SIVA, ADI GURU , The primal Teacher
Lord Shiva has many names, many epithets, each of which sheds some light on His great attributes.
So He is Yogeshwar-King of yogis, Aushadhi eshwar-King of prescriptions and herbs, Asutosa-easily pleased, Neelkantha- the blue throated one, Bhujgendrahaaram-one who wears snakes, Chandrasekhar- one who wears the moon, Shailendra-King of mountains and so on.
As Shiva Dakshinmurty, He is the primordial teacher , Adi Guru.
This is a fascinating aspect of Him. And one that is very important: The Primal God Himself teaches what He is, what Divinity is and how to go about our own Self Re- discovery.
The great school of spirituality, Kashmir shaivism says "Sam Karoti, iti Samkara" He who shows you Shiva, is, verily Shiva Himself. Although this adage is for the inner Shiva, i feel it fits so well on Shiva Dakshinmurty.
Dakshinmurty itself means One who sat facing south and taught spirituality.
In this very beautiful picture of Shivji teaching in the mountains , the message remains the same: Shiva is the giver of Atma Gyan.
He is the primordial teacher even from the forest dwellings. It may interest you to know that one of the major Upanishads is called Brihadaranayaka, meaning teachings of the old forest,
Now, Parvati is actually Durga, Devi, the shakti of Shiva Himself, and therefore , like Him, she is already the master of Atma Gyan. Why then does she appear as a student and ask spiritual questions?
It is because as Jagad mata, the universal mother , she wants all her children to know the essence of spirituality from Shiva Himself, and therefore this play of questions and answers, student and teacher from the Divine Parents. The tradition is called Agama Nigama sastra and many beautiful revelations are recorded in the texts like Siva sutras.
Aum Namah Shivaye!
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