26 Apr 2022
[Shri Durgaprasad asked: Paadanamaskaaram Swamiji, I have a confusion in these correlated questions. Who are the deities and demi Gods? It is said that Lord Datta resides in 33 crores of deities. Then, why is the Sun deity not God? You said that Sun should be taken only as a representative model. In fact, Sun preached the spiritual knowledge to Hanuman. On the other hand, God in the form of Ganesha and Subramanya is given higher importance than other energetic forms or deities. Though, I am convinced that the contemporary Human form of God (You) is only relevant for me, kindly clarify my doubt. At Your lotus feet, Durgaprasad]
Swami replied: Surya or sun as a divine deity is the principal God worshipped in a religion called Sauramatam, which is on par with Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakteya, Gaanapatya and Skaanda. All these religions were approved by Shankara and all these deities were considered to be the various forms of the same ultimate God. When I said that sun should be worshipped as a representative model (pratīka upāsanā), I meant the globe of the sun (saura maṇḍala) seen by us in the sky. This facility is a special feature for the sun. The globe and the deity are different. The Veda also says that the sun globe must be worshipped as Brahman (Ādityaṃ Brahma iti upāsīta). ‘Brahma iti’ means as God and not God directly. The deity can be worshipped as God directly (sākṣāt upāsanā). The globe can be worshipped as God indirectly. Narayana is said to be the deity of sun globe. Narayana is an alternate name for God Datta. The deity called Suryanarayana is an incarnation of God Datta only. This confusion came due to improper understanding of the sun-globe and the sun-deity.
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