Lord Shiv(a), the deity - Revision history

Jyoti: /* Devotees, famous */

2023-02-26T04:25:28Z

‎Devotees, famous

Pdewan: /* The Universal Benefactor */

2023-02-18T20:16:54Z

‎The Universal Benefactor

Jyoti: /* What is Lord Shiv? */

2022-08-07T15:10:47Z

‎What is Lord Shiv?

Pdewan: /* Explained */

2022-05-18T14:41:08Z

‎Explained

Jyoti: /* Natraja */

2022-03-05T11:38:02Z

‎Natraja

Jyoti: /* Natraja */

2022-03-02T19:38:17Z

‎Natraja

Jyoti: /* Shrines of Lord Shiv */

2021-03-29T20:30:35Z

‎Shrines of Lord Shiv

Jyoti: /* Ardh-nârîshvar */

2021-02-18T08:54:28Z

‎Ardh-nârîshvar

Jyoti: /* Shaiv Siddhant */

2020-09-21T09:03:47Z

‎Shaiv Siddhant

Jyoti: /* Mahakala */

2019-03-12T18:49:32Z

‎Mahakala

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 The ascetic did get up, but in his place stood Shiva and his consort seated on a bull. Shiva said: “This is love indeed. I am pleased with your philosophy of life: ‘Your need is greater than mine.’ Now is the time for both of you to follow us to our abode and enjoy eternal bliss.”
-[[Category:Festivals|SLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
+=Nagendra- Haraya /Nagendra-Haraya=
 LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
-[[Category:India|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
+[[Category:India|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
 LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
-[[Category:Name|ALPHABETLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
+[[Category:Name|ALPHABETLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
 LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
-[[Category:Religion|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
+[[Category:Religion|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
 LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:16, 18 February 2023
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	In a world where levels of corruption, crime and violence are ringing alarm bells, it is becoming clear to more and more people that we are lost in the darkness of ignorance. We can help dispel the gloom by carrying out in our personal life what Shivaratri commemorates that is, destroying negative ways of thinking and nurturing a positive attitude to illuminate our lives with Truth.		In a world where levels of corruption, crime and violence are ringing alarm bells, it is becoming clear to more and more people that we are lost in the darkness of ignorance. We can help dispel the gloom by carrying out in our personal life what Shivaratri commemorates that is, destroying negative ways of thinking and nurturing a positive attitude to illuminate our lives with Truth.
		+	==What Lord Shiv represents==
		+	[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=18_02_2023_022_014_cap_TOI Vohra, Ashok, The World Is A Free And Active Creation Of Shiv, The Speaking Tree, ''The Times of India'', 18 Feb 23]
		+
		+
		+
		+
		+
		+	The term ‘Shiv’ means ‘auspicious’ and the ‘source of all bliss’. The eight attributes of Shiv are: self-existence, purity, self-knowledge, omniscience, boundless benevolence, omnipotence, bliss, and absence of malaise, that is, defilement and impurities. Anugraha, compassion is his nature and love is his being.
		+
		+	He has infinite names and forms. So much so that in the Srimad Bhagavatam, even Radha is said to be an incarnation of Shiv himself. Shivastotravali, 2:19-20, describes Shiv as the essence of Dakshinachara, the right-handed path, as well as Vamachara, the left-handed path. He belongs to every tradition, and to no tradition. It asserts that Shiv can be worshipped in any manner, in any place, in whatever form.
		+
		+	The reason for the infinite names and forms of Shiv is traced in Vijnana Bhairav, v:116, to the fact that “wherever the mindgoes, whether outside or within, there is Shiv. There is no place without him. He is self-proved, beginningless, primal, the ultimate in all respects and present in everything. ”
		+
		+	According to the 10th century mystic, philosopher and aesthetician, Abhinavagupta, Shiv reveals himself “in lakhs, crores, ten crores of endless future bhava manifestations and absorptions to be brought about by maya, and thus he appears in those very forms – tatharupam eva bahvati”.
		+
		+	Shiv is almighty, allpervading, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is shuddha samvit, pure consciousness, and exists in the very electric charges pulsating in the nucleus of even the smallest atom of matter.
		+
		+	Fritjof Capra in his The Tao of Physics comparing the dance of Shiv with thedance of subatomic particles inter alia says, “The bubble chamber photographs of interacting particles, which bear testimony to the continual rhythm of creation and destruction in the universe, are visual images of the dance of Shiv equalling those of Indian artists in beauty and significance. ”
		+
		+	The creative and destructive powers of Shiv are described by the historian of Indian art, Ananda Coomaraswamy, as “poetry but nonetheless science”.
		+
		+	Shiv uniformly pervades all that exists, irrespective of whether it is material or immaterial, perceptible or imperceptible. He is both immanent and transcendent in the universe. The universe is his manifestation. It is within himself because “all the 36 tattvas, principles, categories, ranging from Shiv to Prithvi are within him. Thereis nothing outside of him. ” Lalleshwari describes the omnipresence of Shiv in Lall Vaakh 1 thus: “Shiv is present everywhere. ”
		+
		+	Just as omnipresence is a characteristic of Shiv, kriya, activity, is also part of his integral nature. It is he who, as Abhinavagupta says in the Tantraloka, 8. 82, “creates the bondage, and he who releases a jiva from it”. So much so that jnana, knowledge, and kriya, action, become synonyms. They are the two modes of the same reality – consciousness.
		+
		+	Shiv, the pure consciousness, enjoys positive as well as negative freedom. He is ‘free from’ all constraints on his actions, and ‘free to’ act or not to act. Shiv is perfect and is not required to indulge in kriya because of some external or internal compulsion, or to fill some lacuna. He acts out of his inherent nature and iccha, free will. As a result, the world is seen as a free and active creation of Shiv
		+
		+	[[Category:Festivals\|SLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:India\|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:Name\|ALPHABETLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:Religion\|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]

	==Mahakala==		==Mahakala==

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 =What is Lord Shiv?=
 ==Shiv Tattv==
 [http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=the-speaking-tree-What-The-Shiva-Tattva-Seeks-23022017020071  Anandmurti Gurumaa, What The Shiva Tattva Seeks To Impart, Feb 23, 2017: The Times of India]
@@ Line 35: / Line 54: @@
 During the night of Maha Shivaratri, when the aspirant performs his disciplines with tenacity , devotion and dedication, it is bound to have a tremendous, long-lasting impact on his journey to becoming Shiva.
-[[Category:India |S ]]
-[[Category:Religion |S ]]
@@ Line 180: / Line 199: @@
 When the boundaries of time and space are transcended, and the limitations of form shattered, the seeker wakes up to the truth that the mystics of the world have always known: that access to the beyond is to be found in the here and now. When the last vestige of ignorance is annihilated, all that remains is Mahakala, the ultimate nature of existence, infinite darkness, an eternity.
 =Ardh-nârîshvar=

@@ Line 427: / Line 427: @@
 Shiva, the dispenser of fruits of action, softens justice with compassion and assesses with discretion and knowledge. Accordingly, when we act in the capacity of a judge, on a smaller or larger scale, while dealing with others, we must use the three eyes of justice, compassion and discrimination.
 [[Category:Festivals|SLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
@@ Line 435: / Line 440: @@
 LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
 [[Category:Religion|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
 LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:38, 5 March 2022
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	The whole composition does not fail to move you, whether you are aware of the symbolism or not. And in the words of John Armstrong, “To find something beautiful is to register the kinship between the object and the most important part of oneself – one’s soul. ”		The whole composition does not fail to move you, whether you are aware of the symbolism or not. And in the words of John Armstrong, “To find something beautiful is to register the kinship between the object and the most important part of oneself – one’s soul. ”
		+
		+
		+	=Schools of thought/ religious traditions and the Lord=
		+	==The Thirumurai tradition ==
		+	[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=03_03_2022_014_004_cap_TOI Pranav Khullar, March 3, 2022: ''The Times of India'']
		+
		+	The poetic-lyrical hymns of the Thevaram, part of the Thirumurai compendium of hymns in Tamil, place Shiv at the heart of all spiritual seeking, as well as the bestower of all boons in his Ashutosh swarupa, the God who melts at the call of a sincere prayer. Composed by the three seminal Tamil Shaiva saint-poets, the boy-prodigy Jnana Sambandhar, the mature poet Appar, and Sundarar, known as the playfully argumentative ‘companion’ of Shiv, the Thevaram call out to the seeker to seek the Self through music and song and dance, celebrating the name of Shiv.
		+	The Thevaram resurrects the spirit of the Satarudriya hymns of the Yajurved, in conceiving of the Self as Shiv – Rudra himself. Just as the famous mantra ‘Namah Shivaya’ is revealed first in these Satarudriya hymns, the Tamil Shaivite poets awaken spiritual consciousness through their devotional poems by celebrating Shiv in all his aspects, not just as the austere and renunciate yogi but as the fountainhead of the creative Impulse itself.
		+	The Dikshitar priest at Chidambaram shows one the thousandpillared hall where the Periyapuranam, the 12th and last volume of the Thirumurai on the lives of 63 Tamil Shaivite saints called the Nayanars, is supposed to have been written. Sekkizhar, the author, gives a pre-eminent place to the first three poets, from Sambandhar to Sundarar, for establishing Shiv bhakti as the path to liberation.
		+
		+	As the Dikshitars explain, the individual was inspired by the Nayanars to see all dimensions of life as Shiv’s lila, the manifest world as his play, and to celebrate it through music and dance. Shiv’s bhakti was a call, not only to awaken the nobler instincts of the mind, but a call to come together and participate in this celebration, without distinction of class or creed.
		+
		+	Which is the real Shiv – is it the ascetic yogic aspect of Shiv characterised by dispassionate withdrawal and penance, or is it the creatively pulsating energy of Shiv that calls for an active engagement with the world, in the realisation that the outer embodied universe emanates from and reflects the disembodied One? As tradition says, Shiv’s all-encompassing compassion and love for the devas and asuras alike, reveals a Being in love with creation, not a destroyer. Perhaps what he seeks to destroy is the negativity and the baser elements of our nature.
		+
		+	The Thirumurai tradition maps out the philosophy of Shaiva Siddhanta with its formulation of three eternal entities: Pati, Pasu and Pasam – God, Soul and Bondage. The Shaiva Siddhanta states that God is one, souls are many, and bondage happens because of the three impurities: of anava, which causes the negativity of soul; karma, the law of action-reaction; and maya, the cause of all materiality. Shiv’s grace alone can help evolve the soul to an understanding of the relationship between the nirakar aspect of the Self and the dynamic aspect of the Self ’s energy as it manifests.
		+
		+	The Thevaram celebrates the outer form of Shiv and the manifest world as well. It then seeks to transform consciousness through this realisation that all creation is Shiv’s impulse itself. And as one celebrates this understanding, Shiv’s grace will take the devotee on an inner journey from desiring to a dispassionate understanding of life.

	[[Category:Festivals\|SLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY		[[Category:Festivals\|SLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:38, 2 March 2022
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	Thus, Creation is not a change of Shiva; rather it is an extension, prasara, of Shiva. Just as a clear mirror, while reflecting huge and diverse objects in itself, retains its clarity without undergoing even a minute change in its nature; Shiva, the Eternal Being, despite the projection of the variegated cosmos, does not suffer the least diminution of His perfection and continues to retain His transcendental aspect.		Thus, Creation is not a change of Shiva; rather it is an extension, prasara, of Shiva. Just as a clear mirror, while reflecting huge and diverse objects in itself, retains its clarity without undergoing even a minute change in its nature; Shiva, the Eternal Being, despite the projection of the variegated cosmos, does not suffer the least diminution of His perfection and continues to retain His transcendental aspect.
		+
		+
		+	==The Meaning of the Mudras==
		+	[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=26_02_2022_022_004_cap_TOI Neena Nair, February 26, 2022: ''The Times of India'']
		+
		+	Art, like love, defies definition. It can best be understood in terms of its impact alone. Take the image of Dancing Shiv, for instance.  Nataraj, the Lord of Dance, has been the beloved of Indian dancers and musicians for millennia, and Chidambaram town is considered the ‘centre of the Universe’. To those of faith, Chidambaram is the heart and the Lord’s dance of anand, bliss, is his grace.  Shiv is Nrityamurti As the cosmic dancer, Shiv is Nrityamurti embodying in himself and simultaneously manifesting the eternal energy.
		+	Indologist Heinrich Zimmer elucidates the complex pictorial allegory of this image in his seminal work ‘Myth and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilisation’ by drawing attention to the mudras of the hand and the positioning of the feet.
		+
		+	The upper right hand bearing the damru, the hour-glass shaped drum, connotes sound, which, by virtue of its association with ether in the Indic tradition, makes it the first of the five elements. Out of it unfolds the evolution of the Universe, through the other elements air, fire, water and earth. Zimmer further adds, “together, sound and ether signify the first truth – pregnant moment of creation, the productive energy of the Absolute, in its pristine cosmogenetic strength. ”
		+
		+	Meaning of Mudras The opposite upper-left hand with its half-moon posture of the fingers, ardhachandra mudra, bears on its palm a tongue of flame – symbolically signifying fire, as the element of destruction of the world. The abhay mudra, ‘fear-not gesture’ as indicated by the second right hand bestows protection and peace, and the remaining left hand lifted across the
		+	chest points downwards to the
		+	uplifted left foot. This hand is
		+	imitative of the outstretched
		+	trunk of the elephant in the
		+	gaja-hasta mudra. Shiv himself dances on the prostrate body of the dwarfish demon Apasmara Purush – the man or demon called forgetfulness or heedlessness, symbolic of our ignorance.
		+
		+	Ring of Flames Prabha-mandala, a ring of flames signifying the transcendental light of the knowledge of truth, issues from and encompasses the god. The face remains in ‘sovereign calm’ exuding serene tranquility.
		+
		+	None of this is uncommon knowledge, neither is the fact that the enduring appeal of this image transcends to embrace the world of quantum physics, as demonstrated by Fritjof Capra in The Tao of Physics.
		+
		+	These expressions of metaphysical and scholarly approaches, while undoubtedly enhancing our appreciation and understanding of the image, are in the end, after all, human attempts at expressing the ineffable and the essentially inexpressive.
		+
		+	The whole composition does not fail to move you, whether you are aware of the symbolism or not. And in the words of John Armstrong, “To find something beautiful is to register the kinship between the object and the most important part of oneself – one’s soul. ”
		+
		+	[[Category:Festivals\|SLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:India\|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:Name\|ALPHABETLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:Religion\|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITYLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]

	=Shaiv Siddhant=		=Shaiv Siddhant=

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:30, 29 March 2021
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	Road Connectivity, Drinking Water facility and Electricity supply are required to be improved. Efforts need to be made to bring this holy cave on the religious tourist map of the state similar to Jasrota Mata Temple at Jasrota, Sukrala Mata Temple at Billawar, Mata Bala Sundri at Nagri and Jorian Mata Temple at Bani, so that the inherent pilgrim potential of the place is explored and utilized to the maximum possible extent.		Road Connectivity, Drinking Water facility and Electricity supply are required to be improved. Efforts need to be made to bring this holy cave on the religious tourist map of the state similar to Jasrota Mata Temple at Jasrota, Sukrala Mata Temple at Billawar, Mata Bala Sundri at Nagri and Jorian Mata Temple at Bani, so that the inherent pilgrim potential of the place is explored and utilized to the maximum possible extent.
		+
		+	=The third eye=
		+	==Explained==
		+	[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2021%2F03%2F09&entity=Ar01603&sk=715666A1&mode=text Swami Tejomayananda, March 9, 2021: ''The Times of India'']
		+
		+	We are accustomed to seeing people with two eyes. So, anyone with an extra eye would attract attention and be termed a freak. However, Shiva, with his three eyes, is beautiful and unique.
		+	The ‘Vedasara Shiva Stotram’, states that the three eyes of Shiva are the sun, moon, and fire – ‘indu arka vahni trinetram’. This is not easy to digest. What does it imply? When we refer to the sun, moon and fire as the three eyes of Bhagvan, our focus is on the fact that they are all sources of light; He, the three-eyed One, is the illuminator of the whole world.
		+
		+	Even though light is the common factor, each has its own special feature and quality. Fire, with its ability to burn and reduce things to ashes, has the twin qualities of light and heat. The sun is bright and brilliant, but its light does not burn objects, it illumines them. Conversely, the moon’s light has a cooling, peaceful quality.
		+
		+	Shiva views the world with his three eyes. When the distressed and sorrowful approach him, he looks at them through his moonlike pleasing and consoling eyes; when he grants knowledge, his eyes become bright. Comprehension is associated with light; when we understand something, we say, ‘I was in the dark; but now it is as clear as daylight.’ Similarly, a student with a sharp intellect is a bright student and the teacher who passes on the knowledge instantly and clearly, is a brilliant teacher!
		+
		+	In the darkness, a flashlight illumines a limited area, but sunlight illuminates the whole world in a flash. Shiva can convey knowledge to us – in an instant.
		+
		+	Fire has the capacity to burn. We are familiar with the story of Kamadeva who tried his utmost to disturb Bhagvan’s tapas, and was reduced to ashes by his fiery eyes. Likewise, we look at people in three different ways. When we are angry, we look as though we are ready to burn down the object of our anger – agni-drishti. When we look at someone with love, we have chandra-drishti – moon-eyes – we are loving, pleasing, consoling and reassuring. Surya-drishti is eye of the teacher that bestows knowledge and enlightens us.
		+
		+	There is yet another interpretation. Bhagvan is the karmaphala data – giver of the fruits of actions. He dispenses justice. Similarly, a judge must also have three eyes. First is nyaya-drishti, the eye of objectivity; the verdict or punishment meted out must be in keeping with the law alone. However, if the judge goes strictly according to the letter of the law, without any karuna, compassion, the sentence could be unduly harsh. But if compassion is the only consideration, it may result in anarchy. To ensure a wise and correct verdict, he must use jnana-drishti, the third eye of discrimination. Thus, the rule of law will be safeguarded, and the level of crime will also fall.
		+
		+	Shiva, the dispenser of fruits of action, softens justice with compassion and assesses with discretion and knowledge. Accordingly, when we act in the capacity of a judge, on a smaller or larger scale, while dealing with others, we must use the three eyes of justice, compassion and discrimination.
		+
		+	[[Category:Festivals\|SLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:India\|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:Name\|ALPHABETLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:Religion\|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:54, 18 February 2021
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	Achieving the right to legal gender recognition is crucial to the ability of trans-people to leave behind a life of marginalisation and enjoy a life of dignity. For this, all religiously charged leaders need to hark back to our scriptures and read up on Shiva and Shakti, and the significance of their manifestation as Ardhanarishvara.		Achieving the right to legal gender recognition is crucial to the ability of trans-people to leave behind a life of marginalisation and enjoy a life of dignity. For this, all religiously charged leaders need to hark back to our scriptures and read up on Shiva and Shakti, and the significance of their manifestation as Ardhanarishvara.
		+
		+	=Devotees, famous=
		+	== Maranar==
		+	[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2021%2F02%2F13&entity=Ar02311&sk=230FD9F9&mode=text P Raja, February 13, 2021: ''The Times of India'']
		+
		+	''' Shiva Bhakta Defines True Love '''
		+
		+	What is love? Definitions galore would vie with one another to answer this poser. But no definition would excel the following: If one can deny oneself and make a gift to satisfy the need of another, even as one is reduced to penury oneself, then this is love indeed.
		+
		+	Here is a story of a Shiva bhakta, a rich man pushed to penury by Shiva in order to give the world the true definition of love. His name was Maranar. Born in an affluent family of landlords in Elayankudi, he grew up to multiply his wealth manifold. He magnanimously fed Shiva’s bhaktas regularly. As more and more bhaktas blessed him, his wealth began to grow faster than ever. And this enabled him to feed many more mouths every day. Soon people began to call him Kuberan, the very god of wealth.
		+
		+	Shiva decided to test his devotion. Maranar’s af fluence be g an to dwindle day by day, yet he continued to feed Shiva bhaktas as before, either by mortgaging his property or by selling portions of it.
		+
		+	As Sridevi, goddess of wealth, moved out of his house, her place was occupied by Moodevi, the goddess of misfortune. Now all that Maranar and his wife could claim as their own were a hut, a small piece of land in the backyard for their kitchen garden, and above all pinching poverty. Then came Shiva’s final test. One day, Shiva descended on Elayankudi.
		+
		+	The town was drowned in darkness and it was raining heavily. Maranar, who had been so far sitting with an empty stomach on the ‘pyal’ of his hut, lay down to sleep inside. Just then, Shiva in the form of an ascetic, knocked on his door.
		+
		+	“Praised be Shiva, give me something to eat. I’m dying of hunger,” said the ascetic.
		+
		+	Maranar gladly welcomed the ascetic, but he realised that he had nothing to offer. His wife remembered the paddy seeds they had sown in their land early in the day. “Go, collect them and I can prepare some food. I can’t think of any other way,” she said.
		+
		+	Maranar went out in the rain, and in the dark he felt the paddy seeds with his feet and collected them for his wife to cook. Back home, he realised there was no wood to cook food. So, he tore up a portion of the roof and gave his wife some wood.
		+
		+	The woman kindled the fire, fried the paddy seeds, hulled the husk, separated the rice and cooked it. “But there is no curry. If you get me some greens from our backyard …”
		+
		+	Maranar rushed to the backyard once again in the heavy downpour and cut some of the greens and brought them to his wife. The latter, an expert in culinary arts, washed the greens and prepared several dishes with them.
		+	Then they woke the sleeping ascetic to offer him food.
		+
		+	The ascetic did get up, but in his place stood Shiva and his consort seated on a bull. Shiva said: “This is love indeed. I am pleased with your philosophy of life: ‘Your need is greater than mine.’ Now is the time for both of you to follow us to our abode and enjoy eternal bliss.”
		+
		+	[[Category:Festivals\|SLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:India\|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:Name\|ALPHABETLORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:Religion\|S LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]

	= Natraja =		= Natraja =

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:03, 21 September 2020
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	They say that Shiva is finally within only . But the inscrutable and beautiful outer form of Shiva gives as much solace.		They say that Shiva is finally within only . But the inscrutable and beautiful outer form of Shiva gives as much solace.
		+
		+	= Shravan Purniman Lord Shiv=
		+	[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2020%2F08%2F03&entity=Ar01003&sk=B1FB4C87&mode=text Pranav Khullar, Shravan Purnima And The Enigmatic Allure Of Shiva, August 3, 2020: ''The Times of India'']
		+
		+	The Svetasvatara Upanishad is the earliest text to allude to Shiva as the Parama Purusha: “Eko he Rudra na dwiteeya tasthu” – Since Rudra is One, the knowers of Brahmn know of no other deity. Unique for this theistic framework, the Svetasvatara is an evocative exposition of Shaivite philosophy, a forerunner to the Shaivite devotional traditions, which grew around this wonderfully enigmatic figure of Shiva. From the intense monistic Trika philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism to the devotional melodies of the Tamilian Nayanar saints, Shiva was positioned at the heart of the Self. He is the Supreme Guru, Dakshinamurthy, who inspires yogis and devotees alike to take the path less travelled.
		+
		+	Shiva is the great yogi, lost in penance. He is also a wonderful householder, and tradition sees this as a wonderful symbol of the Prime Cause, waking itself up from a long meditative stupor to initiate creation by becoming a householder. He still remains the Adi Yogi, untouched by the Maya he has created, duty bound in this empirical world by the laws he has himself set down, yet his soul-mind remains above Maya. He is this enigmatic Purusha, who gets pleased with a small prayer of his devotee, yet is difficult to experience – Parvati herself realised, for it required even her to rise above the physical Creation around and merge the mind into the soul through intense tapasya, penance.
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		+	He is the great dancer, Nataraja at Chidambaram, whose tandava poses inspire Indian classical dance. He is also seen as the dance of the subatomic particle matter by scientists, who installed this massive Nataraja at the entrance of the CERN Large Hadron Collider machine near Geneva. Alternative history even sees him now as an extraordinary Being who came from a different dimension of the Cosmos to set up and organise living on Earth. He is Ashutosh, easily pleased, yet distant in his meditation. The Indus seal of Pashupati shows a Shiva-like yogi, surrounded by animals. The yogi is shown to be compassionate to all beings, reminding man to maintain Nature’s equilibrium. Ramana Maharishi called Shiva his father, and set out in search of him towards Arunachala at Tiruvannamalai, seeing in him the symbol of the Supreme Reality in which the mind is finally anchored.
		+
		+	All Shiva philosophical traditions see him at the centre of this matrix of Being and Becoming – Trika tradition states that the external world too is seen as a reflection of this Shiva consciousness. Tradition sees the relationship of Shiva and jiva as one of an inherently existing Oneness and identity. This interplay of the soul and world is defined as Shiva’s ‘dynamic’ first impulse, arousing himself from his ‘static’ samadhi, in which there is no outer world to manifest.
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		+	Through this divine play of Shiva through his Shakti, Shiva himself is able to recognise his own universal consciousness, otherwise, there is nothing to recognise, for that consciousness is already there. And even though every being has this intrinsic knowledge of his Shiva nature, it is overshadowed completely by the mind and its act of incessant thinking. The Svetasvatara urges the jiva to turn inwards and see himself reflected in the image of Shiva himself and wake up to the knowledge that Shiva and his creation (Shakti) are actually identical.
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		+	[[Category:Festivals\|S
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:India\|S
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:Name\|ALPHABET
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]
		+	[[Category:Religion\|S
		+	LORD SHIV(A), THE DEITY]]

	= Shrines of Lord Shiv =		= Shrines of Lord Shiv =

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	When the boundaries of time and space are transcended, and the limitations of form shattered, the seeker wakes up to the truth that the mystics of the world have always known: that access to the beyond is to be found in the here and now. When the last vestige of ignorance is annihilated, all that remains is Mahakala, the ultimate nature of existence, infinite darkness, an eternity.		When the boundaries of time and space are transcended, and the limitations of form shattered, the seeker wakes up to the truth that the mystics of the world have always known: that access to the beyond is to be found in the here and now. When the last vestige of ignorance is annihilated, all that remains is Mahakala, the ultimate nature of existence, infinite darkness, an eternity.
		+
		+	=Ardh-nârîshvar=
		+	==No Gender Stereotypes==
		+	[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2019%2F03%2F08&entity=Ar02804&sk=5462A2E1&mode=text Apsara Reddy, No Gender Stereotypes In Ardhanarishvara, March 8, 2019: ''The Times of India'']
		+
		+
		+	Namaste. With this simple gesture, folded hands and head bowed towards each other’s true nature, you recognise and celebrate the soul in another. And honour the place in the other that exists within us, thereby recognising value in diversity and synergy in difference.
		+
		+	In Hindu philosophy, the soul is interpreted as being without gender. The reason being that the soul is eternal and exists beyond the realm of human form. The soul, therefore, keeps evolving by taking either the masculine or feminine human form. And at times, it manifests as a combination of the two energies. This philosophy envelops my life, especially as a transgender woman.
		+
		+	In the present world, with the political climate being charged and the narrative being extremely male-oriented with little or no focus on women, sustenance of the woman’s movement becomes very challenging. Far too often, we hear sexist, crude and insensitive barbs being hurled at women. Shiva, the icon of masculinity, blended his identity so seamlessly with the sensibilities of the feminine, when he reveals himself to be half-man, halfwoman, as Ardhanarishvara. Here, the masculine and feminine principles are inseparable. In fact, the female form is Shakti, the active force and the male form is Purusha, passive energy.
		+
		+	In ancient Chinese philosophy, the concept of entwined dual energy, called Yin and Yang, reflects how seemingly contrarian forces are actually complementary, interdependent, even symbiotic, in the natural world, wherein these forces rise up to each other while sustaining each other’s energies. Yin and Yang find their parallel in the coexistence of Shiva and Shakti or Parvati, Prakriti and Purusha.
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		+	With increasing number of incidents of violence against women and the girl child, it is rather disconcerting that we have scant respect for the ideology of man and woman rising above carnal instincts and serving as a symbol of hospitality and parenthood. Transgender women should be accorded the dignity of Ardhanarishvara and valued for their skills and talents. Ridicule should be replaced with respect as we endeavour to progress towards a more harmonious society.
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		+	In a pantheon of over 33 million Hindu gods, the union of Shiva and Shakti signify the tallest and mightiest of energies because of the perfect fusion of male and female energy in equal strength.
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		+	Shiva and Shakti, as Ardhanarishvara, represent the attributes of both male and female energies in such an exquisite union that it is a force to reckon with, embodying the very act of creation itself; each one wielding limitless powers while working for the benefit of the Universe.
		+
		+	The western world recognises this dual energy today, as ‘transgender’. Since ancient times, in Indic temple art and sculpture, the Ardhanarishvara (transgender) motif makes its unique presence felt in myriad ways, its majestic image infusing the stone or wall art with its quiet strength as the confluence of male energy complemented and channelised to the maximum by the softer female energy.
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		+	Achieving the right to legal gender recognition is crucial to the ability of trans-people to leave behind a life of marginalisation and enjoy a life of dignity. For this, all religiously charged leaders need to hark back to our scriptures and read up on Shiva and Shakti, and the significance of their manifestation as Ardhanarishvara.

	= Natraja =		= Natraja =