THE GREAT LOVE STORY

 

Shiva is a storyteller’s delight.
But because Shiva is hugely paradoxical, it comes as no surprise that, much as He is loved by the masses, there have been times when He has actually been maligned in some circles.This may have been by the design of a select few, as had happened at the instance of His own father-in-law, Daksha. Or then, it may simply be because of ignorance—a lack of knowing Shiva’s esoterics. Ignorance is not always bliss; ignorance mostly leads to a fear, which then makes up its own stories.

I believed it was important that Shiva’s endearing mythology, as well as His scintillating spirituality, both needed to be known.
The twin wings that make the truly ethereal flight He eternally embarks upon. It became my call to write a book that gives equal emphasis to Shiva’s story and reveals the fabulous mystic that He is, and indeed, has always been. 

At first, I was overwhelmed by His infinite aspects: What could one write about Him, who is Timeless, Limitless and Boundless? And then, the question itself revealed the answer. One sure mark of Shiva, is that He is bound to Parvati. It is said of Shiva that He does not incarnate. Of Parvati's bhakti (devotion), it is said She is one who can make even Shiva incarnate.
He is Timeless, and yet when Parvati manifests, it is time for Shiva to arrive. He is formless, but when She arrives, He manifests form. She is His eternal soulmate, and they always find each other, through the mists of cosmic time, even through lifetimes; such is the magic of their love! For it is said, Parvati is His wife even from Her previous birth, when She was called Sati.
And I realised that behind the innumerable tales about Him,
at the core of the myriad roles that He plays out, Shiva's story,
is essentially a love story, over and over again.
~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. by Shail Gulhati

I AM A SHIVA GANA

 

I AM A SHIVA GANA

Shiva, who loved His fellow men and the elementals, would never ever allow them to cast servile titles on themselves. He insisted they were ‘ganas’, the friends. Despite their devout feelings for Him, He always regarded His followers as that—Friends.

So many times, when any of them went overboard with their emotion and actually asked for an eternal enslavement at His feet, as was in vogue with other Gods and their worship, He asked them to see Him as a friend instead.“You are my ganas,” He would always insist. He repeated this to them till the time they began to love the word gana for themselves, till the time they completely imbibed it, and each one declared proudly, “I am a Shiv Gana.” which was very much what Shiva wanted.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

SHAKTI CHAKRA- शक्तिचक्र

 

 SHAKTI CHAKRA

Of the yogi or yogini who learns the sacred texts and sits to meditate upon the reality of Shiva, slowly, the perceptions begin to change and the world as we have known it so far, ceases to exist, and renews itself into a new understanding.
The Shambhavopya says in Siva sutra number 6, "शक्तिचक्रसन्धाने विश्वसंहारः"
This soul unites with the entire manifest Universe in a split second of Samadhi ( Transcendence ) and knows deep within, that having come from one origin, all things are actually connected.
It begins to feel the Oneness. And all the earlier things change:

Confusion to clarity
Doubt to trust
Self pity to Self esteem
Sadness to joy
Conflict to harmony
Separatedness to Unity
Purposelessness to participation.

So, we begin to live in the same world with new eyes or new vision.
As the great Kashmiri saint Lalleshwari said a thousand years ago " With courage i began to enter the inner kingdom. Slowly slowly , the journey of lalli's life began to go well."
Aum Namah Shivaye.
~ Shail Gulhati: Shiva and Mysticism.

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

 

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

“The moment that Lord Shiva put a jaimala around Parvati was more than just a marriage; It was a coming together of being and becoming, of transcendence and manifestation, of yin and yang.

It was a fulfillment of creation; the Creator and the created, of love and bonding, of togetherness, of Godhead and Lila...” said Suta with emotion.

“Yes, Gurudeva,” replied Shaunaka.

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. Part 2

TRISULA DHARI, CHANDRA SEKHAR, DAMARU WALE BABA!

 

A different But very beautiful Painting of Shivji, elaborating many of His attributes:
Ganga
Chandrama
Trisula
Rudraksha
Bhujang(snake)
Trinetra
Damru
Kundal( Curly hair)
Abhaya Mudra( Hand raised in blessing)
Nanti( Yogi Ear rings)
Mrig shala( deer skin)

Prayers to Shiva are usually the description of His own Attributes back to Him. Thus here is a small prayer to Shivji  by  Shail Gulhati  Author of ~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.  

त्रिसूला धरी चन्द्र शेखर डमरू वाले बाबा ,मेरे भोले नाथ त्रिनेत्र भंधारी !! पहन ली हमने गले में तेरी माला तेरे रुद्राक्ष की महिमा न्यारी !!!!
Trisula dhari, Chandra sekhara ,Damaru wale Baba , Mere Bhole Nath trinetra Bhandari !!!
Pehen li hamne Gale mein teri Mala , tere Rudraksh ki Mahima Nyaari!!

Lord Shiva keeps all the incidents of his creation safely tucked away in his memory , long after they are gone. Rudraksh are His tears that get automatically shed in love for all beings .They are the most pious remembrance of all. And we should honour them and if we wear them it should be with respect and this awareness. Jai Shiv shanker!
~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. by Shail Gulhati

A TIMELESS LOVE

 

A TIMELESS LOVE

The one person that Shiva loved meeting in this cosmic mind field, the one person whose memory He would not allow to fade even when they were not together, was, unchallengeably, His Woman. In a whole universe that had been projected by Him, She was the one being He loved immensely.

Parvati, His inseparable better-half.

Parvati, without whom, Shiva felt like ‘not Shiva’.

Parvati, without whom, Shiva didn’t feel anything at all.

Parvati, without whom, the Seers summarized, “He was Shava, a corpse.”

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

Shiva is Mahakaal, the Ultimate Time Traveller- परम समय यात्री महाकाल

 

There is the Pauranic Shiva: The Timeless One vouchsafed to us by the ancient tellings of the Rishis, down to our grandmother’s tales. The Shiva from Kailash. But there is also the Adhunik Shiva; the Omnipresent, who is always here, lurking in our own hearts, in the present, and therefore the most modern at any time.
For Shiva is Mahakaal, the Ultimate Time Traveller.
In the deepest reflection, we realise that all things are possible to God; The enigmatic story of Shiva, enfolds All! Past, present, future, history, mythology and fantasy.
A magical story about the possibility of Shiva in dance with all the mystics of all the worlds, through all the ages and to our own present time.
~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.