[Advaita-l] Who will do the research on 'Solar Energy in the Vedas'?

[V. Krishnamurthy]

Namaste all.

 

The thread on Sun Worship motivated me to present the following extract from
pages 197-199 of my recently published  book: Gems from the Ocean of
Spiritual Hindu Thought:

 

In the seventh section of the sUrya-namaskAra-praSna (=Sun-worship chapter)
(Aranyaka, First chapter called Aruna prashnam) of the yajurveda, there are
some revealing insights about the Sun. In fact modern solar energy studies
must include a research into this portion of this chapter. First it names
seven suns! Does it mean that these are the seven colours of the solar
spectrum? It does not say so. But throughout this chapter which is itself a
treatise on the Sun, and throughout the entire body of scriptures, whenever
the Sun-God is mentioned the number seven goes along with it either in the
form of seven horses in His chariot or these seven Suns. The seven Suns are
named: aaroga, braaja, paThara, patanga, svarNara, jyotiSImaan, vibhaasa.
'These heat the entire space', goes the text, 'in such a way that no damage
is done but they enrich everything with the downpour of the strength-giving
rain', etc. Commentators of the modern kind usually brush these aside by
saying that perhaps these represent the seven colours of the solar spectrum
and the matter stays there as if there is nothing more to it!

But then the scripture goes on to say -- and here comes the surprise :
'There is an eighth Sun, kaSyapa, by name. He never leaves the mahaa-meru'
cf. 'kaSyapo'shTamah; sa mahaa-merum na jahaati'. Then the mantra goes on:
'Oh Kasyapa, By the skill that you have in enriching the power of our
senses, in the life-giving dalliant rays of yours which bestow nutrition on
us, by that skill -- in which the seven Suns are linked to You -- may we be
blessed to be in the highest peak of our efficiency'

Why seven? Then the text goes on to mention the various speculations about
what it has itself just declared. 'Some say', the text goes on, 'these seven
suns are the vital airs that dwell in the face; others say that they are the
five senses of perception, plus the mind and the intellect.' Incidentally
the seven points of entry into the body which are in the face -- namely the
two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils and the mouth -- are the holes
which allow the seven adhyaatma-praaNas, that is, the vital airs classified
as pertaining to the soul within. The five elemental fundamentals -- earth,
water, fire, air and space -- together with the two principles called mahat
and ahamkaara, are the seven adhibhautika praaNas, that is, the vital airs
belonging to the physical plane. The seven Suns, named above, are the
adhi-daivata-praaNas, that is, the vital airs pertaining to the celestial
plane. 'There is an eighth Sun; its name is KaSyapa. He never leaves the
mahAmeru. Even Pancakarna, son of Vatsa and Saptakarna, son of Plaksha who
have seen all the seven Suns could not go and see the eighth Sun. .'

Then comes the passage narrating the claims of great sages about their
experience of the seven Suns and the eighth Sun. Two sages by name
panca-karNa, son of vatsa; and sapta-karna, son of plaksha claim to have
seen the seven Suns; but, say the two, they have not been able to go to the
mahaa-meru and see the eighth Sun. But everybody strongly recommends, says
the text, that man should strive to go to the mahaa-meru and see that
One-ness of Divinity, called kaSyapa. It becomes clear that they are
referring to the Supreme Reality here which is the substratum of all the
seven Suns. 'tasya bhaasaa sarvam idam vibhati, say the scriptures in
another place, referring thereby to the Transcendental Absolute. So these
seven Suns themselves derive their strength and dalliance from the eighth
Sun, namely kaSyapa. The seven Suns originated from kaSyapa, says the text:
kaSyapaad-uditaas-sUryaah The very name kaSyapa is extolled and its meaning
derived by going into its etymology. kaSyapah paSyako bhavati is a statement
occurring in the eighth section of the same chapter. It means kaSyapa is the
One that Sees -- meaning, He sees rightly. The next sentence in the text
explains this: yat sarvam pari-paSyati-iti saukshmyaat meaning, 'because it
sees everything in all its subtlety'. The root word for seeing is driS. When
conjugated, this becomes paSyati . There is another esoteric significance
here. The word kaSyapa has three syllables: ka , Sya , and pa - in that
order. Reverse the order of these three syllables. We get pa, Sya , and ka .
They make up, in that order, the word paSyaka - which means, One Who Sees.
That is why, kaSyapah paSyako bhavati ! bhavati means ' becomes'. kaSyapa
happens to be paSyaka . The existence of this eighth Sun in the form of the
Ultimate Supreme (Who sees, as things are to be seen) is given only in the
scriptures and one wonders whether this could have implications for the
understanding of what Solar Energy really is. 

It goes on like this. What is this eighth Sun? What is its implication to
our sensory scientific knowledge? Who will do research on this? Who can?
Should India wait until some foreign Professor from Cambridge or Harvard or
Stanford puts his or her mind to it and writes a monograph? Are not Indian
scholars the best persons to study them? Such a study cannot be done by a
person who cares only for occidental Science or by a person who is ignorant
of occidental Science. The Saraswati of the East, which represents Pure
Science, and Lakshmi of the West which revels in Applied Science should have
to come together!

PraNAms to all seekers of Truth.

profvk