INTRODUCTION

Religion and spirituality has been a powerful social factor in all phases of
human history and in all parts of the human world. The history of India
would remain enigmatic, particularly, the remarkable phenomenon of
the continuity of Indian culture through the millennia would remain a
mystery, if we do not take into account the role that spirituality has
played not only in determining the direction of her philosophical and
cultural effort but also in replenishing the springs of creativity at every
crucial hour in the long run and often weary journey. Indian culture has
recognized spirituality not only as the supreme occupation of man but
also as his all integrating occupation. The distinct character of Indian
spirituality is its conscious and deliberate insistence on direct
experience. It affirms that deep within the heart and high above the
mind there is assessable to our own consciousness a realm of truths,
powers and ecstasies that we can, by methodized effort of penance
(tapa), realize in direct experience, can even hold permanently and
express in varying degrees through our instruments of the mind, life and
body.1

In India two traditions have been in vogue from the time known-
Brahmin and Shramana.2Brahmin (Vedic) tradition preached one to be
centered to Brahm (God) only through all actions and thoughts. For
them devotion to God is supreme. However, Shramana (Jaina) tradition
preached one to be centered to karma in life. For them karma is
supreme. However, both of them consider penance as an extremely

1. The Veda And Indian Culture, Kireet Joshi, p. 56.

2. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/60100/11/11_chapter%205.pdf

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significant function of life as it is an easy medium to lead a living being
towards spiritual uplift. It is said in Vedic Scriptures that whatever is
impossible can be acquired through penance as it has power to turn the
impossible into possible. According to Jainaphilosophy, our karmas are
the root cause of all sorrows in this world. The reason for birth and
death is karma.

“Tavasā Dhuṇai Purāṇpāvagaṃ”3

It means Karmas of our previous birth can be destroyed with the help of
penance just as Gold becomes pure after being heated in the fire, our
soul can get purified through penance. It is a sacred fire which purifies
our mind by burning all the ill thoughts containing in the mind and
thusstrengthens our mind and thereby turning it into the endless
treasure of power.

1.1 DEFINITION OF PENANCE OR TAPA:

“Penance (tapa) is a cataract that washes away all blemishes and purges
the soul of all karmic matter.”4

Penance or tapa is the heart of Indian spiritual life. Even though there
can be different opinions about the aim of penance in different
traditions, still the concept of penance cannot be denied by any.

In Sanskrit the word 'tapa' (Penance) is derived from the root 'tap' by
the addition of the suffix 'ach' which means "to heat, to give out
warmth, to shine, to burn."5 The term evolves to also mean "to suffer, to

3. Daśavaikālika Sūtra 10/7.

4. http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=134961
5. https://www.jainworld.com/jainbooks/images/31/SUPREME_AUSTERITIES_OR_
PENA. htm

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mortify the body, undergo penance" in order to "burn away past karma"
and liberate oneself.

Suppression of desires to attain the three jewels - Right faith, Right

knowledge, and Right conduct - is called penance. To discard all desires
at heart and become absorbed in the real self in order to conquer the
karmas is known as penance. The word penance means to shun the
sensual pleasures. The abstention of ambition for legitimate and
illegitimate, right and wrong sensuous pleasures in order to attain the
three jewels, viz. Right faith, Right knowledge, and Right conduct is
termed penance.

To suffer calmly without murmur, the good or bad results of karmas that
have become effective and not to commit any type of violence towards
any living being is the essence of penance. In the critical appreciation of
it has been said:

To mortify the body as much as possible according to the rules laid for
the path of salvation without letting your spiritual power lie dormant is
penance.

Therefore, penance can be defined as follows:

1. He who has abstained himself from greed or worldly possessions;

who has got rid of mental impurities; who has adopted nude
monkshood; who resides in mountain caves, observes the
supreme penance.

2. Penance is that in which calamities are suffered without murmur;

that in which feelings of attachment are conquered and that in

3
 which food is accepted as alms at an appropriate time from the
householders.

3. Penance is that in, which the five Samiti - regulation of the

movements of the body are observed. That in which full attention
is paid to the three Gupti - regulation for self- control. That in,
which a man ponders and meditates over his self and non-self;
and that in, which a man sheds the feeling of vanity in his present
state of birth.

4. Penance is that in, which a man ponders over the purpose of his
real life; that in which the karmas are vanquished; that in which
the Gods give expression to their devotion; and that in which the
sermons are delivered for the well-being of mundane souls.

5. Penance is that by the performance of which, as a rule one attains

salvation and obtains eternal bliss.6

The equanimity soul, who tortures his body in various ways in the hope
of getting happiness in this world and the other world, performs the
unblemished penance. In order to attain this virtue of austerity the
monks perform penance on the riverbanks in extreme winter; on the
mountain peaks in the scorching summer heat and under a tree in heavy
down pour in the rainy season. So long as we don't let our body pass
through severe penance well performed, this body will not prove helpful
in annihilating the karmas attached to our soul. Iron has to pass through
many ordeals under heating process, before it can be finally molded into
different shapes and sizes to manufacture precious implements and

6. http://www.jainpushp.org/penance.htm

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other objects. Likewise only the living being, who mortifies his body
through various types of penance and tortures, attains the invaluable
and invisible three -fold jewels of Right faith, Right knowledge and Right
conduct, all of which lie dormant in the human body. 7

1.2 TYPES OF PENANCE:

‘Tavoyaduvihovutto, bahirabhantaro tapa’8

Uttradhyayan talks of two types of tapa i.e., Bahya Tapa (external

penance)- referring to food and physical activities and Abhyantara Tapa
(internal penance)- referring to spiritual discipline.

 External Penance (Bahya Tapa)

 Fasting (anaśana)

 Semi-fasting (ūnodarī)

 Conditional acceptance of alms (bhikśacarī)

 Abstinence from delicacies (rasa parityāga)

 Austerity (kāyā-kleśa)

 Seclusion (pratisaṅlīnatā)

 Internal Penance (Abhyantara Tapa)

 Atonement (prāyaścitta)

 Reverence (vinaya)

 Selfless service (vaiyāvṛtya)

7. http://www.jainpushp.org/penance.htm
8. Uttarādhyayana Sūtra 30/7

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  Spiritual study (swādhyāya)

 Concentration (dhyāna)

 Abandonment (kāyotsarga)

1.3 IMPORTANCE OF AUSTERITY (KĀYĀ-KLEŚA):

Among all these types of penance, austerity is one of the most important
because it is related to body which is an instrument that is needed in
good condition for undertaking spiritual sādhanā and therefore, it is
important to develop its endurance power. By developing physical
endurance power, jīvā is enabled to tolerate the bodily inconveniences
with equanimity.

Therefore, austerity becomes unavoidably desirable for attaining

salvation. The impurity associated with sensual network and varied due
to pre-dispositions of eternal karmas and sufferings (kleśa) cannot be
removed without austerity. It is why the austerity has been placed first
among the components of the penance as the unsteady mind begins to
become steady through austerity.

The austerity is defined as the effort to control over those karmās or

actions which yield pains along with capacity of bearing the pains.
Austeity causes dissociation. 9 Alternatively, it is the renunciation of
sensual pleasures. The winning over the opposing pairs of hunger and
thirst, cold and heat, seating and postures etc. is called austerity. Many
kinds of vows have been mentioned to win over these opposing pairs.
Just as the skillful horse rider controls the unsteady horses, similarly the

9 That Which Is (Tattvārtha Sūtra), Umāsvāti, Sūtra 9/3

6
proper control of body, sense vitalities, and mind can also be called
austerity. Just as, a metallic ore when heated in fire, destroys the slag
and the metal gets cleansed and develops a shine, similarly, the fire of
austerity destroys the dark obscuration of the senses and body etc. and
there is lightning of goodness. It is stated that the austerity tames the
body and senses.

When the austerity leads to the removal of various kinds of obscuration,

it leads to succeed in acquiring the objective and taming the senses. This
means the unsteadiness of mind and senses is removed. The austerity
removes the filth of obscuration born out of impurities. When this
obscuration is removed, the physical super attainments of
miniaturization etc. and sense based super attainments of distant
listening etc. are acquired. It means that one acquires the capacity of
making oneself small, big, light and heavy and also of distant seeing and
hearing etc. The austerity of breath-control causes to remove the
impurities of the body. On removal of bodily impurities, the
corresponding obscurations are also removed. At this moment, the mind
becomes independent of body and can lead to success in the taming of
the body and senses due to unobstructed will power. Though the yogis
do not apply austerities for acquiring these super attainments are
acquired by them incidentally. Nevertheless, the austerities have an
important place for achieving the trance state.

1.4 KINDS OF AUSTERITY :

1. Bodily Austerity- The practice of postures, breath control and

genuine or natural mode of living (like eating, drinking, sleeping or

7
walking etc.) is called the bodily austerity. Yogavartika has stated that
the following are also forms of bodily austerity.

i. Worship of deities, brahamanas, teachers and wise men

ii. Internal and external purity

iii. Straightforwardness or simplicity

iv. Celibacy

v. Non violence 10

Similarly, other activities related with the body can also be called bodily
austerity. As per JainaPhilosophy, austerity means doing yoga exercises,
exposure to hot sun light in summer, residing among tree roots in rainy
season, staying in open in winter and accepting different postures, not
to scratch or pamper the body.11

2. Vocal Austerity- The vocal austerity is to control over the speech.

Speaking true, dear and respectful words is also the vocal austerity. A
person is said to be practitioner of vocal austerity when:

i. He does not speak otherwise even under anger, greed, fear

or laughter etc.

ii. He does speak beneficial limited and balanced words.12

3. Mental Austerity- the mental austerity is to drive the mind away

from violent and distressing attitudes and impure thoughts. One of the
varieties of eight-fold yoga is retreat or withdrawal (pratyāhāra). It is

10. Patañjala Yoga Darśana

11. Uttarādhyayana Sūtra 30/27
12. Patañjala Yoga Darśana

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also one of the varieties of mental austerity. The term ‘pratyāhāra’
means to ‘turn back’. In the process, the senses become introvert after
moving away from external objects. This process has an important place
in the field of spiritual practices.13

Gītā has mentioned three types of austerity in the form of:

1. Genuine or good austerity (Sāttvika)- The genuine austerity is to

practice bodily, vocal and mental austerity with good faith and
without desiring for the effects of undertakings.

2. Passionate or active austerity (Rājasik)- The passionate austerity is

the austerity which is practiced hypocritically for gaining honour,
respect and worship. It is never steady and stable because of its
passionate nature.

3. Ignorant or Dark austerity (Tāmasik)- The ignorant austerity is the

austerity practiced through mortification of body, mind and
speech or practiced for the purpose of creating undesirables for
others.

1.5 PRACTICING AUSTERITY:

There are several ways one can practice the austerity of kāyā-kleśa :14

1) Location: This involves practicing sādhanā while standing.

2) Yogic Posture: This involves practicing of various yogic postures like

padmāsana, vajrāsana, vīrāsana etc.

13. Patañjala Yoga Darśana

14. https://www.jaina.org/page/JainaTap

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 3) Śayana : means lying down, this involves practicing karyotsarga,
relaxation by experiencing that body and soul are separate.

4) Atāpanā : This requires standing steadily while facing the sun and
bearing the heat of the sun.

5) Aparāvarana: This needs tolerating cold, especially in the winter

season, without any or with few cloths on.

6) Śarīr-Parityāg: This involves putting on an exotic makeup on the

body.15

1.6 SUN GAZING (ATᾹPANᾹ) A TYPE OF AUSTERITY:

Atāpanā or Sun Bathing or Sun gazing is a straight-forward yet effective

method based on solar energy, which enables one to harmonize and
recharge the body with life energy and also invoke the unlimited powers
of the mind very easily. Additionally, it allows one to easily liberate from
threefold sufferings of humanity such as mental illnesses, physical
illnesses and spiritual ignorance.

Ancient Indians called this practice “Surya Namaskara,” (sun salutation),

where ancient Egyptians and Americans called it Heliotherapy and
Europeans called it Apollo therapy.

Sun gazingis also known as solar healing, solargazing, sun staring, sun
yoga, surya yoga and solar yoga.16

15. https://www.jaina.org/page/04_27_17_Newsletter
16. https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/01/08/feasting-on-
sunshine. aspx

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1.7 HISTORY OF SUNGAZING IN DIFFERENT CIVILIZATIONS:

The Sun is the biggest planet in our planetary system. Its circumference
is 109 times bigger than that of the earth and it can accommodate 1.3
million earths in it. Its distance from our earth is 150 million km and it
weighs 333,000 times the weight of the earth. Also, 99.8% of the weight
of our planetary system is the sun’s weight. Sun continuously sends out
fireballs, which are 50,000 km long, 9,000 km wide and who’s each jump
towards the earth is 200,000 km. Due to all these magnificent powers of
the sun, it is no wonder that it has inspired the mankind throughout the
history. It has been worshipped from the earliest of times by many
societies living in different parts of the world. Each civilization had a
different story about it.

Now in the early 21st century, we know that the Sun is a star, composed
mostly of hydrogen, at the centre of the Solar System, and with planets
orbiting around it. But ancient people didn’t have access to the same
tools we have today. Their understanding about the Sun was far more
concerned with the day-to-day needs of living.Ancient peoples were
extremely dependent on the Sun for light; only the light from a full
Moon gave any way to see in the night, and it wasn’t until the discovery
of fire that humans had a reliable way to see after the Sun went down.
Its apparent movement in the sky provided clues on when to plant and
harvest crops and gave the concept of the year. The Sun was such an
essential object that many ancient people treated it with reverence and

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considered the Sun a god. Many worshipped it and built monuments to
celebrate it.17

In ancient Greece and Rome, Apollo came to be associated with the sun.
The Greeks obviously appreciated the importance of sunlight. Their
athletes trained naked out of doors, thus exposing all their muscles to its
beneficial effect. In Mesopotamia it was Shamash.Indian mythology too
understands the role of the sun. It was worshipped as “Surya” in India in
ancient times. According to the Hindu mythology, Surya was responsible
for health and life, a reflection of what was perhaps the scientific belief
of the time. The Vedic scriptures of the Hindu religion refer to the sun as
the store house of inexhaustible power and radiance. Surya is one of the
principal Vedic deities. He is pictured as riding across the sky on a chariot
pulled by seven horses. One wonders about the analogy between seven
horses and the seven colours of the visible spectrum of light. To get
energy for their body, Native Indians sunbathe by standing in the sun for
two hours exposing maximum parts of their body, and they don't need
to eat food on those days. They sustain themselves on the “micro food”
of sunlight. Even today, millions of Hindus in India repeat a prayer to the
sun known as the Gayatri mantra which reminds us of our sacred
relationship with this living being: "May we gaze on the splendor of your
guiding power that charges us with light."

For people in ancient Egypt, the sun was a source of life. It was power
and energy, light and warmth.Therefore, the Egyptian peoples honoured
Ra, the sun god, the bringer of light, and patron to the pharaohs.
Mankind and animals were said to have come into being through his

17. https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-sun-worship-2562246

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tears. Ra was the ruler of the heavens. According to legend, the sun
travels the skies as Ra drives his chariot through the heavens.

Egyptians not only did sun gazing, but they ingested

extracts of plants containing atropine, in order to
enlarge the pupils and get more sunlight. The image
shows Tuth-Shena gazing at the sun and having her
palmsraised to face the sun. The sun is depicted as
god Horus, emitting sunrays made of Datura flowers.
Datura is one of the atropine containing plants. The
atropine dilates the pupil, allowing more sunlight into the eye. Datura
has also profound psychic effects.18

Another painting shows Akhenaton, who

introduced the cult of the sun god Aton, using
the red Amanita Muscaria mushrooms in the
worship of his sun-god. He is depicted wearing
something resembling to sunglasses. The
muscarine contained in the Amanita Muscaria
mushrooms from his hands, has the propriety to contract the pupil,
reducing the amount of sunlight entering the eye, just like the
sunglasses.

Egyptians used to sun gaze daily in the temple of Aton, as it's written
into an ancient Egyptian Prayer:

"Great and living Aton, ordaining life, vigorously alive, our father. Our
wall of millions of cubits, our reminder of eternity, our witness of what is

18. https://www.scribd.com/document/67508756/Sungazing-religion-science-
experience

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eternal, who fashions himself with his own hands, whom no craftsman
has devised. Who is established in rising and setting each day
ceaselessly. Whether he is in heaven, or on earth, every eye beholds him
without hindrance, whilst he fills the land with his rays and enables
everyone to live. With seeing whom, our eyes are satisfied daily in this
Temple of the Aten and fills it with his own self by means of his rays,
beauteous with love, and embraces us with them in life and power
forever."19

The old German epic poem, the Edda, tells us that Germans used to
carry their sick, in the springtime to the sunny mountain slopes, in order
to expose them to the sunshine. Certain Germanic tribes placed their
feverish children in the sunlight on the tops of their houses.

The modern era of sun therapy began with the knowledge that
pathogenic bacteria could be destroyed with the use of sunlight. Dr.
Neils Flasen successfully used sunlight in the treatment of tuberculosis of
the skin, thereby winning the Nobel Prize in 1903. However, the
development of antibiotics caused the death of sun therapy.20

19. https://www.scribd.com/document/67508756/Sungazing-religion-science-
experience
20. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1903/summary/

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 PROCEDURE

Sun gazing (Atāpanā) is an ancient and deep spiritual practice, a

meditation and healing practice that calms the mind, heals the emotions
and physical body, and lifts the spirit. The sun gazing method is used for
curing all kinds of psychosomatic and mental illnesses as well as
increasing memory power and mental strength by using sunlight. Here
are certain procedures to sun gaze:

2.1 PROCEDURE AS PER JAINA ĀGAMA:

Atāpanā (exposure to the sun) is in a way a prelude to the acquisition of

solar energy. Keeping in view the posture or sitting position in which the
greatest amount of solar energy may be collected, it is ordained that
earnest sādhak should perform Atāpanā in a standing position. As per
Jaina Āgama, a raised platform should be selected for such an austerity
where the body is to be exposed to the sun-rays. It could be the top of a
mountain or any other high hillock. Such an exposure should be
practiced in a standing position in front of the sun rays with arms raised
up. It should be practised while standing in the relaxation posture and
other postures like the utkaṭuka position.21 In the Bṛhatkalpa Bhāṣya,
such exposure is defined as that of three types: The best (utkṛṣta),
medium (madhyama) and ordinary (jaghanya).22 The best was practised
by lying down, the medium by sitting and the ordinary by standing.

The best is again of three kinds:

1. Very best (utkṛṣta- utkṛṣta)- lying down with the face downwards.

21. Bhagavaī, 2:1:62

22. Bṛhatkalpa Bhāṣya, 5945

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 2. Medium best (utkṛṣta-madhyama) – lying down on the right or left
side.
3. Ordinary best (utkṛṣta-jaghanaya) – lying on the back.23
The medium exposure is also of three kinds:

4. Best medium (madhyama- utkṛṣta) – sitting with the legs fully

crossed (paryṇkāsana).
5. Medium-medium (madhyama- madhyama)- sitting in the semi-
payaṅkāsana.
6. Ordinary medium (madhyama- jaghanaya) – sitting in the
Ukāḍuāsana.24
The alternative classification of medium is as follows:
 Madhyama- utkṛṣta- sitting in the godohikāsana (i.e.,
posture while milking the cow).
 Madhyama- Madhyama – sitting in the Ukāḍuāsana.
 Madhyama- jaghanya – sitting with legs fully crossed.25
The ordinary exposure is also of three kinds:
7. Best ordinary (jaghanya- utkṛṣta) – position by hanging the head
like the trunk of an elephant.
8. Medium ordinary (jaghanya- madhyama) – standing on one-leg.
9. Ordinary ordinary (jaghanya- jaghanya) – standing on both legs in
an even position.26

23. Bṛhatkalpa Bhāṣya, 5946

24. Ibid, 5947
25. Ibid, 5948
26. Ibid, 5949

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2.2 MODERN PROCEDURE OF SUN GAZING:

All living creatures except human beings, the so-called human beings,
use the sun willingly. However, our willingness is to avoid the sun. This is
nothing but a crisis. We are suggested- don’t look at the sun, you will
lose your eyesight. Don’t go into the sun you will have cancer. All myths
and wrong beliefs to keep us away from nature. If used safely, sun is a
very powerful medicine, equivalent to nectar or elixir of life.27 So far, we
are scared by modern science that ultra violet rays of the sun are highly
dangerous, especially the noon ultra violet, that is midday sun. Definitely
that is harmful. But what about when the sun rises or when the sun
sets?

The practice of sun gazing entails looking at the rising or setting sun once
a day, only during the safe hours. No harm to our eyes occurs if we gaze
the sun during the morning and evening safe hours. Safe sun gazing
hours occur anytime within the one-hour window after sunrise or
anytime within the one-hour window before sunset.28 It is scientifically
proven beyond a reasonable doubt that during these times, one is free
from exposure to ultraviolet and infrared rays that are harmful to our
eyes. For those who cannot initially sun gaze during the safe periods,
sunbathing is an effective method for receiving the sun energy at a
slower pace until one is able to sun gaze. Best times to sunbathe is
when the UV index is lower than 2. This usually occurs within the two-
hour window after sunrise or before sunset.29 Sun bathing during the

27. Heal Yourself with Sunlight, Andreas Moritz, p. 26.

28. https://medium.com/inspirechangegrow/sun-gazing-explore-and-empower-
yourself-with-the-healing-powers-of-the-sun-19d6eea78a61
29. The UV Advantage, Michael-F-Holick, p. 108.

17
day is to be avoided, except for during the winter months, when the UV
index usually remains at 2 throughout the day, which is safe for
sunbathing.

As per modern scientists, sun gazing is a one-time practice of our

lifetime usually for a period of 9 months. We can break up the practice
into three phases – 0 to 3 months, 3 to 6 months and 6 to 9 months.30

0 - 3 Months - Look at the rising or setting sun one time per day during
safe hours while standing barefoot on mud, sand or any soil, for 10
seconds on the first day and add 10 seconds every succeeding day. So at
the end of 10 continuous days of sun gazing you will be looking at the
sun for 100 seconds i.e., 1 minute and 40 seconds. By the time you reach
three months gazing duration would be 15 minutes at a stretch. Initially
the brain gets charged up and you tend to feel more relaxed as mental
tension and stress fades away, you gain more confidence and positive
mindset as a result and an increased ability to easily solve your
problems.31

3 - 6 months – During this period of gazing you would have reached 30-
minute duration and studies show that physical diseases start to
disappear since by then all the colours of the sun will have reached the
brain. The vital organs are dependent on certain sun colour like Kidney
red, Heart yellow, Liver green etc., each colour reaches the organs and

30. https://fractalenlightenment.com/14950/spirituality/sun-gazing-why-you-
should-be-doing-it
31. The Healing Sun: Sunlight and Health in the 21st Century, Richard Hobday, p. 85.

18
address any deficiencies. That is why it is recommended to eat a diet rich
in all colours.32

6-9 months – By the time you reach 7.5 months of sun-gazing for 35
minutes, hunger starts going down palpably as need for food intake
decreases. It is like when we eat food we indirectly get the sun energy,
here we are directly satisfying the need to eat food from the source.

After 9 months - After nine months or when you reach 44-minutes, you
should give up sun gazing because solar science prohibits further gazing
for the sake of eye care. The body will get discharged after six days when
you stop practicing, and it has to be recharged. Now the second practice
you have to start walking barefoot on bare earth for 45 minutes daily for
a total of 365 days. Relaxed walking only, no need to walk briskly, jog or
run. Any convenient time of the day is all right, however it is preferred to
do that when the earth is warmer and sunlight is falling on your body.
After one year of recharging, if you are satisfied with your progress, you
can give up barefoot walking. A few minutes of sun energy falling on
you every 3-4 days will be enough from then on to anchor the energies
and make your body “solarised”. But if you want the immune system to
strengthen, then keep on barefoot walking. Also if you want memory
power or intelligence to increase, continue walking. As you increase the
sun's heat on your feet, the brain will activate more and more, which will
result in more activity of the pineal gland. The pineal gland has certain
psychic and navigational functions. Navigational means that one can fly
like birds. You can develop psychic skills of telepathy, television and
place your body at different places simultaneously. Science has validated

32. The Healing Sun: Sunlight and Health in the 21st Century, Richard Hobday, p. 121.

19
human psychic functions, and medical experiments are being done to
ascertain this. Different body parts and organs become purified once
you stop eating due to detoxification. Different internal organs play
different mechanical roles for the purposes of space travel and flight.
There are other uses other than food digestion for the internal organs.
All the glands have a lot of functions and can perform at optimal level via
sun energy. If you are fortunate to activate the brain optimally, you
surely will reach enlightenment.

Maximum Sun Gazing Time

45
42
39
36
33
30
Time (minutes)

27
24
21
18
15
12
9
6
3
0
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150 165 180 195 210 225 240 255 270
Days

The above chart is the graphical representation of the maximum time for
which the sun gazing could be done as approved by science. In the chart
above, the X-Axis represents no. of days whereas the Y-Axis represents
no. of minutes. The chart shows how slowly and slowly, with day by day
increment one should gaze at sun and after nine months one should
stop sun gazing altogether.

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2.3 TIPS FOR SUN GAZING :

 If one follows the method provided above, he will have excellent

results in general health and wellbeing. If shortcuts are taken, like
incrementing time too fast (easy to do!), not walking barefoot, not
standing on sand or earth, then the benefits are reduced for the
present time.
 If a person resides in a high-rise building off the ground in the city,
but is able to sun-gaze in safe hours, then he should make a
sandbox with sea-sand that he can stand in. Some benefits are
reduced, and it may take him longer, but results are not denied.
 Another natural way to expose the retina to infrared light,
recommended for person sensitive to sunlight, who usually wear
sunglasses, is to watch into the direction of the sun, preferably at
noon, with the eyelids closed. The eyelids act as filters, letting only
the infrared light to reach the retina.
 Sunscreens are never to be used. It may have toxic chemicals such
as:
 Oxybenzone, which is linked to hormone disruption and cell
damage that may lead to skin cancer.

 Retinyl palmitate, which has now been proven to be a

carcinogen.33

 Octyl-methoxycinnamate, which causes oxidation damage

of the skin, which ages the face.

33. Heal Yourself with Sunlight, Andreas Moritz, p. 141

21
  Butyl-Methdiebenzoylmethane, which releases free radicals
into the body.

 Benzophenone 2 (BP2), which decreases the function of the

thyroid, in a population that is already seriously suffering
from hypothyroidism (under active).

 Moreover, when we are personally taking heat the sunbath

or tanning ourselves, body perspiration has to go out
because if that doesn’t go out that becomes a toxic waste
stored in our body.

 Furthermore, sun screens stops the sun's ultra violet rays

from creating Vitamin D in the body. Ultra Violet light is just
one frequency of light; there are eight others - infrared, and
the seven spectrums of visible light. Each one has its own
unique healing power!34

2.4 EFFECTS OF SUN GAZING:

Humans have good and bad qualities, which are two sides of the same
coin. In the absence of sunlight, we develop bad qualities. When sunlight
enters the brain, good qualities appear, replacing bad ones. Eventually,
even spiritual ignorance goes away.

The sun energy or the sun rays passing through the human eye are
charging the hypothalamus tract, which is the pathway behind the retina
leading to the human brain. As the brain receives power through this
pathway, it is activated into a “brainutor.” One of the software programs

34. The UV Advantage, Michael-F-Holick, p. 52.

22
inherent in the brain will start running and we will begin to realize
positive changes because we will have no mental tension or worries.

After 3 months of sun gazing, you develop a sense of confidence and

know the answers for yourself spiritually. There evolves a balance of
mind where you now are in a position to judge personal answers – and
the correct answers. You develop powers that are already inherent in
you. Bad qualities disappear, anger, greed, jealousy leave you. You
become a lovable creature. Everybody likes you. You will do no wrong. If
you are positive or fearless, you will not harm anybody nor cause pain to
anyone. You will become a compassionate person. This is a great
contribution to world peace. A positive approach creates solutions to
problems and waste in society. There will be no need for environmental
engineers. By 3.5 months everything changes.35

Mental depression will disappear. Psychiatrists are observing that

sadness is caused by lack of sunlight. With the practice of sun gazing,
you will not experience depression for an entire lifetime. You will
achieve a perfect balance of mind. Fear of death will go away. The state
of your mind is such that you will not fear death. That which is to
happen, you will be able to let happen. There will be no worries.
Everyone has some sort of mental disorder, which is the biggest human
problem, but these can be removed by the proper use of sunlight.

Next, physical diseases will start being cured. 70 to 80% of the energy
synthesized from food is taken by the brain and is used up for fuelling
tensions and worries. With a lack of mental tension, the brain does not

35. http://solarnayoga.info/biblioteka/Extensive-manual-Hira-Ratan-Manek-Living-
on-Sunlight.pdf

23
require the same amount of energy as before. As you proceed in sun
gazing and as your tensions decrease, the need for food intake may
decrease.

When you reach 30 minutes duration of continuously looking at the sun,

you will slowly be liberated from physical disease because by then all the
colours of the sun will have reached the brain through the eye. The
brain regulates the flow of colour prana [life force] appropriately to the
respective organs. All the internal organs are receiving an ample supply
of the required colour prana. The vital organs are each dependent on a
certain sun colour prana: Kidney, red; Heart yellow; Liver, green; etc. The
colours reach the organs and address any deficiencies. This is how colour
therapies work -- Reiki and Pranic Healing. There is a lot of information
available on colour therapy. This is the process of becoming liberated
from physical ailments over a six-month period. After 3-4 months, you
can become cured of your physical ailments using autosuggestions:
Imagining and visualizing healing your ailments while gazing at the sun.

Photosynthesis, which we misunderstand, does not in fact require

chlorophyll. Only the plant kingdom needs chlorophyll. The human body
can process sunlight with a different medium. Photosynthesis is
transforming the sun energy into a usable energy form. This is how
photovoltaic cells produce electricity, how water is heated, food is
cooked in solar cooker, and solar batteries operate automobiles.36

The eyes receive the entire spectrum of sunlight, which then is

distributed to different parts of the body by the brain on a need-per-

36. Light: medicine of the future: how can we use it to heal ourselves now, Jacob
Liberman, p. 132

24
need basis. As a result, you are cured from all diseases. An intermediate
food medium is avoided. As you continue gazing at the sun, energy is no
longer being used up for mental impairments or physical ailments; thus
its storage level increases in your body. You are your own master within
6 months.

Within 6 months, you will start to utilize the original form of micro food,
which is our sun. Additionally, you can avoid the toxic waste that you
take into your body when you eat regular food.

7.5 months and 35 min of sun gazing is when hunger starts decreasing
noticeably. The need for food intake decreases. No one needs to eat
more than his or her hunger levels. Hunger comes because of the body’s
energy requirements, which are a must for its existence. Food is not a
necessity for the body to function; only energy is. Conventionally, you
are indirectly receiving sun energy while eating food, which is a by-
product of sun energy. If there is no sunlight, no food can grow.

As you consume the original form of food, hunger decreases, starting to

disappear eventually. By eight months, you should see hunger almost
gone. For a dull or weak student or with no belief, this time period may
be 9 months or 44 minutes. After that time, hunger disappears forever.
All mechanisms associated with hunger-like aroma, cravings, and hunger
pangs also disappear. Moreover, energy levels remain at a higher level.
Having had this experience, I can testify that the brain is now well-
activated with sun energy. Well done, you have become a “solar
cooker.”

25
Traditionally, human beings eat secondary sources of energy as the
plants and other vegetation depends heavily on the sun for their growth,
simply put, the idea here is to learn how to absorb energy from the
primary source, that is, the sun itself.

We have a super computer in our bodies given to us by the nature. The

brain is more powerful than the most advanced super computer. Each
and every human being is gifted with innumerable talents and infinite
inherent powers by nature. If we can activate the human brain and
awaken these infinite powers inherent in ourselves, then we can raise
ourselves to higher levels. We can achieve any results we want. In order
to operate the brain effectively, it needs to be activated. Being a holistic
entity it needs a holistic power supply. Sun energy is the source that
powers the brain. It can enter and leave the human body or the brain
only through one organ, and that is the human eye. The eyes are the
Sun Energy’s entry door to the human brain. They are also known as the
windows of the soul. Recent research has found out that the eye has
many functions other than vision. And more information continues to
be revealed about the functions of the eye. The eyes are complex
organs and contain 5 billion parts, much more than a spacecraft that has
about 6-7 million parts. By this, you can understand the immense
capacity of the human eye.

It is said that the rainbow is in the eye, not in the sky.37 The seven
colours of the sun are only the reflection of what is in the eye. We can
create a rainbow anytime we want – go to the garden, just observe
below a source of flowing water as the sun moves above. There you will

37. The Science of Mudras and Colour Therapy, Parasmal Dalchand Dugar Jain, p. 90.

26
see the rainbow. The eye can receive the entire spectrum of the
sunlight. It’s like having a glass window. The eye is the perfect
instrument to receive all the colours of the rainbow. Since eyes are
delicate parts of the body, we have to use them in such a way that they
serve our purposes without getting damaged. Present-day teachings
and ideas such as “Don’t look at the sunlight at all --you will damage
your eyesight,” or “Never go out in the sun as you will get cancer,” are
causing needless hysteria and paranoia. The more you are away from
the nature, the more there is a cause for illness and you will
automatically support global corporations. There are definite foolproof
ways of getting the benefits of the nature without exposing ourselves to
its adverse effects.

2.5 IMPORTANCE OF SUN GAZING:

What happens when there is no sunlight outside? Lots of insects, lot of

pollution, lot of bacteria. Even we don’t like cloudy weather, and feel
dull and sleepy. However, the moment sunlight comes we are all
energetic. This shows the effect of light on the human body. The same
thing happens if your brain is starved of sunlight. That is why we are
always angry, we are greedy, we have jealousy, we envy others, we are
hostile to our brothers. And what happens? Because of that we harm
other people, our fellow beings, we pain them.

And when you are angry, when you are greedy, you are anxious, you are
excited always. Then your bodies chemistry changes. If that changes you
suffer from diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, asthma, allergy and so
on, which are psychosomatic diseases.

27
Nowadays even psychiatrists, doctors have started agreeing this is the
reason why people in winter get the seasonal affective disorders in cold
countries. Winter blues- why fifty percent, seventy percent of the
population in cold countries lose mental balance. Why rates of suicide
are high in cold countries. This is the reason, instead of giving heavy
dosages of medicines, many psychiatrist doctors suggest to the patients
just move to a sunny climate and stay there for a month or two and
come back as sunlight cures mental disease and provides perfect mental
health.38

38. The Healing Sun: Sunlight and Health in the 21st Century, Richard Hobday, p. 82

28
 BENIFITS OF SUN GAZING

3.1 SPIRITUAL BENEFITS:

The activation of pineal gland is the key step in psychic, spiritual and
energy transformation processes because here in this gland, energy
processing and re-distribution occurs.39 Ever since mankind has started
ignoring the psychically and spiritually equipped pineal gland it has fallen
on merely physical-material plane and endless pains have fallen on
mankind. Mankind must now relearn to activate pineal and the other
psycho-spiritual bodies either through cosmic energy dynamics or
through practice of Raj yoga or the Tantric ways or other such practices.

The pineal gland is associated with the sixth chakra, also called Ajna or
the “third eye” in yoga, and is considered to be the seat of “inner
wisdom.” It is believed by many to be a dormant organ that, when
activated, awakens psychic abilities. Some consider it to be where
consciousness resides in your body. Rene Descartes devoted a great deal
of his life to its study and called the gland “the seat of the soul”.

Interestingly, the gland is activated by light. Light reaches it by passing

into your eyes, then along a pathway from your retina to your
hypothalamus called the retinohypothalamic tract, then along nerve
pathways to your pineal gland. So pineal activation and charging through
solar energy is the vital step and that is the doorway of energy highway.

In Jaina Āgama, Atāpanā is one of the principal factors in the attainment

of tejolabdhī. One who observes two days fast alternating with a day’s
meal for full six months, gazes at the sun standing in its heat, breaks his

39. http://www.sudhirneuro.org/files/fast_the_hypothesis.pdf

29
fast with a handful of boiled black grams and takes a palm full of hot
water achieves tejolabdhī.40Tejolabdhī is the magic spell of humility,
steadfastness and fear of sin which awakens the power of control. It is a
consummation of thought, with due emotion mixed, it is a combination
of materials pure, purer, purest which increases ample refulgence and
subside all pains.

Tejolabdhī is nothing but an expression of, collected energy, used on the

individual level. He, who possesses tejolabdhī, can utilise it for
constructive as well as destructive purposes. In ancient language it was
called application/blessing and restraint/curse. Energy utilised, as a
favour or blessing, was called cool tejoleśyā and that used for restraint
or curse was called hot tejoleśyā. From this angle, the sensations of
pleasure and pain, willingness and reluctance, blessing and curse, are all
consequences of energy or electricity. Nothing can be accomplished
without electricity. Just as electricity creates for itself a magnetic field,
similarly tejoleśyā creates its own magnetic field. Its electrical current
helps in the formation of an individual's personality, and it is also a
factor in other attainments. Exposure to sun is the effective means for
developing the bio-electrical energy or kundalinī (serpent power).41

Generally, every individual more or less gathers electricity. The greater

amount of electricity increases one’s capacity and only a capable person
has the power to bless or to curse. There are three principal factors in
the attainment of tejolabdhī - Atāpanā (exposure to the sun), endurance
and penance.

40. Shraman Mahaveer, Acharya Mahapragya, p. 139.

41. Ṭhāṇaṃ, 3.386

30
Endurance and austerity are preconditions to a spiritually elevated life.
Both of these are related, in one way or the other, with several kinds of
afflictions. Illness or injury is an affliction. Jealousy, emotional
imbalance, hatred, etc., are also the sources of affliction. You should be
ready to face these afflictions, as they are, without succumbing to any
illusions about them. To endure them with this attitude is called
endurance (titikśā). When you accept or face them as different phases of
your sādhanā, thinking that they make you learn a lot and add to your
experience, then it becomes your tapasyā, or austerity.

To expose oneself willingly to uncomfortable situations or conditions

(which is commonly called self-torture), should not be discarded as
something irrelevant. Many people do tapa, standing on one leg or with
their head down on the ground or amidst the fire flames or neck deep in
icy cold water. It destroys their tamas. This is titikśā. To accept these
situations, in the spirit of asādhaka, is tapasyā.

There is a profound mutual connection between the mind and the body.
If the body is diseased, the mind becomes restless, and when the mind is
restless, the body grows languid. Thus, the influences working on the
body and the mind cannot be separated; they are mutually
interdependent. The purity of aura simultaneously influences both the
mind and the body, thus increasing the power of control. This controlling
power is connected with both the body and the mind. Deliberate control
is not permanent, but the discipline wrought by the aura, or tejoleśyā is
spontaneous and secure. The purification of tejoleśyā develops the
tendency to avoid evil conduct and feelings; in other words, it develops
in a man the instinct to fear sin. Licentiousness comes to an end. There is

31
growth of humility and of willpower. All conflicts arising from the
unsteadiness of the mind cease, and one begins to experience the joy of
solitude even in the midst of a crowd. All this comes to pass due to the
activation of bio-electricity (tejas-śarīr)and a pure aura.42

Sun gazing also helps in meditation. "Through meditation, one-pointedly

fixed upon the sun, will come a consciousness (or knowledge) of the
seven worlds."43

According to Vedas, the term sun gazing is recognized as Panchāgni

tapa. Panchāgnividyā means - meditation on the five fires.44 This vidyā
or knowledge appears in the Chandogya Upanishad (Chapter V 3-10) and
the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (Chapter VI.2). It is one of the forty-one
prescribed Vedic rituals. Panchāgni is a rite of purification known as
prayaschitta. In Panchāgni, first five external fires are endured: four fires
are lit and the fifth fire is that of the sun. Then the five internal fires
raging within: kama (passion), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha
(attachment) and matsara (jealousy), are endured. This is also known as
the Pashupativrata, which is a sacred vow undertaken to become master
of the animal nature. Then follows the five meditations on fire.

The Panchāgni Vidyā or the Knowledge of the 5 fires explains how the
body is linked to the universe and why the mind’s true nature is to
manifest its will in the universe. The Five Fires, called the Panchāgnis, are
not physical fires but meditation techniques. The Fire, here, is symbolic
of a sacrifice which one performs through contemplation.

42. https://www.jainworld.com/preksha/tulsi/atpt38.htm
43. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 3:26
44. http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2002/esep02/panch.shtml

32
Panchāgni is practised during Uttarayana when the sun is in the northern
hemisphere from Makar Sankranti (mid- January) to Karka Sankranti
(mid-July). There are two paths for liberation known as the northern and
southern. Panchāgni is the northern path of light and luminosity. It is the
path to follow for liberation of the soul. After that the soul can assume
any form it chooses. Thus immortality can be attained through this
austerity. The southern path limits the soul to the clutches of destiny. It
follows the cycle of birth and death.45

The gains from this austerity are then given to others in the form of
grace and blessings. This is the highest form of charity. Charity leads to
spontaneous and unbroken meditation. In that state the meditator and
object of meditation merge into each other.

3.2 PHYSICAL BENEFITS:

1. Improves Eyesight

Sunlight and darkness trigger the release of hormones in your brain.

When light enters the eye, it not only creates images, but also travels
throughout the brain, reaching the pineal gland and the hypothalamus.
These parts of the brain are responsible for the body’s hormones and
chemical balances, which affect one’s vision. Studies have found that
applying light to these regions can stimulate the brain, and help restore
the body’s nervous system, which can help improve one’s vision
problems.

45. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchagni_Vidya

33
"When the sun is low in the sky it is yellow or orange indicating that the
hazardous blue light has been scattered out of the direct path of sunlight
and the sun may be fixated for many minutes without risk."46

Sunlight has the highest ratio of near-infrared light at sunrise and sunset,
when the ultraviolet and blue radiation are scattered while red and
infrared are passing through the atmosphere. That's why the sun is red
at these moments, which are the best for improving the vision.

Sunlight influences the metabolism of fatty acids in the retina. "Gazing

directly into the sun actually improves sight and aids in overcoming
disease" (Dr. Herbert Shelton).

2. Cures Depression

Exposure to sunlight cues special areas in the retina which triggers the
release of a hormone called serotonin. Serotonin is associated with
boosting mood and helping a person feel calm and focused.47 At night,
darker lighting triggers the brain to make another hormone called
melatonin. This hormone is responsible for helping you sleep. Without
enough sun exposure, the serotonin levels can dip. Low levels of
serotonin are associated with a higher risk of major depression with
seasonal pattern (formerly known as seasonal affective disorder or SAD).
This is a form of depression triggered by the changing seasons.

46. “Eye protective techniques for bright light”, David H. Sliney, Ophthalmology
1983.
47. https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/benefits-sunlight

34
3. Helps in Building Strong Bones

When bare skin gets exposed to sunlight, amazing things happen.

Pigments in our skin, called melanin, absorb the UV rays from sunlight.
These are stored, processed into new hormone-like compounds by the
liver, and then used for important bodily functions later. Exposure to the
ultraviolet-B radiation in the sun’s rays causes a person’s skin to create
vitamin D. Our skin when exposed to sunlight also produces a much
more effective analogue of vitamin D: vitamin D₃. This vitamin D version
has much more far-reaching effects on the body, including:

 Promoting calcium absorption

 protects against dementia and brain aging

 Strengthening bones

 Modulating chronic inflammation

4. Empowers Immunity

When sunlight hits the skin, it stimulates the topmost layer of living cells,
the keratinocytes. These are the cells which produce the keratin, the
hard outer layer of dead skin that protects us from germs and injuries. It
was always thought that they had no other function. But new evidence
has proved that when they are triggered by ultraviolet light,
keratinocytes produce a chemical called interleukin-1. IL-1 has a simple
but potent effect: it causes white cells, and T-cells in particular, to
multiply in number.

The white blood cells, which increase with sun exposure, are called
lymphocytes. It is the lymphocyte that plays the leading role in

35
defending the body in an invasion by bacteria and foreign organisms.
Because the lymphocytes increase in number after a sunlight exposure,
their products of defense, the antibodies like gamma globulins, also
increase in the blood. This increase of lymphocytes and gamma globulins
greatly increase a person's ability to fight infections. The lymphocyte is
also capable of producing a substance called interferon. This substance
has the ability to stop the reproduction of viruses.

5. Reduces Weight

The UV-rays in sunlight actually stimulate the thyroid gland to increase

hormone production, which in turn increases the body’s basal metabolic
rate. This assists both in weight loss and improved muscle development.

Obesity is also associated with vitamin-D deficiency. In fact, obese

persons have impaired production of UV-B-stimulated D and impaired
absorption of food source and supplemental D. When the diet lacks
calcium, whether from D or calcium deficiency, there is an increase in
fatty acid synthase, an enzyme that converts calories into fat. Higher
levels of calcium with adequate vitamin D inhibit fatty acid synthase
while diets low in calcium increase fatty acid synthase by as much as
five-fold.

6. Prevents Cancer

Although excess sunlight can contribute to skin cancers, a moderate

amount of sunlight actually has preventive benefits when it comes to
cancer. According to researchers, those who live in areas with fewer
daylight hours are more likely to have some specific cancers than those

36
who live where there’s more sun during the day. 48 These cancers
include:

 colon cancer

 Hodgkin’s lymphoma

 ovarian cancer

 pancreatic cancer

 prostate cancer

7. Helps in Fasting

There are two mechanisms by which sunlight suppresses the hunger:

a) by stimulating melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH) production

into the pituitary gland;

b) by stimulating serotonin production and suppressing melatonin

production into the pineal gland.

Exposure to sunlight makes pituitary gland to MSH. MSH stimulates the

pigmentation of the skin, but it is also anorexigenic (suppresses hunger).
It also leads to increased metabolism and accelerates weight loss during
a fast, by increasing the accessibility of fat stores.

The rate of production of serotonin by the brain is directly related to the

prevailing duration of bright sunlight and rises rapidly with increased
luminosity. A common cause of obesity is the serotonin-deficiency.
Symptoms include sugar cravings, food obsession, binge eating,

48. https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/benefits-sunlight

37
depression, anxiety, and phobias. Fasting results in increased turnover of
brain serotonin.

Melatonin does inhibit the pituitary secretion of melanocyte-stimulating

hormone (MSH), which leads to increased hunger. That's why hunger is
hard to control during the night. Melatonin suppresses the production of
insulin by the pancreas, and therefore causes a rise in blood sugar. In
contrast, calcium and vitamin D appears to stimulate the production of
insulin. Exposure to sunlight lowers blood sugar by stimulating its
storage in the muscles and liver. Diabetics are also benefited by getting
moderate amounts of sunshine.

8. Reduces Fatigue

Carbohydrates in the diet are broken down into molecules of sugar,

which either circulate as blood sugar or are therefore readily available
but also readily lost, or else they are stored for later use as glycogen.
Glycogen molecules consist of thousands of glucose or sugar units joined
together in numbers of small clusters. Each cluster contains thirty four
molecules of glucose. It represents the main source of energy for normal
physical exertion, and is the limiting factor for endurance. When all the
available glycogen in muscle is used up, the muscle relies on what
energy can be brought to it in the blood. One of the most important
effects of physical training is to increase the store of glycogen in the
muscle, and this explains why athletes normally do not train for two or
three days before a competitive event - it takes this long for the
glycogen store in the muscles to be built up again.

38
When human subjects are exposed to UV rays, the glycogen level in their
tissues dives in the first hour or so, and then the enzymes which
manufacture glycogen are stimulated. The level of glycogen stored in the
tissues rises steadily for about sixteen hours.

9. Decreases Blood Sugar

In parallel with the increase in glycogen store goes a decrease in blood

sugar - or, more precisely, a normalization of abnormal blood sugar.
Although most cells in the body do not depend on glucose, being able to
use their glycogen stores, the one tissue that is most dependent on
blood glucose, and which uses up twenty per cent of it, is the brain. UV-
inclusive light helps workers reduce fatigue and accidents and
dramatically increases productivity.

By using daily doses of UV light, the blood sugar of diabetics down can
be brought down very effectively. As per the results of an experiment
conducted, there was an immediate improvement after the first day of
treatment, and over a period of up to a fortnight the blood sugar slowly
settled down to normal and stayed there. It showed no signs of
decreasing to below the normal level, so there is no reason for us to
think that UV has a harmful hypoglycemic effect.49 Exposure to sunlight
also raises insulin level, which lowers blood sugar by pushing sugar into
cells, where it provides them energy.50

49. Effect of Ultraviolet and Visible Rays on Carbohydrate Metabolism, Pincussen.

50. The Pineal Gland, Elsevier, Relkin.

39
10. Prevents Cavities

The sun could even help to keep your teeth strong. A dental study found
the prevalence of cavities was greater in children from Scotland, the
North-West, Wales and Merseyside - areas with less than average
sunshine. The proportion of 12-year-olds with untreated cavities was
three times greater in Scotland than in the South West Thames region.51

11. Other Health Benefits

Sunlight lowers cholesterol. The sun converts high cholesterol in the

blood into steroid hormones and the sex hormones we need for
reproduction. In the absence of sunlight, the opposite happens;
substances convert to cholesterol.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sun exposure might
help treat several skin conditions, too. Doctors have recommended UV
radiation exposure to treat:52
 psoriasis

 eczemca

 jaundice

 acne

 Fungal infections

Sunlight penetrates deep into the skin to cleanse the blood and blood
vessels. Sunlight increases oxygen content in human blood. And, it also
enhances the body's capacity to deliver oxygen to the tissues; very

51. https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/dieting/15-reasons-sun-good-you-623393
52. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5999/10-Healing-Benefits-of-the-Sun.html

40
similar to the effects of exercise. The sun has a great effect on stamina,
fitness and muscular development.

After sunbathing, lactic acid, the by-product of muscle metabolism that

causes soreness and stiffness after strenuous exercise, is significantly
reduced.

Sunbathing also increases the ability of the lungs to absorb more vital
oxygen, as well as the blood's capacity to carry and deliver it.

3.3 ENERGY LOGISTICS:

Out of all cosmic sources, the SUN is the most powerful and readily
available source and has been used for energy, by sages and Rishis since
ancient time, including Lord Mahaveer, Tibetan lamas and other Rishis.
Actually the ultimate form of all energy is light. Energy and light can be
transformed into matter and back again to energy. Through complex
ways and distinct pathways this energy must enter the body. This light
energy may be then transformed into electrical, magnetic or chemical
energies in the body. Once processed, this energy must be transported
and must be stored somewhere.

One way that light enters the body is through the retina. There is a
pathway from the retinas, to the hypothalamus, called the
retinohypothalamic tract. This brings information about the dark and
light cycles to suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus. From
the SCN, impulses along the nerve travel via the pineal nerve
(Sympathetic nerves system) to the pineal gland, a pea sized small
endocrine gland located near the center of the brain, tucked into a
groove between the two hemispheres. These impulses inhibit the

41
production of Melatonin. When these impulses stop (at night or in dark,
when the light no longer stimulates the hypothalamus) pineal inhibition
ceases, and Melatonin is released. The pineal gland (or the third eye) is
therefore a photosensitive organ and an important timekeeper for the
human body. The unexplored process of energy synthesis and
transformation from the sun energy perhaps partly occurs here. As plant
kingdom thrives on chlorophyll and photosynthesis, directly dependent
on the Sun, similarly some photosynthesis must be taking place when we
hypothesize Sun energy.

However, parasympathetic nerves & its hormones & chemicals may be

more useful than sympathetic system. As sympathetic system increases
body needs (e.g. thinking, fighting stress, excitement etc.),
parasympathetic system is known to reduce the energy needs. It keeps
the person serene and at mental peace and alters the metabolic
requirements to a lower state and puts it to sleep. There may be other
hormones or chemicals too. The role of temporal lobe and limbic system
also may be important. It may work as a regulator if not receptor and
may be psychically involved in directing the energy in proper pathways.
Deep into the limbic systems or in the parts of medulla oblongata, this
energy may ultimately be stored and from time to time, may be recalled,
charged or recycled. Medulla oblongata has all vital centers and
therefore can be proposed as store of vital energy.

Thus there are energy receivers or receptors, processors analyzers,

transformers, storers etc. to explain the energy logistics. As this form of
energy mathematics is different from what we conventionally are used

42
to, in form of food and calorie mathematics; we will call this micro-food
or mind utilization food.

Also apart from retina & pineal gland, skin and other senses may be
responsible for receiving the energy. Dr. Orm Bergold (M.D.) has stated
that “human photoreceptor molecules are not limited conveniently to
the retina….but rather are ubiquitous, being found in virtually every
tissue”. This means that the skin also converts light vibrations into
electro-chemical impulses. In short, this opens up tremendous
possibilities. This micro-food can solve the food crisis on earth and in
fact is the only possible food in present context for somebody who
wants to be a long-term space traveler or planet traveler. Amazing! It is
time to note, that our routine food is not the only source to sustain the
body. Through Sun Gazing and Meditation, tremendous capacities are
born which will bring tranquility to mind and also slow down
metabolism.

43
EXPERIENCING ATĀPANĀ
Books and experience are the main two channels for People to gain their
knowledge. Each play different roles for people. In my opinion,
knowledge from experience is more important than that from books.The
knowledge from the books are constrained to the certain conditions and
environment, however, knowledge from experience comes from new
practices and it has the ability to prove if the knowledge from books are
true and false.

There have been number of people who have either practiced sun gazing
(Atāpanā) or have believed in sun gazing in the modern world.Some of
them are discussed here under:

 Hira Ratan Manek (HRM) was born on 12th of September 1937 in

Bodhavad, India, was raised in Calicut, Kerala, India, where he had
his Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Kerala.53
After graduation, he joined the family business, which was
shipping and spice trading, and continued working there until he
retired in 1992. After he retired, he began to study on sun gazing,
in which he had been interested since his childhood. After working
3 years on this method, he was able to find the secrets of sun
gazing. During his study, he was mainly inspired from the
teachings of Lord Mahāvīra of Jains, who was also practicing this
method two thousand and six hundred years ago. He walked in
the sun for long periods of time. As he kept walking in the sun, he
felt progressively energized. He also felt less and less need to eat

53. http://solarhealing.com/

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food. There was no compulsion to do a fast; no will power was
necessary. He follows the jain way of fasting and he takes only
water after sunrise & before sunset. He has done fasting for 211
days, from 19th June 1995 to 15th Jan 96. The fast ended in the
Jain temple situated in the Gujarat. When he completed the 211
days fast, his weight was reduced by 41 kg. and the Sugar level
(Glucose) was lowered to 43. "Medical Science says that when the
glucose level of a human being decreasing below 50, then the
situation becomes dangerous, even though in his case nothing has
append." Said Dr. P.D.Doshi the secretary of Health Care
International Multitherapy Institute.
HRM started a 411 days fast at 1st January 2000 and was ready to
go for continuous medical checkup during his fasting. The medical
team is led by Health Care International Multitherapy Institute &
Jain Doctors Federation jointly. It is fully supported by Jain Yuvak
Mahasangh President Dr. Jitubhai Shah. HRM has has completed
166 days of fast on 14th June 2000. His initial weight was 77 kg
was reduced to 62kg. All other parameters were normal. On 14th
Februry 2001 he completed 411 days of fasting. Except for loss of
19 Kg weight (58 kg, which was stable with no further weight loss
for last 3 months) a slight reduction of pulse rate and B.P. and
definite reduction of respiratory rate (from 18 to now 10/minute)
amazingly, there is no other medical abnormality. He has stopped
passing stool after the 16th day of fasting and urine output was
maintained at around 600 to 800 c.c. His blood sugar was between
60 and 90. The pineal gland can be enlarged by Surya Yoga.
Normal Pineal gland measures 6 x 8 mm in human body. As per

45
 C.T.Scan & MRI Scan reports of Mr. Hira Ratan Manek. it is 8 x 11
mm (enlarged). This may indirectly support the important role of
pineal gland in energy transformation. The pineal has documented
effects on reproductive function, growth, body temperature,
blood pressure, motor activity, sleep, tumor growth, mood, and
the immune system. A healthy pineal also seems to be a major
factor in longevity. HRM has one intention that is to have
humanity become truly independent. He stated: "Food makes us
commit the maximum pain to others and exploit others."
 Giri-Bala: "Your nourishment derives from the finer energies of
the air and sunlight, and from the cosmic power which recharges
your body through the medulla oblongata." When Paramahamsa
Yogananda asked her: "what is the use of your having been singled
out to live without eating?", she answered: "To prove that man is
Spirit." Her face lit with wisdom. "To demonstrate that by divine
advancement he can gradually learn to live by the Eternal Light
and not by food."54
 Sunyogi Umasankar: An Indian Yogi, was born in 1967 in Lachipur,
near Calcutta, into a Hindu family. During his time at the ashram
of Pondicherry, he spent every morning meditating on a rock
looking out at the sun's reflection off the sea. His daily meditation
upon the reflected sunlight onto the sea water, which is a
polarized light, gave him great pleasure and became aware that,
through this method of meditation, he was somehow able to
absorb powerful energies from the sun's rays. He began to
experiment by looking directly at the sun, initially as it was rising,

54. Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda, p.

46
 then day by day he began to concentrate on it as it rose higher
into the sky. He continued his meditation and after a couple of
months the sun started to appear as a "clear hazy ring with soft
blue sky inside". The harsh brightness disappeared and he felt it
become increasingly soothing. As time went on, he started to see
"seven bright colours radiating from the sun, slowly reaching
closer to the ground".
During his three month period of concentrating on the sun,
Swamiji had developed a great interest in the way that trees and
plants are able to receive energy directly from sunlight. His
discoveries now made him believe that he had found a way of
absorbing the sun's energy directly into his body, charging his
body's cells with kinetic energy and therefore removing the need
to eat food. So, as an experiment, Swamiji stopped eating
breakfast and continued concentrating on the sun. Six months
later, he stopped eating his dinner, then six months after that, he
stopped eating food at all. From the 17th August until the 7th
December 1996, Swamiji stopped eating and sleeping altogether.
His body weight remained the same and he continued his daily
routine working in the ashram in a perfect state of health.
 Acharya Jowel is being recognized as Surya Swami for his Suryayog
practice that is gaining a lot of followers in Mumbai. He says:
"Through Surya yog, your mind naturally begins to concentrate,
which is the aim of all spiritual processes. The sun's rays collide
with our thoughts and create silence. The mind is too powerful to
be managed by ordinary human consciousness. The photons from
the solar system help to control the mind."

47
  Dimbeswar Basumatary, a 24-year-old college dropout from
Balimari village west of Assam’s capital Guwahati, has sun-gazing
as his passion. He has baffled ophthalmologists by staring at the
sun for hours without blinking, while staring at a radiant sun for
just 90 seconds can cause solar burn or retina damage.
He claimed that he had tried not eating anything for four days and
did not experience hunger or thirst because the sun gives him
food for survival in the form of solar energy. A senior
ophthalmologist Biraj Jyoti Goswami of the Sankardev Netralaya, a
premier eye hospital in Guwahati, said that Basumatary had been
examined a number of times and was found to have good colour
vision with no significant problems detected so far.55
 Isaac Newton: "I looked a very little while upon sun in a looking-
glass with my right eye and then turned my eyes into a dark
corner of my chamber and winked to observe the impression
made and the circles of colours which encompassed it and how
they decayed by degrees and at last vanished. This I repeated a
second and a third time. At the third time when the phantasm of
light and colours about it were almost vanished, intending my
phansy upon them to see their last appearance I found to my
amazement that they began to return and by little and little to
become as lively and vivid as when I had newly looked upon the
sun. But when I ceased to intend my phansy upon them they
vanished again. After this I found that as often as I went into the
dark and intended my mind upon them as when a man looks
earnestly to see anything which is difficult to be seen, I could

55. Youth’s Sun-Gazing Baffles Eye Specialists, The Star, 17 December 2002

48
 make the phantasm return without looking any more upon the
sun. And the oftener I made it return, the more easily I could
make it return again. And at length by repeating this without
looking any more upon the sun I made such an impression on my
eye that if I looked upon the clouds or a book or any bright object I
saw upon it a round bright spot of light like the sun. And, which is
still stranger, though I looked upon the sun with my right eye only
and not with my left, yet my phansy began to make the
impression upon my left eye as well as upon my right. For if I shut
my right eye and looked upon a book or the clouds with my left
eye I could see the spectrum of the sun almost as plain as with my
right eye, if I did but intend my phansy a little while upon it. For at
first if I shut my right eye and looked with my left, the spectrum of
the Sun did not appear till I intended my phansy upon it; but by
repeating this, appeared every time more easily. And now in a few
hours time I had brought my eyes to such a pass that I could look
upon no bright object with either eye but I saw the sun before me,
so that I durst neither write nor read but to recover the use of my
eyes shut myself up in my chamber made dark for three days
together and used all means to divert my imagination from the
Sun. For if I thought upon him I presently saw his picture though I
was in the dark.56"
 Hemant Chhajjer, an ordinary man with extra-ordinary will power.
He started taking Atāpanā 10-12 years back, that is, probably from
2007-2009, with the sole intention of breaking from the bondage

56. The Correspondence of Isaac Newton, vol. III, p. 153-154]

49
of karmās. A number of questions regarding Atāpanā were asked
by me, the answers of which are provided below:

Question 1: Have you taken Atāpanā?

Answer: Yes, I have been taking Atāpanā from 10-12 years now
and I still take Atāpanā.

Question 2: What according to you is Atāpanā all about?

Answer: Atāpanā is a method of breaking from the bondage of
karmās and getting rid of the five internal fires raging within, that
is kama (passion), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha
(attachment) and matsara (jealousy).

Question 3: Who inspired you to take Atāpanā?

Answer: No one inspired me. I started doing it on my own after
reading Jaina Āgama and some books of Acaryā Mahapragya.

Question 4: At what time do you take Atāpanā?

Answer: I can take Atāpanā whole day long, as long as the sun is
shining in the sky. However, normally I devote about 5-6 hours to
bask in sunlight.

Question 5: At what age did you start taking Atāpanā?

Answer: I started taking Atāpanā probably when I was 32-33 years
old.

Question 6: What do you feel when you are taking Atāpanā?

Answer: When I started taking Atāpanā, I used to feel as if I am in
a battlefield, fighting some unknown mysteries and many a times I
struggled to decide whether I should keep doing it or should stop
it but now it has become a part of my life.

50
Question 7: What was your motive behind taking Atāpanā?
Answer: My motive was clear when I started taking Atāpanā. First
I wanted to break the bondage of karmās and second I wanted to
cure my legs.

Question 8: What according to you should be the correct

procedure of taking Atāpanā?
Answer: One should start taking Atāpanā from the back i.e., the
back should be facing the sun. Then he should keep taking
Atāpanā in the back until the day comes when he no longer feel
the scorching heat of sun on his back. Then he should start taking
Atāpanā front facing.

Question 9: Doesn’t taking Atāpanā produce extra heat in the

body? If yes, what can be done to control it?
Answer: Taking Atāpanā produces energy in the body and hence
the heat, however, if the energy is utilized by changing its
direction and doing something worth full, then no excessive heat
remains in the body.

Question 10: While taking Atāpanā, is it necessary to look at the

sun with naked eyes? Doesn’t looking at the sun directly cause
harm to the eyes?
Answer: It is not necessary to look at the sun with naked eyes,
while taking Atāpanā, however, there is no harm in looking so. I
personally feel my eye sight has improved.

Question 11: What according to you is the x-factor in Atāpanā

that has brought a significant difference in your life?

51
 Answer: Atāpanā has given me the peace of mind, body and soul.
It has provided me with the control of myself on my speech, my
mind, my emotions and my body.

 Another personality, I had the privilege to interview was a Jaina

saint Muni Shree Jay Kumar Ji. When asked the same set of
questions to him, I got different answers which made me realize
that there is a wide scope for Atāpanā, as each one who takes
Atāpanā, comes across different set of opinions and have
different experience altogether.

Question 1: Have you taken Atāpanā?

Answer: Yes, I have been taking Atāpanā in sitting as well as
standing position from the age of 26 and I still take Atāpanā,
however, I do not take Atāpanā regularly.

Question 2: What according to you is Atāpanā all about?

Answer: Atāpanā is a method of exercising control on yourself
and it is a method to test your patience as well as tolerance
power.

Question 3: Who inspired you to take Atāpanā?

Answer: No one inspired me. I started doing it on my own after
reading Jaina Āgama and some books of Acaryā Mahapragya.

Question 4: At what time do you take Atāpanā?

Answer: I take Atāpanā at about 12:00p.m. to 3:00p.m. and
sometimes at about 9:00a.m. to 11:00a.m., whichever is more
convenient to me.

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Question 5: At what age did you start taking Atāpanā?
Answer: I started taking Atāpanā probably when I was 26 years
old.

Question 6: What do you feel when you are taking Atāpanā?

Answer: When I am taking Atāpanā, I feel the stillness of my
mind, speech and body.

Question 7: What was your motive behind taking Atāpanā?

Answer: My motive behind taking Atāpanā is to break the
bondage of karmās .

Question 8: What according to you should be the correct

procedure of taking Atāpanā?
Answer: There are different procedures of taking Atāpanā, you
can take whatever procedure you feel you are comfortable with,
whether it be in standing position or be in sitting position,
whether it be front faced or be it back faced, and so on.

Question 9: Doesn’t taking Atāpanā produce extra heat in the

body? If yes, what can be done to control it?
Answer: Taking Atāpanā produces energy in the body and hence
the heat, however, this excessive heat can be gotten rid off by
doing meditation and prāṇāyam. Also our food habits must be
taken care off.

Question 10: While taking Atāpanā, is it necessary to look at the

sun with naked eyes? Doesn’t looking at the sun directly cause
harm to the eyes?
Answer: It is not necessary to look at the sun with naked eyes,

53
 while taking Atāpanā. Looking at the sun directly may cause
damage to your eyes.

The experience of all these people says a lot about the importance of
sun gazing (Atāpanā) and how each of them have been affected by sun
gazing and come up with positive results. However, until and unless we
decide to taste the experience of sun gazing (Atāpanā) ourselves, we will
never know what we are missing.

54
 CONCLUSION

Mountain peaks do not flow unsupported; they do not even just rest
upon the earth. They are the earth in one of its manifest operations.
(John Dewey, 1934).

Humans too ‘are the earth in one of its manifestations’. We are part and
parcel of nature. Our mental life, consciousness, and culture, our
sciences and our religious convictions ‘do not flow unsupported’, nor do
they merely ‘rest upon’ our physical constitution. We are natural,
limited, biological beings. We are atoms and molecules, but we are not
just piles of them. We are much more structured and shaped.

Reality allows for a rough division into levels of complexity, from quarks
to atoms, and from molecules to organisms and cultures, and our
knowledge ranges accordingly from physics and biology to the social
sciences and humanities. Religion and morality belong to the highest
level, that of human persons, cultures and traditions. However, that
level does not ‘flow unsupported’, but is rooted in, or rather a
manifestation of, the rich possibilities of the natural world.

Science and Religion are consistent with one another and both should
inspire the other. Neither science nor religion should exist ignorant of
one another, because as Einstein pointed out without one another both
are flawed. A scientist can be religious and in fact should be because
when science does not take into account religion it forgoes its
conscience, which leaves out an awareness of right and wrong. At the
same time religion can’t discount science because without it religion is
being ignorant and close-minded. Science and religion can and should

55
coexist because they both have a positive affect on the other. Some play
down science in order to make room for existing beliefs. In their opinion,
science offers knowledge which may be instrumentally useful, but this
knowledge is not significant when it comes to matters meaning, where
we have to turn to subjective experience and interpersonal relations.
Either the status of scientific insights or the extent of the domain of
science is supposed to make the sciences irrelevant for reflections on
religious life. With such thinkers I agree that religion and science are
quite different enterprises. However, humans are part of the natural
world; the sciences may well have something to say about interpersonal
relations and subjective experiences too.

Generally speaking, science is the study of the empirically observable

world, while religion pertains largely to what is immaterial and cannot
be detected through the senses (if that description is even true of
anything). There was a time when philosophy, theology, and natural
science coexisted peacefully as equal partners in the quest for
understanding. In the eyes of many, that harmony has turned into the
strongest rivalry of our time. According to one very popular conception
of the relationship between science and religion, the two are enemies
locked in mortal combat. In this view, religious claims rail against
science, which in turn undermines the credibility of religion. But not
everyone sees the relationship in that light. For example, those at the
forefront of the Intelligent Design movement think that theistic claims
have only been bolstered by recent developments in science. To them,
science and religion can and do support each other. Still others maintain
that religion and science do not affect each other at all; they are
separate, isolated areas of discourse with little or nothing to say to each

56
other. There are also those who doubt that religion is a field of inquiry at
all. For them, religion doesn’t study things. It’s not an area of knowledge
on par with established scientific fields. In what follows, we will look
more closely at these accounts of the relationship between science and
religion: that the two are enemies locked in mortal combat, or that they
support each other, or that they do not affect each other.

In this study I have tried to articulate such a view of reality and have
attempted to think through perspectives for religion in a world best
understood in scientific terms.

The sun has always been a central element in the lives of human beings.
Our ancestors adapted to the natural cycles to be able to survive and we
still depend entirely on the energy and the biological processes in nature
spurred by the sun. The daylight stemming from the sun plays a major
role as an external regulator of our inner, biologic, circadian rhythm, and
also when it comes to our mood. The sun and its light are important
parts of people’s lives in the sense that these natural phenomena
influence on the lives of people, the design of their lives, their wellbeing.

New approaches may be useful to understand the significance and

profundity of the sun and its light as something sensuous to the
individual, as a natural element that needs to be investigated on its own
terms, but also as an area where other research areas may be required
for understanding the phenomenon in depth.

While going through the details of recent scientific literature and also
comparing it with ancient Indian spiritual texts, as well as western occult
and new age, it is apparent that Sun gazing is a straight-forward yet

57
effective method based on solar energy, which enables one to
harmonize and recharge the body with life energy and also invoke the
unlimited powers of the mind very easily. Additionally, it allows one to
easily liberate from threefold sufferings of humanity such as mental
illnesses, physical illnesses and spiritual ignorance.

As per Jaina Agama, Atāpanā is a type of austerity. There are two main
factors of Lord Mahāvīra’s religious preaching; non-violence and
forbearance of hardships. Bearing the hardships does not mean to grieve
the body, the sense organs or the mind. But to keep steady and firm the
religious practice of non-violence etc.

Acaryā Kundakunda has said, “Knowledge mixed up with the happiness

gets destroyed when the unhappiness is generated. Therefore the monk
should get himself accustomed with unhappiness. It is essential to have
the uncomfortable heat of austerity together with coolness of comforts
for the sādhnā to be successful.” Austerity is not torture but an aid for
the monk. Therefore, austerity should be born with or endured with
steadiness.

It has been observed that people practise their sādhnā with a resolve
(saṇkalpa) to get some material gain. Many scientific devices and other
means can be exploited for materialistic achievements. Our resolves
should not be a replacement for those devices and means. Let our
sādhnā not be nullified by such resolves. Materialistic needs should not
be allowed any place in our spiritual efforts. Such requirements can be
fulfilled without much difficulty. We can get money and home; we can
earn name and fame, even if we do not possess them, through our
personal efforts. But we should not try to get these material gains

58
through our resolve. The resolve is meant for fulfilling higher purposes.
The power of resolve- or the willpower- should be preserved very
carefully to make full use of the divine grace which will be bestowed
upon you as a result of our sādhnā or austerity. When we expose our
body to discomforts for a long time and ignore them mercilessly, then
they lose their power over us. In this state of void, the chakras in our
body are opened and siddhīs are bestowed.

'The study of sunlight affirms the connectedness of all these things. We

have entered an age when we must look at things from nowhere rather
than experiencing them from only our own points of view and, thus,
artificially colouring our realities.

59