Lord Surya is called as Lokamitran – he is the friend of all human beings and all living creatures in this world. He is also fondly referred to as Lord Suryanarayana in deference to the belief that Lord Vishnu manifests in him. The Earth revolves around the Sun and this is the reason why in all the temples of Lord Shiva, Lord Surya is ensconced amidst the navagrahas.

Propitiating the Sun God occupies the place of pride in all prayers. Even the powerful Gayatri Mantra sings the glory of the Sun God. In fact, when Brahmins do the sandhya vandanam they offer arghyam which is said to kill the demons who torture the Sun God. That is one of the reasons our ancestors recommended doing the Sandhya Vandanam as one of the means to protect the Sun God,

The Sun God is the only one who is visible to all the human beings. The Sun God is also called as Adittyan. He travels in a beautiful chariot that is pulled by 7 horses. Theses 7 horses represent the colors of the rainbow. The chariot is driven by Arunan who is Garuda’s brother. It is only Sun God that makes an individual gain popularity and prosperity. Regularly praying to Sun God can make us radiant, glow with confidence and overcome all the negativities in our lives.

Those who have cardiac problems and problems related to eyesight can pray to Sun God. Sun God’s son is Lord Shani Bhagvan. We all know that Sage Agastya advised Lord Ram to pray to Sun God to decimate his enemies. So says the holy Ramayan.

As advised by Krishna, the Pandavas paid their obeisance to Surya and were gifted with the Akshaya Patra. Legend also has that Sugreeva who helped Lord Rama in his fight against the demonic Ravan was Sun God’s son. Even Karna who is renowned for his generosity and fierce loyalty to Duryodhana was Sun God’s son.

It is ideal to perform Surya-Pooja on Sundays – those who had to wear glasses from a young age, those who have issues with respect to their eyesight and those who have cardiac problems can perform this simple prayer to Lord Surya.

Aditya Hrudayam is a powerful hymn to propitiate the Sun God. However, one can also chant the following simple hymns:

Om Aditya Namaha;
Om Suryaya Namaha;
Om Bhaskaraya Namaha;
Om Raviye Namaha;
Om Dinakaraya Namaha;
Om Trilokya Soodamaniye Namaha;
Om Divakaraya Namaha;
Om Lokamitraya Namaha;
Om Jothiswaroopyaya namaha;
Om Arunaya Namaha;
Om Varada Hasthaya Namaha;
Om Surya Narayana Swamiye namaha.

Another simple hymn is :

Om Namaha Suryaya Shantaya Sarva Roga Nivarine Ayur Arogyam Aiswaryam Dehi Deha Jagatpate.