Lord Shiva...a symbol and a way to lead better life

One must be amazed why this description of Lord Shiva.

Read it to find out.

Lord Shiva is not only just Hindu deity or a ‘murti’ in a temple, or just some character in Hindu mythology. He is the way of life, he is the teacher, he is a symbol which shouts out the morals to be followed for better life. His ways teaches a very philosophy that I think is applicable for today's life. He at every step, consumed the evil and prevented others from getting affected. He showed the path how to correct the evil and how to become the master of one. His form symbolizes the highest possible master of all the evils, either it's lust, power or anything. He taught a simple way of living with high morality and mental state, where one can see above all attachments what is right and what is wrong. He possess all the power and yet lives a simplest possible life of renunciation. His spiritually stabilized intellect took him beyond time. It teaches how your future actions should not be the outcomes of your past and present assumptions. He creates chaos not to unstabilize but to stabilize the entire existence. His anger like a real man is feared. His devotion and attachment to his wife is a simple symbol of how one can be attached to the worldly materialistic thing without being actually attached to them. If you have power to renounce what you have, you are actually the master of yourself. Nowadays we are so much attached to worldy things thinking that we are masters, what to say I cannot live without my phone for a single day, in actual makes us the slave of these things. I was fascinated by the story once a priest told me about MahaShivRatri, that all the poisonous eatables are dedicated to Lord Shiva on the occasion of MahaShivRatri in order to save the world from their harmful effects, for which I used to wonder why in the name of God, one would do that. We offer fruits and fascinating things to god in order to please them, but why one would offer poisonous eatables to Lord Shiva. But now i think i got the answer!

He is a consummate dancer drawing his energy from mother earth and then in the end returnig to it.

Let's start.

                                                                Om Namah Shivay

Shiva is married to the goddess Uma, who represents perishable matter (prakriti). The power of destruction is always associated with destructible matter, since this power can manifest only when perishable matter is available.

                                          Lord Shiva is also known as the eternal Lord of Meditation. With a serenely peaceful countenance, he sits in deep meditation on the top of the world on Mount Kailas in the Himalayas, facing south. The meditating Shiva is seen against the background of the snow-capped Himalayas. The white snow represents the absolute purity of His mind. His posture symbolizes the ideal of harmony and poise experienced by a realized person. In that state of perfection, He is in total· harmony with the external environment and happenings.

A seeker who wishes to meditate upon and reach the peak of human perfection must first endeavor to maintain purity of mind, symbolized by snow. An impure and agitated mind cannot concentrate and meditate upon the Truth. Purity of the mind is obtained by practicing life of harmony in the face of the challenging situations of the world, and by steadily applying oneself thus until one gains subjective poise.

                         A life of harmony is attained by rising above one's limited egocentric, view of life and expanding one's mind so as to accommodate a constant awareness of the totality of the world, the entirety of human kind, and the vastness of the universal problems. A life of harmony brings to one's heart an inward peace and poise. Lord Shiva sitting in meditation is a figurative representation of an ideal "man of poise" who remains ever unaffected by all surrounding disturbances. A "man of poise" is not to be construed as living a life of idle acceptance or unintelligent surrender to external challenges. On the contrary, such a person is dynamic and serves as the leader of all beings. Drawing inspiration from the dynamic silence within, such a person applies a steady mind in the din and roar of the marketplace.

He destroys in order to renew and regenerate. His destruction facilitates the smooth transitions of things and events from one stage to another. He destroys our imperfections in order to ensure our spiritual progress. He destroys our illusions, desires and ignorance. He destroys our evil and negative nature. He destroys our old memories, so that we can move on with the movement of time. He destroys our relationship, attachments, impurities and physical and mental wrong doing, the effect of bad karma, our passions and emotions and many things that stand between us and God as impediments to our progress and inner transformation.

Shiva as Ardhanareeswara
Lord Shiva is said to be half man and half woman. In the full figure of Siva the male and female principles are united. Shiva Linga - the symbol of Lord Shiva which consists of both Lingam (phallus) and yoni (the female organ) represent the totality of his nature and the totality of all created existence. Shiva is the destructive form of the Almighty. As the cycle of destruction and recreation is always in a circle, Shiva’s primary responsibility is maintaining the life cycle. Lord Shiva is also considered to be the most unique of all Hindu gods and also the God of all. A great ascetic, Shiva is the only godhead who is forever in deep meditation, totally absorbed in contemplation in His abode, Kailaasa Mountain in the great Himalaya. Lord Shiva is also said to be inseparable from Shakti - Parvati the daughter of Himavaan - Haimavati. There is no Shiva without Shakti and no Shakti without Shiva, the two are one - or the absolute state of being.
Symbolic Shiva

Lord Shiva is shown either in meditating or in the form of a Dancing God Nataraj where his dance is to the beat and rhythm of creation. He is also shown in sculptures with many hands. One pair of hands, for example, represents the balance between life and death. Shiva is 'tri netra' or three eyed, and is 'neela kantha' - blue-necked (having consumed poison to save the world from destruction). Lord Shiva is also the master of yoga, and the three matted locks on His head signify the ideal of yoga that involves the integration of the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of life.

His ornaments carry a very different meaning and give a deep message. Some of those are discussed below.

Blue neck

In an ancient story from the Puranas, Shiva once drunk some deadly poison that was thrown up by the ocean. The Devas and Asuras were churning the ocean in quest of the nectar of immortality. The ocean threw up many objects before the nectar appeared, including some deadly poison. The poison was so toxic that it would have killed all the inhabitants of the earth. Therefore his neck is dark blue, which is the color of the poison. The poison which Shiva drank in order to protect the world’s inhabitants represents all the negativity and evil in the world. In order to help the world progress, a spiritual person must engage with society and its problems. This includes being around society’s negativity and evil tendencies, to prevent them from destroying society. Shiva kept the poison at the level of his neck, because if he let it reach his stomach it would have been harmful. This symbolizes that it is important not to allow this poison to actually affect and harm us – this requires vigilance. It is easy to unknowingly take up negativity if we are surrounded by it, but through vigilance and care this can be avoided. This is the meaning of “keeping the poison at the neck”, whereby it is kept at a level that we can manage without allowing it to poison us.

Unclad Body and Ash

The unclad body symbolizes the transcendental aspect of Lord Shiva. It is also believed in Hinduism that ultimately all creation is destroyed by fire and becomes ash, only to be renewed again in a new cycle. The ash smeared on Lord Shiva’s body signifies that He transcends physical phenomena and is not affected by it.

Third Eye

His right and left eyes are the sun and moon respectively, while His third eye is the eye of wisdom. As His right and left eyes represent His activities in the physical world, the third eye in the middle of His forehead symbolizes spiritual wisdom and power, seeing beyond the apparent and also destroying evil and evil-doers.

Ganga

The holy water of the Ganges also signifies the essential element of ritual purification. By holding the Ganges in his matted hair, Lord Shiva allowed the holy river to traverse the earth and bring its purifying water to humans.

Crescent Moon

Often depicted on Lord Shiva’s head is a crescent moon, representing the cyclical nature of the universe. The waxing and waning of the moon symbolizes the cycle through which creation evolves. Furthermore, since Lord Shiva is the Eternal Reality, He is beyond time and the cycle of creation.

Snake

Lord Shiva is often shown with a snake curled three times around His neck. The three coils of the snake represent the cycle of time – the past, present and future. The snake around Lord Shiva’s neck symbolizes his transcendence over the cycles of creation and time. The right side of the body symbolizes the human activities based upon knowledge, reason and logic. The snake looking towards the right side of the Lord signifies that the Lord's eternal laws of reason and justice preserve natural order in the universe.

Trident

The three-pronged trident known as the Trishul shown with Lord Shiva symbolizes His three fundamental powers, or shakti, of iccha, kriya, and jnana (will, action and knowledge). The trident also represents Lord Shiva’s power to destroy evil and ignorance.

Tiger Skin

Lord Shiva is shown sitting on or wearing a tiger skin. The tiger is the vehicle of Shakti, the Goddess of power and force, and since Lord Shiva is the master of Shakti, He is beyond and above any kind of force. The tiger skin that Lord Shiva wears symbolizes His victory over every force. The tiger also represent lust, and Lord Shiva indicates, by sitting on the tiger skin, that he has conquered lust.

Half-open eyes

When the Lord opens His eyes, a new cycle of creation emerges and when He closes them, the universe dissolves for creation of the next cycle. The half-open eyes convey the idea that creation is going through cyclic process, with no beginning and no end. Lord Shiva is the Master of Yoga, as He uses His yogic power to project the universe from Himself. The half-open eyes also symbolize His yogic posture.

Rudraksha necklace

Rudra also means "strict or uncompromising" and aksha means "eye." Rudraksha necklace worn by the Lord illustrates that He uses His cosmic laws firmly - without compromise - to maintain law and order in the universe. The necklace has 108 beads which symbolize the elements used in the creation of the world.

Nandi

The bull is associated with Shiva and is said to be His vehicle. The bull symbolizes both power and ignorance. Lord Shiva's use of the bull as a vehicle conveys the idea that He removes ignorance and bestows power of wisdom on His devotees. The bull is called Vrisha in Sanskrit. Vrisha also means dharma (righteousness). Thus a bull shown next to Shiva also indicates that He is the eternal companion of righteousness.