in my many years of being a fond Shaivite myself, one question i have been asked often, is " Why Is Shiva close to snakes?"
While this question can be answered at many levels of understanding, for example, at the Yogic level ,the snake is symbolic of The Yogi's arisen kundalini,and thus depicting one who is enlightened about his own Divinity.Interestingly,it is not uncommon to see pictures of saints from cultures even other than Hinduism, to have a snake around their neck or then protectively over their head as a sign.
But at the basic emotional level, Shiva accepts the snakes because everyone else rejects them! He is God, and he embraces all his creation.
~ Shail Gulhati
While this question can be answered at many levels of understanding, for example, at the Yogic level ,the snake is symbolic of The Yogi's arisen kundalini,and thus depicting one who is enlightened about his own Divinity.Interestingly,it is not uncommon to see pictures of saints from cultures even other than Hinduism, to have a snake around their neck or then protectively over their head as a sign.
But at the basic emotional level, Shiva accepts the snakes because everyone else rejects them! He is God, and he embraces all his creation.
~ Shail Gulhati
This story from Shiva the Ultimate Time Traveller,is an attempt to visualise the embrace of acceptance:
RUDRA EMBRACED THE SNAKES
The jungle adorned Rudra in its love. In perfect harmony and sharing. Rudra was swarmed by different creatures of the jungle, all of whom wanted to gift Him something from their tribes, from their homes, because of the pure love and high self-esteem that He evoked in them. And it became the way of Rudra.
Bit by bit, He began to undo all the things that society had taught Him. One day, He took off His gold earrings as well. It was symbolic of having renounced the palace life almost completely. But Rudra was only renouncing the palace lifestyle, not life itself.
As easily as the Prajapatis were giving rise to a whole new urban culture, Rudra was always at home with the naturally established order of Nature, of life itself.
Perhaps that is why He allowed stories about Himself to be floated and rumoured among the city people. It did not trouble Him at all that tales about ‘The Terrible Rudra’ abounded. This was quite in character with society: If you were not present in its midst, you became the subject of talk. If you were not present to affirm or deny what was being said, anything could be said about you!
Society relished rumours, and Rudra was a favourite in fuelling their imagination.One rumour in particular, had been blown quite thunderously out of proportion: ‘Rudra left Brahma’s palace and joined the forest creatures, because He discovered one day that He was some kind of secret demonic creature.He felt more comfortable with His own kind who lived beyond city limits. He abounds, where other mortals fear to tread. He, is not human! He has unspeakable magic powers, which he uses to control all the denizens of the forests from atop a mountain. He, is the wielder of thunderbolts in an angry sky.’
Rudra actually chuckled at the thought of people imagining Him like that.
He knew all these were false beliefs, deliberately floated by society for their own motives.The same society that often ostracized snakes, saying “Snakes bite each other for their own survival” Nothing could have been further from the truth.
In fact , it was society that harmed each other all the time, for their own survival.
He had noted that the captains of society were obsessed with rejection, whereas He loved all beings. So, He in turn, did just that; He rejected society in favour of ‘real people’.
And felt close to the snakes who were shunned on a wrong notion.
Bit by bit, He began to undo all the things that society had taught Him. One day, He took off His gold earrings as well. It was symbolic of having renounced the palace life almost completely. But Rudra was only renouncing the palace lifestyle, not life itself.
As easily as the Prajapatis were giving rise to a whole new urban culture, Rudra was always at home with the naturally established order of Nature, of life itself.
Perhaps that is why He allowed stories about Himself to be floated and rumoured among the city people. It did not trouble Him at all that tales about ‘The Terrible Rudra’ abounded. This was quite in character with society: If you were not present in its midst, you became the subject of talk. If you were not present to affirm or deny what was being said, anything could be said about you!
Society relished rumours, and Rudra was a favourite in fuelling their imagination.One rumour in particular, had been blown quite thunderously out of proportion: ‘Rudra left Brahma’s palace and joined the forest creatures, because He discovered one day that He was some kind of secret demonic creature.He felt more comfortable with His own kind who lived beyond city limits. He abounds, where other mortals fear to tread. He, is not human! He has unspeakable magic powers, which he uses to control all the denizens of the forests from atop a mountain. He, is the wielder of thunderbolts in an angry sky.’
Rudra actually chuckled at the thought of people imagining Him like that.
He knew all these were false beliefs, deliberately floated by society for their own motives.The same society that often ostracized snakes, saying “Snakes bite each other for their own survival” Nothing could have been further from the truth.
In fact , it was society that harmed each other all the time, for their own survival.
He had noted that the captains of society were obsessed with rejection, whereas He loved all beings. So, He in turn, did just that; He rejected society in favour of ‘real people’.
And felt close to the snakes who were shunned on a wrong notion.
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