SEÑOR SHIVA

Lord Shiva (Shiv), the Hindu god of destruction

Shiva is the god of the yogis, self-controlled and celibate, while at the same time a lover of his spouse (shakti). Lord Shiva is the destroyer of the world, following Brahma the creator and Vishnu the preserver, after which Brahma again creates the world and so on. Shiva is responsible for change both in the form of death and destruction and in the positive sense of destroying the ego, the false identification with the form. This also includes the shedding of old habits and attachments.

All that has a beginning by necessity must have an end. In destruction, truly nothing is destroyed but the illusion of individuality. Thus the power of destruction associated with Lord Shiva has great purifying power, both on a more personal level when problems make us see reality more clearly, as on a more universal level. Destruction opens the path for a new creation of the universe, a new opportunity for the beauty and drama of universal illusion to unfold. As Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram or Truth, Goodness and Beauty, Shiva represents the most essential goodness.

While of course many hindu deities are associated with different paths of yoga and meditation, in Shiva the art of meditation takes its most absolute form. In meditation, not only mind is stopped, everything is dropped. In deep meditation or samadhi, even the object of the meditation (like a mantra) is transformed into its formless essence, which is the essence of everything and everyone. Thus Shiva stands for letting go of everything in the world of forms. The path of Lord Shiva is the path of the ascetic yogi.

Forms of Shiva

Shiva has many forms, which are visible in his Panchavaktra form with 5 heads, a combination of all Shiva energies : Aghora (resides in the creamation grounds), Ishana (most often appears as the shivalingam), Tat Purusha (meditating), Varna Deva (the eternal Shiva) and Saddyojat or Braddha Rudra (the old wrathful form). The last also forms the connection to the Rudraksha mala - a rosary made of the dried fruits of the Rudraksha tree.

Another form is the Nataraj. Shiva Nataraj's dance represents both the destruction and the creation of the universe and reveals the cycles of death, birth and rebirth. His Dance of Bliss is for the welfare of the world. In the pose of Nataraj, the King of Dance is giving darshan to his beloved devotees within the "Hall of Consciousness", which is the heart of man. Under his feet, Shiva crushes the demon of ignorance called Apasmara Purusha, caused by forgetfulness. One hand is stretched across his chest and points towards the uplifted foot, indicating the release from earthly bondage of the devotee. The fire represents the final destruction of creation, but the dance of the Nataraj is also an act of creation, which arouses dormant energies and scatters the ashes of the universe in a pattern that will be the design of the ensuing creation.

Yet another manifestation of Lord Shiva is said to be Hanuman, the ultimate karma yogi, in never-ending selfless service to Ram. The fact that this is not really clear can be perfectly explained by the understanding that a true karma yogi will never take the credit for his acts, as they would otherwise not be entirely selfless. The ego would still get the credit. So, in order to respect Shiva as a true karma yogi, let us not pay too much attention to this manifestation.

The Mahamrityunyaya form of Shiva is the great conqueror of death. The Mahamrityunjaya mantra is one of the two main mantras of the Vedas, next to the Gayatri mantra. It is chanted to remove death and disease. This form of Shiva also is the being of pure joy, referring to the unconditioned enjoyment of the perfectly peaceful mind. That is the true nature of the divine elixir that this Shiva offers his devotees in no less than four hands.

Another main form of Shiva is Ardhnarishwara, half Shiva, half Shakti. Also related to Shiva is Indra.

Attributes of Lord Shiva

Shiva's main attributes are :

• the trident that represents the three gunas
• the snakes that show he is beyond the power of death and poison and also stand for the Kundalini energy.
• the sound of Shiva's two-sided drum maintains the rhythm of the heartbeat and creates the sound AUM in the overtones.
• the vehicle of Shiva is the white bull called Nandi (the joyful).
• Shiva is often seated on a tiger skin or wears a tiger skin, with the tiger representing the mind.
• Shiva lives on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas.

Relationships

The power or energy of Shiva is Shakti, his spouse, of which Parvati is probably the most popular form. Shiva's first wife was Sati and his second wife was Parvati. They are also known by many other names, such as Uma, Gauri, Durga, Kali, Annapurna and Shakti. His sons are Ganesha and Kartikeya.

Shiva and Parvati are often shown as sitting in happy, intimate embrace. They also like to discuss philosophy. Shiva taught Parvati on Vedanta (transcendent knowledge), while Parvati tought him Sankhya (cosmological knowledge). Both were perfected yogis.

After their marriage, they left for mount Kailash and immersed themselves completely in a sexual intercourse so strong that the deity of desire Kama was reborn when their sweat mingles with his ashes. Their love was so intense that it shook the cosmos and frightened even the gods.

The balance between male and female can also be obtained in marriage, when both partners complement each other to form an ultimate oneness, which is the source of creation. When Shiva does his destructive Tandava dance, Parvati is said to complement him with a slow, creative step of her own, calming him with her soft glances. While Shiva shows a wilder nature that is both ascetic and erotic, Parvati stands for the middle path of the householder. As Shiva exulted in his romantic dalliance with her, the true mother in her longed for a child. Shiva resisted the life of a householder, but Parvati's desire for it was greater than his resistance. Hence first Ganesha was born, later also Kartikay.

The Shiva Lingam

Lord Shiva is conceived in his unborn, invisible form as the Shiva Lingam. The Lingam represents the male creative energy of Shiva. This main symbol of Shiva is worshipped in virtually every Hindu temple and home. The phallus is not worshipped as such, but through it Shiva is worshipped as the supreme consciousness. Embracing the base of the linga is the yoni, the female organ, as the universal energy, as Shakti, Shiva's spouse. Through profound understanding of this symbol, the mystery of creation can be understood as an act of love.

When Ganga incarnated on Earth, Lord Shiva captured her in his hair to avoid that she would flood all of Earth (See the Life of Ganga).

Shiva worshippers (Shaivites) are among India's most ascetic yogis, their body smeared with ashes, dressed in saffron colors and wearing a Rudraksha mala. The path of Shiva can thus be seen as the inward-going path, the great journey to find the self. This path is complementary to the path of Vishnu, which is the outgoing path, bringing out the self from within and letting it manifest in the universe and our lives. 

Some unique attributes of Lord Shiva

1. Physical attributes

a. Ganga : Just as the sun is the focal point of the solar system and the soul that of the body, the focal point of divine consciousness (chaitanya) in every object and pure particles (pavitrakas) is ga-aum. The flow from which ga-aum originates is gan gaha = Ganga. Ga-aum flows from Shiva's head. This is called the descent of the Ganga from Shiva's head. Since the river Ganga has a fraction of the principle of the spiritual Ganga, no matter how polluted it becomes, its purity is perpetually retained. Hence, when compared to any other water in the world, the water from the Ganga is the purest. This is realised not only by those who can perceive the subtle dimension but also by scientific researchers.

b. Moon : Shiva adorns the chandra (moon) on His forehead. The point where the three frequencies - affection (mamata), mercifulness (kshamashilata) and motherly love (vatsalya) originate is referred to as the chandra (moon). Thus, one can conclude that chandrama (the moon principle) is the state in which the three attributes of affection, mercifulness and motherly love are present.

c. Third eye : Shankar is three-eyed, i.e. He can perceive events of the past, present and future.According to the science of Yoga the third eye means the Sushumna nadi (channel).

d. Serpent : One of the Names of Lord Shankar is Bhujanga-patihari. Bhujang means a serpent or pure particles (pavitrakas), pati means the nurturer and hari means one with a garland around His neck. Bhujangapatihari thus means the One who nurtures pure particles and wears them like a garland. Various serpents represent groups of pure particles. Though externally they appear like serpents, internally they are a kind of ladder. To make spiritual progress one has to climb up holding onto the tail of the serpent. Lord Shankar adorns serpents at nine points on His body - one on the head, one around the neck, one on each arm, one on each wrist, one around the waist and one on each thigh. This implies that His body is comprised of pure particles or that serpents of pure particles play all over the body of Lord Shankar who has the universe as His form.

2. Spiritual attributes

a. One performing severe austerities and the great yogi

Shiva is always seated in a bandha or a mudra. His temperature rises due to heat generated by performing severe austerities; Hence, He uses the Ganga, the moon and serpents which endow a cooling effect and lives on the snow-clad Kailas mountain.

b. Short tempered

If someone disturbs His meditation the radiance generated by spiritual practice will be suddenly expelled and whoever is in front of Him will not be able to tolerate it, and gets destroyed. This is referred to as being 'reduced to ashes by Shankar's opening of the third eye'.

c. One who is willing to undergo any distress for the sake of imparting happiness to others

The poison generated during the churning of the celestial ocean (samudramanthan) was burning the entire Universe but no deity came forward to accept it. At that time Shiva drank that poison and saved the world from destruction.

d. One who has both, deities and demons, as His worshippers

Neither did demons like Banasur, Ravan, etc. worship Lord Vishnu nor did Lord Vishnu bestow any boon upon any demon. However, they worshipped Lord Shiva who blessed them.

e. Master of the spirits

Since Lord Shiva is the master of spirits, His worshippers are generally not possessed by them. 

Science in the worship of Lord Shiva on Mahashivratri

The function of the 'Shivpindi'

1. Emitting waves of Knowledge, Devotion and renunciation

Predominantly 'sattva' waves of knowledge, 'raja' waves of devotion and 'tama' waves of Renunciation (Vairagya) are emitted by the 'Shivpindi'. During Mahashivratri, the emission increases by 30 percent.

2. Emission of subtle vibrations of chaitanya, bliss and peace

The 'Shivpindi' emits subtle vibrations of chaitanya, bliss and peace. During the Mahashivratri, the emission increases by 25 percent. This helps purify the subtle-body of one who worships the Shivpindi on this day. The 'sun' or the 'moon' channels in the body get activated as per necessity. The capacity to absorb the sattvaguna and chaitanya also increases. Due to the presence of the unmanifest Shiva principle in the Shivpindi and the vibrations of peace emitted, the Shivpindi remains cool and the mind too experiences peace. Worship of Shivpindi with devotion, activates the dormant Shiva principle. An offering of puffed rice and milk reaches Lord Shiva in the subtle form.

3. Receiving the 'tarak or marak tatva (element)' as required

There is a confluence of the manifest and the unmanifest elements along with the 'tarak and marak tatva' in the Shivpindi. (Tarak = Saviour; Marak = Destroyer). That is how worshipers receive the required element. The temperature of the Shivpindi increases due to the emission of the marak tatva and there one experiences bliss. Similarly, when the tarak tatva is emitted, the temperature drops and one experiences peace and bliss. 

Lord Shiva

Cremation ground: Shiva sitting in the cremation ground signifies that He is the controller of death in the physical world.	Matted locks: The three matted locks on the head of the Lord convey the idea that integration of the physical, mental and spiritual energies is the ideal of yoga.
Tiger skin: A tiger skin symbolizes potential energy.	The crescent moon: The crescent moon is only one of His ornaments.
Three eyes: Lord Shiva, also called Tryambaka Deva, is depicted as having three eyes: the sun is His right eye, the moon the left eye and fire the third eye.	Nandi: The bull is associated with Shiva and said to be His vehicle.
Kundalas (two ear rings): Two Kundalas, Alakshya and Niranjan in the ears of the Lord symbolize the Shiva and Shakti (male and female) or Ardha-Nariswara principle of creation.	Kamandalu: A water pot (Kamandalu) made from a dry pumpkin contains nectar and is shown on the ground next to Shiva signifies that, an individual must break away from attachment to the physical world and clean his inner self of egoistic desires in order to experience the bliss of the Self.
A snake (Vasuki Naga): The snake is shown curled three times around the neck of the Lord and is looking towards His right side. The three coils of the snake symbolize the past, present and future - time in cycles.	Rudraksha necklace: Rudra is another name of Shiva. Rudraksha necklace worn by the Lord illustrates that He uses His cosmic laws firmly - without compromise - to maintain law and order in the universe.
Ganga: Ganga, symbolically represented on the head of the Lord by a female (Mother Ganga) with a jet of water emanating from her mouth and falling on the ground, signifies that the Lord destroys sin, removes ignorance, and bestows knowledge, purity and peace on the devotees.	Snake around the neck: The snakes to symbolize the yogic power of Lord Shiva with which He dissolves and recreates the universe.
Varda Mudra: Lord Shiva's right hand is shown in a boon- bestowing and blessing pose, which annihilates evil, grants boons, bestows grace, destroys ignorance, and awakens wisdom in His devotees.	Trident (Trisula): A three-pronged trident shown adjacent to the Lord symbolizes His three fundamental powers (shakti) of will (iccha), action (kriya) and knowledge (jnana).  Damaru (drum): Damaru symbolizes the two utterly dissimilar states of existence, unmanifest and manifest.
Half-open eyes: When the Lord opens His eyes, a new cycle of creation emerges and when He closes them, the universe dissolves for creation of the next cycle. The half-open eyes convey the idea that creation is going through cyclic process, with no beginning no end.