Thoughts on Mahadeva

[Guest guest]

I wrote below some thoughts on Shiva, posting for the occasion of

Shivarathri. I give a rationalist interpretation to some things, but

do not proclaim as the only way of seeing it, just one that fits with

advaita.

 

thollmelukaalkizhu

 

To begin: a couple of translations of slokas from Brahmavaivarta purana:

 

The Veda directly knows Thee not, O Lord !

Neither does the Lord Vishnu know,

Nor the Creator of the Universe, Brahma;

Neither do the high yogis,

Nor the Devas with Indra at their head:

But the Bhaktha, Thy devotee, knows Thee, O Lord !

Therefore do I take refuge in Thee.

 

Thou hast neither ancestry nor birth nor name,

Neither hast Thou form nor country nor virtue:

Being even thus, Thou art the Ruler of the three worlds,

And fulfillest all desires. Therefore do I worship Thee.

 

 

 

Who is Shiva?

 

Shiva is known as the Great God residing on Mount Kailasa. Though He

is God, yet He is understood as if human, with name and form,

attributes, and all the puranic stories. This is how a typical Bhaktha

may think of Shiva. However for an advaitin, such a viewpoint is

ultimately sustained and fulfilled (or replaced) by the knowledge of

Advaita.

 

The humanization/deification of the upadhi-based existence is a

typical way by which the scripture highlights the oneness of the Soul.

For a human being relates closest to the human-upadhis. Thus the Sun

becomes the Surya-Bhagavan, the Earth becomes Bhu-devi, the waters

become Varuna's domain. To be sure, these elements and forces appear

non-human or as simply " nature " , and the Power that is Varuna is to be

found within and not apart from the waters: thus does Ishvara's

intelligence shine through His Order, assuming unique expression in

each upadhi-context. However the humanbeing grasps that oneness of

Existence by first associating humanness to every aspect of It.

 

The same is true for Ishvara Himself. He is Brahman seen in

conjunction with the upadhi of maya. Certainly all-inclusive, and not

exclusive to the human upadhis (of body, mind, individuality). Yet we

relate to His aspects of creation, preservation and destruction, as

parallel but superior to ourselves, and prefer to personalize Ishvara.

That is the easiest way to feel close to Him, when we are wound up in

our limited understanding of human-self.

 

Thus Ishvara seen as Creator is Brahma, as Preserver He is Vishnu, and

as Destroyer He is Shiva. Shiva is the God of Destruction. In the

puranas, He is also shown to be associated with ghosts and goblins,

the Serpent, the third Eye of Fire: He is the Lord of the chaotic

elements of existence. From the Bhaktha's viewpoint, He is the

all-embracing refuge for the stragglers and outcastes of society.

Those who are the slaves to their senses, to desire and temper, who

are slandered and vilified, know that Shiva stands by them, will dance

their dances and 'suffer' their sorrows. They know that He knows that

beneath the clutter of weaknesses shines the same infinitess of Being,

His own Self, and by surrending at His feet, they also are lifted by

His grace to the fullness of jnana.

 

But is Shiva only the God of Destruction, the saviour of the fallen?

Is there creation without destruction, destruction without

preservation? When we realize that it is the same Ishvara identified

differently in chosen upadhi-contexts, the distinctions become

artificial: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva merge as One. Shiva (Brahma,

Vishnu) then is Ishvara Himself: the Lord of Maya. However in Advaita,

the term 'Shiva' has come further to denote Brahman itself, the

advaitic Reality of Self that when seen with Maya is called Ishvara or

Shakthi. Maya is anirvachaniya, not to be given a status of Reality

unto itself, rather of apparentness or appearance. When in ignorance,

Maya appears real and the Lord appears as Ishvara: but when jnana

dawns, Maya loses itself from consideration or relevance, like an

illusion: remains as residuum Reality the impersonal, immutable

constant Shiva.

 

_____

Shiva and Shakthi

_____

 

What i see is Shakthi.

 

What I am is Shiva.

 

Shakthi is energy, power, change, relativity - Dvaita.

 

Shiva is stillness, existence - Advaita.

 

Shakthi is consciousness identified, in the context of upadhis.

 

Shiva is Consciousness pure, devoid of context.

 

Shakthi is the objects that defines space, Shiva is the Space that

appears object.

 

Shakthi is the body-mind that identifies self-world, Shiva is the Self

identified as/in body-mind-world.

 

Shiva and Shakthi are inseparable; more, they are one and the same

Reality considered from different standpoints. To the mind and senses,

the play of Shakthi defines the universe, and in that play we

recognize the Divine Mother (Ishvara) as the Player. Behind the mind

and senses is the Atman, and in the stillness of the Atman IS the

Being of Shiva (Brahman), comprehended in mind as Shakthi.

 

Om to That.