Five Different Perspectives On The Sun

“In the middle of the day, it is exceedingly pleasant to go about and it is delightful to the touch. In the daytime the sun is pleasing, while the shade and water are not pleasing.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 16.10)

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अत्यन्त सुख संचारा मध्याह्ने स्पर्शतः सुखाः
दिवसाः सुभग आदित्याअः छ्हाया सलिल दुर्भगाः

atyanta sukha saṃcārā madhyāhne sparśataḥ sukhāḥ
divasāḥ subhaga ādityāaḥ chhāyā salila durbhagāḥ

1. The one melting the frozen lake

“We can’t play ice hockey forever. Emphasis on the first term: ice. The surface on which we play will eventually go away. Who will be responsible? Well, you could say nature, but it is really the sun. The sun will melt the ice, and the lake will turn back into water. It is always water, but during the winter the surface freezes and turns to ice.”

2. The one burning the skin

“Make sure you protect your skin. If you stay outside too long, your skin will start to burn. This is because of contact with the sun. Your skin is not made to absorb direct sunlight for that long a period of time.”

3. The one making the car hot

“Be careful touching the buckle of the seatbelt. It is really hot in the car today. That is because of the sun shining bright in the car. The windows were closed, and so the temperature continued to rise inside. Roll down the windows for a while, and then I will turn on the air conditioning.”

4. The giver of light

“It is called dinakara for a reason. The sun is the maker of the day. We know the difference between day and night because of the sun. There is always light shining, even on a cloudy day. The sun is so powerful that it lights up the entire universe.”

5. The giver of heat

“Without the sun, we would be nothing. Human civilization would not last very long. All of civilization relies upon the heat from the sun. Sometimes, the heat might become unbearable, but at least there is heat. In its absence, life itself goes away.”

…

In this hypothetical situation, you grew up in a certain part of the world. That place features religious diversity, for lack of a better term. What to speak of different religious practices within the neighborhood, even within the immediate family there are different objects of worship. The father and his ancestors have their ishta-deva, or preferred worshipable figure. The mother’s side has a completely different tradition, though both parents essentially belong to the same religion.

You have travelled extensively within your country of origin. You notice that in certain parts of the country, there is popular worship of a particular deity, who lives in a particular temple. The worship began through the efforts of a single man. They were like an empowered being, avadhuta, and so naturally others began to follow. That allegiance has continued over several centuries.

When you visit a different area within the same country, you see a similar system of worship, but for a different deity. The same thing happened – an avadhuta from the recent past established this worship. They received direct instructions from a higher realm, got a clue from within a dream, or realized something significant during intense meditation. The people of the area recognized the greatness of the individual, who is something like a guru, and so they followed.

Something strange occurs when you should happen to cross the ocean, so to speak, and visit a foreign country. At first, you are happy to notice a tradition tied to the efforts of a notable saint of the past. This mirrors the traditions with which you are familiar; that is why saintly people are so important to the human experience. It does strike you as a little odd that the image of the saint in this region, in the foreign country, hangs atop the building, depicting a scene of murder, where the victim is nailed to a stake. But you brush it off as an aberration or anomaly. You take a liking to the tradition, and how people seem to be so dedicated to it.

Your feelings change abruptly after you talk with a few of the followers. They not only believe in this savior, but they claim that their savior is the only one. Not only are there no other saviors, but anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned to a hellish existence. For eternity. With no option for redemption. Even murderers in human society get a chance to meet with a parole board every so often. Apparently, the highest being of all happens to also be the greatest miser. He is the pettiest person, you see, who never even thinks of forgiveness. Of course, this condemnation applies after an arbitrary duration. If you fail to convert before death arrives, you will be punished. The problem is that no one can guarantee when death will strike. This means that the version of God in this tradition is not only petty, but sadistic, as well.

Applying rational thought, how can the link to Divinity be so restrictive? Religion in the genuine sense is a system for achieving a state of being. That state of being is really a perspective, an outlook, a consciousness. In the above reviewed situations, we see there is variety to the interactions with the sun. The different perspectives are valid, in their own right. They are not contradictory. Some might say certain perspectives are incomplete, but that does not make them invalid. There is not just one way to understand the sun.

The same applies to the relationship with the Supreme Lord. There can never be only one way. After all, the sun is merely one aspect to God’s creation. If it is valid to have different perspectives of the sun, how can the same variety be prohibited in understanding the source of the sun?

From the Ramayana, we have an additional way to understand both God and the sun. We can say that God is someone who enjoys the winter season, and particularly the shining sun during that season. This is the opinion of Lakshmana, who is like the chief supporter of God. If we know nothing else, this window into the preferences of the Almighty is enough to catapult the otherwise struggling individual into a transcendental state. If they simply remember Rama in His wanderings through the forest and His taking delight in the shining sun during the winter season, they can achieve perfection in life.

In Closing:

So cold today,
For few more weeks to stay.

But at least sun in the sky,
To bask in its rays to try.

Remembering Shri Rama walking,
With brother Lakshmana talking.

How the sun most pleasing in winter’s time,
That vision to keep in my mind.