The first time Shiva went into a cosmic trance , He was thrilled to bits........

The first time Shiva went into a cosmic trance , He was thrilled to bits.
And He realized that’s where His story began, in a cosmic trance. He loved mountains. He loved to dance. He loved to wear his hair long.
He was as regular a hillbilly as they came, and he loved his fellow mountain men.
But he was not considered in turn, a fellow man.
It was said of Him that he was God Himself, the Primal One.
He was said to be the timeless Lord of the mountains and the men he so loved.
He was Shiva, the auspicious. Shiva, whose very presence was able to transmute humans into demi –gods. He was supposed to be the ultimate spiritual alchemist. It was as actually as though Shiva was the supreme alchemist, transmuting the very spirit of the seers with his touch.
Shiva , the auspicious, yet Shiva the warlord, Shiva the mountain God, yet Shiva the dweller of the cremation grounds, Shiva the creator of the Universe, yet Shiva the destroyer, Shiva the ascetic, yet Shiva the loyal husband, Shiva the intoxicant,yet Shiva the meditator ; Shiva the recluse, yet Shiva ,the supreme spiritual master! Which One was He? “Verily He is all” , said the transformed seer,
“He is Shiva ,Lord of the dance “

One thing that stood out clearly in the descriptions was that there was much paradox about Him.
The moment anyone thought they understood one aspect of Him, immediately another would come and juxtapose itself in contrast. And that was the way He was known by most people as the greatest enigma in the pantheon of the Hindu Gods.

What was His story really? Where were His origins? Why was he Called Rudra the terrible in one breath and also Pasupati, Lord of all creatures, in another?

It was the young seeker Shaunaka’s curiousity which finally got bits and pieces of Shiva’s known episodes out from the wise sage Sutji. What charmed Shaunaka the most was how animated his master Sutji would become when he got into the details of Shiva’s stories. It was as if he saw the scene Himself, as if he vouchsafed being a witness. “Ah, but I have been a witness, my dear Shaunaka. But in a realm that is way too subtle for the ordinary eye to see, for the ordinary ear to hear, I have been witness” he would sigh and continue. ”There was a time when Shiva Himself told his story to the forest dwellers, and Vyasa, the bard used his prolific skill to record the self revelations of the timeless” .
In time, when Shaunaka grew and Himself sported a free flowing white beard, he often told the story to His own disciples. Through generations of the forest dwellers, the constant retelling of these narratives of the great Forester came to be called the Shiva Mahapurana.

{Excerpt from the forthcoming book on SHIVA From Shail Gulhati: Shiva and Mysticism.}