The day following Guru Purnima, takes off the lunar month of Shravana, which is dedicated to lord Shiva, the ‘Hypothetical Guru of the Universe’. The devouts get into prayer mode, do penance, exercise austerities, carrying the belief that their wishes may be granted by lord Shiva.

A good majority of the devouts, all attired in saffron, can be seen taking all the pains of walking miles bare footed, carrying water drawn from a holy river as an offering to lord Shiva at their preferred temples. But do such belief-driven practices exercised mindlessly just as routine ritual, are to serve any purpose in lifeIJ This question arises when the Kanwariyas, as they are called, are seen lacking in all sense of discipline, demanding being themselves deified by others travelling the same path. The worst comes when many a times they get into mob frenzy when anyway inconvenienced by others.

And if at all any form-god exists in heaven by the name of Shiva, he would never approve of such insensible acts in the name of faith, by any stretch of imagination. For, he is not a Hindu god as may be mistakenly believed, and the least of all captive of few fanatics. lord Shiva symbolises the existential order as a whole, which includes the primal-source, the manifest, and all intervening dynamism, and therefore, knows no divide.

In fact, the ‘metaphor of lord Shiva’, carries great philosophical import, for us to learn, following which we could steer through life with ease and comfort.  It makes us aware of the fundamentals of life, offering lessons in ‘the art of living’. Following the spirit and intent of the lessons learnt, it makes it easier for us to smartly engage with a complex world with all its enormity and diversity where each individual is an enigma by oneself. 

The most important message inlaid with lord Shiva is that the world is a ‘unitary organism’ premised on the concept of “unity in diversity”, wherein, all and sundry are set into a compulsive interdependent mechanism. That calls for being at peace with the self and the rest transgressing all individual limitations, and conduct in a giving rather than a demanding mode.

Even modern science is closing up with this concept, as would Australian Physicist Paul Davies’s words mean: “To a naïve realist, the world is a collection of objects. To a quantum physicist, it is an inseparable web of energy patterns where no one component has a reality independent of the entirety, and included in that entirety is the observer.”

let us look at the metaphor of lord Shiva and his entourage in this context. He is perceived mounted on a bull having serpent circling his neck, crescent over his head, river Ganges flowing down his hair locks, eyes half open, armed with trident in one arm and damru (two-headed drum) in another. His entourage comprises of multitude of species, all with their individualistic strengths, limitations, varying traits, and with inherent incommunicability amongst them.

Moon’s luminosity is derived out of light drawn from other planetary and stellar bodies, to mean convergence of all cosmic forces. Trident symbolises energy-trinity — Sata, Rajasa, and Tamasa, driving through the creation chain. Moon being over lord Shiva’s head implies being repository of all cosmic forces. These forces when put into harmony through the play of hand-drum, the force of consciousness symbolised by river Ganges come into force, and which holds key to all diverse dynamic existences, thus, all rooted to a common source.

lord Shiva remains in accordance with all and sundry without any differentiation. Not that, he is not aware of their individual limitations. In fact, he can see through, but consciously ignores as would his half shut eyes imply. Not simply that, he rather absolves them of their Daihika, Daivika, and Bhautika sins and absorbs them in the form of snake venom circling his neck. There could be no compulsion of the part of lord Shiva to take so much of pains. But if he does that, it is purposeful. For, he is aware that though every existence is imperfect, but again all imperfect ones put together make out a wholesome living order. And if each of them has limitations, it is also armed with such virtues and attributes as would be necessary for the sustenance of the world, wherein but for one, the very existence would be at stake.  

In order to reinforce the above philosophic import inlaid with lord Shiva, vital for peaceful coexistence, is why this month has been dedicated to him.

The writer is an astrologer, vastu consultant and spiritual counsellor. Write to him at G-5, Basement, Jungpura Extension, New Delhi 14

Tel: 9818037273/ 24310031

Email: pioneerqueries@bharatastro.com

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