...... 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