Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव and the Philosophy of His devotion

"Bhagvana Shiva Aur Unaka Tatva Darshan भगवान् शिव और उनका त्वत्व दर्शन

When Goswami Tulasidasji गोस्वामी तुलसीदास जी began to write the holy and sublime Epic "Ramcharit Manas" राम चरित मानस , he first prayed to Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव and Goddess Parvati पार्वती as –

"Bhavani Shankarau Vande Shraddha Vishwasarupinau bhavaanee shankraa vande sharadhaa
Yabhyam Vina Na Pashyanti Siddhah Swantasthmiswaram "

"भवानी शंकरा वन्दे शार्द्धा विश्वारूपेनी भवानी शंकरा वन्दे शार्द्धा योभ्याम विना न पश्यंती सिद्धा स्वान्तास्थ्मिस्वरण "

The saint poet firmly believed that the great Epic being written by him through divine inspiration could not serve the purpose of enlightening the masses and liberating them from the agonies and sufferings of the world without the divine grace of Bhavani–Shankar भवानी शंकरा (Parvati पार्वती and Shiva शिवा ). Therefore, he ardently invoked the grace of Bhavani–Shankar भवानी शंकरा . The above shloka श्लोक (couplet) originated from the depths of his aspiring soul and is the key to the understanding of the basic divine attributes of masculine-feminine divinity, which actually manifests as Shiva-Shakti शिव-शक्ती or Bhavani–Shankar भवानी शंकरा

Let us try to grasp the great message conveyed through the above salutation.

"Bhavani Shankarau Vande" भवानी शंकरा वन्दे means "We pray to the Goddess Bhavani भवानी (Parvati पार्वती ) and God Shankar शंकर (Shiva शिव )". Who are they? "Shraddha Vishwasa Rupinau" शार्द्धा विश्वारूपेनी – Parvati पार्वती is shraddha श्रद्धा and Shiva शिवा is vishwasa विश्वास . Shraddha श्रद्धा – absolute intrinsic faith that inspires and inculcates divine virtues and values, and Vishwasa विश्वास – unperturbed confidence and inner belief, together prepare the ground for the manifestation of the divine force of Shiva-Parvati शिवा-पार्वती . Their idols, which we worship in the temples by offerings of flowers, ablution, kumkum, etc, are only symbols to help us focus our faith and devotion. The rituals of worship are also symbolic. We have to clearly understand that the key to receiving divine grace lies in shraddha and vishwasa विश्वास . "Yabhyam Bina Na Pashyanti…व्भायाम बीना न पश्यंती " – without which, no one, not even a siddha सिद्ध , can have a vision of the Indwelling Divinity.

Here a story from the Puranas पुराण that explains the above fact more clearly. The anecdote (pertains to the pre-historic time before the Era of Lord Ram राम ): "Once upon a time, when Rishi Parshuram ऋषी परशुराम learnt that the world was suffering from anarchy, corruption, injustice, exploitation and immorality in every walk of life, he could not sit like a silent observer. In reflective silence he prayed for guidance and light to be able to find an effective remedy. He retired to Uttarkashi उत्तर काशी and engaged himself in rigorous worship of Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव . Pleased by his tapa Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव blessed him with an angelic axe (parshu परशु ) and bid him to use it for the eradication and uprooting of all the evils and vices that had spread in the society of that time. Indeed Parashuram परशुराम did liberate the earth from all the evil forces and immoral trends; nothing could stand before the infinite might of Shiva’s शिवा weapon".

The scriptures are full of such descriptions evincing the ultimate, eternal power of Lord Shiva भगवान् सिव . But what has happened today? We also worship and offer our devotion to Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव , still we remain afflicted by so many difficulties and sufferings? Why isn’t the divine grace of Shiva शिव bestowed upon us? Why and how we have lost the righteous path and sullied our lives despite being His devotees? When will God uplift us?

One himself will be quite puzzled by such questions and doubts in his mind. This story from Shiva Puran शिव पुराण will clarified all doubts and conveyed the answers.

Why our devotion is of no avail?

Why our devotion to Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव does not result in the kinds of miraculous boons our ancestors were receiving? Why don’t we see any signs of His generous boons, which were so easily showered in the ancient times on anyone who did tapa तप for His grace? It is not that people like you and me are per se debarred from receiving such boons; rather, it is the fault in our approach, the half-heartedness of our dedication, insincerity of our devotion and the shaky nature of our faith that hinder accomplishment of our sadhana. We will have to find out and eliminate our shortcomings, our infirmities. Unless we are honest in our own efforts towards spiritual elevation, how can we gain and demonstrate the immense benefits of spirituality and how could we convince the world that we are the devotees of the Supreme Power and Presence that can change for the better the course of human history and destiny? So, where has been our major mistake? Well, the root cause of our failure is our misconception. We have only seen the external form in the idols of Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव and Parvati पार्वती and have mechanically followed the customary rituals of worship. We have not understood the philosophy, the true meaning, of devotion to Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव . What we see in the temples as the idol of God is only like the gross representation of His limited manifestation. The gross body is only an outer shell; the source of life, the prana प्राण lies inside. The external and internal both together make a complete unit; their conjugation is like completion of electrical circuit by connecting the positive and negative poles. The current of divine force would begin to flow in the idol we worship if we realize and activate, by our inner faith and true devotion, the sublime power of the God it symbolizes. We ritually put our heads at the feet of the idol; worship it with flowers, sandalwood powder, and what not. We pray before it sings devotional songs, etc but that is only an external activity. It remains incomplete without the understanding and the linkage with the inner, the subliminal and the true divine power.

We should know the subtle and causal forms of Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव, which when realized in the idol, would make His presence real for us in that gross physical symbol. What is the inner form of Shiva शिव that we should realize in His idols? What is its philosophy? Well, as symbolized by his round globular linga लिंग , He is Omnipresent; the globe, the entire cosmos is His manifestation. If we regard the universe as His emanation and interact with it accordingly, we would be able to touch the bedrock of spirituality and see the limitless expression of God that was projected by Shri Ram श्री राम and Krishna कृष्ण before their deserving devotees. As described in the Gita गीता , when Arjun अर्जुन was confused in the battlefield and got ensnared in attachment and despair, Lord Krishna भगवान् कृष्ण appeared before him in the cosmic form and showed him that everything in the world was His play. Every individual manifestation, from the tiniest to the largest, comes out of Him and merges back into Him. One day, mother Yashoda was scolding Lord Krishna भगवान् कृष्ण in His childhood because despite her repeated admonishments the kid had again eaten soil. Krishna कृष्ण innocently replied that he had not eaten any soil; he opened his mouth before Yashoda यशोदा as a proof of his innocence. When the mother peeped in His mouth, she was stunned to see the entire cosmos, the revolving galaxies, the infinite life forms, and the gamut of Nature’s manifestations there. Lord Ram भगवान् राम had also done a similar feat, as cited in the holy Ramayana रामायण , when He showed His limitless self, His cosmic form to Kag Bhushundi, काग भुशंदी the great devotee in the form of a crow.

These instances teach us that we should regard the whole world as God made manifest. The round stone worshipped as the ‘pindi’ पिंडी of Shiva शिव also indicates this deep aspect of divine philosophy. It reminds us that the cosmic expression is round, it has no beginning or end; an atomic orbit is also rounded; the earth is also globular. Thus the philosophy of worshiping the ‘pindi’ पिंडी implies worshipping the world –loving service for global welfare. It also tells us that we should treat others with the same respect and warmth, as we would like to receive from the world, because we are all different sparks of the same Light. If we could understand and adopt this philosophy in life, we would no doubt be the true devotees of Shiva शिव , and our power, our knowledge and our potentials would also become grand like those of His true devotees.

Teachings from Shiva’s शिव Idols in Human Form: Lord Shiva’s भगवान् शिव human-image is so beautifully depicted in the scriptures. It depicts the sacred Ganga गंगा flowing through His hair lock. But it is symbolic. Here ‘Ganga’ गंगा represents he flow of pure knowledge. Sheer शीर common sense would tell us that a river or spring of water can’t flow through one’s hair, and if so, the person concerned would not be able to even stand or walk. Instead, he himself would get swept along these currents. The depiction of the ‘Ganga’ of Knowledge on Shiva’s शिव head is also a philosophical teaching. It implies that if we are the true devotees of Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव , our feelings and thoughts should be pure, enlightened and of superior quality.

A low level of thinking, feeling and a life confined to sensual pleasures, satiating the gross urges and a hunger of the senses depicts an animal like existence. Such people can never be the devotees of Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव . How could one be accepted as a worshipper of the Omniscient Divine Power if he can’t think and feel beyond the narrow confines of selfishness? One who never cares to ponder over and strive for the wider and deeper domains of the society, the nation, morality, ethics and spirituality, one who is not aware of and committed to his duties, can’t even be a good human being, let alone a devotee of God.

The principal attribute of a true devotee of the Lord is that the Ganga गंगा of pure knowledge flows through his head; that means his mind is illumined and blessed with righteous thinking, which gives peace and bliss to the soul. Attitudes and thoughts of those coming in his contact would also be purified by the sprinkles of this ‘Gyan Ganga’.ज्ञान गंगा If our mind and heart also begin to evolve in this direction, then only we will have followed the underlying philosophy behind the specific image of Lord Shiva. भगवान् शिव

We also find a half moon beautifully encircling the forehead of the Lord. Moon is the symbol of soothing serenity. Its presence on Shiva’s शिव head teaches that a worshipper of Shiva शिव should have a cool, calm and awakened mind. His mind should be stable and strong so that no hardship, adversity or exciting situation could ever perturb his mental peace. Look at the great achievers in human life; they have faced great challenges without losing patience. Those who get anxious or do not have a stable mind cannot do much; they easily get tensed up or nervous and fritter away their energies and talents. A calm and cool mind alone can contemplate deeply and think rightly. An agitated mind is not dependable. It often triggers one to do what one should not have done; it tends to think erroneously and even immorally.

Today, when the whole world is living under great difficulties and threatening challenges of one kind or the other, it is all the more important that we take shelter at the feet of the ultimate Savior – God Shiva भगवान् शिव and pray that the moon of piety, peace, balance and equanimity on his head may also inspire patience and serenity in our minds. We should pray him to bless us with inner peace, patience, endurance, and courage. Instead of begging for worldly attainments (as we usually do before any deity), had we prayed for divine inspirations before the infinitely generous Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव , we would have really acquired real peace and happiness in life and lived gracefully like a true devotee.

The images of Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव that we see in pictures depict Him wearing a garland of skulls and with dreaded cobras dangling around his neck. The intimate company of deadly poisonous snakes reveals the secret of divinity, which is – love everyone; it can turn everyone, even the venomous cruel cobra like foes into good friends. See, even the cobras live so amicably with Him! We should understand and adopt this philosophy of a loving and fearless attitude.

The presence of a garland of skulls on the Lord’s chest reminds us that the face, which we identify ourselves with, for which we feel so proud and remain, engaged in decorating and taking care of, is only a structure of bone. That is its sole reality. We remain deluded and cheated by the covering of flesh and skin around it; not only that, we use cosmetics and what not upon that skin to make our face look beautiful. But have we ever thought about its reality? Just remove the illusive covering and the fact will be obvious for everyone to see. The garland of skulls conveys that we should not let the falsehood and the associated silly attachments cover up our Real Self. We should learn this important lesson while worshipping Lord Shiva भगवान् शिव or sitting at His feet.