Hare Krishna,
in yuddha khanda chapter 105. Agastya tells Rama to worship Surya to defeat Ravana and tells him to recite a hymn called Adityahrdayam. In the hymn many verses speak of surya being supreme. why this is so? isnt valkimi ramyana considered authentic?
Eshhah brahmaa cha vishhnushcha shivah skandah prajaapati. Mahendro dhanadah kaalo yamah somo hyapaam pati.
He is Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Skanda, Prajapati. He is also Mahendra, kubera, kala, yama, soma and varuna.
Aadityah savitaa suuryah khagah puushhaa gabhastimaan. Suvarnasadrsho bhaanu rvishvaretaa divaakarah.
He is the son of Aditi, creator of the universe, inspirer of action, transverser of the heavens. He is the sustainer, illumination of all directions, the golden hued brilliance and is the maker of the day.
Replies
Hare Krishna,Sharangat prabhu!!! Srila Prabhupada used to say that we are propagating no faith, but the law of God. Faith is so fickle. Today I'm Hindu, but tomorrow, I can be inclined towards Muslim religion and be a Muslim. Even the terrorists have faith that what they are doing is right. Faith is relative, but law of god is absolute. It is unchangeable at any circumstance.We propagate what Krishna and our acharyas have already preached and they are infallible. They are not just faith. We have to know things in their reality. Surya has no sovereign power to create and sustain. Whatever actions does the demigods perform are sanctioned by Krishna. As the Upanishads have rightly pointed out----"Within the sun-globe is a golden person, with golden hair, a golden beard, and a body golden from His fingernails to all His limbs. His eyes are like lotus flowers. He is above all sin. One who understands Him also becomes situated above all sin. The Rig and Sama Vedas sing His glories. From Him the highest spiritual planets, where the demigods desire to go, have become manifested. This is the golden person present among the demigods". This golden is person is Krishna is confirmed in Brihadaranyak Upanishad----" "That person situated within the sun, who is not the sun-god, whom the sun-god does not know, who manifests the sun-planet as His own body, who controls the sun-planet from within, that person is the immortal Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present within the heart of every living entity as the Supersoul."
Vyas's purpose for writing Vedanta Sutra was to resolve the apparent contradictions in various scriptures and the verdict of Vedanta Sutra is ultimate. When Narada by mistake considered Bramha to be the creator, Bramha corrected him that Vishnu is the Supreme. There are many hymns dedicated to various demigods. But all are working under the direction of the Supersoul that is present everywhere. People worship Surya for attaining power but if the Supersoul present in the sun, as confirmed in the Brihadaranyak Upanishad,gives the sanction, then only Surya can act. Vyas wrote Vedanta Sutra to pull the ignorant people out of the misconception that the demigods are supreme and prove that Krishna is Supreme. When we know that Krishna is Supreme, that is complete knowledge. It's not just my faith or your faith. A drunkard can say the sun moves around the earth. That's his faith. But the truth never changes.
Krishna says---
"O Arjuna, even those devotees who worship demigods with faith, they too worship Me, but in an improper way. (9.23). "
He also says -----
"of lights I am the radiant sun"
Therefore worshipping sun or solar deity is worshiping a spark of an opulence of Krishna. We are indirectly worshipping Krishna as these demigods are various limbs of Krishna. So this not just faith. This words from the Supreme authority and one must accept it.
How Vedanta Sutra resolves the doubt???---------
Adhikarana 7
The Nature of the Person Within
1. Vishaya (Statement): The Chandogya Upanishad explains:
atha ya so 'ntar adityo hiranmayah purusho drishyate hiranya-shmashrur hiranya-kesha apranakhat sarva eva suvarnas tasya yatha kapyasam pundarikam evam ak\shini tasyodeti nama sa esha sarvebhyah papmabhyah udita udeti ha vai sarvebhyah papmabhyo ya evam veda tasya rik sama ca gesnau tasmad udigithas tasmat tv evodgataitasya hi gatha sa esha ye camushmat paranco lokas tesham ceshte deva-kamanam cety adhidaivatam. . . athadhyatmam atha ya esho 'ntar-ak\shini purusho drishyate saiva rik tat sama tad uktham tad yajus tad brahma tasyaitasya tad eva rupam yad amushya rupam. yav amushya gesnau tau gesnau yan nama tan nama.
"Within the sun-globe is a golden person, with golden hair, a golden beard, and a body golden from His fingernails to all His limbs. His eyes are like lotus flowers. He is above all sin. One who understands Him also becomes situated above all sin. The Rig and Sama Vedas sing His glories. From Him the highest spiritual planets, where the demigods desire to go, have become manifested. This is the golden person present among the demigods. . . Now I shall describe the person within the human mind and heart. Within the eyes a wonderful person may be seen. The Rig, Sama, and Yajur Vedas glorify Him. He is identical with the golden person who resides in the sun."
2. Samshaya (doubt): "Is this an individual spirit soul who by great piety and spiritual knowledge has attained this exalted position, or is this the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appears as the all-pervading Supersoul?"
3. Purvapaksha (the opposing argument): Because this person has a form and various humanlike features, He must be a pious spirit soul. By his piety and spiritual knowledge he has become able to become the great controller of demigods and human beings, who fulfills their desires, and grants them the results of thier actions.
4. Siddhanta (Conclusion): Shrila Vyasadeva addresses these views in the following sutra.
Sutra 20
antas tad-dharmopadeshat
antah—within; tat—of Him; dharma—nature; upadeshat' because of the instruction.
The person within (the sun and the eye is the Supreme Personality of Godhead), because the Vedic literatures explain that His nature fits the description of the Lord.
Purport by Shrila Baladeva Vidyabhushana
The person within the sun and the eye is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present everywhere as the Supersoul. This person is not the individual spirit soul. Why? Because the Vedic literatures describe Him as being sinless and possessing all the qualities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For example, He is free from all sin and all karma. The slightest fragrance of karma cannot touch Him. This is not possible for the individual spirit souls, who remain subject to the laws of karma. In many other ways also the individual spirit soul does not fit the description of this perosn within the sun and the eye. For example: the individual spirit soul is not the fulfiller of the desires of the living entities, nor is he the awarder of the fruits of action, nor is he the object of the worship of the living entities.
At this point someone may raise the following objection: Because the person within the sun and the eye is described as having a body, therefore He must be an individual spirit soul, for the Supreme Brahman has no body.
To this objection I reply: This is not necessarily so. The purusha-sukta prayers (Rig Veda 10.90) and many other Vedic verses describe the transcendental body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Svetashvatara Upanishad also describes the Supreme Lord's transcendental body in the following words:
vedhaham etam purusham mahantam
aditya-varnam tamasah parastat
"I know that Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose form is transcendental to all material conceptions of darkness."*
Sutra 21
bheda-vyapadeshac canyah
bheda—difference; vyapadeshat—because of the statement; ca—also; anyah—another.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is different from the individual spirit soul because this doctrine is taught in all Vedic literatures.
Purport by Shrila Baladeva Vidyabhushana
The golden person within the sun is not the individual spirit soul who is the solar diety and who thinks the sun-planet is his own body, but rather that golden person is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supersoul who is present in every atom. This is confirmed by the following statement of the Brihad-aranyaka Upanishad:
ya aditye tishthann adityad antaro yam adityo
na veda yasyadityah shariram ya adityam antaro
yamayaty esha ta atmantaryamy amritah
"That person situated within the sun, who is not the sun-god, whom the sun-god does not know, who manifests the sun-planet as His own body, who controls the sun-planet from within, that person is the immortal Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present within the heart of every living entity as the Supersoul."
From this description we may understand that the golden person within the sun is not the individual spirit soul who is the sun-god, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Both this passage and the previous quoted passage from the Chandogya Upanishad agree on this point.
Hari Bol!
What are you folks trying to prove?
It is thousands of year old prayer of Surya: Aditya Hridaa Strotam. Instead of attacking someone's faith, shall one not propagate one's own faith?
Your servant,
Sharanagat
Hare Krishna Sarangat Prabhuji. PAMHO. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Proving something without any basis of scriptures is called cheating. Here folks are giving what is written in Vedanta sutra by Vyasa. without putting useless argument we must study vedanta sutra under the guidance of a bonafide master.
We must understand the philosophy before putting baseless comment. Supreme Brahman is inner dweller of everything that exists. Japam of Gayatri or address to sun is done with the consciousness that supreme Brahman Krishna is present in the sun also .
All the devotees just given what is the conclusion given in Vedanta Sutra and upanisads,no one is talking here with out any authority.
For clear conception on Surya: Aditya Hridaa Strotam if you doubt ISKCON, you can consult Sri Sampradaya and Madhavas they will say you the same. Because we are not based on some useless faith rather on the verdict of Vedanta
YAS
Hari Bol
Here, apparently it may seem that it is the Solar deity. But we have to judge the attributes. Surya is not the creator of universe, sustainer. Then who is the person who has been referred to ? He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Brihadaranyak Upanishad rightly points out---" "That person situated within the sun, who is not the sun-god, whom the sun-god does not know, who manifests the sun-planet as His own body, who controls the sun-planet from within, that person is the immortal Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present within the heart of every living entity as the Supersoul." and Chadogya Upanishad also states--- "Within the sun-globe is a golden person, with golden hair, a golden beard, and a body golden from His fingernails to all His limbs. His eyes are like lotus flowers. He is above all sin. One who understands Him also becomes situated above all sin. The Rig and Sama Vedas sing His glories. From Him the highest spiritual planets, where the demigods desire to go, have become manifested. This is the golden person present among the demigods. . . Now I shall describe the person within the human mind and heart. Within the eyes a wonderful person may be seen. The Rig, Sama, and Yajur Vedas glorify Him. He is identical with the golden person who resides in the sun." This person verily is the "golden hued brilliance and is the maker of the day"as is mentioned in Adityahedayam.
Then why it is said?? Son, of Aditi---Now son of Aditi is known as Aditya.
And in the list of thousand names of Vishnu, you will see one of His names is Aditya---
He who throws light on everything or He who is one but appears different.
So the person is undoubtedly the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
thank you very much ashwani and gourab prabhu. very much appreciated
please tell me where "surya is narayan" comes from?