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Hymns to the Mystic Fire, 1st US Edition

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An ancient religion of fire and light appears to have once prevailed throughout the world going back before the dawn of history. The Vedic religion of ancient India was centered on the sacred Fire, which was found in every home. The same was true of the ancient Iranian religion, the Zoroastrian, which made special sacred fires on the mountain tops. We find the sacred fire in Greek, Roman, German, Celtic and other ancient pagan traditions of Europe, replete with special chants and offerings. It is there in the Bible, with the sacred fire altar at the temple in Jerusalem. Native American traditions record a similar use of the sacred fire, among both nomadic and pueblo people. Even the ancient Chinese I Ching echoes the same.
The Rig Veda of India preserves the oldest hymns to Fire, called Agni, as a Divine principle of any of these traditions. It may therefore contain keys to the inner meaning of this ancient tradition of fire and light. Hymns to the Mystic Fire consists of nearly all the fire hymns or hymns to Agni from the Rig Veda translated into a deeply poetic English. It brings us into direct contact with that inner fire at the core of our being and of our spiritual search. Perhaps more importantly, the book is the product not of any mere scholar or comparative mythologist, but of the great yogi Sri Aurobindo, one of modern India's most famous gurus and seers, and an important focus of his special transformative inner Yoga.
For those looking to understand the ancient fire religion of humanity, and our ancient spiritual legacy based upon it, there remains no better book than Hymns to the Mystic Fire. The book contains the Sanskrit of the Vedic fire hymns, Sri Aurobindo's translation and his notes and interpretations which bring these ancient mantras alive and make them relevant to our own inner quest. Whether one is a poet, a yogi, interested in ancient history or just sensing a greater spiritual past to humanity, the book is a masterpiece worthy of long study and meditation.
Hymns to the Mystic Fire is not a complete translation of the Rig Veda. It contains only about a quarter of the hymns, those to Agni or fire. But it remains the best translation of the Rig Veda that we have in print, at least from a yogic perspective. It is far better than academic translations that tend to be superficial and literal and are unaware of the spiritual depth power of the ancient mantras. As someone who has been reading the Rig Veda in the original Sanskrit for more than thirty-five years, and has written extensively on the Vedas both in India and the West, I still consider Hymns to the Mystic Fire to be the best book for those who want to study the hymns of the Rig Veda. It shows us how the ancient seers viewed Yoga and Yoga's origin in the sacred fire of our hearts.

Sri Aurobindo exposes the radiant hymns of the ancient Vedic period of India, a knowledge obscure and mistreated and now brought to clear light to lead the seeker to spiritual truths. This is a translation unlike no other, and is a pointer to those who quest for an explanation of past mysteries.