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 The moment you enter the
Shankaralayam at Perambur, in Chennai, the first words that strike you are ‘Arogyam
Bhaskarathi Itechyath’ (for good health, pray to Bhaskara- the Sun God). For the
group of sun-worshippers there, these words are serious and sacred. "Worshipping the
sun has become a rare phenomenon. Our only desire is to have more worshippers
participating in this prayer session," says Ramamurthi.
Every Sunday, ardent sun-worshippers flock to the Perambur
‘Sankaralayam,’ to join a prayer session conducted between 6.30 and 8.30 a. m.
The main idea for their prayers is the belief that their health would be protected by Lord
Suryanarayana.
"He is the mightiest of all doctors and he saves our
lives," says Ramamurthi, who has been organising this prayer session for the past 15
years. "It all began when the sage of Kanchi visited the place and asked me to
organise this session," informs Ramamurthi. Earlier, Ramamurthi suffered serious
health ailments but now he is a healthy man. He attributes this to the worship of the Sun
God.
During the prayer session devotees perform
Namaskaram, a
serious prostration towards the East. The prayer follows the first parts of
‘Daithriya Aranyagam’ in which 132 panjathis are recited (set of slokams
invoking Suryanarayana and Aruna). At the end of every slokam, devotees prostrate towards
the East. A unique feature of this prayer is that the 27 stars and nine planets are also
worshipped.
"Worshipping the sun is not an uncommon phenomenon in
the Indian tradition," says N. Venkatachalam, co-ordinator. He sites examples from
epics like the Ramayana, where ‘Adthiya Hridhayam,’ preached by the sage
Agastya, secured a final victory in favour of Rama. And similarly in the
Mahabaratha,
during the Pandavas’ exile in the forest they got their food from the ‘Akshaya
Pathram.’ This was made possible by their worship of the Sun God. In
Bhagavatham,
King Sathrajit worshipped the Sun God and was blessed with ‘Chamanthakamani’
that kept his countrymen healthy and safe.
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A frequent visitor to the United States, Venkatachalam
adds, "There are a small group of sun-worshippers even there." Apart from
Venkatachalam, other sun-worshippers feel that the sun is seen and felt by every living
thing. "The sun worship has been there in all cultures," adds
Ramamurthi.
"Our ancestors describe the sun as the eye of the world, because without the
sun’s light all living beings will be devoid of vision."
The prayers are offered for protection from natural
disasters, accidents, and enemies. The mantra ‘Yoso Thapanuthathe.’ explains the
life-bestowing and life-depriving power of the sun. In other words, he controls the time
and the lives of people.
A container filled with holy water is placed before the
picture of Suryanarayana, where God and his assistant Aruna are to be invoked by devotees.
After the prayer session, holy water is distributed to the participants. "This water
is important as we believe that keeping this saves us from all troubles," says
Krishnamurthi, as ardent devotee. The assembly is open for all to join.
For special remembrance or sankalpa, names have to be
registered in advance and coconuts and bananas along with holy water are distributed to
the people. An amount of Rs. 15 is collected to purchase ingredients for sankalpam.
"Our assembly started with a merger of 45 sankalpams, but today we have around 3,000
sankalpams performed every year," says Ramamurthi.
Sundays during the months of ‘Avani’ and
Karthigai’ are considered very sacred and performing Suryanamaskaram is considered
special. Pundit Kanaga Ram explains that Avani is the sun’s month in astrology and
Karthigai has the power to secure the sun’s blessing for the people.
Apart from the regular weekend prayer session, worshippers
also conduct special prayers during Pongal and Rathasapthami (the occasion when the sun
moves from the southeast to the northeast) and also during the Tamil New Year’s day.
L. Subramani |
