......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