Hindu Scriptures and Short Stories
Hindu scriptures have given quite prominence to stories. The Puranas and Itihaas, for example are full of the stories of the divine, devotees and the splendid others like kings. Stories have a great impact on individuals. A well written story keeps the interest of the reader grow in spite of the physical fatigue. This is a medium that is not only intended for the intellectuals like the inner core of philosophies, but can reach out to anybody and everybody. The essence of the stories can really help one navigate through the various situations of life with the light of precedents set by the great devotees and the Glory of God.
Stories have made children to become much respected people when they grew. The life of Chatrapati Shivaji is a very good example of this. His mother Jijabhai told him the stories of the valorous characters from the Hindu epics. That shaped the young Shivaji. How that valor protected the whole region against the oppression of the Mugal rulers and the generations thanking him for that, is history. The young ones are the ones getting moulded. What shape they would take when they grow up would very much depend on what information they are exposed to in their early stages. It is the responsibility of all parents to ensure that they spare some of their time to ensure their lovely children have access to the right information. Teach them the stories of the Divine Lord Shiva; teach them the story of its adorable devotees. There would be better chances that the child would grow up morally sound and would enjoy the life mentally peaceful and purposeful, than just a life that accumulated wealth without any eventual happiness.
The principle behind Linga worship Lingodbhavar- The Lord appearing from the symbol.
Divine, Out of the symbol (Lingam) that arose out of the quarrel of prime-ness (between Brahma and Vishnu), Matted hair crested, Keeping the hand on the hip, with the other hands holding deer and protection sign, in the right holding axe, having the Brahma and Vishnu (who sought) the Transcending feet and crown, as the swan above and boar below, that Lingodbhava I meditate.
Once before the creation started, a quarrel broke between Brahma and Vishnu as to who is great. Brahma claimed he is as he is the creator of the whole world. Vishnu rejected the claim saying the creation would not be useful without his sustenance of the world. The war of words between these two great divines worsened. At that point of time to make them realize the truth there appeared a pillar of fire. It was huge that both of them were astonished to see that. Now as a solution to their debate they wanted to decide who is the greatest by reaching the tip of that pillar. Brahma took the form of a Hamsa (Swan) and went up to reach the top of that pillar, Vishnu took the form of a wild pig and went down to reach the bottom of that pillar and it was agreed that whoever sees the either tip would be the greatest.
That pillar was not any ordinary column of fire; (Jyotirlingam) it was the Supreme Itself, the One that is beyond form, color and qualities! Who knows the start and end of that Supreme!! The two who set out on their strength to explore the endings of It went on and on only to become more and more tired and it was hopeless to find the end of It. Vishnu returned realizing that it should be the Parashiva which is beyond the limits that can be measured by knowledge, Which has come out of Its Grace to bless them and make them realize the Truth easily. He accepted his failure. Brahma on the other hand, though realizing it is impossible to see the top of the fire column, returned lying that he saw the tip. The lie stood exposed and hence he is not worshipped. Now both of them realizing the greatness of the Supreme worshipped the Lord Shiva, the gracious one, with lots of devotion and sincerity. The Lord out of the grace to bless all the pashus (souls) with a way they could easily understand and worship the Supreme, Which is un-explainable, un-exploreable, appeared as a Lingam which is a vertical pillar resembling the flame. As it resembles the flame, it is neither a form nor a formless, but is just a symbol of the Supreme Jyoti. The Lord later appeared in a form and blessed Vishnu and Brahma. This Lord is called Lingodbhavar.
This form which came out of the formless Supreme out of Its grace to bless the sincere worship of Brahma and Vishnu and which is a from but represents the formlessness of the Supreme is considered very holy by the Shaivites. The Shiva Linga (meaning symbol of Shiva) is the foremost of all the Shaivite worships. As the ash would be closely associated with the fire, Holy Ash is associated with this Fire pillar Lord and sacred for the Shaivites.
ArdhanarIshvarar / half female God : (Bhoga murti) (In the form of male and female, matted hair with moon, axe, smeared in red (aruna), wearing snakes and the skin of tiger, embracing the bull and with a bent leg, this the right half, and the left black in color, hand holding a (lily) flower close to the chest, with a silk like lotus foot, wearing gold ornaments, salutations to the Half female God.
Sage Bringi is one of the ardent devotees of Lord Shiva. He used to worship only Lord Shiva and not Shakti. Goddess Shakti, being the power as the name indicate, pulled out the energy from Bringi Maharishi's body. Now he was even unable to stand. He pleaded to God. God Shiva provided him with a stick. On its support he stood and still worshipped Lord Shiva alone. Goddess Shakti wanted to become an inseparable part of Lord Shiva's form. She observed the kedhara maha vrata austerity, which is now known as Deepavali. Pleased with her austerity, Lord Shiva granted her the boon of being part of His form. So the Lord now appeared male on the right side and female on the left side and hence became ardhanarIshvara.
Significance of this form
This is one of the very important form of God, Hindus worship. This is a much-hailed form in scriptures of various languages. Hindus do not say that the God is only male. God is male - female and neuter too ! Since God is conceptually beyond sex, though gets referred as He/She many times, it is more appropriate to refer as it, especially at its intrinsic condition, as do many Hindu scriptures.
Philosophically, this form is quite associated with the Grace of God. Shiva and Shakti is one and the same Supreme. The formless God is called Parashiva. On Its own free-will for the benefit of pashus (souls), which are drowned in pasha (bondage), it thinks to create the worlds. Its dynamism of creation thus springs out of it, which is called Shakti. Now Shiva and Its power Shakti create everything. This is the form of their togetherness that springs out of Lord Shiva. Because of this the form is associated with the grace of God. Shiva and Shakti though the same may also act independently. They are associated like the person and the action of the person. They are one and the same like the ice and the water - one becomes the other. For this reason scriptures describe that Shakti to Shiva is a wife (they are together), mother (Shakti becomes Shiva - so Shiva comes out of Shakti) and daughter (Shiva become Shakti). Poet Kalidasa hails them as inseparable like the word and its meaning, the letter and pronunciation !!
The body smeared with ash, moon on the head, ornated by Ganga, snakes, axe and deer, Pure, sitting comfortably in VIrasanam, with the left palm over the right, in the posture of a Yogi, wearing the skin of a tiger, burning the cupid with the fire emerging from the eye in the forehead, to You salutations.
Kamaari : one who is the enemy of cupid.(Viramurti)
When Shakthi became Parvati, daughter of the king of Himalayas, She was doing thapas for Lord Shiva. At the same time the great sages, the four sons of Brahma, sanakar, sanandanar, sanatanar, sanat kumarar came to Lord Shiva for enlightenment. The Lord gave them enlightenment in the form of Lord Dakshina Murti. As the Duo, Who are the cause as well as the energy for the whole world are into yoga, the whole world got more inclined to yoga and life sustenance was in trouble. Meanwhile the Devas, who were tortured by the Surapadma and his brothers Taraka, simhamukha, knew that those demons can be killed only by the son of Lord Shiva and Shakti. Disappointed that both God and Goddess were doing yoga instead of marrying, they asked the cupid to disturb the meditating Lord Shiva with his arrows in order to induce lust for Parvati. When desperation sets in, reasoning gets pushed down. Can the Supreme be induced with lust by anybody? The cupid refused since he knew that it will be just fatal for him. But the other Devas threatened to curse him if he didn't obey. Saying that it is better to be killed by the God of gods than by the curses of Devas, he went with his wife, Rati, to the abode of Shiva where He was in meditation.
The cupid shot the flower arrow on the Lord. The next moment the fire from the eye in the forehead of the Lord burnt the cupid. Undisturbed He continued His meditation. The cupid is of the reputation that his arrows never fail. But well, it can apply to others, can it be for the Almighty ? His arrows were useless in front of the Lord and he too became just a heap of ash ! Shocked by the death of cupid all the Devas realized their plots would not work out with God. They understood that only sincerity could get the showers of its grace and any other pressure can just not mount over God. They surrendered themselves in front of the Lord and pleaded for mercy. The Lord forgave them and married Parvati and gave Subrahmanya for the destruction of the demons. On their request He also bring back to life Kama, however he would be visible only to his wife and not to others. Because of this reason Kamadeva is called Ananga (one without limbs).
Thirukkurikkai is the temple associated with the burning of god of lust.
Hindu scriptures have given quite prominence to stories. The Puranas and Itihaas, for example are full of the stories of the divine, devotees and the splendid others like kings. Stories have a great impact on individuals. A well written story keeps the interest of the reader grow in spite of the physical fatigue. This is a medium that is not only intended for the intellectuals like the inner core of philosophies, but can reach out to anybody and everybody. The essence of the stories can really help one navigate through the various situations of life with the light of precedents set by the great devotees and the Glory of God.
Stories have made children to become much respected people when they grew. The life of Chatrapati Shivaji is a very good example of this. His mother Jijabhai told him the stories of the valorous characters from the Hindu epics. That shaped the young Shivaji. How that valor protected the whole region against the oppression of the Mugal rulers and the generations thanking him for that, is history. The young ones are the ones getting moulded. What shape they would take when they grow up would very much depend on what information they are exposed to in their early stages. It is the responsibility of all parents to ensure that they spare some of their time to ensure their lovely children have access to the right information. Teach them the stories of the Divine Lord Shiva; teach them the story of its adorable devotees. There would be better chances that the child would grow up morally sound and would enjoy the life mentally peaceful and purposeful, than just a life that accumulated wealth without any eventual happiness.
The principle behind Linga worship Lingodbhavar- The Lord appearing from the symbol.
Divine, Out of the symbol (Lingam) that arose out of the quarrel of prime-ness (between Brahma and Vishnu), Matted hair crested, Keeping the hand on the hip, with the other hands holding deer and protection sign, in the right holding axe, having the Brahma and Vishnu (who sought) the Transcending feet and crown, as the swan above and boar below, that Lingodbhava I meditate.
Once before the creation started, a quarrel broke between Brahma and Vishnu as to who is great. Brahma claimed he is as he is the creator of the whole world. Vishnu rejected the claim saying the creation would not be useful without his sustenance of the world. The war of words between these two great divines worsened. At that point of time to make them realize the truth there appeared a pillar of fire. It was huge that both of them were astonished to see that. Now as a solution to their debate they wanted to decide who is the greatest by reaching the tip of that pillar. Brahma took the form of a Hamsa (Swan) and went up to reach the top of that pillar, Vishnu took the form of a wild pig and went down to reach the bottom of that pillar and it was agreed that whoever sees the either tip would be the greatest.
That pillar was not any ordinary column of fire; (Jyotirlingam) it was the Supreme Itself, the One that is beyond form, color and qualities! Who knows the start and end of that Supreme!! The two who set out on their strength to explore the endings of It went on and on only to become more and more tired and it was hopeless to find the end of It. Vishnu returned realizing that it should be the Parashiva which is beyond the limits that can be measured by knowledge, Which has come out of Its Grace to bless them and make them realize the Truth easily. He accepted his failure. Brahma on the other hand, though realizing it is impossible to see the top of the fire column, returned lying that he saw the tip. The lie stood exposed and hence he is not worshipped. Now both of them realizing the greatness of the Supreme worshipped the Lord Shiva, the gracious one, with lots of devotion and sincerity. The Lord out of the grace to bless all the pashus (souls) with a way they could easily understand and worship the Supreme, Which is un-explainable, un-exploreable, appeared as a Lingam which is a vertical pillar resembling the flame. As it resembles the flame, it is neither a form nor a formless, but is just a symbol of the Supreme Jyoti. The Lord later appeared in a form and blessed Vishnu and Brahma. This Lord is called Lingodbhavar.
This form which came out of the formless Supreme out of Its grace to bless the sincere worship of Brahma and Vishnu and which is a from but represents the formlessness of the Supreme is considered very holy by the Shaivites. The Shiva Linga (meaning symbol of Shiva) is the foremost of all the Shaivite worships. As the ash would be closely associated with the fire, Holy Ash is associated with this Fire pillar Lord and sacred for the Shaivites.
ArdhanarIshvarar / half female God : (Bhoga murti) (In the form of male and female, matted hair with moon, axe, smeared in red (aruna), wearing snakes and the skin of tiger, embracing the bull and with a bent leg, this the right half, and the left black in color, hand holding a (lily) flower close to the chest, with a silk like lotus foot, wearing gold ornaments, salutations to the Half female God.
Sage Bringi is one of the ardent devotees of Lord Shiva. He used to worship only Lord Shiva and not Shakti. Goddess Shakti, being the power as the name indicate, pulled out the energy from Bringi Maharishi's body. Now he was even unable to stand. He pleaded to God. God Shiva provided him with a stick. On its support he stood and still worshipped Lord Shiva alone. Goddess Shakti wanted to become an inseparable part of Lord Shiva's form. She observed the kedhara maha vrata austerity, which is now known as Deepavali. Pleased with her austerity, Lord Shiva granted her the boon of being part of His form. So the Lord now appeared male on the right side and female on the left side and hence became ardhanarIshvara.
Significance of this form
This is one of the very important form of God, Hindus worship. This is a much-hailed form in scriptures of various languages. Hindus do not say that the God is only male. God is male - female and neuter too ! Since God is conceptually beyond sex, though gets referred as He/She many times, it is more appropriate to refer as it, especially at its intrinsic condition, as do many Hindu scriptures.
Philosophically, this form is quite associated with the Grace of God. Shiva and Shakti is one and the same Supreme. The formless God is called Parashiva. On Its own free-will for the benefit of pashus (souls), which are drowned in pasha (bondage), it thinks to create the worlds. Its dynamism of creation thus springs out of it, which is called Shakti. Now Shiva and Its power Shakti create everything. This is the form of their togetherness that springs out of Lord Shiva. Because of this the form is associated with the grace of God. Shiva and Shakti though the same may also act independently. They are associated like the person and the action of the person. They are one and the same like the ice and the water - one becomes the other. For this reason scriptures describe that Shakti to Shiva is a wife (they are together), mother (Shakti becomes Shiva - so Shiva comes out of Shakti) and daughter (Shiva become Shakti). Poet Kalidasa hails them as inseparable like the word and its meaning, the letter and pronunciation !!
The body smeared with ash, moon on the head, ornated by Ganga, snakes, axe and deer, Pure, sitting comfortably in VIrasanam, with the left palm over the right, in the posture of a Yogi, wearing the skin of a tiger, burning the cupid with the fire emerging from the eye in the forehead, to You salutations.
Kamaari : one who is the enemy of cupid.(Viramurti)
When Shakthi became Parvati, daughter of the king of Himalayas, She was doing thapas for Lord Shiva. At the same time the great sages, the four sons of Brahma, sanakar, sanandanar, sanatanar, sanat kumarar came to Lord Shiva for enlightenment. The Lord gave them enlightenment in the form of Lord Dakshina Murti. As the Duo, Who are the cause as well as the energy for the whole world are into yoga, the whole world got more inclined to yoga and life sustenance was in trouble. Meanwhile the Devas, who were tortured by the Surapadma and his brothers Taraka, simhamukha, knew that those demons can be killed only by the son of Lord Shiva and Shakti. Disappointed that both God and Goddess were doing yoga instead of marrying, they asked the cupid to disturb the meditating Lord Shiva with his arrows in order to induce lust for Parvati. When desperation sets in, reasoning gets pushed down. Can the Supreme be induced with lust by anybody? The cupid refused since he knew that it will be just fatal for him. But the other Devas threatened to curse him if he didn't obey. Saying that it is better to be killed by the God of gods than by the curses of Devas, he went with his wife, Rati, to the abode of Shiva where He was in meditation.
The cupid shot the flower arrow on the Lord. The next moment the fire from the eye in the forehead of the Lord burnt the cupid. Undisturbed He continued His meditation. The cupid is of the reputation that his arrows never fail. But well, it can apply to others, can it be for the Almighty ? His arrows were useless in front of the Lord and he too became just a heap of ash ! Shocked by the death of cupid all the Devas realized their plots would not work out with God. They understood that only sincerity could get the showers of its grace and any other pressure can just not mount over God. They surrendered themselves in front of the Lord and pleaded for mercy. The Lord forgave them and married Parvati and gave Subrahmanya for the destruction of the demons. On their request He also bring back to life Kama, however he would be visible only to his wife and not to others. Because of this reason Kamadeva is called Ananga (one without limbs).
Thirukkurikkai is the temple associated with the burning of god of lust.
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