GLORY OF LORD SIVA : 2. SWAMI SIVANANDA

-

29/03/2019
2.

Lord Siva represents the destructive aspect of Brahman. That portion of Brahman that is enveloped by Tamo-Guna-Pradhana-Maya is Lord Siva who is the all-pervading Isvara and who also dwells in Mount Kailas. He is the Bhandar or store-house for wisdom. Siva minus Parvati or Kaali or Durga is pure Nirguna Brahman. With Maya (Parvati) He becomes the Saguna Brahman for the purpose of pious devotion of His devotees. Devotees of Rama must worship Lord Siva also. Rama Himself worshipped Lord Siva at the famous Ramesvaram. Lord Siva is the Lord of ascetics and Lord of Yogins robed in space (Digambara).

His Trishul (trident) that is held in His right hand represents the three Gunas-Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. That is the emblem of sovereignty. He wields 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.

The wearing of the crescent moon on His head indicates that He has controlled the mind perfectly. The flow of the Ganga represents the nectar of immortality. Elephant represents symbolically the Vritti, pride. Wearing the skin of the elephant denotes that He has controlled pride. Tiger represents lust. His sitting on the tiger's skin indicates that he has conquered lust. His holding a deer in 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. His wearing of serpents on the neck denotes wisdom and eternity. Serpents live for a large number of years. He is Trilochana, the three-eyed One, in the centre of whose forehead is the third eye, the eye of wisdom. Nandi, the bull that sits in front of Sivalingam represents Pranava (Omkara). The Lingam represents Advaita. It points out "I am one without a second. Ekam eva Advaiteeyam" just as a man raises his right hand above his head pointing out his right index finger only.

To be continued ..


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lord Krishna : The Supreme Lord : 8-1,2

-
Image
Lord Krishna : The Supreme Lord : 8-1,2. 28/09/2018 1.A Great Statesman Sri Krishna was a great statesman. The world has not witnessed a greater statesman than Sri Krishna. He was a champion of liberty and a peacemaker. He had wonderful foresight and held extremely liberal views. Even when He was a boy, He taught people the essentials and the true significance of religion, when He rose against the popular worship of Indra for getting rains. Krishna was a king-maker. He was the founder of the city of Dwaraka. He was the towering genius of His age. He was a great historical figure. He was appointed as the peace-maker to stop the civil war that was to be fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Yudhishthira sent Krishna to negotiate with the Kauravas. He made a long and wise exhortation to Duryodhana. The thrilling and soul-stirring speech delivered by Sri Krishna before the court of Dhritarashtra proves that He was the greatest statesman. He said to Duryodhana: "O
Read more

MAHA PURANAS - 6. Swami Sivananda

-
Image
======================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23/02/2020. 1.INTRODUCTION : 6. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. 13.Shiva Purana:  24,000 verses. Discusses Shiva, and stories about him. 14. Skanda Purana:  81,100 verses. Describes the birth of Skanda (or Karthikeya), son of Shiva. Being the longest Purana, it is an extraordinarily meticulous pilgrimage guide, containing geographical locations of pilgrimage centers in India, with related legends, parables, hymns and stories. Many untraced quotes are attributed to this text. 15. Vamana Purana: 10,000 verses. Describes North India, particularly Himalayan foothills region. 16. Varaha Purana:  24,000 verses. Primarily Vishnu-related worship manua
Read more

Lord Krishna : The Supreme Lord : 11.

-
Image
17/11/2018 11. Call of the Flute : Krishna’s flute is the symbol of Freedom or Pranava. It is this flute that attracted the devoted Gopis, the maidens of Vraja, to meet their beloved Lord on the banks of the sacred Jumna. The sound of this divine flute thrilled the heart with rapturous delight and instilled new life and joy. It produced God-intoxication in all beings and infused life even in insentient objects. The sweetness of the music was unsurpassed. He who heard once the music of Krishna’s flute cared not for the nectar of heaven or the bliss of Moksha. The flute and its music had stirred the souls of the Gopis. They were not masters of themselves. The world was nothing to them. They felt irresistibly drawn towards Sri Krishna. They had neither shame nor fear in leaving their homes. There was a soul-awakening in them. Their mind was not of this world. Their husbands and brothers stopped them in vain. Who can resist the torrent of divine love for the Lord? The love that
Read more