it could be a fierce beast let me tell ya! LOL!

So perhaps if we go on and on...in this analysis we could see how Man started to revere and at the same time fear fire...and so as a society evolved it's practices, rites and rituals would have incorporated this and made fire become an integral part of religions world over! Myth upon myth being woven around it...but hey this is not that sort of blog...it's UCP of course...we engage in Universal Collective Prayer here not analysis and speculation of how man and societies evolved! LOL! So let's get back to the UCP of it!

Well you see for whatever speculative reason it may be...Man for sure does revere fire and also fear it and it for sure forms major parts of practically all the world religions. In Hinduism it is seen as an integral portal between the divine world and the material/human plane on which we live. Contact can be made with God throught the Vedic Homa or Havan. In fact sometimes God even appears or manifests in the Havan! And they've also given fire it's on status as the God Agni. Man infact a whole line of Brahmins have even been dedicated to working the fire! Yep...the Agnihotri Brahmins. For sure I think the Hindus have to be one of the top rankers when it comes to perceiving God in the form or fire. However you see it in Buddhism and Catholicism in their rites and rituals too!

However to me the classic case of fire getting on 'bad' is in the movie, the Ten Commandents...I mean it is so clear cut here God coming as fire in the burning bushnell no doubt! :) To talk to Moses and look how 'bad' he gets on! Whoa! Moses had to be some brave man to stand up and take that message! :)