Om lunitakhiladaityaya namaha, Salutations to the Sun who destroys all darkness and ignorance. The world of mind, body and soul is a world of division and differences, illusion and darknesses. The darkness and ignorance has to be removed by illumination, which only the Sun can bestow.
etymology searches
akhil Hin. akhila San. adj. whole, entire, undivided, complete; universal; all.
akhila—entire
akhila—all-inclusive
akhila—of the universe
akhila—all around
akhila—all-embracing
akhila—all kinds of
akhila—all sorts
akhila—complete
akhila—all that be
akhila—of everyone
akhila—of the entire universe
daitya San. m. ‘a son of Diti’ – a demon; a power-intoxicated person.
daitya—the demons
daitya—demons
daitya—demon
daitya—among the demons
daitya—son of Diti
daitya—by whom the demons
daitya—by the demons
daitya—of demons
lunanti—annihilate
All are born with ignorance. The outward-going mind seeks to grasp what it perceives. The external world is created by what is within: the grasping mind which seeks to have, to possess, to own, to enjoy, to be satisfied with. All are born with mind, for mind accompanies the atma, the soul, from one body to the next. One great teacher of humanity tells, “You are here, because you wanted to be here!”.
What is this place we call “here”? What is its reality, its basis? Does it have a firm basis, does it have permanence? The essential character of this place we call “here” is ignorance. Avidya is ignorance. Avidya is lack of knowledge. This lack of knowledge is all-embracing, completely surrounding, totally inclusive of that which is seen, heard, touched, tasted and smelled by the senses. We are embraced on all sides by ignorance, the darkness of not knowing who we are, the darkness of not knowing our true nature, the darkness of not knowing our soul. All of the Universe is created by the mind, in ignorance of the true nature of the Atma, the soul. The darker side of man is called the demonic side of man.
Born a human being, one should not disown the unique nature of humans. One should not forget even for a moment the genuine characteristics of humans. One should never degrade oneself to the level of beasts; or a level which is far worse and despicable, that of demonic beings. Man must firmly resolve that he would not allow himself to fall into these depths. The spiritual path alone can arouse and sustain that resolution, that alone can awaken and strengthen such yearning.
It is necessary to emphasise that, in order to successfully confront the problems that arise in one’s daily living, one has also to possess intelligence and skill, in addition to the qualities of justice, virtue and spiritual excellence. Both these attainments are essential for progress, as essential as two wings for a bird or two wheels for a cart. The importance of the higher path that leads to the Highest can be realised only by experiencing and understanding the world.
The world is enchanting, because it is a tantalising appearance, though it is fundamentally untrue. It is a phenomenon that is fading out.
When the human has this quality of darkness and ignorance within, how is it removed, what will destroy it?
The opposite of darkness is light. In a world of duality, there is light and dark, heat and cold, wet and dry, soft and hard. If we remove duality, there is only light; there cannot be darkness, we cannot be all-embraced by something that is not. Does the Sun live with duality? There is only light where there is the Sun, so the Sun cannot be living in this state called duality, of opposites.
Removal of the demonic nature, removal of being surrounded by ignorance is achieved by self-sacrifice, total surrender, saranagatha: one seeks refuge and protection with the Sun. One engages in self-surrender and becomes one with the object of one’s devotion and ardour and hence, takes on the nature of that which they are devoted unto. One becomes an embodiment of divine light. The light is in me, I am in the light, the light and I are One!
Download 108 Names of Surya, the Sun
