Agni Yoga is a way, a path. This path is one of fiery synthesis; and maybe synthesis, unto itself, is naturally fiery. In other words, maybe any synthesis in consumed in the flames of that which it is devouring.

All the previous six schools of yoga are exacting. The material (materia lucida) for that exactitude and its training are distinct with each of the seven schools.

• hatha yoga: the physical form
• laya yoga: the subtle anatomy
• bhakti yoga: devotions and the aspirational nature
• karma yoga: moral conduct, ethics, and the cultivation of virtue
• jnana yoga: philosophical ruminations; the development of a philosophical mind
• raja yoga: pure perception of and through all; consciousness spiritually understood
• agni yoga: the essence of all of the above plus its pure application in service

One can see that the material for each yogic focus is particular. At the same time, there is a holographic nature to yoga itself. For instance, a practitioner of Hatha Yoga must come to understand and experience aspects of his or her subtle anatomy in order to accomplish some poses. The Bhakti practitioner is encouraged to show devotion to the deity through good moral conduct and altruism. So, in a respect, we have been living under a wrong view about Yoga overall. It is not really seven schools but, instead, is seven aspects of one comprehensive human path.

Are you an Agni Yogi? Maybe. The second video from the teaching I did at Sancta Sophia offers Nicholas Roerich and his wife, Helena, as examples of Agni Yogis. The qualities that they lived in their ways, each of us can live in ours.

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