Shiva Day Twenty-eight
Brahaman as Shiva
Shiva, whose name means “auspicious one”
and “untouched” (When we say Shiva is untouched means, he is free from this cycle of Life and
Death), he performs 5 actions, Creation,
Preservation, Dissolution, Concealing Grace, and Revealing Grace. Each of the
five actions corresponds to a name and form of Shiva with varying attributes.
Like energy (Shakti), Shiva takes many and often inconsistent forms. Although
some of the combinations of roles may be explained by Shiva’s identification
with earlier mythological figures, they arise primarily from a tendency in
Hinduism to see many harmonizing qualities in a single confusing figure.
I conclude from the evolution theory that there was a time when the
human mind was systematically stimulated with activated intelligence and that
created the first humanoid or a Yogi with three eyes. This was a manifestation of Sadashiva or supreme energy and
knowledge. Sadasiva is the omnipotent, subtle, luminous absolute; the
highest manifestation of almighty that had the blessing with Anugraha or grace
and that was Shiva, born in his human form that initiated time from ground
zero. I call it the beginning of time.
Shiva is associated with time and the only knowledge the
earlier humans had was of creation. With critical analyses, the first theory of
creation was from the observations in nature. All creation in nature was
associated with the male and the female sperms.
(In the human reproductive process, two kinds of sex cells,
or gametes (pronounced:
GAH-meetz), are involved. The male gamete, or sperm, and the female gamete, the
egg or ovum, meet in the female's reproductive system. When sperm fertilizes
(meets) an egg, this fertilized egg is called a zygote (pronounced: ZYE-goat). The zygote goes through a
process of becoming an embryo and developing into a fetus.
Humans,
like other organisms, pass some characteristics of themselves to the next
generation. We do this through our genes, the special carriers of human traits.
The genes that parents pass along are what make their children similar to
others in their family, but also what makes each child unique. These genes come
from the male's sperm and the female's egg. https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/male-repro.html )
Having no knowledge of this science it was then concluded that the male
and the female reproductive organs were responsible for the life that is
produced. Linga and Yoni were given the divine position in worshipping creation
and it was represented in the very first temple of Shiva and was called Shiva Linga. (Note; the popular belief is that the Shiva
Linga or Lingam represents the phallus, the generative power in nature. But
according to Swami Sivananda, this is not only a serious mistake but also a
grave blunder.) Whether the Shivalinga is a phallic emblem or
not, is a debatable point. Phallic cults have existed in all countries and in
all civilizations. It is quite likely that the phallic cults of an aboriginal
civilization were absorbed into Hinduism and the worship itself was elevated to
honor the Father Mother-Principle of creation.
Shiva was first worshipped in the form of the lingam, a cylindrical
votary object that is often embedded in a yoni, or spouted dish. It had to be
kept wet at all times for continuous creation in the ever-expanding universe.
This was a perfect duplication of nature that existed. According
to Hinduism, it is the same God that creates, sustains, and destroys the
universe; the Shivalinga represents symbolically God himself. Since God
is beyond name and form, and since we cannot conceive of an abstract principle
like him, without the aid of concrete symbols, a rounded surface is perhaps the
nearest approach to him.
In the evolution of human history, a tradition was set to worship Shiva
in temples with the male and female energies. Shivalinga represented the
energies necessary for life on both the microcosmic and the macrocosmic levels;
both the world in which we live and the world which constitutes the whole of
the universe
Nevertheless, Shiva was always associated with creation. In Hinduism,
the universe is thought to regenerate in cycles (every 2,160,000,000 years).
Shiva destroys the universe at the end of each cycle which then allows for a
new creation. As he is
linked with time he is a destroyer of all things, as well as associated with
creation. Destruction and creation are intimately linked; one cannot exist
without the other, making Shiva particularly important.
Literally, Shiva is one in whom the Universe 'sleeps' after the destruction
and before the next cycle of creation. All that is born must die and all that
is produced must disintegrate and be destroyed. This is an inviolable law. The
principle that brings about this disintegration, the power behind this
destruction, is Shiva.
Hence my conclusion that Siva was the first concept of God or the
highest form of Ishvar is formless, limitless, transcendent, and unchanging absolute Brahman and the primal Atman (soul, self) of
the universe. With more knowledge on creation, Shiva was regarded as the
supporter god of yoga, meditation, music, language, art sound, Vedas, Tantra, and so on. He is the ultimate and source of everything. When
Vedas were compiled by Veda Vyas, Shiva was called Rudra (Rudra is the personification of 'terror' and regarded as
the most frightening god) and
given the sacred position as a destroyer for without him, there would be chaos
in the life cycle of all creations. Hindus believe his powers of destruction
and recreation are used even now to destroy the illusions and imperfections of
this world, paving the way for beneficial change. According to Hindu belief,
this destruction is not arbitrary, but constructive. In modern science, Shiva is the Blackhole. (Black holes are some of
the strangest and most fascinating objects in outer space. They're extremely
dense; with such strong gravitational attraction that even light cannot escape
their grasp if it comes near enough.)
Nataraja is Siva as "King of Dance." His ananda tandava, the
fierce ballet of bliss, dances the cosmos into and out of existence within the
fiery arch of flames denoting consciousness and Aum. Shiva's
dance indicates a continuous process of creation, preservation, and destruction.
A perfect description of quantum physics of the modern world.
I deduce that
Shiva as Adiyogi
dominated Satya Yuga. The Satya Yuga is the Yuga (Age or Era) of Truth. Shiva is actually above the Yugas. Yugas are the timescale of our world and Shiva is beyond that.
Shiva as primordial energy represented
the supreme, both in Ramayana and Mahabharata. Shiva is
the primary deity being worshipped. Everyone including Rama and Krishna prays
to Shiva to seek boons
and blessings for their endeavors. In Ramayana - Ravana who considered
himself superior only bowed to Brahma and Shiva but was a staunch devotee of Shiva.
Shiva also means untouched, which
conveys the meaning that he is free from this cycle of life and death, so Shiva
dint take any avatar and he is "swayambhu" which means no one created him,
he created himself. (In physics and chemistry, the law of conservation of energy states
that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant; it is said to be
conserved over time. This law means that energy can neither be created nor
destroyed; rather, it can only be transformed or transferred from one form to
another). Science would describe Shiva is
energy
It is a misconception that Shiva the infinite
takes avatar. Infinite cannot be born out of finite.
Below mentioned are Shiva’s different forms and not
Avatars
1. When
Shiva is in deep meditation, we refer to him as YOGI.
2. We
see him as SHANKARA, with his consort
Parvathi and their children.
3. We
see him as RUDRA, when he is in his
ferocious form.
4. We
see him as KAPAALI, when he is in Rudra
Kshetra(burial ground).
5. We
see him as KAALA BHAIRAVA, with Dog as his
Vaahana (vehicle), (he is the God for the time that is why we chant him as Om kaala
Kalaaya namaha, kaal means time).
6. He
is VEERABHADRA, the warrior.
7. He
is BHOOTANAADHA, God for the five elements
of this nature.
It is humanly impossible to explain
Shiva, just as it is impossible to explain the universe. From simple human
intellect, he is the one from whom the Brahman emerges, in whom it
stays, and within whom it goes back.
Here Brahman is not merely the Universe but is the one who is the base and
cause of the universe. Brahman holds the universe. Shiva is the reason for all
causes. He must not be seen as a Human-God. That’s a wrong notion. Scriptures
call him the Nirgun Brahman and the Sagun Brahman
Shiva
exists in 3 states
1. Nirgun: In this state he is formless, and the whole universe and creation
lie in the pervasiveness of Shiva.
2. Saguna: In the Saguna state Shiva is the entire universe and his “ansh” is
present in the tree, the insect, the animal, the male, the female, and the whole
creation. In this state, though all forms arise out of him yet, no form can
describe him.
3. Nirgun-Sagun: In the Nirgun-Sagun state Shiva is worshiped as the Shivalingam. The word Shivalingam has been
derived from Sanskrit roots Shiva (Lord) + Lingam (Mark/Chinha/Symbol). Hence,
Shivalingam is the mark of the lord within its creation. Everything in the
world arises out of a dome, a ball, or a Pindi. Be it a tree which comes from a seed
which is round, a child which comes from a cell which is round, all heavenly
bodies are round, the minutes of cells are round and our very earth is round.
Everything being round is a mark of Shiva. Since Shiva can’t be comprehended,
we worship his mark or we worship the whole Brahman in a Shivalingam.
Shiva also is
the creator of a harmonious vibration of the universes that maintain a steady-state of the Universe at all times and when translated this vibration into an
audible sound it’s called none other than OM. Shiva-sound
of OM
Hence Shiva is Brahman
No comments:
Post a Comment