The sun, centre of our inner life

In the twenty first century we know the sun is the centre of our solar system and the planets, including the earth, revolve around it, and yet many of us behave as though we still believed the earth were the centre of the universe and we human beings, the summit of creation. This egocentric (or as the Master says, geocentric) point of view is the cause of many problems facing humankind: by centring our lives on the dictates of our own will or selfish, instinctive desires, we prevent our inner sun, in other words, our spirit, or higher Self, from governing our life in accordance with universal harmony:

‘The sun is the centre of the solar system and the planets move harmoniously in orbit around it; it is this harmonious movement of the planets round the sun that must be duplicated in our own cells. But before this can happen we have to discover our own centre: the sun, God, the spirit within us. When we achieve this, every particle of our being moves in rhythm with universal Life and the sensations and states of consciousness that this produces is unutterably glorious’.

Surya Yoga – Meditation on the sun

The Master encouraged this form of meditation and gave it the name ‘Surya Yoga’ from the Sanskrit, ‘Yoga of the Sun’ and it is practised at all brotherhood centres between the Spring and the Autumn equinoxes. He explained that the rays of the sun and the ‘prana’ that is present in the air at sunrise are able to renew and transform us.

‘As you leave your house to watch the sunrise each morning, tell yourself you’re about to meet a living being, that all of nature around you is alive. The entire universe is inhabited by an infinite number of creatures, invisible and yet real. So greet them all, tell these entities that live in the four elements of earth, water, air and fire that you love them, you appreciate their work, you’re grateful for the limpid purity of the morning, for all the life awakening around you at that moment.

As you set off to meet the dawn, be conscious, in your head and heart that you are about to watch, and even participate in, a universal event of great significance. What is more beautiful, more essential than the birth of a new day? You will say perhaps that your presence will change nothing: day will break whether you are there or not. Of course, that’s true, but it is important for you, yourself. For there is a correspondence between what takes place in nature and what takes place within your own being. When you know how to watch the sunrise, you will realise how important it is to work with the forces of day, in order for these forces to dawn within your own consciousness’.

In the philosophy of Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, the sun is restored to central place. He provides a modern, Western interpretation of a spiritual discipline that has been practised in the Hindu tradition since the time of the Vedas: contemplation of the rising sun.