Why Did Randomness Create Only One Sun

“The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikshvaku.” (Bhagavad-gita, 4.1)

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श्री-भगवान् उवाच
इमं विवस्वते योगं
प्रोक्तवान् अहम् अव्ययम्
विवस्वान् मनवे प्राह
मनुर् इक्ष्वाकवे ’ब्रवीत्

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ
proktavān aham avyayam
vivasvān manave prāha
manur ikṣvākave ’bravīt

“Religion is backwards and outdated. It is for the less intelligent. The people who cling to their books and their guns. They lack the necessary intelligence to advance in the world, and so they resort to praying for everything.

“Otherwise, they think only of the afterlife. They will reach a better destination, you see. They are better than you and me. They pray. They are religious. They are pious. We are the sinners. We better repent now or forget it. Doomed for all of eternity. Irredeemable.

“I tell you that science is the way. Everything came from randomness. That is the source of the universe. There is constant evolution, since that first explosion. Those chemicals colliding resulting in what we see now. What we see now will evolve into something better. You just have to wait and see.

“Actually, we won’t be able to see, because the magical changes like growing a new hand or leg occur over billions of years. But you never know, mankind is making advancement. Pretty soon, death will be a thing of the past.

“Why continue to worship figures that are like characters from a comic book? Get into reality for a change. Stop with the primitive rituals, like sitting on the floor, lighting stuff on fire, painting coconuts, and marking the forehead. You need to adjust with the times.”

The famous Bhagavad-gita conversation that took place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, dated during the time of the Bharata War, was not the first time the knowledge transfer had taken place. Though Arjuna was a bow-warrior in doubt approaching his trusted guide and friend, the teacher in that case did not make up the information.

Neither was He keeping the knowledge to Himself for all that time. Arjuna was foolish for giving in to sentiment that was not tied to his occupational duty, but at the same time he was the most intelligent for knowing where to turn to have his confusion cleared up.

As Krishna’s word was sufficient for understanding the principles, so the same word substantiated the claim of timelessness to the relevance of the instruction. Krishna had shared the same wisdom before, to the sun-god.

That deity was like the patriarch starting a family. Other saintly kings appearing in the family line understood the same things. This represents the systematic flow to the highest knowledge. It is parampara, or disicplic succession.

A person may scoff at the idea. How could Krishna be around at the time when there was only the sun? If people are lucky to make it to one hundred years of life within a single body, how could one individual be around forever?

This was a wonder to even Arjuna, and so he asked the question. If the sun-god is senior by birth to Krishna, how could such a transfer of information have taken place? The distinction is that Krishna could remember the many past appearances in the manifest world, whereas Arjuna could not.

श्री-भगवान् उवाच
बहूनि मे व्यतीतानि
जन्मानि तव चार्जुन
तान्य् अहं वेद सर्वाणि
न त्वं वेत्थ परन्तप

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
bahūni me vyatītāni
janmāni tava cārjuna
tāny ahaṁ veda sarvāṇi
na tvaṁ vettha parantapa

“The Blessed Lord said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!” (Bhagavad-gita, 4.5)

A person might be skeptical of the claim. How can there be a deity to the sun? Is that not personification? Is that not some story people tell themselves to feel better? We don’t hear the sun talking. We don’t see a face. How can it be a person?

We can ask questions in return. Throwing it right back in the face of the skeptic, if chemicals randomly collided to create the universe, why is there only one sun? Why did the randomness choose to collect heat and light at an unimaginable scale within only a single entity? Why are there not many replicas to the same sun?

Why is one sun responsible for heating the entire world? Why is the same sun witness to the many activities on earth? Why is the same sun the source of energy for my ancestors and also myself? Why did the sun not depart from this world in the manner that everyone else before me has?

We see that it is easy to dispel the sophistry of the skeptics. There is not much intelligence to the argument against sanatana-dharma and the Vedas. If ever the cheater should be exposed, they run and hide behind credentials, certificates from like-minded colleagues, or proof of enrollment in established institutions.

But the questions are still on the table, left unanswered. There is no response because there is no sane or rational explanation. The one provided by Shri Krishna makes more sense, and the further one delves into the discipline, adopting an inquisitive approach and a humble nature, the more they actually realize the truths behind the mysteries of the universe.

तद् विद्धि प्रणिपातेन
परिप्रश्नेन सेवया
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं
ज्ञानिनस् तत्त्व-दर्शिनः

tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.34)

We theorize on randomness dealing only with the large scale, but what about the small scale? Just create another sun. A single one will suffice. It does not have to be as large or as potent. Any self-sufficient and inexhaustible source of heat and light will do.

महात्मानस् तु मां पार्थ
दैवीं प्रकृतिम् आश्रिताः
भजन्त्य् अनन्य-मनसो
ज्ञात्वा भूतादिम् अव्ययम्

mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha
daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ
bhajanty ananya-manaso
jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam

“O son of Pritha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.13)

Until that can be accomplished, the wise will stay with the one individual who is actually inexhaustible in all areas, including the relevancy of His instruction. He is the original splendor of the universe, the tejas, and so He is capable of removing the darkness of ignorance from any area of influence.

In Closing:

From His instruction to choose,
My ignorance to remove.

The sophistry to dispel,
With mysteries of universe to tell.

Of how Gita to sun-god taught,
Through into present brought.

Because Krishna of highest standing,
From Him everything understanding.