The Mission of Material Religion Essay

The given proposal will primarily focus on the subject of Surya and his material representations in Hinduism. It is highly connected to course topics and readings because of the given being, and Hinduism, in general, revolves around statues, pictures, and other forms of depictions. I want to present my final project as a presentation that focuses on the point where Vishnu overshadowed Surya within the Hindu pantheon as the main god. Surya is all-knowing and all-seeing, looking around the whole world, seeing good and evil. He is born in the east, comes out of the heavenly gates and bypasses the earth and the sky. The main purpose of Surya is the emission of light, with which he illuminates the world, dispels darkness, diseases, and enemies, and his rays are likened to seven mares. I am interested to know the material aspect of this transition because Hinduists worshiped the Sun god for several centuries prior to Vishnu. It is also exciting to assess and analyze the minor elements of Surya’s material manifestations due to the fact that he is always depicted with lesser beings. The main challenge that I might encounter is the lack of sufficient resources and literature in English.