Aditya Hridayam "Secret of Victory" Yagna from the Valmiki Ramayana
By Br Gopal Chaitanya (Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Australia (NSW, ACT, QLD)
Sep/Oct 2009

A little boy aged 6, named Pranav, from Melbourne, flew up to Sydney, to recite the 31 slokas he had memorised, a promise he made to Br Gopalji. With his fabulous chanting and the presence of the devotees present eager to know the Supreme Secret of Victory, the Yagna was off to a very auspicious start.

Shree Rama was deep in thought in a middle of the battle field, his mind agitated and very tired due to this and due to the fierce battle that has taken place so far, and he was wondering how he was going to win the mighty Ravana, the man mountain. Seeing his despair Sage Agastya, approached Shree Rama and said, “I will divulge the eternal secret to you, on how you can attain peace and conquer your enemies”.

The secret was the reciting of Aditya Hrydayam with understanding. And it is as simple as worshipping the sun, The God ever present in all of us.

The sun illumines the whole world with his golden thousand rays. He is the giver of light and the remover of darkness. The remover of vasanas in us. He is the illuminator, the sustainer and the destroyer. He is the God of all gods and the God of our (5 senses, Mind and Intellect). He is omnipresent. The sun does not distinguish between good and bad. It spans across the oceans and mountains, and rises in the East and sets in the West. He is the auspicious one, the master of the Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas. Positive energy emanates from him. The sun is selfless and burns himself for our happiness, and thus we all should be like the sun, doing deeds only that are value added. He destroys and protects and also produces the much needed rain. The vitamin D we receive from the sun in invaluable to our health. He drives away all ignorance and is the lotus at the heart of the devotee.

All sadness will be destroyed by praying to the Sun, the God of all Earth. He is the ever conquering God of all Gods, the Master of our minds. The one the only, Supreme that dwells in all of us. He is the son of Aditi, who never sleeps. He is the protector of the Universe.

Sage Agastya further says to Shree Rama and all of us who is facing the battle within and without, that if we recite this three times, all our darkness will be dispelled, and we would be victorious. He further adds before he leaves the battle field, that Aditya Hridayam needs to be recited with understanding and clarity. If not done with proper understanding it would be fruitless.

Shree Rama the great (as he already had Self Control and the right qualifications) had memorised the Aditya Hrdayam, and taking three sips of water, prepares his bow to face the mighty Ravana. The sun was pleased and asked Shree Rama to now stop wasting time. Act now!

Br Gopalji’s talks were fabulous, he made it very practical and provided us examples which we could relate to. We were able to understand that this Aditya Hridayam was directly related to us and how it can provide us happiness, peace and the ability to cheerfully face the battles of our life and come out victorious. I recommend that all should buy the CD of these talks by Br Gopal Chaitanya.

“The bright beginning made each day can become the early dawn of the day of achievement”
- H H Swami Chinmayananda

This is what I learnt from the 5 days of talks by Br. Gopal Chaitanya.

Om Tat Sat