PARAKUNNATH SREE VETTAKKORUMAKAN PAYYAN KSHETHRAM (TEMPLE), AROLI, KANNUR, KERALA: Lord Shiva and death happen to form one of the most important connection firstly due to Shiva’s association with the role of the destroyer in the Hindu trinity but at a more deeper level, it talks of a certain understanding of the phenomenon of death that is unique.

Friday, 3 November 2017

Lord Shiva and death happen to form one of the most important connection firstly due to Shiva’s association with the role of the destroyer in the Hindu trinity but at a more deeper level, it talks of a certain understanding of the phenomenon of death that is unique.

Lord Shiva and death happen to form one of the most important connection firstly due to Shiva’s association with the role of the destroyer in the Hindu trinity but at a more deeper level, it talks of a certain understanding of the phenomenon of death that is unique. Just like other religions, it asks us to believe in a higher power in whom we shall all meld and find absolute benediction from, but when it comes to Lord Shiva, the philosophy turns more to this world than to the next. According to some Shaivite sects, the body is not something that ought to be chastised or neglected. It is seen as the medium through which we can experience all the wonders of the world. The sense organs come together and give us the ability to connect, even to our loved ones. We forget over time, that everybody we have ever known apart from ourselves belong to the world outside us. They are all products of the world that binds us to materiality.

This is exactly why Lord Shiva and his followers are said to frequent burning Ghats. They smear ash over their bodies and some sects known as the Aghoris are known to consume human cadavers. These are not mindless acts of barbarity. These are instead, the means to familiarize oneself with the grotesque realities of life. In our pursuit of pleasure and beauty, we forget that the ugly and the painful are as much part of existence. In our need to be loved, and in the comfort of the embrace of our loved ones, we become oblivious to the fact that it would be equally painful if we were to lose them.

One must remember always that Lord Shiva does not represent dwelling on the morbid parts and thoughts of life. He is also a householder with a wife and two sons. He is known to give vent to immense anger and pain, almost as much as he is known to be calm and dedicated in meditation and mercy. Lord Shiva and death therefore represent a kind of philosophy that advocates constant reality checks in our lives. It keeps us aware of the dual existence of pleasure and pain.