Among the elements of creation, why does energy (agni) appear third, even though it is said to be the first created item?

[Śrī Balaji asked: Namaste Swami! Kindly clarify the difference between radiation (tejah) and agni. Tejaḥ was the first created item which was subsequently pervaded by the Unimaginable God to become Datta. But agni appears as the third item after vāyu in the sequence of creation (Akāśāt vayuḥ…). Sincerely, Balaji]

Swami replied: Agni is the gross state of energy in general. Energy in general is called tejas or energy. The subtle state of energy is ākāśa or space. The Veda says that energy (tejas) was created in the beginning and it also says that space (ākāśa) was created in the beginning (Tat tejo’sṛjata; Ātmanaḥ ākāśaḥ sambhūtaḥ). There is no contradiction between these two statements since space is subtle energy. Energy in the visible state is agni. In between the invisible space and the visible fire (agni) comes the state of vāyu, which is the state of matter containing free particles called ions existing in the plasmic state. Physics reveals this point. Vāyu is this plasma. When the free particles are molecules, it is called air or gas.

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