kundalini comes from the gods - perhaps Shiva ?

[Guest guest]

Kundalini's origin is mysterious, and some experts theorize a godly

origin. Sitchin, for example, says Innana, otherwise known as Ishtar,

taught the Harappan Civilization (India) tantra yoga in 2700 BC, when

she inherited that part of the world after a War Among the Gods (see

the book, " The Twelfth Planet " ). And here below, we see Shiva with

the " kundalini serpent " around his neck: Yogi Bhajan often spoke

about Shakta below and Shiva above.

 

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http://indiapost.com/article/philosophy/2218/

 

Shiva - Most complex of Hindu deities

Monday, 03.03.2008, 04:12am (GMT-7)

 

Shiva is 'Shakti', Shiva is power, Shiva is the destroyer, the most

powerful god of the Hindu pantheon and one of the godheads in the

Hindu Trinity. Known by many names - Mahadeva, Mahayogi, Pashupati,

Nataraja, Bhairava, Vishwanath, Bhava, Bhole Nath - Lord Shiva is

perhaps the most complex of Hindu deities.

 

Hindus recognize this by putting his shrine in the temple separate

from those of other deities. Shiva, in temples is usually found as a

phallic symbol of the linga, which represents the energies necessary

for life on both the microcosmic and the macrocosmic levels, that is,

the world in which we live and the world which constitutes the whole

of the universe.

 

In a Shaivite temple, the linga is placed in the centre underneath the

spire, where it symbolizes the naval of the earth. The actual image of

Shiva is also distinct from other deities: his hair piled high on the

top of his head, with a crescent tucked into it and the river Ganges

tumbling from his hairs. Around his neck is a coiled serpent

representing Kundalini or the spiritual energy within life.

 

He holds a trident in his left hand in which is bound the 'damroo'

(small leather drum). He sits on a tiger skin and on his right is a

water pot. He wears the 'Rudraksha' beads and his whole body is

smeared with ash.

 

Shiva is believed to be at the core of the centrifugal force of the

universe, because of his responsibility for death and destruction.

Unlike the godhead Brahma, the Creator, Shiva is the dissolving force

in life. But Shiva dissolves in order to create, since death is the

medium for rebirth into a new life. So the opposites of life and death

and creation and destruction both reside in his character.

 

He is also often portrayed as the supreme ascetic with a passive and

composed disposition. Sometimes he is depicted riding a bull called

Nandi decked in garlands. Although a very complicated deity, Shiva is

one of the most fascinating of Hindu gods.

 

Since Shiva is regarded as a mighty destructive power, to numb his

negative potentials he is fed with opium and is also termed as Bhole

Shankar, one who is oblivious of the world. Therefore, on Maha

Shivratri, the night of Shiva worship, devotees, especially the men

folk, prepare an intoxicating drink called Thandai (made from

cannabis, almonds, and milk) sing songs in praise of the Lord and

dance to the rhythm of the drums.

 

Maha Shivratri, the night of the worship of Shiva, occurs on the 14th

night of the new moon during the dark half of the month of Phalguna.

It falls on a moonless February night, when Hindus offer special

prayer to the lord of destruction.

 

Shivratri is the night when he is said to have performed the Tandava

Nritya or the dance of primordial creation, preservation and

destruction. The festival is observed for one day and one night only.

According to the Puranas, during the great mythical churning of the

ocean called Samudra Manthan, a pot of poison emerged from the ocean.

 

The gods and the demons were terrified as it could destroy the entire

world. When they ran to Shiva for help, he in order to protect the

world, drank the deadly poison but held it in his throat instead of

swallowing it.

 

This turned his throat blue, and since then he came to be known as

Nilkantha, the blue-throated one. Shivratri celebrates this event by

which Shiva saved the world. Shivratri is considered especially

auspicious for women.

 

Married women pray for the well being of their husbands and sons,

while unmarried women pray for an ideal husband like Shiva, who is the

spouse of Kali, Parvati and Durga. But generally it is believed that

anyone who utters the name of Shiva during Shivratri with pure

devotion is freed from all sins.

 

He or she reaches the abode of Shiva and is liberated from the cycle

of birth and death. On the day of Shivratri, a three-tiered platform

is built around a fire. The topmost plank represents swargaloka

(heaven), the middle one antarikshaloka (space) and the bottom one

bhuloka (earth).

 

Eleven urns or kalash, are kept on the swargaloka plank symbolizing

the eleven manifestations of the Rudra Shiva. These are decorated with

bilva (woodapple leaves) and mango leaves atop a coconut representing

the head of Shiva.

 

The uncut shank of the coconut symbolizes his tangled hair and the

three spots on the fruit Shiva's three eyes.