PARAKUNNATH SREE VETTAKKORUMAKAN PAYYAN KSHETHRAM (TEMPLE), AROLI, KANNUR, KERALA: Shiva personifies beauty, serenity, spirituality and stability.

Saturday 6 January 2018

Shiva personifies beauty, serenity, spirituality and stability.

Shiva personifies beauty, serenity, spirituality and stability. He is also earthy and very much human like in his attitude. Unlike Shri Vishnu who is depicted as dark blue, Shiva is white in color, except for his neck which is dark blue because of the poison which he deposited there to save the worlds from destruction. He leads a life of austerities and penance.

Though he is as a god of anger, we generally find him in his pleasant and graceful mood. He is depicted as Bholenath, with a lot of innocence and simplicity in his demeanor. When he is shown with open eyes, his face expresses love and compassion. The images of Shiva evoke in us deep emotions. Those who are inclined to worship the god are naturally drawn to him as they hold him in their esteem as their beloved god with whom they can communicate with ease through their hearts and minds.

He is a transparent god, a god of utter simplicity, exemplary humility and austerity. Despite that he is the lord of the universe, he leads an austere life like a true ascetic. His possessions are few. A tiger skin serves as his garments. His long matted hair is normally tied into a knot or left flowing. He wears a garland of snakes around his neck. Some across his body like a sacred thread and as bracelets around his hands. The snakes symbolically represent his control over desire and sensuality. The snakes also stand for yogic power of kundalini, which is depicted as a coiled serpent lying dormant in the muldhara chakra or one of the lower spiritual levels of all beings. The serpent gradually uncoils and moves upward as one taps into his own spiritual self through yogic means. However one needs to be aware of the huge energy stored in the kundalini and must learn not only to release it but also to control it. The depiction of snakes along with Shiva, indicate that Shiva is the master of this cosmic energy and controls it the way he deems fit.