* CONSCIOUSNESS FLOWS THROUGH ANIMATE AND INANIMATE

Science classifies things in this Universe as animate and inanimate. Accordingly, an amoeba – even though unicellular – is animate --- but a rock is inanimate. But then the animate is made up of protein molecules, nucleic acids and what not chemicals – which are basically groups of molecules and atoms – and these are considered to be inanimate! Then how does something constituting of inanimates become animate? Well, people try to explain this anomaly by saying that when ‘consciousness’ starts flowing through the inanimate, then that particular inanimate becomes animate – if ‘consciousness’ stops flowing through the animate – it turns back to inanimate. This explains how organisms, plants, humans live and then die.
Ok, let us now examine the concept of electricity. Now, electricity is a form of energy which is always present all around us. What scientists have done is to identify the energy – study it, understand the how and why of its flow, its working, its characteristics - so as to be able to use it purposefully. With the switch of a button when electricity flows through a bulb, it gives us light – with the flip of the button again, the electricity stops flowing through the bulb and there is no light. If a control mechanism is attached in the path of the electricity (between the button and the bulb), one can control the brightness of the light being emitted out of the bulb. Similarly there are other gadgets where depending on the amount of electricity flowing through them the speed or heat emitted out of the gadget can be controlled. Every gadget comes with certain specifications, i.e., if the electricity flowing through the gadget is below a certain threshold the gadget/appliance will not work – so also if the electricity flowing through the gadget is beyond a certain maximum threshold, then the gadget will breakdown or explode!
Similarly ‘consciousness’ is just there everywhere – in fact it is the substratum of the Universe. Thus it is present in every conceivable/nonconceivable thing – right from the smallest, yet identifiable subatomic particle to stars, galaxies and what we term as animates. The only difference being in the amount of consciousness flowing through anything! If the consciousness flowing through a particular something is lesser than a particular threshold – we (as humans – limited by the range of our own senses) term that thing as inanimate. As the consciousness crosses that minimum threshold value – we start terming those things as animate – till we reach the human level of consciousness. So when an animate or human being dies – it is not really dead or inanimate – it is just that the amount of consciousness flowing through the particles of its body is now below a particular threshold value! So it is at a different level of being. Thus, if man is able to increase the consciousness flowing through him/her, then he/she will enter into may be another state of being – which is beyond the capacity of a so-called normal human being - which is probably called the supraphysical state of being – or – as some describe being in different realms or worlds simultaneously!

Dr. Poonam Mehra

ONE PROBLEM – MANY SOLUTIONS!
There was a joke I received on the SMS a few days back. It goes something like this – a father asks his son why he had failed his Maths test. The son replies , “Dad, sometimes the teacher says 1 + 7 =8. sometimes she says 2+6=8, sometimes she says 3+5=8 and sometimes she says 4+4=8. Dad, when she herself does not know, how can she teach me?” Well, on reading the joke I laughed at the innocence and foolishness of the child – as – I am sure – u – the reader must also have reacted on reading it. But then this joke set me thinking. We being more learned than the child, know for certain that the teacher is indeed right and find the child to be stupid who cannot understand that all those combination of numbers give the same answer and that all these equations are actually correct. The point that I am trying to make is that if such an exact science as Mathematics can have various combinations to reach the same truth – then – why not in the case of other things in the not-so-exact situations in this world! In this world different people can have different perspectives of looking at a situation or happening depending on their particular natures, experiences, personal likes and dislikes etc. But we, who are not so wise and do not know the Ultimate Truth, behave like the child and feel that there should be only one solution or perspective to a particular thing or situation To top it, since each one feels that only their perspective/solution/point of view is right, we start fighting among ourselves. But the wise people know the real Truth and thus know that one person’s perspective is as right/wrong as that of the next man. His wisdom tells him that each one of us is right/wrong in our own way. They acknowledge that different people see/understand the same things differently, because ultimately it is a question of the angle from which one is viewing a particular thing/situation (afterall if we close our left eye and observe a particular setting, and then close the right eye and observe the same setting, you will observe a slight shift in the alignment of things in that particular setting – you can verify this for yourself!!!).
Thus if we all listened to our higher selfs, we would realize that just like the Maths problem has different combination of numbers to reach the same answer, so also there are various ways of viewing and solving life’s problems – and they are all correct! This would make us live with an ‘all-inclusive’ attitude rather than the ‘all-exclusive’ attitude which has caused only fights, wars and blood-shed – and no real solution to any problems. When instead of hating, being jealous or angry with one another, we would live in peace, love and harmony – then we would slowly graduate to accessing higher and higher knowledge – rather than like the child in the joke who got confused and ultimately failed his exam!
Dr. Poonam Mehra

WIDE ANGLE LENS OR ZOOM LENS?

If you want to appreciate the beauty of the valley, you have to climb the mountain, but if you want to observe the intricacies of the beauty of a flower, you have to look at the flower from close quarters. So also in life, sometimes we need to look at things closely and at other times we need to take a holistic view of things and take decisions keeping in view the larger picture. To explain a little more let me take the example of Heisenberg’s Principle postulated in Modern Physics. This principle states that simultaneously the velocity and position of an electron cannot be measured accurately. If its velocity is known accurately then its position cannot be pinpointed accurately and vice versa. If you do try to take both the readings simultaneously – you will end up with not very accurate figures for either velocity or position of the electron – but you will get a fairly accurate picture of how the electron moves! Similarly in life one cannot understand the larger picture if one looks at things too closely – but so also the smaller irritants become inconsequential if one tries to view the larger picture of life. In life one has to try to keep a balance of focus so that one knows when to give importance to finer details and when to overlook the little things and take action keeping the larger picture in mind. If one is too focused on only the larger picture, one forgets to enjoy and appreciate the beauty in the small little things in day-to-day living – one forgets to be in the present moment – to feel its pain or its happiness – and – life becomes monotone. On the other hand, if one is too focused on each and every small happening, one tends to become too critical and thus loses sight of the larger picture and thus fails to admire its overall beauty – the life literally becomes akin to a roller coaster ride with no time to relax. Ultimately one has to remember that every small leaf – even the one which when looked at from closer range appears to be at an odd angle or may be discoloured - even that odd-angled or discoloured leaf adds beauty and dimension and colour to the entire picture!!!!!
So keep zooming in and zooming out in life – that’s what makes life more enjoyable - more interesting - more remarkable – more livable!!!!!!
Dr. Poonam Mehra

.....contd..... TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SHIVA
Symbolism of MahaSivaratri

Swami Sivananda in his book ‘Siva Lilas, gives the Puranic account of the origin of Sivaratri. In his words, the story goes like this. Once upon a time there was in Varanasi, a hunter called Suswara. He used to hunt birds and beasts in a forest. One day he went in pursuit of a deer and by the time he shot it, it became dark. He could not return home. He tied the birds and beasts in a bundle and climbed a Bilva tree. He kept awake throughout the night lest he should fall down. He had nothing else to do and so he went on plucking Bilva leaves and dropping them down. He was also thinking of his wife and children and remembered that they would be starving, so he started to shed tears. The tears and the Bilva leaves fell on the Siva Linga which was at the bottom of the tree. In the morning he came down, saw the Linga, prostrated before it and went home. Just as he was about to eat the deer he had killed the previous night, a stranger came and begged for food. He gave him the food and ate the remainder. Years afterwards when he died, Siva’s messengers came and took him to Siva’s world. Now this story is a beautiful example of allegory to which our sages resorted to explain their complex philosophies. The wild animals which the hunter killed are symbolic of Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (attachment), Mada and Matsarya. The jungle is the mind. All these wild animals roam freely in you Manas, and they have to be killed. The hunter lived in Varanasi. Now Varanasi is also the name of the Third Eye or Ajna charka. That is midway between the brows. It is regarded as the meeting place of the three Nadis, Sushumna, Ida and Pingala. An aspirant on the spiritual path is told to concentrate at this place, because it helps to get over his desires and evil qualities like anger etc. The tree on which the hunter climbed was the Bilva tree. The Bilva tree symbolizes the vertebral column. The Bilva leaf has three leaves on each stem. So the Bilva leaf is symbolic of the three Nadis who get there energy from Agni, Sun and Moon respectively. They are also the three eyes of Siva. The ‘climbing of the tree’ symbolizes the Kundalini ascending from the Muladhara (Root chakra) to the Ajna Chakra. The weeping of the hunter for his wife and children indicates that one must have an all-embracing sympathy, or Universal Love. An aspirant should perceive one’s Atman in everyone. The plucking and dropping the Bilva leaves symbolizes that the hunter had no extraneous thoughts – he was in fact not even conscious of what he was doing! When you work like this with no conscious thought, it means that you are getting closer to God. Hence the story ends in saying that in the morning (or when LIGHT dawned) the hunter sees the Siva Linga – or is bestowed with the vision of God by His own Grace! Later in the story, the stranger feeds a stranger at home. This stranger is no other than he himself but now transformed and hence he is a stranger. The whole story explains in a very simple and tangible way (for ordinary mortals), that if you can overpower the beasts within you, see everyone as an extension of yourself - hence love all with selfless compassion and live life with no extraneous, selfish thoughts, you will finally have the vision of the Almighty! But somewhere, being ordinary mortals, we remember the story and get so engrossed in the only the story (the rituals) that we forget the message behind the story!

If one looks at the Gods of the Hindu Trinity and their consorts, some very interesting observations come to mind. Lord Brahma the Creator, has Goddess Saraswati – the Goddess of knowledge - as his consort; both are shown sitting on the separate lotus flowers, both are independent and each has a unique position in the pantheon of the Hindu Gods. In fact Lord Brahma is not worshipped in India (there is only one temple of Lord Brahma in India situated in ******) which according to mythology is due to a curse on Him. But Goddess Saraswati is worshipped in her own right as a bestower of the gift of Knowledge. This could be indicative of the composite religion that came about due to the mixing of the pre-Vedic and the Vedic culture, the former having the Mother Goddess as the supreme figure and hence a matriarchal form of society; and the latter following the patriarchal form of society, where there were only powerful male Gods. Thus though the four faces of Lord Brahma are supposed to symbolize the four Vedas, but it is Goddess Saraswati who showers the knowledge in the Vedas on her devotees. So also Lord Vishnu, the Sustainer, has Goddess Lakshmi – the Goddess of Wealth for his consort. Here also the image which mostly comes to mind is that of Lord Vishnu resting on the coils of the great serpent Seshnag with Goddess Lakshmi at His feet. This could be again indicative of a period in history when the patriarchal system of the Vedic culture held sway and the position of women in society was slowly on a decline. Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi are worshipped individually as well as together as in the image of LakshmiNarayan. Yet one does not normally visualize Brahma-Saraswati or Vishnu-Lakshmi as one would visualize a couple in a love relationship. However, the consortship of Siva-Parvati is unique – because one always visualizes them as a romantic couple deeply in love and there are innumerable artistic representations that one finds of them in amorous poses. In fact when one reads the mythological story of Siva-Parvati and how they were finally united in holy matrimony, one is struck by the love and longing of Parvati for Siva and the penances she undergoes to attain Siva – the Yogi as her husband. But unlike the other two Goddesses, Parvati does not have a separate, distinct identity among the diaspora of Hindu deities. She is worshipped in her other forms as Gauri, Adi-Shakti, Kali, Mahakali etc., but she is never worshipped in the form of Parvati. As Parvati she is just Lord Siva’s consort, who is deeply devoted to and in love with him, and who gets quite perturbed at times when he goes into his long intervals of meditation (similar to a normal, human wife). The image of Siva-Parvati conjures up the image of a couple in a very happy marriage. The ultimate high point of the Siva-Parvati concept is their being represented in the androgynous form as the “Ardhanreeshwar”! Yet perhaps on a more scientific note, Siva’s periods of ascetism – quietude followed by those of romanticism (romantic activity with Parvati) may be taken to be like the wave with troughs and crests – like two breaths (kinetic energy – the phases of manifestation of Creation) interspersed with a period of rest or quietude (potential energy – when Creation returns back into nothingness); very much alike the Pulsating Universe theory which modern scientists and astronomers are proposing these days! On a philosophical note it is akin to a vibratory motion – like a ‘spanda’, the eternal cosmic pulsation or throb that according to *******Dehiya ******”translates jnana into kriya and kriya back to jnana again”, like potential energy converting to kinetic energy, which again converts back to potential energy! From this observation are we to interpret that the ancient Hindu sages were scientists and philosophers who had decoded great scientific truths during phases of their intense meditations, and that they were trying to explain complicated theories through the medium of these simplistic stories of Gods and Goddesses and their lives – because in those days religion was the name of knowledge (of any sort) which was acquired by these wise contemplators like Vyas, Vasisthta ******* etc. to name a few; in any discipline. Or perhaps, the images of the Gods of the Hindu Trinity and their consorts are representative of the state, the prevalent conditions, norms, traditions and priorities of society at various time-periods as also of the status of women in society in those periods! After all, Man tries to paint the picture of God (whom he cannot see or perceive) in his own image! Or it is even possible, that the ancient seers with their wisdom, painted these pictures of deities to hold as ideals in front of the common people, so that they could emulate them and try to imbibe the qualities and attributes of those deities in their lives, which would help them to live in a manner where their rights and freedom did not encroach or intrude into the rights and freedom of their fellow beings – thus leading to a peaceful existence for all.

The concept of Siva-Parvati has another beautiful facet to it – that of non-duality in duality! In the story of Siva-Parvati, Parvati asks Siva to marry her. In a way the story-teller, by making Parvati ask marriage of Siva is trying to make Siva realize through Parvati as to “how indeed can there be diversity in Him who is a single Whole” (Dehiya) – because bondage and liberation, unity amidst diversity may seem paradoxical, but then they are the essence of Siva. Further, explaining the beauty and philosophy of Kashmir Saivism, Dehiya elaborates that many of the depictions of Siva-Parvati show the left hand of Siva lovingly and amorously embracing Parvati. This signifies that in that embrace is the preservation of Advaita (Siva) in the midst of Dvaita (the innumerable manifestations that are caused due to the union of Siva and Parvati – his Shakti) for it is the embrace of Siva that prevents the limitless expansion of Siva’s Shakti. The manifestations are from Siva, who is the fountain-head – through the spanda caused in Him by Parvati as He gazes lovingly at her. The manifestations are part of Siva, but they are not Siva – Dvaita in Advaita and Advaita in the Dvaita! Further, in my mind, Parvati wanting marriage with Siva may also signify the desire of the fragment (manifestation) to become part of the Whole (Advaita – Siva). Or it could also be interpreted as the microcosm wanting the Whole macrocosm to expand and encompass it within its folds!

In these beautiful depictions of Siva-Parvati in the doctrine of Kashmir Saivism, there is shown a mirror in the hand of Parvati. Now, the mirror in her hand is not an object of feminine vanity. Rather, the mirror in Parvati’s hand is so held that Siva can see his face in it. In the philosophy of Kashmir Saivism, this signifies that the in his first cognition and acknowledgement of the presence of Parvati, Siva does his ‘alingana’ or embraces her. This embrace is a lustful and outward epistemic step, an ‘unmilana’, an expansion ensuring that his attention and cognition is focused on Parvati rather than letting it wander or expand limitlessly. But in later, subsequent cognitions, Siva notices the mirror in the hand of Parvati, in which he sees none other than himself! It is the ‘darpana’ or mirror that leads visual credence to the fundamental Kashmir Saivite doctrine that “the objective status of the object is cognition of itself”, i.e., “pratyabhijna” or “self-consciousness” or “self-realization”. Parvati showing the mirror to Siva could also be interpreted as Parvati wishing to become a mirror to Siva, so to make Him realize His creative potential. Siva is sitting in His meditation, unmoving, oblivious even of Himself. He just EXISTS, HE JUST IS! In that state he is in the ‘aham’ or ‘I am’ state. But on being shown the mirror, he perceives Himself as ‘aham-idam’ or ‘I am this’ state; and as he thus perceives himself and embracing Parvati, he realizes His being as all encompassing –UNIVERSAL. Thus his reflection in the mirror of Parvati makes him break out from the finiteness of the ‘I am’ to the ‘I am All’ or the ‘aham eva sarvam’. Parvati wishing to become the mirror to Siva could also mean that that Siva is Parvati and vice versa – the ‘Bimba (reflection)’ and the ‘Pratibimba (reflection of the reflection)’! But then this broadening of the consciousness starts as a sensory perception. So it can safely be said that sensory perception is the first step towards higher knowledge. Thus we find the Man started to understand this Universe through first trying to understand what his senses perceived. So in the initial stages, Science is the study of understanding through sensory perception, and as its perceptions went on fine tuning, today with modern instruments and the knowledge of Quantum Physics and Theory of Relativity, Science is on the threshold of reaching the stage of Universal realization – the stage where there is hardly anything to demarcate Science from Spirituality! Similar is the case when we read legends about Gods. At the sense level it is a story of other humans or Divinities made in the image and hierarchy of humans and human society – just a glorified reflection of human conditions. But a realized soul or a soul at a higher level of knowledge realizes and understands the symbolism of the stories and then the essence becomes important. To put it in other words, to a realized soul, the universal truth behind the story is more important rather than the story behind the universal truth! Thus the myth turns to mysticism – and hence the perception of the Vedas transforms to the contemplation of the Upanishads to the final realization of the Vedanta!


Through the whole discussion, we are constantly faced with the same enigmatic fact with which we started – that Siva is one of the most complex gods of India, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities. He is the destroyer and He is the creator, the great ascetic who is also the symbol of sensuality, the ideal husband and family man, the benevolent herdsman (Pasupati) and the wrathful avenger Rudra. Siva is the old yogi and yet He is ever youthful – a symbol of fertility. He is the static potential energy within all of Nature and yet when He decides, that unmanifested potential converts to the kinetic energy to manifest Himself as the entire Universe! Thus the only conclusion that one can come to regarding these multi facets of Siva is that the multidimensional personality of Siva may be the result of a tendency in Hinduism to combine complementary qualities in a single figure. The wise seers of yore who really understood what God was, knew that God is that who is without any attributes and qualities and yet He comprises within Himself all attributes and qualities! But it is verily impossible for the common man to understand this dichotomy in the personality of God. Hence the ancient sages tried to create an image of God which was as close to Man’s own personality, but who had Supreme Powers and the One who was in complete control of his own Nature. He lives in this world, yet is beyond this world. His personality is a reflection of the existing conditions, needs, and the available knowledge of contemporary society, and as Man evolved, the personality of God evolved. Thus the process of trying to understand the concept of Siva, is actually a journey of the evolution of Man on Earth and his changing-evolving thought process through the ages. Through Time, every new thought brought about a new experience for Man. Every experience taught Man something which either helped reinforce, or change his views, ideas and thoughts. Obviously all this got reflected in his ideals i.e., his image and form of God; because ideals portray perfection and perfection is what man has always strived to attain so as to be able to live in peace and harmony. Also, Siva in spirit, symbolizes the constant change that is inherent in the Universe – the dance of Siva that keeps the Universe in motion – and when the tempo reaches a crescendo, it destroys – only to be reborn again! So if the spirit signifies change, how can the form of Siva not change. That is why the form of Siva has constantly changed – to keep in step with the changing times, ideas and ideologies of mankind. But the one truth that remained changeless is that God is probably the potential within Man to rise above the mundane and when Man’s dynamism is really triggered, there is no limit to what he can do. Thus it is that Siva is what He is – a very normal, yet complex human being, a picture of contrasts – and yet unlike a human being He is in complete control of all the vice and goodness in His character – an ideal for all of Mankind to emulate. Thus to write on Siva and explain his enigmatic persona is as continuous a process as the idea of Siva himself, because the idea of Siva is actually the reflection of Man and his evolution through time – and which will continue to evolve till the end of Time!!!!!

.......CONCLUDED
Dr. Poonam Mehra

......contd.....TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SHIVA

Symbolism of Siva’s form

Siva is the only God who possesses three eyes. According to some scriptures the three eyes of Siva symbolize the Sun, the Moon and Agni – the three most important things that provide light to humans. According to the science of Yoga, the three eyes of Siva symbolize the Ida, Pingala and the Shushumna nadis. It is indeed noteworthy to observe here that the Ida nadi which is to the left along the spinal cord, crosses at the Third Eye charka and connects to the right side of the brain and the Pingala nadi, which is to the right along the spinal cord crosses at the Third Eye Chakra (the situation of the pineal gland that controls the endocrine system of the human body) and connects to the left side of the brain – a concept very similar to what modern medicine tells us – that the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body! Coming back to Siva, one has to marvel at the deep thinking of our ancient Hindu seers, because along with His fiery eyes Siva balances the Ganga (water) on His head. Under normal circumstances, such close proximity of Fire and Water should, either lead to the evaporation of the waters of the Ganga, or the extinguishing of the Fire by the waters of the Ganga. But nothing happens! Now Water is symbolic of the pull (force) that drags Man down towards the lower world of matter. Hence the Ganga is falling down. Fire is symbolic of the upward force of the spirit to move from mortality to immortality. Thus this form of Siva indicates that one must keep one’s balance while on this Earth. Then one can enjoy the bounties of this Earth and yet remain beyond the reach of Maya that ensnares us, binds us down and does not let our soul rise above the mundane. The Third Eye of Siva may also be symbolic of developing your intellect to a point where one is able to perceive and understand beyond what can be perceived with the help of the five senses! The axe in Siva’s hand reminds that one must cut the tree of Samsara to the very root. The deer in His hand symbolizes the swift, fleeting mind, over which you must keep a firm grip. The “Damaru” is the matrix of all sounds. The sacred ashes are the ashes left by the burning up of the Prarabdha, Sanchita and Agamya Karmas according to Swami Sivananda. Also, according to him, Siva’s dance on the cremation ground signifies the rhythmic flow of life-energy in our ever-dying bodies. The five serpents around his neck portray the five senses wound around one, like serpents. According to George Feuerstein in “The Essence of You”, the serpent is the symbol of regeneration and rebirth as also the symbol of death. Thus this form of Siva sitting in the meditative posture, motivates the devotee to burn his ever-fleeting mind in the fire of meditation, and kill discrimination, dispassion and Vichar (thoughts) using the Trishul. Siva is said to have drunk the poison which came out during the time of “Samudra-Manthan”, but He did not ingest it, thus His throat is shown as being blue due to the poison. This poison could be symbolic of the venomousness of mundane existence – which one has to endure, but it should not be allowed to enter our body and being and thus poison and destroy it.

The three-petalled “Bel” leaf offered to Lord Siva, is symbolic of the three eyes of Siva, or the three nadis mentioned above. When one offers the bel-leaf to Siva it means – “I offer you this leaf. May you remove the three fold veil that keeps you hidden from me.” The colour of Bhasma (ash) besmeared on Siva’s body symbolizes Purity. Lord Siva teaches silently by his colour that people desirous of attaining Him should have a pure heart. If you have been to a Siva temple, you must have observed that there is a pot with a small hole in its bottom, hung directly above the Siva linga. The pot is filled with water or milk, which constantly drips on the Siva linga. This constant ‘abhishek’ of the Siva linga is meant to cool the Fiery Third Eye of Siva.

By just observing the images of Lord Vishnu and Lord Siva, one can understand that Lord Vishnu is ‘Alankarpriya’, i.e., fond of ornaments and valuable adornments and donning silken clothes – looking like a king (with his consort Lakshmi the Goddess of wealth sitting at his feet). But Lord Siva is ‘Abhishekpriya’ i.e., fond of the constant pouring of water or milk on his head – in fact he is shorn of any sort ornaments and has an ash-besmeared body and wearing only a tiger skin covering around his body, sitting in deep meditation – his whole countenance is that of an ascetic. Seeing these two contrasting images compels one to think whether these two images were made to show a change in the mood of society moving from materialism and worldliness towards non-materialism from and higher knowledge. It could mean that earlier God had to be portrayed as being wealthy – otherwise how could He grant boons – indicating a materialistic mindset of the people as well as the rulers who were powerful and wealthy Aryans. But later as unrest among the masses against the ‘bhog-vilasita’ of the rulers gained ground and as they struggled to free themselves of the rigid and costly Vedic rituals, an understanding may have started to dawn on society that God need not be rich to grant boons, as He is all powerful, and that God sees the intent behind his worship rather than the costly gifts bestowed on Him to please Him to grant boons. Thus He is happy with the offering even with the barest ‘abhishek’ of water, or just a leaf or flower if the intent of the devotee is pure! It could also signify that when people realized that material comforts are not enough to bring peace of mind, they started thinking that the path of renunciation and meditation would give them that elusive peace of mind. Hence the ascetic form of Siva, who is considered to be the most loved God of the masses, one who is easiest to please with the barest minimum of offerings and no strict method for His worship! Vishnu and Siva could also be treated as symbolic of Man’s advancement from the world of Maya or Illusions to a state of higher knowledge. Vishnu with his embellishments and ornaments could be symbolic of Man who is still deluded by Maya or Illusion. However, for a man who is in unison with God –Brahman, is disinterested in the Maya of the world – he is free from illusions. Thus Siva is shown as devoid of embellishments or ornaments, as an ascetic who is always in contemplation – in a meditative mood –totally disinterested in the ways of the world. Vishnu and Siva are thus representative of the evolution of Indian culture which presents itself as a society which was constantly in the process of trying to balance two equally powerful, important yet opposing forces – one pulling towards worldliness and the other towards other-worldliness! But then people in those days may have also realized that if everyone became an ascetic, then how would society sustain, who would look after the old, the sick, the helpless, the women and children, and most of all how would the human race propagate and multiply! Thus, may have originated the concept of an ascetic Siva having a beautiful consort Parvati, who are very much in love with one another. Siva-Parvati symbolize that both man and woman are necessary for the sustenance of the world and the propagation of the race. Siva-Parvati are the pivots on which stands civilized society. They also signify that there has to be LOVE and NOT LUST - between the man and the woman for the two basic duties, viz., healthy sustenance and propagation of life on Earth. The scriptures narrate a beautiful story to illustrate this point. Once an Asura named Taraka did great penance to Lord Brahma and received great powers from him. Now thinking that he had become invincible, Taraka started troubling the Devas and finally succeeded in driving away the Devas from Heaven. The Devas all approached Lord Brahma and prayed for help. But, since Lord Brahma had himself granted the Asura all those powers, he was in position to destroy him. So he suggested to the Devas that if Lord Siva could be tempted to unite with Mother Parvati, then a powerful son would be born to them and this son would destroy the asura Taraka. But there was a big problem here, because at that time Lord Siva was in deep meditation. Then Indra requested Kama (Cupid) to go to Mount Kailas where Lord Siva was doing meditation and try to tempt him. Kama with his wife Rati(Spring) proceeded immediately to Kailas. There they saw that Lord Siva was in a deep Yoga Samadhi and Parvati was worshipping Him with flowers. Just when Kama released an arrow from his bow, Parvati’s hand touched the hands of Siva. At that touch, Siva felt a sudden thrill of passion and His meditation was disturbed. As He opened His eyes to find out the cause of the disturbance He saw Kama behind Him. He understood what had caused that surge of passion within Him. He was so angry that His third eye opened and with one His once glance Kama was reduced to ashes. The story later goes on to narrate as to how then Subramanya was born and killed Taraka. But the most important point which this story tries to highlight is that, as and when and for whatever reason and in whatever emergency, a man and woman when they unite (for procreation or otherwise) pure LOVE and Respect for one another should be motivational force for that union, and NOT LUST. Thus Siva is also known as ‘Kamadahana’ or ‘Destroyer of Passion. The story also signifies that if even a yogi like Siva could be disturbed by passion, then how can ordinary human beings, withstand the arrows of Kama! So one must try and conquer Passion. But this is easier said than done. Thus this may have been one of the most important reasons for dividing a human life into the four ashrams – the brahmacharyashram or student life – where the main duty of the person is to gain knowledge which is necessary for earning a living and leading a balanced, happy life, (ii) the grahastashram or life as a householder – where the person loves, marries, produces children, earns and cares for the family including the sick, infirm and the old, (iii) the vanaprasthashram where the person starts to prepare for handing over the torch to the next generation and (iv) the sanayasashram where the person finally gives up all household duties to retire into a life of minimum needs and spending time in meditation. This 4-fold system of Life,if followed in its true spirit, is one of the most fool-proof systems made by our wise seers and sages (in their complete wisdom) for leading a happy, peaceful life on Earth! It is a system which is as relevant in today’s lifestyle as it was in those ancient times. If one introspects deeply, one is bound to concede that if any one of these ashrams are not followed in their true essence, it brings in illiteracy, ignorance of one’s rights and duties, indiscretion in deciding priorities of life, laziness, arrogance, poverty, subjugation of the underprivileged, women and weaker sections of society, anarchism, unrest, discontent, acrimony among family members – and in the long run, a breakdown of a peaceful and civilized society. If one goes through history, one is compelled to agree that one or many of the aforesaid reasons have been responsible for the downfall of most of the great civilizations that existed on the Earth.
...... to be contd......

Dr. Poonam Mehra

.....contd....TRYIG TO UNDERSTAND SHIVA

Regarding the antiquity of the worship of the Sivalinga, we may rely upon a tradition popular throughout the Indian subcontinent and which is recorded in the Kashikhand of the Skandpurana. According to this source, the oldest Sivalinga known as Avimukteswar linga was founded at Varanasi during the reign of Divodasa – a king of the Solar Dynasty, also known as King Ripunjaya. The story goes that once there was terrible famine for many years and people had practically no regard for morality or religion. Vedic sacrificial rites had not been performed anywhere. Then God appeared before Ripunjaya and asked him for re-establishing morality and religious practices. If he was successful in doing this, then he would be given the surname ‘Divodasa’ – servant of the Gods. Ripunjaya then proposed that the Gods leave for the time being, so that he may find out the enemies of religion from everywhere and then prepare for re-establishment of Vedic religion. God agreed and told the presiding diety, Lord Siva to leave Varanasi. Then Lord Siva, while leaving the city, left the Avimukteshwar – a symbol of his own self at a hidden place so that his devotees could worship him during his absence. Hence it is known as ‘Adilinga’ – which is thumb-sized.

Let us now try to understand the symbolism of this ancient story. In those days probably religious practices were of two types –firstly the Vedic rituals – which were performed with pomp and fanfare, like yagya etc., and secondly, the Linga worship – which was done secretly. According to the story the Gods were asked to leave. This probably meant that the huge Lingas used for Vedic rituals were removed because in times of famine, their proper worship was not possible. Thus for re-establishment of Dharma a personal form of worship – in the form of small thumb-sized Lingas may have been initiated by the king so as to bring about some form of worship and order into society. However, the story may also be a symbolization of how Siva Linga-worship i.e., a Vedic (Siva) and a non-Vedic (linga) concept were conjoined and thus a non-Vedic concept was incorporated into the Vedic religion of the rulers to pacify and win over the ordinary population of the area who were probably the enemies of the religion followed by the Vedic rulers. By getting the big Lingas removed and starting the small Siva-linga worship Ripunjaya was able to re-establish the peace and Vedic religion in that area. Another advantage of Linga-worship is that it being a form of personal worship, it could do away (or simplify) with the elaborate Vedic rituals which required a lot of money and time for their performance and thus were not possible for the laymen to perform, on an everyday basis especially during times of famine – when there was nothing even to eat. Also, if people had to go away from home for the purpose of trade, business visiting one another etc., it would have been difficult to follow and perform the elaborate Vedic rituals. But the simplicity of Siva-linga worship was a perfect answer to all these problems. As can be understood, any stone more or less of a particular shape could be called a Siva-linga. Siva-linga could be made out of sand or wet mud also. ‘Abhishek’ or worship of the Siva-linga could be done by offering just water (available everywhere) and milk (if possible) and leaves and/or flowers according to their availability. Thus this story may also signify the breaking free from the bondage of rigid and elaborate Vedic rituals for the common man.

“Linga” in Vedic parlance also meant “mark” or symbol of God. The linga is a simple form, no eyes, ears, no great artistic shape, no ornaments or other adornments – hence there is nothing to distract the mind while worshipping or meditating on the Lord. Also, the Linga is in a sort of dome-shaped. This shape helps concentrate maximum energy within the dome. Hence this shape helps in increasing the concentration of the mind of the devotee. According to Swami Sivananda, “The external Abhishekam is intended to help the growth of the Bhakta (devotee) for the Lord. When you do Abhishek with Bhav and devotion, your mind is concentrated. Gradually your heart is filled with the brilliant image of the Lord. You lose body-consciousness and egoism vanishes. In this state of self-forgetfulness, you enjoy the supreme bliss of Lord Shiva.”

Siva is also known as “Pasupati”. “Pasu” in earlier scriptures meant ‘soul’ - one who is tied by a “Pash” or rein to the Universe – or material world. “Pati” means Lord or master. So Siva as Pasupati implies that He is the Lord of the Souls and that the individual soul can unite with Him when this bondage or “Pash” is broken or cut off.

.....to be contd....
Dr. Poonam Mehra

......contd.... TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SHIVA

........contd.....TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SHIVA
Siva is also known as “Nataraj”, or the Lord of Dance and the Universe is due to the Dance of Siva. The Dance of Siva is the Dance of Life – which at some point turns into the Dance of Destruction – the Fiery Tandav. When Siva gazes at Prakriti (or, Parvati), certain forces come into play, and Prakriti comes forward – they both start to dance – signaling the creation of the Universe. One sees the manifestations of Siva’s dance in all the phenomena that one comes across everyday – the birth and death of all living beings, the waves in the ocean, the endless repetitive cycle of the seasons, the rotation of the planets, the movement of air, the spinning electrons, the frenzied motion of the subatomic particles (which can be photographed and observed in a bubble chamber), the oscillations of the mind in the movement of the senses towards their objects of desire – everything is caused due to an energy which causes a vibration – or “spandan”, which further causes motion, i.e., the conversion of Potential to Kinetic energy – from motionlessness to movement. This conversion of energy, this movement is the cause of the potential being manifested and till the motion exists, the Universe is sustained. The beauty and precision of his dance movements is unsurpassed – hence Siva is Nataraja – the Lord of Dance. However, when the dance of creation rises in its crescendo, there are sudden bursts of energy, resulting in earthquakes, cyclones, tornadoes, and according to Swami Sivanand – the falling of the mind from the Sattvic mode to the Tamasic mode. Even epidemics of infectious diseases sweep in different parts of the earth to keep down the population to manageable levels. Thus cyclones, earthquakes, lightning, thunder, war, disease, famine – all reflect Siva’s dance. The rising of the crescendo of the rhythm of the dance implies an increase in the Kinetic energy – synonymous to an object rolling down a slope. Thus it has within it the potential of destruction – and – without destruction nothing new can be created! After all a river has to end to form a waterfall, and the waterfall’s energy dissipates into the calmness of the lake, which at some future point in time may be the source of yet another river! But at all times the sum total of Potential energy and Kinetic energy remains unchanged. Potential energy alone means ‘nothingness’ – IT JUST IS. But conjoined with Kinetic energy – which is initiated through a spandan – Shakti – vibration, the potential of creation is manifested. In this manifestation is the seed or potential of annihilation, which once again has the seed of creation within it. All beings are projected into existence (manifested) due to the Potential energy – the seed, and then through the conversion of the Potential into Kinetic energy. The conversion or withdrawing of Kinetic energy into Potential energy implies the withdrawing of Prakriti into Siva. Thus, the origin of the worlds is within Siva and so also of KALA or Time. So Kala – Time! Hence Siva is also Kala Bhairav – the Destroyer becomes synonymous with Siva and He is also the destroyer i.e., Kala or Death of Time. Explaining this idea in a different way, at the time of Pralaya – when the whole creation comes to an end, Brahma – the Creator and Vishnu – the Maintainer also should logically come to an end. Since Siva is the God of Destruction, Brahma and Vishnu should merge into Siva at the time of Pralaya! But since Brahma is the Creator- and - Brahma is within Siva at the time of complete Destruction, i.e., Siva has the seed of the new Creation within Him. Thus Siva has the potential of destruction and yet within Him is the potential of a new creation, as also the potential to maintain till the creation is destroyed! This eternal rhythm of creation and destruction of life on Earth, as also of phenomena in this Universe - from the microcosm to the macrocosm is the basis of all existence, and it goes on and on in endless cycles – and the beginning and end of it is SIVA. Thus Siva is GOD ABOVE GODS!!! –

The Dance of Siva hence is not only ‘the dance of creation and destruction,’ it is essentially ‘the dance of energy’ as it flows from one form into another. Fritzof Capra in “the Tao of Physics” has dedicated one whole chapter to explain this ‘Cosmic Dance’ as he calls it. To clarify his point he states, “Modern physics has shown us that movement and rhythm are essential properties of matter; that all matter, whether here on Earth or in outer space is involved in a continual cosmic dance”. To further quote from his book, “According to quantum field theory, all interactions between the constituents of matter take place through the emission and absorption of virtual particles. More than that, the dance of creation and destruction is the basis of the very existence of matter, since all material particles ‘self-interact’ by emitting and absorbing virtual particles. Modern physics has thus revealed that every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction”. Then, making a very interesting observation about life in the subatomic world he says, “Virtual particles, finally, are not only an essential part of all particle interaction and of most of the particles’ properties, but are also created and destroyed by the vacuum. Thus, not only matter, but also the void, participates in the cosmic dance, creating and destroying energy patterns without end”. Reading this description, one is forced to contemplate whether the ancient seers of India had really understood all this by seeing or visualizing it during their deep meditations, and had tried to portray the constant, continuous, endless rhythmic pulsations existing in all the constituents of matter in the Universe through the simple concept, of God who is a dancer par excellence – The Nataraj. Even when dancing wildly, His “superbly balanced and yet dynamic gestures express the rhythm and unity of Life”. At times though his arms and legs may seem to be flaying around in total chaos and his body swaying vigorously in a mad frenzy (as one may observe at the time of natural calamities – that occur across the globe), yet the Dancer – Siva is, in complete control – and as Heinrich Zimmer has put it - “death exactly balancing birth, annihilation the end of every coming- forth”. Thus the concept of the Dance of Siva is where probably mystic philosophy, art and modern physics unify. It is as Coomaraswamy has said, “Poetry, but nonetheless Science”.

The concept of Siva as potential energy and the manifestation of this energy due to kinetic energy (Shakti) is considered to be the cause of the creation of this Universe. This coming together of opposing polarities, i.e., one part which is completely motionless and the counterpart which is defined as motion, brings to light, the concept of Siva as ‘Ardhanareeshwar’. According to Modern Physics, matter is actually just a form of energy and energy can be converted to matter and vice versa, in accordance to Einstein’s famous equation, E = mc2. In his famous book ‘The Tao of Physics’, Fritzof Capra says, “This also means that there is energy locked inside matter”. At another place, while dealing with subatomic particles, he says, “When such particles collide, their masses are destroyed and converted into kinetic energy which is then distributed among the other particles taking part in the collision. Conversely, when subatomic particles collide at very high velocities, their kinetic energy can be used to form masses of new particles”. Thus according to him, “The creation and destruction of material particles is one of the most impressive consequences of the equivalence of mass and energy”. Thus at subatomic levels, “force and matter are but different aspects of the same phenomena”. Here particles are both destructible (when viewed as matter) and indestructible (when viewed as ‘bundles’ of energy); matter is both continuous (as energy changing from one form to another) and discontinuous (as mass of a body). These according to Fritzof Capra are “examples of the unification of opposite concepts”. Taking another example from science, Light has a dual nature – it is at once of wave nature, as well as of particle nature. Certain phenomena can be explained only on the basis of light having a wave form (reflection, refraction, interference etc.), but certain other phenomena in quantum physics necessitates that light be assumed to have a particle nature (‘quanta’ of energy). Thus waveform and particle nature are both required to define Light. It is neither this nor that, but a unification of both aspects. These concepts of Modern Science are perfect examples of what the “Ardhnareeshwar” form of Siva probably tries to portray or convey – neither male, nor female; but only the ‘Dynamic unification of the male and female”, (in the words of Fritzof Capra) can explain ALL.

................ to be contd.......

Dr. Poonam Mehra

...... contd.... TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SHIVA

........ contd......... TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SHIVA

According to Stella Kramrisch (The Presence of Siva), “Agni, Indra, Soma and Varuna, the principal Vedic gods are invoked as a buffalo, great in “bull-powers”. Agni, the Fire is a buffalo in the lap of water (RV 10.8.1) and a bull when fully manifest. The buffalo is Agni’s shape in the waters, hidden in its power. When he rises from the waters, his bull’s roar is heard (RV. 10.8.1). Soma, too, while in the water, striving to acquire his final clarified state, is a buffalo (RV. 9.6.18-19; 9.97.40-41). The buffalo is power in potentiality.” The author probably is trying to say that the Vedic seers knew that whether it was Agni, Indra, Soma or Varuna (and for that matter also Vayu), they all had the potentiality to destroy when fully aroused! So they likened this innate attribute of Nature’s elements to destroy to a buffalo submerged in the water – where it can hardly be seen, if it is still, in a lazy mood. However, it has the potential to stand up, become manifest and roar like a bull. Now whether there is a storm in the waters the waves rise up roar and crash. When there is a wind storm, it gushes and roars, the power so much that it can lift up anything, or when Fire is really -------, it crackles as its flames keep rising and burning whatever comes in its way. All these various vicious moods of Nature are thus likened to a bull when fully manifest, and the bull’s roar is heard as he rises from the waters!

Thus Siva is the Potential Energy in all. It creates, and as it creates there is the potentiality of destruction – and with destruction is the potentiality of creation. Siva has the seed to create (story of Prajapati’s semen), but is Himself uncreate, just like there is potential energy in an object, but from where does the potentiality come? The arrow on a strung bow is Siva (P.E), which when let loose, transforms into Kinetic energy, which has the potential to destroy, and, destroy it does! Potential energy is motionless – like Siva sitting absolutely motionless in yogic posture (the non-Aryan God Rudra)! Kinetic energy has motion, so it causes the manifestation of the potential energy within a Matter. But in the process, there is dissipation or annihilation of the kinetic energy which then leads again to the original motionless state (potential) where it (the body) remains till another force acts upon it and again – and causes the manifestation of the potential within to transform into kinetic form –and the cycle repeats endlessly! In this whole process the sum of the total energy remains constant always. Well, are we not talking about some of the principles of modern science – namely Newton’s First law of motion and the principle of Conservation of Energy!

On the microcosmic level, in a hydrogen atom there is the proton and electron. When they are in close proximity, the forces of attraction and gravitation between them start to act (creating a “spandan”). This ‘excitation’ causes the electron to start dancing (transformation of the potential to kinetic energy) around the proton (nucleus), just like the “Tandav”of Siva. This causes annihilation or loss of Kinetic energy and the electron slowly spirals down from the excited state to a lower state – which again has the potential to ascend to a higher state. This ascending and descending defines the limits of the orbit in which the electron moves around the proton nucleus.

Extending this argument to the macrocosmic scale, Siva implies the potential of earthquakes within the earth or the cyclonic storms within the waters, or the tornadoes within the winds – and when the actual manifestation of any of these takes places due to the various forces of Nature, the Kinetic energy that is let loose destroys. But once the Kinetic energy is dissipated, again starts the process of the building up of the potential to again let loose the kinetic havoc. The same underlying principle causes the formation and destruction of stars, galaxies etc. – most significant being the potential within the POINT or NOTHINGNESS to create the BIG BANG which in turn is the cause of the creation of the whole Universe. Thus there is potential energy in everything. It is the one principle which is all pervading, all pervading, Omniscient, Omnipresent! – and hence it is GOD – or the Lord Siva. Hence the Agni, Rudra or the Bull of the Aryans and the Yogic god Rudra or the Linga (anther meaning of Linga is symbol) of the pre- Aryans transforms into GOD – which in effect is a scientific principle which our seers had understood in great depth – but perhaps gave it the name of God for the common man to understand – because in those days Science, Religion and Spirituality were ONE AND THE SAME!!!

............. to be contd......

Dr. Poonam Mehra

......... contd. ......... TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SHIVA

Among the Aryan Gods there was a God named as Rudra. Who was this Rudra? Let us try and understand the concept of Rudra. The Vedic people had no idol worship. They only believed in ‘homa’ and ‘yagya’ to the elements of Nature. Rudra, in the Vedas is the God of thunder, he is the father of the Maruts – the thunderstorms. Rudra is also AGNI – Agni in the skies is the lightning of the thunder and Agni on Earth is Fire – the fire of their ‘yagya’. Agni is genealogically his own child i.e. UNCREATE, Fire is born from fire. He is the bull who is also the cow – Agni is complete with the simultaneous male-female duality! Two stones or two wooden twigs when struck together produced Fire. Taking another example, when certain elements, compounds react, they produce fire. Well, people in the hoary past probably may have thought that Fire already existed in those materials in the unmanifest form and became manifest when interacting in a particular way. Thus Fire could not be CREATED – it was UNCREATE, it could be only produced. Thus Fire – Agni according to the Vedic people’s understanding was the complete wholeness of being. One can understand the importance which the Vedic people attached to Agni. Agni gave them the much needed warmth and light (literally their lifeline) during their long, long wintry night. It helped keep the animals at bay in the darkness, it helped cook, it carried their offerings to the Gods - as it had the capacity to naturally rise. No other elements of nature have the natural tendency to rise up. So Agni was different, it was sacred. But it also had the capacity to burn practically any natural material – that is, it destroyed, and if not handled carefully or left unchecked, it could cause havoc – a complete destruction of whatever God or Man had created! Hence Agni was also the Destroyer - the God of Destruction.

From the artifacts excavated at Harappa, we know today that Indus valley people worshipped Rudra – the God sitting in the yogic posture. With the advent of the Aryans on the Indian sub-continent, the rulers (Aryans) may have tried to assismilate some of the religious ideas of the original inhabitants as a way to woo those whom they ruled. This must have helped the Aryans to reduce or stop the constant skirmishes which they must have had to encounter with the original inhabitants (which must have caused considerable damage to life, crop and property). Also when two different races live parallel, there is bound to be a healthy exchange of ideas between the two peoples. Thus Rudra – the God in yogic posture of the Indus valley civilization and Rudra- the God of Destruction of the Aryans, merged to later become known as Siva in the latter scriptures of Hinduism – who was also worshipped in the Linga form!
..................................To be contd.

Dr. Poonam Mehra

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SHIVA

Whatever written below are my personal views, interpretations and understanding of the Hindu God Shiva as I researched on Him. Please read it with the attitude of "To each their own". Your comments - whether they agree or disagree with my viewpoints are nevertheless welcome as they will genuinely enrich my understanding of Lord Shiva!

Om Namah Shivaye! Om Namah Shivaye! Shivoham! Shivoham! Om Shiv Shambhu! Om Shiv Shambhu! - these are chants that reverberate in the environs of practically every temple in India – they form the backbone of basic Hindu religiosity – because they are chanted to invoke the God who is the darling of the Indian masses – He is Bholenath – the God who is pleased and grants boons most easily, and with the least of paraphernalia – He is Shiva – the auspicious one!!! He is the God who is mostly worshipped in the form of a symbol – the Shivalinga (a sort of rounded stone). Hindus know him as Nataraja – the dancer God – the visible symbol of the rhythm of the universe – and when He is angry, He dances the Tandava dance and causes the annihilation of this creation – and yet in his softer moods he is Maheshwara, the Lord of Knowledge, He is the Yogi – the Ascetic God, who is perpetually in meditation on the Kailash mountain where He resides with his consort Parvati, who is Shakti in her soft form, He is Bhairava, Dakshinamurthi, Hara –the remover of death, He is Rudra, He is Kalyanasundara (husband of Parvati), and above all He is Ardhanarishwara – the half man half woman God! He is the God who endears to one and all because of his benevolence and utter simplicity of character, and yet He is the God who strikes terror in the hearts of all his devotees, were He to be in one of His aggressive moods

It is indeed intriguing to the discerning mind of even a Hindu as to why one God, that also a God who makes up the Hindu Trinity should be known by so many names and forms and each form being the possessor of qualities which are completely diverse from the qualities possessed by another form of the same God. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva form the Hindu Trinity, of which Brahma, the Creator is known everywhere in the scriptures and folk lore to be of the same form. Vishnu, the Perceptor also is recognizable by one unique image. Yes, Vishnu is worshipped in the form of His various incarnations of Rama, Krishna, Narsimha etc. Yet Shiva, the Annihilator, the last of the Holy Trinity is not known and worshipped in that form alone! Destruction of the Universe is not the only duty which He performs. He is that and much more! What really could be the symbolism of the ‘Unity in Diversity’ of only this one God that He has been meted out this distinguished treatment by our venerable sages and seers!

Each form of Shiva has a symbolism and the scriptures and many an author of our recent past and present times has exalted the greatness and symbolism of each of the various forms in which Shiva is worshiped and the reasons thereof. But to understand the true symbolism behind the mystique of the concept of Shiva, may be we should try to go back in time and understand the evolution of Man through the ages and does it have any relation to how and why the concept of Shiva transformed so many times through the passage of time – or is there a common thread which binds all these concepts together, which we miss in our love and faith for this all-loved and yet aggressive, dreaded God who kept strange companions and resided in even stranger places!

Let us try to enter in to the hoary past of mankind and see what could have been happening at that stage of human evolution. If we analyze the mythology of great civilizations like the Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Mayan and our own pre-Vedic culture, we are forced to acknowledge that in primitive society, the various clans revolved around the womenfolk of their time. She was synonymous with the expansion of her clan. Man in those early ages just about realized that it was the woman who had the power to procreate. Her organs were thought to have some magical powers by which she could procreate. So she was the symbol of new creation, generation and sustenance. She was synonymous with fertility- just like Mother Earth, which not only created new life but that new life sustained human life. It is easily understood why in those early ages maternity held sway over the consciousness of Man (he not only had to survive, but he also had to increase in number to sustain the race). Thus the life-giving mother was the central figure and hence also of religion, because in those days religion was the same as what Man was observing and understanding of his existence on Earth. This anyway has been proved by the plentiful discovery of palaeolithic female figurines in bone, ivory and stone with the maternal organs grossly exaggerated. From mythology we understand that the important function of bringing up (or rearing up) the young and of imparting to them whatever could be could be termed as the knowledge of the human heritage as regards habits, norms of behaviour, inherited tradtions etc. were formed as well as transmitted through the females. Thus in all these early period mythologies the Mother Goddess had the highest place in the pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. Maybe at that point in time human beings were totally oblivious of the reasons or of the act that caused a woman to procreate. They probably were only aware of the changes that took place in the female form before a child was born – attributed them to the prowess which Nature bestowed on the female. Thus in the Sakta cult we have the worship of the Yoni. Later, as Man’s knowledge increased, the role of the male in sustaining the clan became to be acknowledged and in the non Indian civilizations, the Mother Goddess was supplemented with a male partner who was either her son or a much weaker God who was obviously her lover. But as humans slowly realized the role and absolute need of the male in the process of procreation (the time when Adam and Eve’s story becomes relevant), the Mother Goddess was supplemented with an equally powerful God and in the Indian context of pre Vedic times, the worship of the Linga and the Yoni became prevalent. This moot point brings about the understanding probably of why a god was and is worshipped in the Phallum or Linga form. However as time passed, the Mother Goddess concept lost a bit of its luster due to the equal importance of the male in the process of procreation. Also, to form the image of a female form even in a crude form (for worship) requires some type of artistry – because her breasts (the most noticeable part of her anatomy) have to be shown. However, for showing the male form, the most prominent part of his anatomy is the Linga and it is very easy to form – and can be formed using any available material (e.g. sand, dry or wet mud, soil, stone etc). This is the most natural form in which any material looks when it is piled up. Later on a more philosophical overtone were provided to the Sivalinga, which we will discuss a little later. The dominance of the Mother figure in India was connected with the early agricultural economy. However with the invasion of the Vedic Aryans on the scene, who were predominantly pastoral and hence had a highly organized patriarchal society, began the slow degradation of the importance of the Yoni in the religion of the original inhabitants of this land. The Aryans had only Gods (except Ushas – the Goddess of Dawn ) in their religion – the Gods of the forces of Nature – much later the Mother goddess was incorporated in the form of Shakti – which may be to win over and appease the religious sentiments of the general society which was pre-dominantly non-Aryan. Prior to the Aryans advent, the pre-Aryan races had a free society and due to the exalted position of the woman in the social structure of society, she had the choice of having a partner. This tradition is still alive in the marriage customs of the tribals of our country. However at some point in time the ruling Aryans must have realized the necessity to increase their population of their race in this land – and knowing the importance of the role of the male in the impregnation of women to bear children, forcible sex may have started – *there are injunctions to this effect in some of the scriptures*. This probably started the process of suppression and subjugation of the women on the Indian sub-continent.

....... To be continued in next blog

THE KILLER INSTINCT

THE KILLER INSTINCT


Man is probably the roof and crown of creation. The Creator has not created any being superior to man on Planet Earth. Man in his turn has come a long, long way since the Neanderthal man. In the evolution lineage, man has left his cousin, the ape, far behind. The ape is still as he was. Meanwhile man has evolved into a civilized human being. He has developed language and script - the most important link in communication and spread of knowledge. Then is it not ironical that a phrase ‘killer instinct’ that should rightfully be attributed to the animal kingdom, still continues to signify power, grit, drive and determination in this civilized, modern, contemporary world.

In fact, the ‘killer instinct’ is even more pronounced today. Earlier, as in animals, the killer instinct was aroused only when man’s life or territory was in danger. But today this killer instinct is aroused in all spheres of human life – be it in the sports arena, academics, politics, businesses…
If you have it in you, then you will be considered a success – or else you are looked down upon by your peers as an utter failure with no chances of success. This killer instinct syndrome has so blinded man, that he has lost sense of even friend and foe. In the game of one up man-ship your bosom friend can become your enemy!

It is not that in the days gone by, people were not competitive or envious – but they did it with a sense of righteousness. Even in war there were ethics involved. It was always considered unmanly to vanquish one’s opponent with a sense of hate or if the opponent was or became unarmed. But today’s adage is ‘Win at all costs’ – the end justifies the means and hate is used as a powerful weapon to arouse and sustain the killer instinct. Today nobody has any qualms about back-stabbing – in fact; there is a sense of pride when you are able to vanquish your so-called rival in a smooth operation! Civilized man is no less brutal than his predecessors when it comes to the question of establishing his supremacy – only his weapons have become more subtle and sophisticated. But tell me truly, is it really worth proving your supremacy at the cost of losing a friend, your credibility and your conscience! Is the Killer Instinct really all that important? After all, it brings supremacy at the cost of destruction of faith and trust – the two things that are really necessary for the world to survive!



DR. POONAM MEHRA