Christian and Muslim leaders are complaining about a Guinness World Record attempt to have six million people in India all bowing at once to the sun:
Bowing Toward Sun Annoys Some Muslims and Christians
...according to some Christian and Muslim groups, doing yogic movements toward the sun amounts to some kind of heretical solar worship. (Yoga is an ancient Indian physical and meditative activity, derived from thousand-year-old Vedic traditions.)
"In Christianity, we consider sun as a creation by God and worshipping it is against our religion," said Anand Muttungal, spokesperson for Catholic Bishops Conference of Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. He said he will approach Guinness to ask them not to consider the attempt as a record....
Well, isn't that just too bad! Complaining about people bowing to the sun is against my religion - please respect my religion! (At that article, someone comments: "I never before considered bowing to the Sun, but now that I know it offends Christians and Muslims I am going to start doing it.")
Despite the attempted divorcing of Surya Namaskar or "Sun Salutation" from religious connotation, it should be emphasized that this natural solar ritual is part of Hinduism and, according to prevailing political correctness, must therefore be respected as a religious rite. Sun worship is also a major part of humanity's religious ideals dating back thousands of years in cultures around the world, continuing to this day not only in India but also in many parts of the world.
I personally am not offended by sun worship, but I am offended by religions derived from sun worship that fallaciously pretend to be divine revelation and that vulgarly worship a male god of a particular ethnicity, e.g., Christianity. So, perhaps I should tell Guinness that Christianity is against my religion and that they should ignore the complaints?
Seriously, when it's cold outside, I am so happy to stand in a sunbeam - there is little more benevolent than warm sunshine at that moment. For that reason alone, I would count myself among sunworshippers.
If it's good enough for my prophet George Carlin (pot be upon him), it's good enough for me:
"I've begun worshiping the sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the sun. It's there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, a lovely day. There's no mystery, no one asks for money, I don't have to dress up, and there's no boring pageantry. And, interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to 'God' are all answered at about the same fifty percent rate."
~George Carlin (1937-2008), American comedian
For other thoughts on sun worship, I found this modern philosopher's ideas to be ancient yet intriguing. The pertinent part begins at 2:21, while at 19:12 he discusses other stars as sentient beings as well.
Comments (34)
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|2012-01-13 19:11:06 Renuka Prasad - yeah, right!What about burning witches and stoning women to death? They are offensive to humanity. People offended by this are not fit to live in a civilized world.
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|2012-01-13 19:34:51 swami_beyondananda - I'm a sun worshipper hence "evil", according to muI do my evil, Sun-worshiping yoga sharp at dawn everyday hence I am evil. I also have studied Kundalini yoga and tantra which essentially involves the conjugal union of the Sun God with the moon Goddess.
Therefore, according to Muslims and Christians , I am an evil, evil, evil, devil worshiping danger to human civilization!
I am also an atheist, well, actually an agnostic depending on my mood so I must be really evil
Chuckle!
Islam's "Allah" is derived from "Ha-al" , a Sumerian moon goddess that pre-islamic pagans worshiped at the Kaaba , the holy place of Islam.
Of course, Jesus Christ is based on the "Sun of God", Horus/Osiris myth as the lovely Acharya has so brilliantly described in her books
Talk about delusions!!
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|2012-01-14 06:22:25 lgmDon't be silly fool! Not all Christians are offended by this act and it is extremely hypocritical of you to judge all Christians (I can't speak for Muslims) as being intolerable.
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|2012-01-13 20:42:06 Brad - If Christians and Muslims don't like itWhy don't they leave?
Two religions come up over and over and over in the news about getting offended every time any other religion does anything.
Why don't you Christians and Muslims mind your own business.
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|2012-01-13 18:21:17 Jeffrey - Sun Worship rocks!I am currently reading a book about Sun magic that also covers a lot about Sun worship and what that entails.
Interestingly enough, there are phases of the Sun that correlate to phases in a person's life. Early morning, when the Sun rises in the east, it can symbolize fresh energy and new starts in endeavors.
Rising with the Sun can be very motivating and invigorating mentally, emotionally and physically. The Sun has so much to offer when one takes into account its many phases during its course across the sky and how these symbolically tie into the phases of a person's life.
It's interesting to note that on the Winter Solstice, when the Sun rises in the east, traditionally a service was held at sunrise to watch the earth give birth to the newborn Sun as it came up seemingly out of the earth on that morning. All Hail The Rising Sun! Without which life itself would not be possible.
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|2012-01-13 18:21:48 Jeffrey - Sun of God is a good book!I've read the book Sun of God about two years ago and it was really good. It sure makes you think. Sun of God covers a lot of the strange anomalies about the Sun that seem to baffle scientists. If consciousness pervades the entire universe, then it seems very likely that everything in it is animate, including our Sun.
I think a case can be made for animism in the modern world. We do live in a spiritual universe.
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|2012-01-13 23:47:54 TartarusAnd yet again a bunch of Christians and Muslims are showing how much they hate people who dare be different to themselves. So much for tolerance.
While I myself have no religious beliefs whatsoever, I am perfectly fine with sun worship. After all, the sun is necessary for all life on earth. It keeps our planet in place and provides warmth and energy to all life upon our planet.
And also, unlike that god the Christians and Muslims are so fond of, the sun's existence as a real thing is a provable fact.
Worshipping the star our world orbits seems far more sensible than worshipping some anonymous sky wizard who's existence is still unproven and unprovable.
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|2012-01-13 21:44:47 swami_beyondananda - weird religionsAll religions are based on myth-history, delusions of grandeur and a sense of fear or paranoia.
I love this particular religion or cult though. It is hilarious and about as kooky as Mormonism or Scientology
http://www.rael.org/rael
These guys sound like fun in a nutty way!!
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|2012-01-14 04:26:01 david griffithAs you appreciate, it's called 'Salute to the sun' - not 'Worship the sun'. ....... been doing it on and off for years and do it facing ANY direction and do it at anytime.
It contributes to my flexibiliy, raises my energy and balances my mind.
Without its beneficial effects, I doubt that I'd have kept my sanity ... hmm ... probably says more about me than 'Salutes to the sun.'
Either way - it's a great gift to mankind and should be taught from childhood.
The only thing 'weird' about it is that the ill informed equate working the body, in this manner, as an odd behaviour.
Thanks for the article.
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|2012-01-14 04:58:12 DaveR - Those Christians and Muslims mightwant to remember a saying by another famous American comedian, Steve Martin: " Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuse MEEEEEEE!"
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|2012-01-14 05:58:55 Shakrytpseudo Christianity is indeed based on pagan teachings stemming from ancient Babylonian(confusion) teachings not based on the Torah or new testament.
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|2012-01-14 06:58:31 Frank - Who Cares?Whatever. Who cares? Ooh, those bad Christians n' muslims. Let's get 'em. Cuz I'm a secular humanist and I'm so tolerant, haha.
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|2012-01-14 11:22:28 AnonymousThat's just stupid.
It's the Christians and Muslims who are being intolerant here - DOH!
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|2012-01-14 12:47:58 Julian Lee - Any time you think of God...Whatever one bows to, thinking of God, God alone receives that worship. What better symbol of God than the sun? We are physically made from sun-stuff. Our food is sun-stuff. We would have no life at all without the sun. The sun presides over all life and all beauty on earth, raising it all up. The sun is, by any rational analysis, our physical father. Why would God, the esoteric unseen God, not be associated with the sun? What better symbol could he choose?
In the Upanishads, it is said that the sun is the Creator God's prime residence. That seems like perfect logic to me. In the Bhagavad-Gita Krsna states that however men worship God, through whatever media, God alone stands behind that receiving that worship. Maybe Christians should start worshiping God as the sun, if it gets them to think of God more often with gratitude.
JL
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|2012-01-14 14:07:01 PixPeople where I live are mostly atheists, so it's incomphrensible as to why the Christians and Muslims expect everyone else to follow 'their' ways. Why don't they mind their own business and clean up their own act before finger wagging at others minding their own business. Talk about giant ego's.
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|2012-01-14 15:33:46 emmanuel - AaarrhhAaarrhh; Ye must be touched by His noodly appendage to know the Truth!
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|2012-01-14 15:57:38 Brain - Crazy ???Bow down to the sun??? Some of these guys are intelligent people but this just crosses the limit. How stupid can you be? Sun = not god
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|2012-01-14 17:29:10 AnonymousSo says you. Millions of people have also said otherwise. So, that's just YOUR opinion. And it's probably out of sheer ignorance, because the sun's been worshiped for thousands of years and only someone ignorant of that would be so surprised.
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|2012-01-14 15:58:08 Christopher Wyatt - Ha-ha!!Acharya,
I just loved reading this- it gave me the biggest chuckle.
In the past, I may have posted comments on your articles which may be construed as having been 'negative' in nature, if so for that I apologize. I always enjoy reading them, regardless. Keep it up!
Much love, Chris
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|2012-01-14 21:13:02 JenMuslims and Christians practise sun worship themselves if they cared to examine their own practices.
The prayer ritual that Muslims go through every day, five or six times a day, in which they have to orient themselves in the direction of Mecca requires them to know when the sun rises, when it reaches its peak, when it sets, and this is a form of sun worship. The ultimate goal is to put worshippers in synchronicity with the forces of the universe represented by God and this means being in synch with the sun!
Plus regular religious observances in the Muslim and Christian calendars celebrate sun worship. Ramadan begins and ends when the moon at a certain phase can be sighted and this traditionally meant waiting for the sun to go down. Christmas of course is based on pre-Christian holiday celebrations of the death of the old sun and the birth of the new sun.
Muslims and Christians are denying significant aspects of their religions when they criticise heliocentrism in other religions.
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|2012-01-14 19:55:25 swami_beyondnanda - Salman Rushdie is being threatened again by muslimSalman Rushdie is supposed to be at the prestigious Indian literary festival in Japur which attracts great writers from all over the world. The annual indian literary festival Rajasthan festival organized by British writer, Wlliam Dalrymple is due to host leading writers and playwrights, including Annie Proulx, Ben Okri, David Hare and Richard Dawkins.
A fanatic Muslim body has issued a fatwa to "get" him if he shows up!
Boy, the Muslim fanatics never give up??
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/9005325/Sir-Salman-Rush die-facing-threats-of-Muslim-reprisals-over-Jaipur-Literature-Festival -appearance.html
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|2012-01-15 00:49:09 ThomasT - And what about the other cults?Those that worship imagiinary deiities, dead humans, and idols. That means all of the other cults.
Man has free will. In time he will realise that there is only the Creation. Start with www.theyfly.com and crawl out of the 2000 year mind-comtrol box. The Pleiiadian Mission by Randolph Stevens, of the same events, in clear and concise form also propels you forward..
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|2012-01-15 01:28:00 philipe - sun worshipDear Acharya,
"Well, isn't that just too bad! Complaining about people bowing to the sun is against my religion - please respect my religion! (At that article, someone comments: "I never before considered bowing to the Sun, but now that I know it offends Christians and Muslims I am going to start doing it."
"
You are no doubt aware millions of hindus also worship the penis - a lot more offensive to muslims i reckon, perhaps be a better idea for you to start bowing to that. I'm sure you'll recruit many to your free thinking ideas.
Regards,
Philipe
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|2012-01-15 18:41:40 Acharya SThank you. I am quite well aware of the subject of phallic worship dating back thousands of years in many cultures globally.
Although this subject is not exactly relevant to this blog, lingam worship does not bother me, unless it becomes pathological, largely through denial of its meaning, which is what has happened with Islam.
Contrary to popular belief, Islam is quite heavily involved in lingam worship - it's utter male domination should serve as a clue to that fact. Indeed, the black stone in the Kaaba at Mecca is evidently an ancient pre-Islamic Indian "Shiva lingam" or phallic-shaped stone dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. This stone has been broken up over the centuries, and what we see now at the Kaaba are patched fragments.
The Origins of Islam
Islam's Sacred Stone of Mecca
The Kaaba
Quote:At the southeast corner of the Ka'bah, near the door, is the revered black stone (HAJARU 'L-ASWAD – The Hindus call this stone, the Lingam (penis symbol) of Lord Siva for fertility...)
There is much more to this subject.
By the way, I'm not trying to "recruit" anyone to anything. I am simply speaking the truth and defending my rights as a freethinker. If others choose to perceive reality in the same manner, that's entirely up to them.
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|2012-01-15 03:54:17 Banished - Worship ill-definedI am either confused about the definition of "worship" or there are multiple definitions that people use and they don't specify which one is the particular definition in use. When I was in a christian church, we worshipped Jesus as God - praising Him over and over. That would be one definition. I used to lay out in the yard under the Sun because I like the way sunlight felt on me, and I was told I was worshipping the sun. I suppose that would be a different definition. Which one are the speakers referring to here and which one are the posters referring to here? As for me, now, I have kids. I would be sick to my stomach if my kids praised me for giving them life. I am fully satisfied that they just like being around me. I think that if I were god, I wouldn't want to be praised, with people bowing down to me - that seems deviant and egoistical.
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|2012-01-15 17:30:36 PJ LondonIf the christians are so upset, why do they all go to church on "Sun"day?
(OK the Seventh Day Adventists, go on "Saturns" day)
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|2012-01-15 18:44:23 Robert Gamboe - Love is more important than powerWhen people share their religious beliefs, they should do so as thoughtfully, respectfully and lovingly as possible, and just leave it at that. If others wish to agree, fine. If not, fine.
If the other party doesn't want to hear about it, instead of getting angry or hateful, all they have to do is say, "I don't wish to discuss it."
If other people's beliefs offend us, then we need to consider their views in a calm, thoughtful manner, rather than trying to prevent them from practising their religion. We should always be willing to examine our beliefs, and to check ourselves against those beliefs.
We should be motived by love, not by a need to dominate. Actions speak louder than words.
People need to stop acting like they are the center of the universe, expecting others to bow to their wishes.
Are these Christian and Muslim leaders praying, out of love, for those who offend them?
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|2012-01-15 22:17:07 swami_beyondananda - Lingam is also surrounded by a yoniAlmost all Hindu temples with "Shiva's lingam" also have a "yoni" that surrounds it which represent the male , Shiva and Shakti, the female, respectively. Generally, Hindu men pour holy water and also flowers on the "yoni" and women do the same on the Lingam. This is an ancient fertility rite and of course also relates to tantric practices.
For some reason, the "yoni" worship in India has been downplayed now unlike in ancient times in India. Historians think that after the brutal islamic onslaught of India where Arab/Persian/Central Asian muslim hordes destroyed almost all "erotic" Hindu and Buddhist temples which overtly displayed nude Gods and Goddesses in tantric poses, "Shiva temples" were also targeted especially because of the "yoni" worship.
Muslims invaders found the worship of the female "yoni" to be even more offensive than the male "Lingam".
Hence, there was an attempt by Hindu clergy during the islamic conquest of India to downplay or even eliminate "yoni" worship. So, over time "yoni" worship was slowly eliminated in Hindu temples even though many Hindu temples still show the triangular shaped yoni surrounding the lingam.
Many of the old Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist texts have detailed verses on how and when the "yoni" should be worshipped in Shiva/Shakti temples and the Tibetan Buddhist equivalents described in Vajrayana, Shingon and Thangka texts seen in paintings of Kashmir, Ladakh, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and also Shiva temples in india.
Even though I am not a believer, I think "yoni" worship, Goddess worship is a neat concept and a unviversal, compassionate, altrusitic religion based on "Yoni" and Goddess worship would be awesome!!!
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|2012-01-16 15:07:11 Hypathia - Sun 7th DayInteresting points of view. You can not extract sexual symbolism from religion. Its presence is there for a reason. The trouble most have with it--is they can not lift the "Symbolism" from the concrete--back over into the abstract nether-world where it belongs. They end up worshipping the "Symbol" instead of its occult (hidden) meaning. Example...?
Does not the phallic rays of the "Sun" fecundate "Matter"? The Earth (Matter/Mother) is the feminine symbol. One "Active" particle the other "Passive". Nature is in perfect harmony. There is always an "invisible" holding the opposites in union. "Unity" seems to always involve a "Threesome" to form "One" of anything. One could also use the analogy of starting a fire with a stick. You rub the "Male" back and forth into the "Female" of the other other piece of wood. And the friction/action causes fire. Three are involved. Now then--take everything I've just said above--and toss it over into the "Invisible" world where it belongs. The Sun in the sky is "Symbol" only. Spirit entangles itself with matter--to Create--in the Invisible World.
Oh--comparative religion can be so Scientific...
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|2012-02-03 19:55:23 Blueberrysky - Thumbs up to NatureI consider myself a Deist/Pantheist and I totally agree with Gregory Sams assesment of the Sun. This is poetry to my ears unlike Christianity & Islam that preaches that man is above nature. I can't stand the arrogance of these religions. Man must wake up and realize we are part of nature. Only then we can make a better world for everyone on this planet.
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