When we refer Vedas we find that the first hymn of the Vedas is devoted to Lord Agni, the God of Fire. The most number of Vedic hymns is devoted to Lord Indra, the God of rain and thunder. However, the most visible and most prominently dominating God in the celestial sphere until the date is Lord Surya, the Sun-god. He is addressed by many names in the Vedas; like Aditya, Savitur, Martanda, Bhaskara. Today, the old Vedic Gods may have been overshadowed by Puranic Gods like Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and Devi, however, Lord Surya remains and continues to be worshipped according to the Hinduism faith. Lord Sury is been worshipped in the morning as a part of Hinduism rituals.
Lord Surya was one of the few Vedic gods who had temples dedicated to him, however, most of them are ruined due to calamities and destroyed by invaders from time to time, to name a few temples of the sun are the Sun temple of Konark in Odisha, Modhera in Gujarat, and Martand in Jammu & Kashmir. Probably all students of astrology are been taught and are well aware of the fact that the Surya (Sun) reigns supreme in the world of those who seek to know the future.
The stories of Surya are found in both the Vedas and the Purans. When we read the stories of Vedas and the Purans we came to known that Surya was called the eye of the primeval Purusha. He is been described to be the God who rides a chariot of seven horses and twelve wheels and his charioteer, Aruna - who is genderless because he was born prematurely, owing to his mother’s impatience. His wife, Saranya, ran away from him, unable to withstand his glare virility and left Chaya, the shadow, in her place, until Surya voluntarily gave up a part of his glare and made peace with her. Surya is the father of Manu, the first human. Yama, the God who presides over the dead, he became the teacher of Yagnavalkya, who is regarded as the rebel sage of the Upanishads after the latter turned away from the traditional rote learning method proposed by his guru. He is also the teacher of Hanuman, who flew before his chariot, withstanding his glare and eager to learn the Vedas. He is associated with horses, the embodiment of wisdom, in Hindu mythology.
In folklore we find, the sunflower adores him and looks at him all day, even though he is indifferent, while night jasmine flower (Raat ki Rani, or parijata) refuses to bloom when he is the sky, as he rejected her love. It is to him that the yogis dedicated their salutation to Surya in the form of Surya-namaskar. This Surya Namaskar is one of the most important forms of yoga practice in the modern-day.
When we read the history of Lord Surya, we realize how despite his magnificence, he has always been overshadowed by other Gods. In the Vedic age, it was Lord Indra. In the Puranic age, it was Lord Vishnu. In astrology, Rahu eclipses him. It’s not only according to Indian mythology however according to the Western mythology, the rituals and celebrations are also associated with the sun, which is claimed by the God of Christianity, which is why according to Christianity faith, Sunday is the Christian Sabbath, and Christmas, the day when Jesus Christ was born, has been adjusted to align with the Winter solstice, an ancient sun-worshipping festival, and Easter, the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, has been adjusted to align with the Spring equinox, yet another pagan sun-festival.
If we look into the modern scenario of in the corporate world, very often we find many Suryas: brilliant men and women whose brilliance and talents are obscured or eclipsed, by other forces. Either they are too ahead of the times, or the market is not ready to accept them, or the world cannot understand their mindset and thought-process or the mediocre competition is so strong that they bulldoze over their ideas, or they are surrounded by jealous and mean-minded people who work actively to crush their work, and their self-confidence.
Many new entrepreneurs feel how old money, the old established corporate houses, or entrepreneurs who came up in the previous wave, treat them with disdain and in some cases actively work towards blocking their growth by blocking their investments. No one likes the new kid on the block. The nouveau riche is always looked down upon. Respectability is given only when the successful are able to sustain their wealth, power, and status over two to three generations, or boom-bust cycles. By this time, they themselves become old money, corrupted, and so actively working against the next generation of entrepreneurs.
In the Ramayana-the the greatest epic of India, Surya’s son Sugriva, is kicked out of his kingdom by his brother Vali, because of a misunderstanding. In Ramayana, we also find that in spite he is been helped by Ram, however, all glory goes to the humble Hanuman, son of Vayu.
In another greatest epic of India, the Mahabharata, Surya’s son Karna finds that he is an outsider because his mother abandons him at birth and he is raised by charioteers, his talent in archery notwithstanding. In the Mahabharata, Arjuna- son of Indra, gets the support and advice with Krishna, and the only support he gets is from the Kauravas - who is considered as the villain in the Mahabharata.
Yet, the world depends on Surya. His heat and light are what sustains life on earth. If there was no sun, there would have been no existence. Likewise, in the world of business, there will always be rising suns: determined to dazzle the world with their brilliance, and perseverance, clouds, and eclipses will notwithstanding. Just like Karna of Mahabharata, they will not give up. They will die fighting the struggle of life and profession, and ensure the rhymester sings their songs to inspire the aspiring future brilliance.
Subroneel Saha is high in life. He enjoys life and believes to savour everything by doing along the path with passion, which he considers to be the most important part of the experience. He is a prolific writer on history, mythology, sacred lore, legends, folklore, fables and parables, and for challenging willful misinterpretations of ancient Indian and world scriptures, stories, symbols, and rituals. He intents to break the dogma and reveal the intentional part of every myth and the story, with the relevance with business, management, social life, student life.
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