Easten Religion

7/5/2018 Gods (Shiva) - 18.SU.REL.1111.C50 EASTERN RELIGIONS

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Those who follow Shiva are called Sh a i v i t es and see him as the great

lord of all. It is said that he arose out of great pillar of �ame, jumping high

over both Vishnu and Brahma, proving his superiority. Within the �ame,

the sound of OM came forth.

He rides the Nandi (Bull) and is often depicted with a trident, cobra,

leopard skin, dreadlocks and a topknot. While Shiva d o es n o t have

avatars/incarnations, he does have many different roles and

characteristics.

Sh i v a's Va r i e ty o f Ro l e s

Th e D es t ro yer

Shiva has a short temper - de�nite anger management issues. You would have

to be this way to some extent to be the g o d o f d ea t h a n d d es t ru ct i o n ,

don't you think? Unlike Vishnu, he doesn't really care much about social

convention or appearance. In fact, he scoffs at it.

Because of his temper, he is often nicknamed t h e M a d m a n . You'll read about

an example of this destructive aspect below when you learn about his son,

Ganesh.

Because of his association with death, he is said to haunt cremation grounds

to contemplate death and impermanence. Because of this, many Shaivites will

cover themselves in ash (from incense or offerings, not the dead!) and wander the land as renouncers to

emulate their god.

D i v i n e Yo g i

On the other end of the spectrum, Shiva is a meditator, a d i v i n e yo g i .

He is an ascetic, a sadhu, a holy man, someone who renounces material things and

focuses on spiritual liberation.

Often, yoga practitioners will have a special af�nity for Shiva because of his

devotion to the spiritual practice of yoga ("union").

My Yoga teacher, Sri Swami Satchidananda, made a pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash. This

is considered a holy place where Lord Shiva resides. It is an arduous journey for

Hindus and Yogis, but like so many pilgrimages, brings great spiritual reward. You

can see images of Mt. Kailash in the video below.

7/5/2018 Gods (Shiva) - 18.SU.REL.1111.C50 EASTERN RELIGIONS

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Do you know why Shiva is often depicted as dark blue? It's because of a story involving the ocean. Shiva

drank poison out of the ocean to keep it from harming others. He took in the poison, but then turned it into

nectar. It is symbolic of how we can transform our inner struggle into something good, our poison into

nectar.

M t . K a i l a s h - Watch this video footage of and listen to the accompanying Shiva chant.

N a t a ra j

Shiva is also the Lo rd o f t h e D a n ce (not of the Michael Flatley Riverdance

variety :), but the dance of destruction and creation, life and death, represented

by the �ame and drum.

This is the dance of primordial creation, creative power, divine energy, and

sacred power. It symbolizes the dance of continuous creating and destroying.

Often, the ritual of dance is offered to this aspect of divinity - the aspect of

creation and destruction. Ritual or free form dance is a liberating, spiritual path

of bhakti (devotion) for many Hindus, especially Shaivites.

Yo g a Tra n ce D a n ce - Watch this short clip of modern Yoga Trance Dance, a free form tribal based dance,

led by one of my Yoga teachers, the amazing Shiva Rea, (yes, that's her real, given name) in honor of Lord

Shiva's dance of creation.

L i n g a

This is the non-Anthropomorphic (non human/personal) form of Shiva. It is a fert i l i t y (phallic) symbol

representing m a s cu l i n i t y . Shiva also represents male/female union and the Linga is often accompanied by

the Yo n i (female aspect). You can walk into a Shaivite temple in India that is only focused on this particular

aspect of Shiva.

7/5/2018 Gods (Shiva) - 18.SU.REL.1111.C50 EASTERN RELIGIONS

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Sh i v a P u j a - Watch this backyard Shiva Puja with offerings and chanting.

U n i o n o f O p p o s i t es

Shiva ultimately combines all dualities - life and death, passion and asceticism,

love and anger, male and female, creator and destroyer, lingam and yoni, good

and evil.

An example of this is his role as the family man. Earlier, you saw him as a divine

ascetic yogi. But, he is also equally a devoted family man…

F a m i l y M a n

Shiva's wife is goddess P a rv a t i (Uma) and they have a family together. Their son has a very interesting

story about where he came from.

Because Shiva is often practicing asceticism on meditative weekends away from the family home, Parvati

gets bored one afternoon and decides she doesn't want to wait for Shiva to have a child. Since she's a

goddess, simply makes a son from the dirt from her body and her own power. This son is called G a n es h .

Ganesh is a dutiful son and guards the doorway of her bathtub each day. One day Shiva �nally returns after

a meditative retreat. He sees this little boy standing in front of the doorway and becomes enraged and

jealous, assuming Parvati has cheated on him while he was away. In his �t of rage, he slices off Ganesh's

head (remember his anger issues?).

7/5/2018 Gods (Shiva) - 18.SU.REL.1111.C50 EASTERN RELIGIONS

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Parvati gets very upset of

course and tells Shiva in so

many words that he's a

nutcase and that he had

better replace that boy's head

with something and soon if he

knew what was good for him.

Well, it's India. What do you

think is the �rst thing to walk

by? An elephant…

This is how Ganesh becomes

the Elephant headed God and

the Lord of Beginnings. He is

considered a guardian, a divine scribe, and a Rem o ver o f

O b s t a cl es . These are not just outside, physical obstacles, but also

the obstacles of our mind (our skewed perceptions) that can get in our own way.

He brings good fortune and is often put in doorways or entryways. Like Krishna, Ganesh is hands down,

one of the most popular gods in Hinduism, probably because of his good nature despite of the childhood

trauma (not to mention father issues!) he has experienced.

He is the epitome of someone who has made the best of the cards dealt to him in life. He is the "glass half-

full" embodied. There is much symbolism in images of Ganesh. His large head represents thinking "big," his

big ears note that he listens well, his small mouth shows that we should talk less and listen more (you never

seen Ganesh with his mouth open). Often, Ganesh only has one tusk in the pictures and this symbolizes

retaining the good that happens in life and letting go of the bad.

P u j a fo r G a n es h - Watch this real street Puja for Ganesh, �lmed in India.