On this Spot, Sadhguru gives us a deeper understanding on maybe the most fascinating of the five elements – fire! He not only explores the different forms of fire within the human system and their effects, but also cultural and even cosmic dimensions of fire. 「Though among the five elements, fire accounts for the smallest proportion in the composition of the human body, its influence is tremendous.」
在這篇文章中，薩古魯對可能是五大元素中最吸引人的元素 — 火元素進行了更深的講解。他不僅講解了火元素在人類系統中的不同形式和作用，還涉及了火元素的文化以至宇宙維度。「儘管在五大元素中，火元素在人體構成中所佔比例最小，它的影響卻是巨大的。」
Sadhguru: In any society, just uttering the word 「fire」 loudly creates a lot of excitement. Fire is generally perceived as danger – which it is, if you do not handle it properly. Let us look at the elemental dimension of fire or agni – its manifestations, ways to conduct it, and above all, ways to master it. Though among the five elements, fire accounts for the smallest proportion in the composition of the human body, its influence is tremendous. In many ways, fire represents life. One major indicator for whether you are alive or dead is if the fire is still on in you, or if your body has gone cold. Life upon this planet is essentially solar-powered. You know, the Sun is a huge ball of fire that fuels life on this planet. Any machine, while it works, invariably generates heat because fundamentally, fire is the fuel. You may call it electricity, petrol, wood, coal, or whatever else, but essentially, it is fire that lets any machine run, including your body.
薩古魯：在任何社會，僅僅是大聲說出「火」這個詞就可以產生很大的刺激。火通常被認為是危險的——它的確是，如果你處理不妥的話。讓我們看看火或者阿格尼（Agni，印度火神）的元素維度——它的顯化、使用方式、最重要的是掌控它的方法。儘管在五大元素中，火元素在人體構成中所佔比例最小，它的影響卻是巨大的。在很多方面，火代表了生命。你是活著還是死了的一個主要標誌就是火元素是否還在你身上，或者說你的身體是否已經變涼。這個星球上的生命本質上是太陽能驅動的。你知道的，太陽就是個巨大的火球，給這個星球的生命提供燃料。任何機器，在它運作的時候，無一例外地產生熱量，因為本質上來講，燃料都來源於火。你也許會叫它電力、石油、木材、煤或者別的什麼，但是本質上，是火讓所有的機器運作，包括你的身體。
If you take charge of your bhutagni, you will have fundamental mastery over the process of life.如果你掌控了你的火元素, 你就會對你的生命進程有根本的掌控。
In this culture, the element of fire is personified as Agni Deva, a two-faced god who rides on a fiery ram. The two faces are symbolic representations of fire as a life giver and a life taker. Without the fire burning within us, there is no life. But if you do not take care, fire can quickly go out of control and consume everything. When it burns our body, it is called cremation. Another aspect is we are using fire to cook, so that we can consume foods that otherwise may not be edible or palatable for us. There are many dimensions of fire, within and without. Let us look at the three forms of fire that burn within us. One is known as jatharagni. Jathara means stomach or digestive process. Without a little bit of fire in your belly, you cannot digest the food that you eat. Food is functioning as fuel that you need to break down in order to release the energy that you need. If the digestive fire is well-nourished and well-supplied with fuel, it also becomes reproductive fire. Both digestion and reproduction depend on jatharagni.
在這個（印度）文化中，火元素被人格化為阿格尼提婆，一位騎在燃燒著的公羊上的雙面神。雙面象徵著火既是生命的給予者又是奪取者。如果我們體內沒有火在燃燒，就不會有生命。但如果不小心，火會很快失去控制，毀滅一切。當火燃燒我們的身體，我們稱之為火葬。另一方面我們用火來煮食，這樣我們就可以食用那些如果不經烹飪就不能吃或不好吃的食物。火有很多維度，內在和外在的。讓我們先了解在人體內燃燒的火的三種形式。第一種叫做jatharagni。Jathara的意思是胃或消化過程。你的肚子裡如果沒有一點點火，你將無法消化你吃下的食物。食物是起燃料的作用，你需要將燃料分解以釋放出你需要的能量。如果消化之火營養充沛、燃料充足，它還能變成再生之火。消化和再生都依賴消化之火（jatharagni）。
The second kind of inner fire is called chitagni. It is the dimension of the mind and beyond. Chitta is a dimension of intelligence within you that transcends the limitations of the physical form. Your physical form is an outcome of your genetic and your karmic memory. By contrast, chitta is a dimension of intelligence that is untainted by memory. The fire of intelligence can manifest on many different levels, the first level of manifestation being the intellect. If we look at the different fires within you, only if your digestive fire is going well, the reproductive fire will come into the act. If you are not well-fed, the reproductive instincts will disappear. Similarly, if your chitagni is not reasonably fired, your intellect will become weak and ineffective. However, if your chitagni is fired up, it will manifest itself in the form of intellect – even if you are not in a state to consciously access other dimensions of intelligence.
第二種內在之火叫做chitagni—智能之火。它是屬於頭腦以及頭腦之上更高的維度。Chitta是你體內可以超越物質形態局限的智能維度。你的物質形態是基因和業力記憶的結果。相比而言，Chitta是沒有被記憶汙染的智能維度。智能之火可以在不同的層面顯現，第一層的表現是思維。如果我們觀察自己體內不同的火，只有你的消化之火運行良好，再生之火才會啟動。如果你沒餵飽自己，再生的本能會消失。同樣的，如果你的智能之火沒有充分點燃，你的思維能力將變得虛弱和低效。然而，如果你的智能之火被點燃，它會以思維的形式顯現——即便你尚未能夠有意識地去獲取其他維度的智能。
Especially for children, pregnant women, sick people, and for health in general, it is vital to have an oil lamp burning in your home.對孩子、孕婦和病人來說，在家裡點一盞油燈是至關重要的。這對健康也有益。
If your chitagni is burning bright, you will lose interest in food, sexuality, and other matters of the body. It is in this context that what is unfortunately being propagated as renunciation should actually be transcendence. The next dimension of fire is called bhutagni, the elemental fire. If your elemental fire is on, the circus of the body and mind will not make much sense to you. Your interest and focus will shift from the antics of the body and mind to a more fundamental aspect of creation – the source of life. If you take charge of jatharagni, you will have a healthy and robust body. If you take charge of your chitagni, you will have a mind that you can use in many ways. If you take charge of your bhutagni, you will have fundamental mastery over the process of life.
如果你的智能之火旺盛地燃燒，你將會失去對食物、性和其它身體層面的興趣。這通常很不幸地被傳為「出離」或」放棄」，但它實際上是種超越。火的下一個維度是bhutagni，元素之火。如果你的元素之火被點燃，身體和頭腦的戲劇對你將失去意義。你的興趣和注意力會從身體和頭腦的滑稽轉移到創造的更加根本的方面——生命之源。如果你掌管好消化之火，你會有個健康和強壯的身體。如果你掌管好了你的智能之火，你將擁有一個你可以多方面運用的頭腦。如果你掌控了你的元素之火, 你會對生命進程有根本的掌控。
The boundaries of the body are very clear and limited. The boundaries of the mind are larger. For example, if you know something about another part of the world, it is within the boundaries of your mind. As your knowledge expands, your mental boundaries can expand. But if you become conscious of the dimension of bhutagni or the elemental fire, you will be a boundless being, because the play of elements is happening across the entire creation. Beyond this, there is something called sarvagni, because, according to modern science, the physical dimension of existence is less than five percent. That means if you know the entire physical dimension of the universe, you know only five percent of existence. Sarvagni touches the dimension where there are no elements, where there is no creation as you know it, or in other words, where there is no physical nature.
身體的邊界是非常清晰和有限的。頭腦的邊界大一些。例如，如果你知道這個世界其他地方發生的事，這還是在你的頭腦邊界之內。隨著你的知識的擴展，你頭腦的邊界可以擴展。但是如果你對元素之火的維度保有覺知，你將成為一個沒有邊界的存在，因為元素的遊戲貫穿於整個創造。除此之外，還有sarvagni。根據現代科學，物理維度還不到整個存在的5%，所以這意味著如果你了解整個宇宙的物理維度，你也僅僅只了解存在的5%。sarvagni觸及的維度那裡沒有元素，那裡沒有你所知的創造物，換句話說，那裡沒有物理性質。
Generally, a yogi who wants to access the nature of life will not interest himself in jatharagni, chitagni, and bhutagni. He will focus only on sarvagni, because this is the ultimate fire – but it is a cool fire. Jatharagni is a very obvious fire. Chitagni is less obvious but very much there. Bhutagni is not so visible at all but very much there. Sarvagni can hardly be felt, but without it, nothing would happen. It is the fundamental and ultimate fire that encompasses all other fires. Fire is the element that is closest to akash or the ether. The akashic or etheric dimension becomes more accessible where there is fire – particularly if certain fuels are used. In South India, we either use ghee or sesame oil for a lamp. If both are not available, then groundnut oil; if that is also not available, then coconut oil. These oil-based fires have a certain quality. They have a comparably higher smoke point than other fuels. That is why, if you look at the edge of the flame – you should not look into the flame – the etheric dimension is more available.
通常，一個想要觸及生命本質的瑜伽士不會對消化之火、智能之火或者元素之火感興趣。他只會專注於sarvagni，因為這是終極之火——但它是冷的火。消化之火是很明顯的火，智能之火沒那麼明顯但可以感知到，元素之火不太看得到但仍可以感知到。Sarvagni 幾乎無法被感受到，但是沒有它，就什麼都沒有。這是最根本最終極的火，它包含所有其它的火。火是最接近阿卡西（空）或以太的元素。有火存在的地方，阿卡西（空）和以太維度變得更容易觸及——特別是使用特定的燃料時。在南印度，我們要麼用酥油要麼用芝麻油來點燈。如果這兩個都沒有，就用花生油。如果也沒有，那就椰子油。這些油燃燒的火都具有一種特性，它們比其他燃料有更高的煙點。這是為什麼當你看著火焰的邊緣——你不應該看火焰的裡面——以太維度變得更易觸及。
Fire makes akash or the ether more accessible.火讓阿卡西（空）和以太維度更易觸及。
Whenever you want to create a conducive atmosphere, the first thing is to light an oil or ghee lamp. This is so much a part of Indian life. And the fuel for the lamp should be of a certain kind for maximum benefit. Candles generally do not have the same effect, especially when they are made of chemical wax. Essentially, what you are trying to do is make a fire with a material that creates a certain aura around itself, so that akash becomes available. With an oil lamp, you create an akashic field from which you and others in your home can benefit. Especially for children, pregnant women, sick people, and for health in general, it is vital to have an oil lamp burning in your home. Such a fire not only enhances your jatharagni for increased health and robustness of the body, but also the chitagni, and the availability of akash. It is important that the fire of intelligence burns within you. When only the physical fires are burning within you but not the fire of intelligence, life can get miserable and ugly. When there is too much jatharagni and not enough chitagni, people will do the stupidest things.
每當你想創造一個有利的氛圍，第一件事是點燃一盞油燈或酥油燈。這是印度生活中很重要的一部分，而且為了獲得最大的益處，燈的燃料應該是某種特定的燃料。 蠟燭通常沒有這些功效，特別是那些化學蠟。本質上，你試圖做的是用特定的原料生火，在火焰周圍可以產生某種光環，使阿卡西（空）變得可觸及。經由一盞油燈，你可以創造一個阿卡西（空）氣場，你和你的家人都能受益。在家裡點一盞油燈是至關重要的，特別是對孩子、孕婦和病人。這對健康也有益。這樣的燈火不但會提升你的消化之火以提升身體的健康和強壯，同樣可以提升智能之火和阿卡西（空）的可觸及度。智能之火在你體內燃燒是很重要的，當你體內只有物質之火而沒有智能之火時，生活會變得悲慘和醜陋。當有太多的消化之火，智能之火卻不足時，人們會做愚蠢至極的事。
In this culture, everything of significance in people’s lives happened around fire. Without fire, there was no worship, no marriage, no significant event. Many different manifestations and ways of using fire got established in this culture, including sacrificial fires like homas and havanas. Fire makes akash or the ether more accessible. Of all the elements that we are made of, akash is the one that is most transparent and fluid. The earth in my body and your body is fundamentally the same, but in terms of what your body contains and what mine contains, it is distinctly separate. The water within you and within me is separate – you could say it is kept in different containers right now. But the air that we breathe cannot be separated. It is being exchanged all the time. The fire element of who we are is shared to an even larger extent. The akashic element is absolutely shared. We are all in the same akash. If you enhance the akashic element in any atmosphere, a certain bonding happens between human beings. Around a fire, togetherness and communication are greatly enhanced, because where there is fire, the element of akash becomes dominant.
在這個文化中，人們生活中的所有重大事件都是圍繞著火發生的。沒有火，將沒有禮拜、沒有婚姻、沒有重大事件。這個文化建立起了許多展現和使用火的不同的方式，包括祭祀之火比如homas和havanas。火讓阿卡西（空）和以太更容易觸及。在所有組成我們人體的元素中，阿卡西（空）是最透明和具有流動性的。我體內的土元素和你體內的土元素基本一樣，但是你身體裡包含的土和我身體裡包含的土是完全分開的。你和我體內的水元素也是分開的——你可以說它現在是被不同的容器裝著。但是我們呼吸的空氣無法被分隔，它時刻都在相互交換，我們所是的火元素是在更大程度上共享的。阿卡西元素（空元素）無疑是完全共有的。我們都在同一個阿卡西（空）中，如果你在任何一個氛圍當中增強阿卡西元素（空元素），人和人之間的某種連接會發生。圍火而坐時，人們之間的團結和溝通會大大加強，因為有火的地方，阿卡西元素（空元素）就成為主導。
To sum it up: Although fire only forms a small part of you in terms of quantity, in terms of quality, it is very significant because of its unique nature. Your ability to touch fire is very minimal. At the same time, fire is the element to which you are most sensitive. Fire is a means to set the atmosphere to communicate, to create receptivity, to transcend limitations, and to touch another dimension that you can refer to as the Divine or God or whatever you want to call the source of creation.
總之，儘管火元素是組成你的一小部分，就質量而言，因為它獨特的性質，它是至關重要的。你觸及火元素的能力是微弱的，同時，火又是你最敏感的元素。火可以創造利於溝通、接收性、超越局限以及觸及另一個維度的氛圍——那個維度你可以稱之為神或上帝或者任何你想叫的名稱，它是創造之源。