Do You Know Who Gives Light to the Sun?
Now, the second question:
किं वाप्येकं परायणम्
is answered with the shloka:
परमं यो महत्तेजः परमं यो महत्तपः
परमं यो महद्ब्रह्म परमं यः परायणम्
परमं यो महत्तेजः — that great brilliance which illuminates everything, which reveals everything about everything. When there is no light, it is only darkness all around. There is no knowledge in darkness.
He is that great source of light — mahattejaha — which illuminates the whole universe, which gives us functional knowledge. We can go where we want to go, we can take what we want to take — any function requires light, knowledge. In the absence of light, there is no function.
By light, it is not just physical light that is meant here. It includes all means of sensory perception — sound, touch, taste, smell. Since he is the driving force behind all these, he is mahattejaha — the great source of light, the great source of knowledge. This knowledge is not the one you acquire through books or learning. It is the most fundamental knowledge acquired through the senses.
येन सूर्यस्तपति तेजसेद्धः —
How do we see things? We see things when light reflecting from objects reaches our eyes and stimulates the optical nervous system. So there is a source of light and the object.
We see the moon because the moon reflects the light from the sun. During amavasya, when the sun and moon are in the same line, you don’t see the moon. As the moon moves away and is at 180 degrees from the sun — that is, during purnima — we see the full moon.
Even though the moon appears to be a source of light — the moonlight — its light is not its own. The source is the sun.
The source of light for the apparently luminous moon is the sun.
येन सूर्यस्तपति तेजसेद्धः —
Sri Hari is the source of light even for the sun. The sun derives his light from him. The sun illuminates the universe because of him.
We see a light bulb that lights up a room. The bulb doesn’t have light of its own. It is because of the electricity, which is generated elsewhere, which travels through the wire and reaches the bulb — that it lights up.
The relation between the Sun and the Lord is similar to that between the bulb and electricity or the source of electricity.
तं देवा ज्योतिषां ज्योतिः — the light of the luminaries. He is the light in all that are luminous, that are sources of light.
तत्र सूर्यो न भाति न चन्द्रतारकम् —
The sun doesn’t shine there, nor the moon, nor the stars.
If you light a candle in full sunlight, will the flame be visible?
The stars disappear at sunrise because the sun outshines them.
That is the brilliance of Bhagawan.
In front of his brilliance, the sun, moon, and stars are nothing. They stop shining. Moreover, they shine only because of him.
यदात्यगतं तेजः —
The brilliance, the light in the sun — is him, Bhagawan, Sri Hari.
परमं यो महत्तपः
तपति आज्ञापयतीति तपः —
The ultimate commander.
य इमं च लोकं च परं च लोकं सर्वाणि च भूतानि योऽन्तरो यमयति —
This world, the other world (paraloka), all beings — living and non-living — he controls, commands everything from inside.
अन्तरो यमयति — because he is antaryami.
Antaryami means one who controls or commands from inside.
भीषास्माद्वातः पवते भीषादेति सूर्यः
भीषास्मादग्निश्चेन्द्रश्च मृत्युर्धावति पञ्चमः —
It is in fear of him — fear of him as the ruler/commander — that the sun lights up, wind blows, fire burns, Indra causes rains, and Mrityu takes away lives. They all function under his command only. They all function because of fear for him as the universal ruler/commander.
परमं यो महद्ब्रह्म —
Brahma — satyadi lakshanam — ultimate truth.
परमं यः परायणम् —
Parayanam — path. Why is it called paramam?
परमं प्रकृष्टं पुनरावृत्तिशङ्कावर्जितं —
One who takes that path — for him, there is no rebirth. That is why it is the greatest of paths.
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Vishnu Sahasranama
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