God dancing the universe. Clean as a camphor, great and terrible, destroying galaxies with its anger, merciful to all the underprivileged - all this he, the contradictory Mahadev. Lord Shiva - living on the sacred mountain Kailas, the oldest of the gods in the pantheon of Hinduism, and Shaivism is one of the most revered religions in India.
Shiva - who is this?
In Hindu mythology, there is the concept of Trimurti, or the Divine Triad, which traditionally includes the three main manifestations of the One Supreme Being: Brahma (creator of the universe) - Vishnu (keeper) Shiva (destroyer). In translation from Sanskrit शिव Shiva is "gracious," "good-natured," "friendly." In India, the god Shiva is one of the most beloved and revered. It is believed that calling him is not difficult, Mahadev to all comes to the rescue, he is the most compassionate god. In the highest manifestation, personifies the cosmic male principle and the higher consciousness of man.
The sacred text of Shiva Purana represents Shiva, who has 1008 names that appeared when God appeared to people in different guises. Repetition of the names of Shiva - clears the mind and strengthens the person in good intentions. The most famous of them are:
- Pashupati (one of the most ancient) is the ruler and father of beasts;
- Rudra (fierce, red) - personifies angry nature, brings illnesses, but heals them;
- Mahadev is the greatest, the god of the gods;
- Mahesvara - the Great Lord;
- Nataraja - Shiva is a multi-handed king of the dance;
- Shambhu - bringing happiness;
- Ishvara is the lord with divine glory;
- Kamari is the destroyer of desires;
- Maha Yogi - the Great Yogi, embodies the spirit of asceticism (revered by all the yogis of the world);
- Hara is the destroyer;
- Triyambaka is three-eyed.
The female hypostasis of Shiva
The left half of Shiva's body represents the female (active) energy of Shakti. Shiva and Shakti are inseparable. The multi-armed goddess Shiva-Shakti in the form of the Kali deity is the deadly female hypostasis of the destructive energy of Shiva. In India, Kali is holy, her image is frightening: blue-black skin, blood-red tongue sticking out, garland of 50 skulls (reincarnation). In one hand the sword, in the second severed head of Mahisha, the leader of the asuras. The other two hands bless the followers and chase away fear. Kali - nature-Mother creates and destroys everything in her furious and violent dance.
The symbol of Shiva
The images of Mahadev are permeated with numerous symbols, every detail of his appearance has a certain significance. The most important is the sign of Shiva - the lingam. In Shiva Purana, the lingam is a divine phallus, the source of all that exists in the universe. The symbol stands on the basis of the yoni (womb) - personifying Parvati, the spouse and the Mother of all living things. Other attributes-symbols of God are important:
- The three eyes of Shiva (the Sun, the Moon, the Fire symbol) are half-open - the flow of life, when the eyelids close, they are destroyed, then the worlds are re-created, the eyes open - a new cycle of earthly life.
- Hair - twisted into a bundle of Jatu, the union of energies physical, mental, spiritual; The moon in the hair - control over the mind, the Ganges River - clears from sins.
- Damaru (drum) is a universal awakening, a cosmic sound. In the right hand of Shiva, personifies the struggle with ignorance gives wisdom.
- Cobra - wrapped around the neck: past, present, future - eternity at one point.
- Trident (trishula) - action, knowledge, awakening.
- Rudraksha (Rudra's eye) is a necklace of evergreen tree fruits, compassion and sadness about people.
- Tilaka (triphpur), a triple trail of ashes on the forehead, throat and both shoulders is a symbol of overcoming false knowledge about oneself, Maya's (illusions) and conditionality of karma.
- Bull Nandi is a faithful companion, a symbol of earth and power, a vehicle of the deity.
- The skin of a tiger is victory over lust.
How did Shiva appear?
The birth of Shiva is shrouded in a multitude of secrets, the ancient texts of the Shivaite Puranas describe several versions of the appearance of the deity:
- At the time of Brahma's appearance from the navel of the god Vishnu , demons were nearby and tried to kill Brahma, but Vishnu was angry, a multi-armed Shiva appeared from the between-brow and the asuras were killed by a trident.
- Brahma had 4 sons who did not want to have descendants, then a child with blue skin appeared between the eyebrows of the angry Brahma children. The boy cried and asked for a name, social status. Brahma gave him 11 names, two of which were Rudra and Shiva. Eleven incarnations, in one of them, Shiva - the revered god from the triad of the great, along with Brahma and Vishnu.
- Brahma, in deep meditation, asked for the appearance of a son, similar in magnitude. The boy knelt beside Brahma and began running around the creator to ask for the name. Rudra! "Brahma said, but that was not enough for the child, he ran and shouted until Brahma gave him 10 more names and as many incarnations.
Mother Shiva
The origin of Shiva in different sources is traditionally mentioned along with the name of Vishnu and Brahma. Studying Shaivism and the associated name of the god-destroyer, ask about the mother of Shiva. Who is she? In the sacred ancient texts that have reached the people, there is no name for the female hypostasis of the goddess who would have anything to do with the birth of the great Mahadev. Shiva is a self-born from the brow of the creator of Brahma, he has no mother.
What is dangerous for the god Shiva?
The nature of Mahadeva is dual: the destructive creator. The universe at the end of the cycle must be destroyed, but when Shiva is god in anger, the universe risks to be destroyed at any time. So it was when Sati's wife was burnt in the fire. Shiva created a bloody deity. The many-armed god Siva in the hypostasis of Virohadra was reproduced in thousands similar to him and went to the palace of Dakshi (Sati's father) to make anger. The earth "drowned" in the blood, the Sun faded, but when anger passed Shiva revived all the dead, in place of the severed head of Daksha put a goat's head.
The wife of the god Shiva
Shakti is female energy, inseparable from Shiva, without it he is Brahman, devoid of qualities. Shiva's wife is Shakti in earthly incarnations. Sati is considered the first wife, because of Shiva's humiliation and dishonor by her father Daksha, she sacrificed herself through self-immolation. Sati was reborn in Parvati, but Mahadev was so sad that he did not want to go out of meditation for many years. Parvati (Uma, Gauri) performed a deep austerity than conquered the god. In its destructive aspects, Parvati is represented by the goddesses Kali, Durga, Shyama, Chanda.
Children of Shiva
The family of Shiva is the form of Shankar, which is a consciousness that cares about the world. The children of Shiva and Parvati personify the balance of the material and spiritual:
- Skanda (Kartikeya) son of Shiva - six-headed god of war , was born so strong that at the age of 6 days he defeated the asura Tarak.
- Ganesha is a deity with the head of an elephant, he is revered as a god of wealth.
- Narmada's daughter Shiva in a metaphysical sense: in deep meditation on the hill of Armakut, Mahadev separated from himself part of the energy that was transformed into the virgin Narmada, the sacred river for the Hindus.
Legends of Shiva
There are many legends and legends about the great Shiva, based on texts from the sacred for the Hindu scriptures of the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad-gita, Shiva Purana. One of these stories says: when churning the milk ocean, a vessel with poison emerged from its depths. The gods were frightened that the poison would destroy all life. Shiva, out of a sense of compassion, drank the poison, Parvati grabbed him by the neck to prevent the potion from penetrating the stomach. The poison colored Siva's neck in blue - Nilakantha (sineshey), became one of the names of God.
Shiva in Buddhism - there is a legend about this, which says that in one of his incarnations the Buddha (Namparzig) learned about the prophecy: if he again appears in the form of a Bodhisattva - this will not benefit the world, but incarnated in the form of Mahadev - there will be a huge universe good. In Tibetan Buddhism, Shiva is the protector of the teachings and practice the rite of "Initiation of Shiva."