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SHIVA
SIVA is one of the gods of theTrinity. He is said to be the god of
destruction. The other two gods are Brahma, the god of creation and
Vishnu, and the god of maintenance. The three gods represent the three
fundamental powers of nature which are manifest in the world viz.
creation, destruction and maintenance. These powers exist perpetually.
Creation is going on all the time. So is destruction and maintenance.
All three powers are manifest at all times. They are inseparable.
Creation and destruction are like two sides of a coin. And maintenance
is an integral part of the processes of creation and destruction.
For example, morning dies to give birth to noon. Noon dies, night
is born. In this chain of birth and death; the day is maintained.
To indicate that these three processes are one and the same, the three
gods are combined in one form of Lord Dattatreya. Lord Dattatreya
has the faces of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva.
Siva is married to the Goddess Uma. Uma represents Prakrti which means
perishable matter Siva's marriage with Uma signifies that the power
of destruction has no meaning without its association with perishable
matter. Destruction manifests itself only when there is perishable
matter.
Lord Siva sits in a meditative pose against the white background of
the snow-capped Himalayas in Mount Kailasa. His posture syrnbolises
perfect inner harmony and poise experienced by a Man-of-Realisation.
He is rooted in God-consciousness. He revels in the bliss of the transcendental
Reality. Nothing disturbs him. The vicissitudes of nature, the challenges
of life, the trials and tribulations of the terrestrial world do not
affect him at all. He maintains perfect serenity, equanimity, and
tranquillity in all environments and circumstances.
The snow-white background syrnbolises the absolute purity of mind.
When the mind is disturbed, agitated you do not see the divinity in
you. Recognising your divine Self is like seeing a reflection in a
pool of water. When the water is dirty or disturbed you cannot see
your own reflection. Only when the water is clear and steady do you
recognise your reflection. Similarly, the divinity in you is lost
in a pool of thoughts. If the thoughts are dirty, tamasika or agitated,
rajasika you miss your divine Self. By spiritual practices you ought
to raise your personality, from its tamasika and rajasika states to
the state of sattva. In the sattvika state, when the mind is absolutely
pure and steady you recognise your supreme Self. That is the state
of Siva in Kailasa.
Lord Siva not only represents the supreme state of perfection in man
but in, his very pose indicates the way to reach it as well. Sivahas
his eyes half-closed, that is neither fully closed nor fully open.
It is called samabhavimudra. Closing the eyes completely would mean
that the individual has shut out the world. He is not at all in this
world. Opening the eyes fully would mean that he is totally involved
in this world. Half-closed eyes therefore signify that his mind is
absorbed in the inner Self while his body is engaged in the outer
world, One aspect of his personality is ever-rooted in God-consciousness
while the other is dealing with his wordly duties and responsibilities,
He conducts himself in this world like an actor does on the stage.
An actor plays various roles but in truth he has nothing to do with
them. He retains his real identity throughout the play and merely
acts the scenes detachedly. So is the man of Realisation in this world.
Ever-rooted in Atmic Consciousness, he goes about in the world like
any other Man.
The state of meditation shown in Siva's posture is again symbolic.
Meditation is the final gateway to Self-realisation. To attain the
state of Goodhood you need to meditate. However in order to meditate
successfully you must possess a pure mind. To develop a pure mind
you need to work impersonally in this world. The process of self-development
first necessitates selfless dedicated actions, karma. By such karma
your ego and egocentric desires fall away. In the process your mind
gets purified. Such a man is brought to the state of meditation. Through
meditation you realise your supreme Self. All that is suggested in
the pose of Lord. Siva sitting in Kailasa amidst snow-capped mountains.
On the auspicious occasion of Mahasivaratri, Siva performs the ecstatic
dance of realisation. In the dance pose Siva is known as Nataraja.
The dance symbolises the thrill of God-realisation. Beyond the realms
of the waking, dream and deep-sleep states of consciousness. Beyond
the experiences of the body and its perceptions, the mind and its
feelings, the intellect and its thoughts lies the bliss of Godhood,
Siva reaches this state of Godhood and dances with the intoxication
of supreme Bliss.
Siva is said to have a third eye known as jnana chaksu. Jnana chaksu
literally means eye of wisdom. The eye whose vision reaches beyond
that of the two mortal eyes. The idea of the third eye is not to be
taken literally to mean that a third fleshy organ exists in Siva.
It only means that Siva has a divine vision of Reality: Your vision
is confined merely to perceptions, emotions and thoughts but, when
you transcend the limitations of your body, mind and intellect you
gain realisation of your inner Self. That indicated by the opening
of the jnana chaksu.
A man of Realisition is one who has conquered his ego, is the master
of his ego unlike the word people who are victimised by the demands
of the ego. In the Hindu scriptures ego is represehted as a serpent.
The ego serpent harasses you with its yenom of desires. Man suffers
all his lifetime from the pressure of his own desires. You use your
ego to pronounce your limited personality. Consciously or unconsciously
you repeat to yourself that you are your body; mind and intellect.
You hypnotise yourself to believe "I am the perceiver",
"I am the feeler", "I am the thinker". Thus you
assume a limited personality of perceiver-feeler-thinker which is
pressurised by lhe demands of the body, mind and intellect. When you
change your focus of attention from the body, mind and intellect to
the supreme self within, when your ego takes to the Supreme in you,
when you identify yourself with your immortal Self you become the
immmortal Siva. When you develop the ego of the supreme Self you become
God. The same ego that has degraded you into a limited existence now
'adorns' your personality. This idea is indicated by Siva coiling
the serpent around his neck. (There is an Indian custom of men wearing
a folded cloth around the neck as a decoration.)
Siva is also known as Gangadhara, Gangadhara literally means the carrier
of Ganga (River Ganges). Siva is said to carry the Ganges in his locks.
There is a mythological story describing the descent of the river
Ganges from the heavens to earth. The origin of the Ganges is said
to be in the heavens, where it is known as Akasa-ganga. Akasa-ganga
is personified in mythology as a goddess. King Bhagiratha prayed to
the goddess to descend from the heavens and bless the people of the
earth with her prosperity. The prayer was granted. Akasa-ganga was
willing to come down to earth. The goddess however warned Bhagiratha
that the flow of water from the heavens will be so torrential, that:
the earth would not be able to bear its force. The only person able
to receive such torrential flow being Lord Siva. So Bhagiratha again
went into penance and prayer and implored Siva to bear the flow of
descent of the waters. Siva acceded. He received the waters of the
Akasa-ganga in his locks where they were imprisoned, Siva retired
to the jungles for meditation. But the Ganga did not flow on the earth.
The king again implored Siva, this times to release the waters of
the holy Ganga from his locks for the people of the world. As the
story goes the Lord granted this prayer as well. The present Ganga
is said to be the water flowing out of Siva's locks.
Strange as the story may sound it has a deep inner significance. Ganga
stands for the ultimate Truth, the ultimate Reality, and the knowledge
of the Atman or Divinity in man. The knowledge of Atman is the state
of perfection in man. It is well above the terrestrial realm of experiences.
It is symbolically represented as being located above in the heavens.
In order to make the divine knowledge available to you a great soul
like Bhagiratha is required. Bhagiratha is therefore a sage who brought
the divine knowledge to the people of the world. Again, to receive
the knowledge of the sages you need to be a man of tapas self-control,
introvert, contemplative. An indulgent, extroverted man cannot receive
spiritual knowledge. The primary qualification needed for the receipt
of knowledge is symbolised in the personality of Siva. Siva is reputed
for his great tapas, contemplation and meditation. Such a man alone
can describe the great spiritual truths. The truth so received has
to be assimilated and ingrained into your life to bring about your
spiritual unfoldment. That state is achieved by your independent reflection
and meditation, which has been indicated by Siva retiring to the jungles.
Having attained spiritual unfoldment, the knowledge of Truth has to
be communicated to the people of the world gradually, carefully. The
power to understand the higher truth is limited. This idea is again
beautifully indicated by the release of the Ganga from Siva's head
in trickles. Thus by gradual and slow education spiritual knowledge
is gained in this world. Ganga water stands for spiritual wisdom.
Hence a dip in the Ganga is considered sacred. When a pilgrim submerges
himself in the sacred river it symbolises his union with the supreme
Reality.
Siva is sometimes shown with a trisula trident in hand. The trisula
is a three-pronged weapon, which symbolises the destruction of the
ego with its three-fold desires of the body, mind and intellect. Siva
with his weapon indicates his victory over his ego and attainment
of the state of Perfection.
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