FATHER, SUN, HOLY GHOST

Blog number 346 **** 20 November 2009

Now this is strange.

Most of us know of the yoga position, "Salute to the sun" that is given at sunrise, and also of the many different ancient religions that worshipped the sun as a god.

In the book, "The Old Way," Elizabeth Thomas writes, "flocks of ducks, geese and other water birds who swam there would wait for the last red flare of the sun to vanish below the horizon, and at exactly that moment they would all fly off as if at a gunshot, all together, in a rush of wings. On cloudy days, when the sun could not be seen, they flew off more or less as dusk gathered, one flock at a time.

Equally impressive were two captive wolves whom I met years later in the United states who would crowd together at a window and wait for the sun to rise, and as soon as its first bright ray came into view, they would howl together, each voice singing a different part in a breathtaking song that set on end the hair of all who heard it. But, like the birds, if the wolves didn't actually see the sun, they took no special action. On cloudy mornings, they paced around below the window without howling. They did this every morning until [their deaths].

As a third example of an animal responding to the sun, I offer an observation of a lion in Etosha Park in Namibia whom I watched one evening. When we first saw the lion he was all alone on an open plain near a natural spring, lying propped on his elbows with his head raised, apparently watching the sun set. At least he was facing the sun, which was sinking toward the horizon. He seemed patient but alert, as if he were waiting for something. As the sun touched the horizon, he began to roar. He continued to roar as the sun sank out of sight, and fell silent the moment it vanished. His mission seemingly accomplished, he then stood up, turned his rump to the gorgeous western sky, and slowly walked east across the plain."

Early one morning just before sunrise by a lake in Denver Colorado, I witnessed tens of thousands of bullhead fish suddenly churn the whole surface of a placid lake. Just as suddenly it stopped. Then it happened again. And again stopped. This continued every few seconds - six or seven more times, until the sun's rays hit the lake, then it stopped, never to be resumed - at least in my presence. I have never seen this before or since. (ed. note)

When I am ruminating on the magic which surrounds us, I sometimes imagine the sun being the physical manifestation of God, and that "fact" accounts for the reverence shown the sun by so many creatures. The sun does give life to all creatures, yes?

Elizabeth's story of the wolves reminds me of something I read in a book about General Grant of civil war fame. This one soldier is telling a story of traveling with Grant (now here, I am not sure of my footing. It might not have been General Grant, but rather some other fellow soldier) anyhow, they heard wolves howling. The other soldier (Grant?) asked if the story teller knew how many wolves were howling. The story teller knew the other soldier came from Indiana (I think) where there were wolves. He also had heard that wolves howling always sounded like many more wolves than were actually there. He thought it sounded like twenty or thirty wolves, So he said, "ten."When they came around a bend, they saw two wolves standing in the road - evidently the only two howlers.