Lord Shiva Stories
Shiva is the god of the yogis,self-controlled and celibate, while at the same time a lover of his spouse(shakti).Lord shiva is the destroyer of the world,following "Brahma" the creater and "Vishnu" the preserver, after which Brahma again creates the world and so on.Shiva is responsible for change both in the form of deth and destruction and the positive sense of destroying the ego, the false identification with the form.This also includes the shedding of ald habits and attachments.
All that has a beginning by necessity must have an end.In destruction,truly nothing is destroyed but the illusion of individuality.Thus the power of destruction associated with Lord Shiva has greate purifying power,both on a more personal level when problems make us see reality more clearly,as on a more universal level.Destruction opens the path for a new creation of the universe, a new oppertunity for the beauty and drama of universal illusion to unfold.As Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram or Truth, Goodness and Beauti, Shiva represents the most essential goodness.
While of course many hindu deities are associated with different paths of yoga and meditation, in Shiva the art of meditation takes its most absolute form. In meditation, not only mind is stopped, everything is dropped. In deep meditation or samadhi, even the object of the meditation (like a mantra) is transformed into its formless essence, which is the essence of everything and everyone. Thus Shiva stands for letting go of everything in the world of forms. The path of Lord Shiva is the path of the ascetic yogi.
Forms of shiva--
*Shiva has many forms, which are visible in his Panchavaktra form with 5 heads, a combination of all Shiva energies : Aghora (resides in the creamation grounds), Ishana (most often appears as the shivalingam), Tat Purusha (meditating), Varna Deva (the eternal Shiva) and Saddyojat or Braddha Rudra (the old wrathful form). The last also forms the connection to the Rudrakshamala a rosary made of the dried fruits of the Rudraksha tree.
*Another form is the Nataraj. Shiva Nataraj's dance represents both the destruction and the creation of the universe and reveals the cycles of death, birth and rebirth. His Dance of Bliss is for the welfare of the world. In the pose of Nataraj, the King of Dance is giving darshan to his beloved devotees within the "Hall of Consciousness", which is the heart of man. Under his feet, Shiva crushes the demon of ignorance called Apasmara Purusha, caused by forgetfulness. One hand is stretched across his chest and points towards the uplifted foot, indicating the release from earthly bondage of the devotee. The fire represents the final destruction of creation, but the dance of the Nataraj is also an act of creation, which arouses dormant energies and scatters the ashes of the universe in a pattern that will be the design of the ensuing creation.
*Yet another manifestation of Lord Shiva is said to be Hanuman, the ultimate karma yogi, in never-ending selfless service to Ram.The fact that this is not really clear can be perfectly explained by the understanding that a true karma yogi will never take the credit for his acts, as they would otherwise not be entirely selfless. The ego would still get the credit. So, in order to respect Shiva as a true karma yogi, let us not pay too much attention to this manifestation.
*The Mahamrityunyaya form of Shiva is the great conqueror of death. The Mahamrityunjaya mantra is one of the two main mantras of the Vedas, next to the Gayatri mantra. It is chanted to remove death and disease. This form of Shiva also is the being of pure joy, referring to the unconditioned enjoyment of the perfectly peaceful mind. That is the true nature of the divine elixir that this Shiva offers his devotees in no less than four hands.
*Another main form of Shiva is Ardhnarishwara, half Shiva, half Shakti. Also related to Shiva is "Indra".
*Lord Siva wears a deer in the left upper hand. He has Trident in the right lower arm. He has fire and Damaru and Malu or a kind of weapon. He wears five serpents as ornaments. He wears a garland of skulls. He is pressing with His feet the demon Muyalaka, a dwarf holding a cobra. He faces south. Panchakshara itself is His body.
*Third eye: Shiva is often depicted with a third eye, with which he burned Desire (Kama) to ashes.There has been no controversy regarding the original meaning of Shiva's name, it is a combination of two name shiv, where(I from shiv) means shakti(spouse) if it is removed from the name shiv,remain left is shav(Deadbody).That means shav and shakti together makes it shiv(Ardhanareshwar). Tryambakam which occurs in many scriptural sources.In classical Sanskrit, the word ambaka denotes "an eye", and in the Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as three-eyed, so this name is sometimes translated as "having three eyes".
*Crescent moon: Shiva bears on his head the crescent moon.The epithet Chandrasekhara ( "Having the moon as his crest" - chandra = "moon", sekhara = "crest, crown") refers to this feature. The placement of the moon on his head as a standard iconographic feature dates to the period when Rudra rose to prominence and became the major deity Rudra-Shiva.The crescent moon is shown on the side of the Lord's head as an ornament. The waxing and waning phenomenon of the moon symbolizes the time cycle through which creation evolves from the beginning to the end. Since the Lord is the Eternal Reality, He is beyond time. Thus, the crescent moon is only one of His ornaments.The wearing of the crescent moon in His head indicates that He has controlled the mind perfectly.
*Ashes:Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma).
*Matted hair: Shiva's distinctive hair style is noted in the epithets Jatin, "the one with matted hair".
*Blue throat: The epithet Nilakantha (sanskit:nila="blue",kantha="throat") refers to a story in which Shiva drank the poison churned up from the world ocean.
*Sacred Ganga: The Ganga river flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The epithet Gangadhara ("bearer of the river Ganga") refers to this feature.
*Tiger skin: He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin,an honour reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis.Tiger represents lust. His sitting on the tiger’s skin indicates that He has conquered lust.
*Serpents: Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.His wearing of serpents on the neck denotes wisdom and eternity.
*Deer:His holding deer on one hand indicates that He has removed the Chanchalata (tossing) of the mind. Deer jumps from one place to another swiftly. The mind also jumps from one object to another
*Trident: (Sanskrit: Trishula): Shiva's particular weapon is the trident.His Trisul that is held in His right hand represents the three Gunas—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. That is the emblem of sovereignty. He rules the world through these three Gunas. The Damaru in His left hand represents the Sabda Brahman. It represents OM from which all languages are formed. It is He who formed the Sanskrit language out of the Damaru sound.
*Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a damaru (Sanskrit: Dmaru).This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called Damaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "Damaru-hand") is used to hold the drum.
*Nandi: Nandi, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva's mount (Sanskrit: vahana). Shiva's association with cattle is reflected in his name Pasupati, or Pashupati, translated by Sharma as "lord of cattle" and by Kramrisch as "lord of animals", who notes that it is particularly used as an epithet of Rudra.Rishabha or the bull represents Dharma Devata. Lord Siva rides on the bull. Bull is His vehicle. This denotes that Lord Siva is the protector of Dharma, is an embodiment of Dharma or righteousness.
Relationship--
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