Shiv Shakti Ki Maya !

 

5 principal powers along with His inseparable Shakti that pertain to rolling the great drama of the Universe:

Sristi : Creation (of the world )
Sthiti : Sustenance ( of this created world )
Samhara : The dissolution of the world back into themselves.

These 3 processes normally attributed to Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh ( Shiva) constitute pretty much the processes of time cycles, or the age of the Universe itself, spanning endless Yugas in a cosmic continuum of birth and re-birth. But in Shaivite understanding ,it is Shiva and Shakti who do it all.

And then there are the two powers that take all this to the realm of spiritual seeing..:

Vilaya : We cannot 'see' clearly enough the role of Shivashakti in the functioning of the world, because there is a veil on our mortal eyes.We know this as 'Maya" . So 'on stage' is the drama of our own lives in this world, but we do not know who it is being supported by ..!

Anugraha : When, after lifetimes of devotion and meditation, Shiva graces us by lifting the spiritual veil, or draws the curtain to let us understand what is being done "back stage' we suddenly see it all as it actually is in its full reality!'
That, is the amazing Lila of Shiva Shakti.

Now a special mention about the word Samhara:
After creation ( Brahma) and preservation ( Vishnu)
Samhara, the role of Shiva has always been thought of, as 'destruction' and we all know Shiva as the God of destruction, do we not? But the Shaivite rishi knows dissolution as something completely different from the destruction of the world: He, devotedly understands it to be the destruction of this cloud of Maya between us and God, so he actually prays for this destruction, and the gifting of spiritual eyes to see that he is , in fact in the vicinity of his Lord in Sivalok, once and for all.
The meaning of Sam- Hara also means simply that: In the vicinity of Hara, Shiva. 
I wonder again, are Shiva Parvati taking cover, or slipping the blanket off the eyes of the Universe .
Aum ShivaShakti Namaye.

SHIVA PARVATI VIVAH - THE GREATEST WELCOME TO GOD, ON EARTH!

 

SHIVA PARVATI VIVAH - THE GREATEST WELCOME TO GOD, ON EARTH!

The wedding venue was simply beautiful. The finest designers had been called to make everything from the big platform upon which Shiva and Parvati would sit to be married, down to the littlest of details.

All eyes looked for Parvati. As was the custom, the bride was brought in, last of all. Shiva hungered for this play of Shakti to unfold; He could barely manage His incomplete self without Her.

And then, as if to make God know how one feels when prayers are answered, She appeared.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

AUM PURNAMADAH PURNAMIDAM

 

Dear friends and Shiva bhakts,
we all know the story of how Shiva volunteered to receive Ganga on His head when she had to descend to earth from the heavens for the upliftment of humanity, both living, and the dead. But, she was so full of Divinity that the very earth she was coming to purify would not have been able to take the impact of the torrential 'weight' of her Gyana or satvikta! Shiva stepped forward to make His own matlocks a landing pad for her, Shiva's Yogic hair already contained the ultimate Gyana,infinite Divinity within, and could receive an infinite amount more.

This reminds us of the Purna prayer from the teachings of the ancient hindu rishis, in the Isha Upanishad, which is the first Upanishad.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते ।
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥

Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Puurnnam-Udacyate |Puurnnasya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||

Meaning:
Fullness 'that' (Outer World)
Fullness 'this' (Inner World)
From Purna is manifested Purna (From the Fullness of Divine Consciousness within, the outside world is manifested),
Even after manifesting a whole Purna from itself, Purna still remains the same.

Shaivites believe that Shiva is the Adi Purnam, the Original Fullness, therefore no amount of giving or receiving Gyana will affect His own Fullness in any way. And this makes it easier to understand why Shiva has a nature of taking every cosmic event upon His own head, be it the Samundra manthan or then, the reception of Ganga.
Aum Namah Shivaye

~ Shail Gulhati , Author of :
SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.
Shiva Poetry
The Yogi and the snake
And Life Said.
NAAM ROOP- A Tribute to the Divine

What is Yoga ?

 

Lord Shiva is the Primal abhyasi (practitioner) The yogi par excellence.
After having experimented on the Self innumerable times, after dexterously recording His findings in His own mind, He carefully guided his snake from the Karakotaka tribe, in all the eight limbs of the yoga that He had himself developed. The snake became the great Rishi Patanjali in his next birth. Remembering sincerely what his Lord had taught him, Patanjali laid down Shiva's teachings as the Yoga sutras for seekers to practise. It is also known as Ashtanga yoga, or that which has eight steps.
Yoga begins with Yama ( Moral restraints or " do nots " )
Next is Niyama (Moral observances or the" Dos" )
The third limb is Asana. These are the various poses we learn in Hatha Yoga.
Asana is a gateway , and can be understood as 'seats' for this great flight to the Divine Self.
We get to the subtle heights by more subtle steps, to the fourth stage called Pranayama-the training of the prana or breath,
Fifth is Prathyahara-the cessation of outward distraction by isolating our mind,
The sixth step is Dharana, focusing the mind on a single stream of thought ,perhaps on an object that is Divine, like God or Guru.
Shiva teaches that next we must reach the highest peaks of yoga, the seventh realm called Dhyana ( meditation)
and finally the Kailash of yoga, the highest eighth realm called Samadhi ( absorption into Supreme consciousness)

“So do you get all these deep wisdoms in your Yoga abhyasa? I’ve been seeing you do all sorts of postures; Asanas as you call them.” asked Sati one day.

“Yoga asana is only a seat for the great flight to the self. meditation can be as synergized, as natural as my rides on Nandi, or as tumultuous, with the energy of an untamed beast of the natural order.
All of Nature’s things are like that; You need to be completely at oneness with them before you even start to mount the ride. Else you will just be overturned, which too is an important part in the process of learning, Sati,” replied Shiva.
“It’s simple,” He said. “Yoga is not about your body. Yoga is about discovering your soul.”


Read more in  SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. 

THE ARRIVAL OF TIME

 

THE ARRIVAL OF TIME

It was a sunny morning, and Shiva was feeling good. He readied Nandi for a ride to Daksha’s palace. Nandi himself was in a hurry and charged in true bull fashion to their collective destiny. Together, they made a momentous sight: the Rider and the Ride. Women plowing their rice fields looked up to see this unstoppable creature heralding his master just past their midst.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

THE END OF QUESTIONING

 

THE END OF QUESTIONING

“A lovely story about the time of Shiva's wedding with Parvati, goes somewhat like this,” said Suta.

“Yes! Yes, Gurudeva, please tell!”

“At the point of the solemnising of the marriage by a holy Havan, the pundit asked Shiva, "Who is your father?" Shiva looked at Brahma and said, "He."

"And who is Brahma's father?" asked the pundit. Shiva looked at Vishnu and said, "He is."

But the pundit persisted. "And who, may I ask, is Vishnu's father?"

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

HIDING AND SEEKING, GUIDING AND THEN MEETING!!

 

असतो मा सद्गमय
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय
मृत्योर् मा अमृतं गमय
ॐ शांति शांति शांति - बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् 1.3.28.

Lead Us From the Unreal To Real,
Lead Us From Darkness To Light,
Lead Us From Death To Immortality,
Aum (the universal sound of God)
Let There Be Peace Peace Peace.
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28.)

Thus sang the Upanishadic Rishi .For is this not the ultimate aim of all mankind? To be able to find the Real ( Permanent) world instead of living in an endless cycle of birth and death.Is it not the goal of all beings to move on from the darkness of ignorance, to the light of enlightenment ?
To move from the mortality of the body to the immortality of the soul
So too, He who leads us fro Darkness to light , is the Guru.

Lord Shiva is the source of the light of the world. He is The Primal Guru. In Leading us to The Light, He leads us to Himself, in leading us to Himself, He leads us to our SELF.
It is all one great mystic,spiritual circle!
Hiding and seeking,
Guiding , and then Meeting!
It is all the Leela of Shiva and Shakti .
This is the Gist of the world play.
Aum Namah Shivaye!
~ Shail Gulhati is the author of the books:SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.
The Yogi and the snake
Shiva Poetry
NAAM ROOP- A Tribute to the Divine
And Life Said.