WHEN PARAM BHAKTA RAVANA ROCKED KAILASH!

 

One evening Sati and Shiva were playing their favourite game of dice. Sati was already losing the game, when their cave started shaking.
“You are shaking the bed to cheat, Shiva,” She said.
“No, of course not. Look, my hands are on my thandai" He said, raising His arms into the air,
and drinking the bhang from his goblet.
“But the bed is rocking,” She said. “Is it an earthquake?”
“Let me see,” He said, scrambling to the window.
Suddenly, He broke out into a laughter.
“What’s so funny?” She asked.
“It’s no earthquake, it’s only Ravana rocking Kailash to please me.”
“Ravana? How many times have I told you, I just don’t like that man! He’s too overbearing, too ambitious…too intrusive. Just what does he mean by rocking our home? And look at you! How can you laugh when He dares to be so impertinent?”
“It’s ok, Sati. I will ask him to stop. He’s a great and overzealous bhakt whose passion knows no boundaries when he is invoking me.”
“He is a perfect demon, I tell you. Just ask him to stop, will you?”
“He is not a demon, Sati. He’s just like a child.”
“A child? Shiva, this is what I don’t like. You lose discretion when it comes to your bhakts. He is no child. Someone who is vain enough to rock your Abode, will actually rock the kingdom of Gods.He will shake the foundations of tradition, mark my words! You, wait and watch!” Sati said.
“Ravana! Ravana! Stop this nonsense will you? Do you have any idea what time it is? And what are you trying to do anyway, you silly man?”said Shiva angrily from his window.
The rocking came to an abrupt end. An incomprehensible whimper came from below the window. It was a mumble of an apology. They both heard Ravana scamper away.

~ From the book SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.
A modern rendition of Great God Shiva's story   by Shail Gulhati

OM AND VYOM

 

OM AND VYOM

At first, there had been a fluid cosmic ocean, for what seemed like eternity. It was calm and self-contained, and so self-satisfied that there just couldn’t be a sense of time, or anything else for that matter.

Whichever way the ocean turned to look, it could only see itself, and which, was a truly expansive state of being. Somehow there was a word that hung above the ocean, like a sky. OM…OM…OM…

For many thousands of earth years, He remained in the bliss of the ocean, listening to the word. By and by, He became aware that He was the cosmic ocean itself. And also, that in its echo, the drone was sounding VYOM.

Vyom? It wasn’t a thing.

In fact, that’s what it was: NO thing.

And yet He was there in Vyom, and it felt good.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

LOVE IS GOD

 

He had been the greatest Lover in the world.
Love was the essence of what they were; love was existence.
Love, it was, that was in the beginning, love, that sustained the present, and love it would be, in the end.


Shiva hummed something to Himself, as they met in the forest the very next morning.
“What? Are you singing to yourself?” teased Sati.
“No, I am not!”
“You are, too!” laughed Sati.“Else, tell me.”
“Everything was decidedly different this morn,” said Shiva.
“The sun shone bright, much brighter than yesterday.
The stars, see my love… were still up, they refused to go away!
sparrows whispered to each other excitedly,
the bees were already stumbling in drunken ecstasy,
and, did anyone note the trees as they swayed?
Some strange delight in the air.
All this, for you, my Love…”

“Ah! A poet!”said Sati.

“My gifts are not silver or gold for thee,
 my words are my gifts, my poems, me,” continued Shiva with a soft smile.
“That, is lovely,” said Sati as She slid into the familiar embrace.
“Sometimes I feel we have always been like this,” She said.“It feels so right!”
Shiva looked down at Her head and softly kissed it from atop. “Yes, this is how it has always been,” He said.

One day, She implored, “ Say something really nice.”
It was then that Shiva said the most enigmatic thing. “Love, there is no such thing as the end of life, but, without you, there is no life.”
“That is lovely,” said Sati and hugged Him. And then, a few moments later asked,“What exactly does it mean, though?”
“It means…” said Shiva turning completely towards Her, and locking His eyes in Hers. “That there is a part of us which is eternal, but that part is of no use, if there is not another to share the eternity with.”
Sati hugged Him, in a ‘never to let go’ embrace.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. by Shail Gulhati

DETERMINATION

 

DETERMINATION

Life is a gift. The intention of the Creator in giving this gift is definitely love and kindness, happiness and harmony, knowledge and imagination, adventure and growth. To facilitate these intentions, He gives us free will to live out this gift in our own way, but asks that we share the experience with Him, just like a teacher in a class asks for assignments.There are some who feel that God, being Omnipotent, writes every single word of our life’s script, so everything is predestined.

But that would mean the teacher dictates all the essays Himself, which is of course absurd and meaningless. So let’s say He gives us the grammar rules, etc., and we have a framework to work in, like He tells us this is an essay, or a poem, or then a pictorial PowerPoint presentation, and so on.We are familiar with the world we are born in:

Parents, family, society, government, friends, and so on. But this is just the style of the time, just the bit of predetermination that provides the framework.We do have free will, and it comes with its own outcomes. We have a responsibility towards our own articulations, both individually and collectively, and largely we are doing a great job. It’s exciting to be born as a man or woman in a plethora of other species! It’s fun to live with aeroplanes, boats, secure homes, automobiles that accelerate our speed manifold times; it’s fun to be with technology. It’s indeed a “safe cave” we have carved out for ourselves compared to the other denizens of the planet.But if we somehow account that our achievement is coming at the cost of happiness and harmony, then how do we suddenly turn around and blame God for all this by talking about predetermination? The fact is that we need to be determined enough दृढ़ निश्चय (Dridha Nishchaya) to move toward the goal of Heaven on Earth — which is more or less echoed in all cultures — with our actions, our free will, within the framework of the time-space dimension that we find ourselves in.

Aum Namah Shivaye.

~ Shail Gulhati

SHIVA WORSHIPS THE SHIVALINGA

 

This depiction of Shiva worshipping the Shivalinga , is a favourite Shaivic imagery. It full of spiritual meaning.

Why does Shivji sit behind His own Shivalinga in prayer?
Because, in the simplest words: He is committed to His own creation. He, is His own first votary.

If you compare this to a modern day analogy, where during an election, the contender for  'Head of state'  also goes to caste his vote, we note that he is up early, one of the first to caste his own ballot selection! But this comparison, i give only to make you understand that a good leader believes in what he stands for, he signs up for the teachings and vision he himself gives us.

The difference is that in Divinity, there is no election, no selection,and no contest. But a seeker must respect the Divine ideal he seeks, and this can only happen if the Divine itself upholds its foundations! So too, Shivji respects what His own Shaivism stands for, He is the first adherent, the first to vouch for the Shiva way,
and we understand that He is His own first votary. He believes in His own manifesto, and stands by His principles.He leads by example and from the front.
But of course, the analogy ends here, you cannot be " Voted" God !
And although i truly loved reading them, I do not personally subscribe to some stories theorising that Shiva was a man , raised to the level of God by his feats and followers. Rather, my work is based on the understanding that Shiva was always God, but endearingly Human, lovable like a good man in our midst!
And this understanding is based on the notings of the ancient Rishis; They said a surprising thing in the Vedanta and Upanishads:
You cannot Become God, You are always that!

What did they mean by this?
Their teaching was expanded for us by the Rishis of Kashmir in their Shaiv Darshan.They explained that sometimes, God makes Himself forget that He is God, just before he descends to earth. This paves the way for play- Lila.
So once God ( Shiva) comes to earth as another jiva, he undergoes the same world and stages as everyone else, the same joys and sorrows, and finally he begins to question if there is a creator to all this. God looks for God! The Nath Sampradaya states:
Shiva seems to play the lila of losing Himself, then looking for Himself , and finally finding Himself out. According to them, God finds His own true nature when He is in deep Dhyana, Samadhi ; and it is that great realisation which the great Adi shankara termed as Chidanand roopam shivoham. It is also called Satchitananda or Satyam Shivam Sundaram.
We note also, that ultimately we are all seekers of the same truth and helped by Gurus and saints who have journeyed before us.
When He comes on the same journey, In this lovely Lila, God is also helped by His own Rishis as Gurus.
The teacher becomes the taught! This is not difficult to understand, rather, this is the real beauty of God's Lila and love. That is why you have examples of Ramji being taught by Rishi Vashisht, Krishnji being taught by Guru Sandeepan: So that they may remain centered in their Godhood.

Incidentally, the term Yoga, means " To conjoin with the Divine" and Shivji is also called Yogeshwar, the God of the Yogis, which title further simplifies the point that Shivji is always centered in His Supreme God consciousness.Always meditating for the welfare of the Universe. And we note how beautifully the Shivalinga is meant to represent the whole manifest world.


Aum Shiv Shakti Namah.
~ Shail gulhati 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.

WHAT WORK DO YOU DO ?

 

WHAT WORK DO YOU DO ?

“So, what work do you actually do?” Sati asked coyly like any newly married wife.

“I meditate,” Shiva answered.

“No, I meant what work do you do as in work?”

“I meditate,” He answered again with a strange smile.

“I don’t understand,” She said.

“For most people, a livelihood and a way of life are two different things. For me, it is all one,” He said.

“And you and I are one,” She said, drawing close to Him.

“Yes,” He smiled.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

Shiva, the family man

 

There are so many things we love about Shiva, because there are so many interesting and amazing things about Him to love! But one most endearing quality is that He is a family man. Totally devoted to His wife and children.That is why we see as many pictures of Him with Parvati, Kartikeya , and Ganesh ( Time for family) as we see Him in Dhyana ( Time for Himself ). And this is one quality we must ourselves imbibe from the Great God.

By Himself, Shiva loves wilderness, whether it is in the snowy ranges of the Himalayas, were no one reaches physically, or then ,the cremation grounds of river ghats,where no one likes to go mentally.Both the places afford Shiva 'Ekant- all aloneness'. Shiva loves His aloneness because it affords Him the time and the opportunity to dwell into Dhyana, a deep meditation .We must note that to be alone is not to be lonely. You can be in the company of dozens and yet be lonely, or then you can be by yourself and not lonely, knowing well that you too, are a part of this great Universe.

But the amazing thing is that while He loves His aloneness for Dhyana, Shiva makes time to play with His Younger son Ganesh, and He takes time to teach the elder son Kartikeya.
Shiva is also a great chieftain to His tribes, the ganas of Kailash. He is always there to counsel them as their Kulapati, the father of the tribe.

And then, there is Devi Parvati. Their love stories are legendary. Shiva does not do anything without her consent, or then without explaining His motives to her.
We are indeed lucky that the Great Mahadev has someone to whom He always listens.
And thus His role as a Grihasthi is of paramount importance.
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.