Shiva Kavacam

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

one of the great things about this sankalpa (thank you Sriniji!) is

that one gets to read parts of the Shiva Puja book one never got round

to reading before. And to me, the Shiva Kavacam was a wonderful

discovery; because it is so short, I think it can be recited quickly

in many difficult situations or before leaving home in the morning.

I'd just like to share my thoughts about the text (I am only

scratching the surface here, please correct me if I am wrong):

 

-the Kavacam protects what is in front of us/what is to come (face)

and what comes out of us (our speaking). Realizing that speech is a

creative power, and our words set up vibrations going out and

influencing our environment for better of worse, I thank Lord Shiva

for protecting our speech so that no lies or unkindness may come out

of our mouths.

- the Kavacam protects what is behind us, what is past (ears) and what

goes into us (our listening). Realizing that what we hear are

vibrations caused by all kinds of actions having already been done and

that we can choose the measure in which we allow these vibrations to

change our `frequency' and become part of our environment, I thank

Lord Shiva for protecting our hearing so that no lies or unkindness

may enter our ears.

-the Kavacam protects our life itself (head, skull) and it protects

our soul (heart).

-the Kavacam protects our guiding principle (eyes). Realizing that how

we see the world depends on our inner wisdom and on the Guru who

applies the ointment of wisdom on eyes that are blind, I thank Lord

Shiva for protecting our eyes so that they may see beauty and goodness

everywhere.

-the Kavacam protects the actions we take accordingly (arms).

Realizing that our arms are the tools of action by means of which we

demonstrate our practical wisdom, I thank Lord Shiva for protecting

our arms so that they may function as instruments of peace and love

for the good of all.

 

The letters of AUM could be read as protecting face-heart-back: what

is yet to be created-what we carry with us now-what is to be left

behind.

 

Thinking along these lines, I am obviously left with a puzzle: in

Western thinking, the heart is very much the seat of feelings and

emotions, and the head (or rather the brain) is for thinking. But

according to the dictionary, hrd is also the seat of thought and

intellectual operations. So, although the Kavacam mentions the `head'

and the `heart', here the head has nothing to do with thinking. Does

the `top of the head' refer to the abode of Shiva? And who resides in

the heart? What is the relations between the `top of the head' and the

`heart'? These questions intrigue me because I tend to oscillate

between getting caught in endless attempts trying to `grasp meanings'

by thinking and then, getting sick of my own `thinking voice', I long

to just sit quietly in the Temple of the Heart. Which is what I'd

better do right now:)

 

thank you for listening,

with love,

Henny