Excerpt from Surya Namaskar-Yoga Publications Trust
The Solar Tradition
The origins of surya namaskar date far back to the earliest
epochs of history, when human beings first became aware of a spiritual power
within themselves that is also reflected in the material universe. This awareness is the foundation of yoga.
Surya Namaskrar , meaning 'salutations to the sun', can be seen as a form of worship of the sun, and all that it
represents on the micro and macrocosmic levels.
In the yogic terms this indicates that surya namaskar awakens the solar
aspects of the individual's nature and releases this vital energy for the
development of higher awareness. This
can be realized by the practice of surya namaskar each morning, as well as
being a fine way to pay tribute to the course of creation and life, thereby carrying
on the solar tradition.
Sun Worship in the Vedic tradition
Adoration and worship of the sun was one of man's first and
most natural forms of inner expression.
Most of the ancient traditions included some form of sun worship,
incorporating various solar symbols and deities, but nowhere have these
traditions been as well preserved as they are in the Vedic culture. In fact, sun worship is still practiced as a
daily ritual in many parts of India today.
In
ancient India the great avatar Rama became the king of the solar race in the
epic Ramayana. The roots of the present
Hindu culture lie in the ancient Vedic scriptures, which contain numerous slokas
referring to the sun. The Rig Veda
itself has many such references, a few of which are given here:
Aloft this all-wise shining God,
His beams of light are bearing now
That everyone the Sun may see.
Thou goest across the sky's broad place
Meeting
the days with rays, O Sun,
And watching generations pass.
The
steeds are seven that at thy carriage
Bear up the God whose hair is flame,
O shining God , O Sun far seen.
Excerpt 2
We meditate in the adorable glory
of the radiant sun.
May he inspire our intelligence.
The suryoupanishad (scripture pertaining to the sun) states that people who worship the sun as
Brahman (pure consciousness) become powerful, active, intelligent and acquire
long life. The sun is personified as
brilliant like gold, having four arms, seated on a red lotus and riding in a chariot
drawn by four horses. He sets in motion the wheels of time, and from him emerge
the five physical elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether, as well as the
five senses.
Modern Observations
With the passing of
the old cultures and religions, sun worship has lost its significance. Science
has become a separate development often replacing religion as the foundation of
our beliefs. However, science is now revealing
some new and vital information on the sun's activities, which gives us a new
understanding of our relationship with the centre of the planetary system.
The sun's surface
periodically erupts into huge flares which extend thousands of miles into space
and, to us on the earth, appear as 'spots' on its surface. These sunspots have been observed to undergo
various cycles of increasing and decreasing activity, the main cycle of which
is approximately eleven years.
Correlations have shown that periods of increased sunspot activity
correspond with terrestrial phenomena.
There is evidence that wars, revolutions, and migrations often correspond
to periods of intense sunspot activity.
American
Foundation for the Study of Cycles has found over 1,300 phenomena related to
sunspot cycles. These include the
increase frequency of auroras, comets, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, meteor
showers, changes in germ cell maturation, electrical potential of trees,
fashion, voting trends, fluctuations in stock market prices, increase in the
incidence of high blood pressure and diabetes, and many other seemingly
unrelated events. This is not surprising
when we visualize the immense power of the sun and its radiations, or realize
that the earth is constantly being baked in a solar wind. The sun is an integral part of life on
earth.
Surya
namaskar takes on a new dimension when we become aware of the effects of the
sun on our lives and we can then understand how important it was to our
ancestors. At the same time, by
awakening our own inherent solar forces though this integrated practice, we can
attune ourselves to the cosmic nature and revitalize our lives.
