His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami earned the “siddhanta” title due to his immense intellectual prowess demonstrated by his translation of the Surya Siddhanta from Sanskrit to Bengali at the age of 21, under the commission of “His Royal Highness Sri Vir Chandra Varmamanikyya The lord of the independent kingdom of Tripura”, a bonafide descendant of the Lunar dynasty and recognized soveriegn of Bengal (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir_Chandra_Manikya).
Siddhanta is literally part of his name from the time of his translation work. Does he stress this book in his lifetime of extensive teachings? Does he discuss Surya Siddhanta in the course of his elaborate writings and public discourses? Does he place it’s conclusions as a significant foundation-stone of the philosophy of Krishna bhakti taught by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu? I’ll let you answer this question for yourself.
Why then do the current day followers of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, in their attempt to unravel the mysteries of the 5th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam so doggedly attempt to pull Surya Siddhanta into the mix as they continue to be perplexed by what–they conclude–must be a semi-imaginary model of ‘Earth’ given by Sukadeva Goswami requiring to be pushed into a “higher dimension”? Why such an obsession with a Vedanga, which, neither purports to offer meaning to human existence nor offers a navigable map of the universe?
I have discussed these questions in previous posts (just keep scrolling down after you finish this post).
Please try to see the folly in this comparison:
Of the five basic truths, namely ISVARA, JIVA, PRAKRITI, KALA, KARMA, only one is listed as temporary by Srila Prabhupada in his introduction to Bhagavad-Gita As It Is: KARMA. Karma is temporary.
What is jyotish? Jyotish is astrology, the science of karma, based on the precise positions of all the stars and planets in the sky at any given moment. The Surya Siddhanta reveals the perfect mathematical formulas for an adept who wishes to master this science. This can be very useful from a worldly perspective in terms of the four main Vedic principles of dharma, artha, kama and moksha. You can have an accurate calendar, you can marry individuals with similar psycho-physical natures and thus have good progeny, you can perform pious rituals and go to heaven, etc., however, does the Srimad Bhagavatam cheat us in this way?? Again, I will let you answer this question for yourself.
Surya Siddhanta is a foundational jyotish shastra, and thus is also a Vedic literature and not to be villified, however, in the most simple terms from the Vaishnava perspective:
Jyotish is the very SCIENCE of karma;
Srimad Bhagavatam is the very opposite.
Surya Siddhanta is a WORLDY Veda;
Srimad Bhagavatam is 100% Transcendental to worldy aims.
Let us not therefore make the grave error at the outset to conflate the value or status of these two texts.
“Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhāgavata Purāṇa propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhāgavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhāgavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart.” (SB 1.1.2)
If the 5th Canto gives us a ‘flat’ model of our Mother Earth (bhu-mandala) why not look at all the sense-perception-based evidence that supports this view and attempt to align our perception of reality with the messengers who lack any motive to cheat us? As usual, I will recommend this article by Mayesvara dasa (Ireland).
VEDASONIC 