The word bhūta has many overlapping layers of meaning.

 

Shiva spoke again, his voice carrying the weight of the ages. “As we discussed by the fire, the word bhūta has many overlapping layers of meaning.”

The seeker nodded, counting them on his fingers. “Ghost. Disembodied spirit. Physical element. And the past itself.”

“Exactly,” Shiva said.

The ancient stories of the Puranas returned to the seeker’s mind in a flash of clarity: the wild descriptions of Shiva wandering through cremation grounds covered in ash, surrounded by ghosts, goblins, and strange, otherworldly beings; Shiva choosing to keep company with the outcasts and the forgotten while the other gods dwelt in magnificent, pristine palaces.

“Why do they follow you, Lord?” the seeker asked softly. “Why do you surround yourself with the ghosts and the dead?”

From the book ‘ The Shiva Scientist ‘ by Shail Gulhati