HINDUISM

Aspects of Lord Siva

Siva - The Supreme God:

Jayaram V

(Continued from last week)

At the highest level, lord Siva is Sadasiva, Parameswara, or Paramasiva. In his formless (nirguna) aspect, he is the transcendental formless reality, the highest and the most unknown, who is Brahman Himself without qualities and attributes, the supreme lord, the eternal truth, the absolute, infinite, timeless, indivisible, entirely subjective Truth, which is beyond the senses and mind, without time.

He is the end of all spiritual practice, the experience of pure consciousness and bliss in the state of samadhi or union. by experiencing which everything is known and realized. He is the eternal mystery mentioned in the Kena Upanishad, whom Uma Haimavathi refers as the “Spirit Supreme”, by knowing whom Indra excelled all other devas and became the ruler of the heavens. According to Siva purana even Brahma and Vishnu attained the level of Trinity because of their past devotion to Nirguna Siva.

Siva as Saguna Brahman

As the awakened supreme self, Siva is Maheswara or Mahasiva, the Lord of the manifest universe. As the awakened supreme self, he is saguna Brahman, the cosmic lord, who combines within himself the roles of creation, maintenance, destruction, concealment and liberation. He performs these five functions through his five supreme energies: pure consciousness (chit-shakti, bliss (ananda-shakti), will power (iccha-shakti), pure knowledge (jnana-shakti) and dynamic power (kriya-shakti).

As manifest Brahman, he projects the material and objective universe through his dynamic power (Shakti) and projects into himself, like a reflection in a mirror, all that he creates.

The creation is but his conscious dream, an alternate reality that cannot be entirely categorized as false or illusory. He is the Purusha of the Vedas, the cosmic male, who creates Prakriti 1 the cosmic female and then establishes himself in it in order to manifest the objective reality in which he conceals himself from himself exists as deluded jivas.

As Tirumantram states succintly,” Himself creates, Himself poreserves, Himself destroys, Himself obscures and then grants himself mukti, Himself the all pervading lord.” He is also the source of all knowledge, the Agamas and the Tantras come from him.

Siva as the Lord of a Functional Universe

At the next lower level he is Iswara or Siva or Rudra, representing a functional aspect of Mahasiva, performing the role of a destroyer. In this role, he is responsible for the regeneration and renewal of the material and objective universe and its various components through destruction and degeneration. In this functional aspect he facilitates the illusory movement of kala (time) from one phase (yuga) to another.

He is Hara and Samkara, the lord with a thousand names, who is seated on the mountains of Kailash, with Parvathi and his whole entourage of devas, gods, siddhas, siva ganas, myriad yogis and devotees enjoying his darshan (vision).

In this role he facilitates the spiritual progress of humanity. He evolves the subtle beings into gross and then the gross beings into subtle. Through his grace (anugraha), he destroys our karma, impurities and bonds and facilitate our spiritual evolution. He makes possible the flow of divine consciousness into our earth consciousness using himself as the conduit and brings forth all the tantras and agamas.

Siva as Jiva, the Embodied and Deluded Soul

The jivas are the deluded aspect of Siva. According to some schools of Saivism, they are not created by any one and exist just like Siva eternally. Their number also remain constant which means they retain their individuality even after attaining liberation from the bonds of objectivity.

According to other schools, jivas and Siva represent the same reality. There is actually no difference between the two or at the most the relationship is that of difference and non-difference (bheda-abheda).

The deluded being are subject to the impurities of anava (finiteness), delusion (maya) and egoistic actions (karma) but are the same as Siva in terms of essence and pure consciousness.

When the cloud of ignorance is removed through the intervention of Siva’s grace (anugraha), a jiva becomes liberated and reunites with Siva.

Thereafter there will not be any difference between the two.

Siva as an Enlightened and Self-aware Entity

These are the various incarnations, emanations, divinities and deities and objectified energies that constitute the Siva pantheon. They come into being as a projection of cosmic will during the various phases of creation. Some are manifested in the very beginning and some in the middle and some at the end.

They perform many roles and implement the supreme will of Siva. Hanuman, Dakshinamurthy, Tandavamurthy, Bhairava, Virabhadra, Chandakesvara, Mahakaleswar, Ardhanariswara, Bhikshtanamurthy, Tandavamurthy are some of his well known minor aspects or incarnations.

Some schools of Saivism do not accept the concept of incarnations. According to them since is a Siva perfect being and creation is a manifestation of his dynamic will, there is no place for imperfection or disorder in his manifestation and so the questions of reincarnation to restore order does not arise.

What we consider as his incarnations are but the embodiment of highly evolved jivas who come to the earth plane to help others on the path of liberation or perform specific tasks as willed by Siva.

Siva as a Vedic Deity

For those who do not practice pure Saivism or any of the Saiva schools, Siva is a very popular god of Hindu or Vedic pantheon and they worship him as such either as a personal god or in the company of other gods.

An ancient god with prehistoric roots and far deeper antiquity than we can fathom, we find references to a god by the name Rudra in the Vedas. Rudra is the god of rain and thunder. In all probability when the vedic priests integrated different native traditions of India with the vedic traditions, they probably identified, Siva, already a popular God of India, with the Rudra of the Vedas.

Devout Hindus who practice mainstream Hinduism, indulge in devotional, ritualistic, ascetic, festive, yogic, musical and meditative practices to please Lord Siva and attain his grace.

Personal God

As a personal god, Siva has the qualities of a graceful and lovable god, who is easier to please and approach with love and devotion.

As the lord of Kailas, he is an epitome of knowledge, humility and unconditional love.

As a devoted husband, father and master, he bestows boons and unconditional love upon his beloved devotees.

Whether they belong to the mainstream Saivism or not, Hindus are very emotional and ecstatic about Lord Siva which can be seen and felt in many sacred places and temples of Siva all over the country.

Pure Joy

It is important to know that Lord Siva is Brahman himself, who descends into lower planes to manifest himself in different aspects, which he does for his own ananda (pure joy).

As deluded souls, it is important for us to know that we are Siva himself in human form and that we can by effort rediscover our own infinity.

Siva does not ask us to worship him, rather know ourselves as him only and live with that faith and conviction the rest of our lives.

Source : internet

A Creed of the Saivite Hindu Religion

1. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE that Lord Siva is God, whose Absolute Being, Parasiva, transcends time, form and space. The yogi silently exclaims, “It is not this. It is not that.” Yea, such an inscrutable God is God Siva. Aum.

2. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE that Lord Siva is God, whose immanent nature of love, Parashakti, is the substratum, primal substance or pure consciousness flowing through all form as energy, existence, knowledge and bliss. Aum.

3. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE that Lord Siva is God, whose immanent nature is the Primal Soul, Supreme Mahadeva, Parameshvara, author of Vedas and Agamas, the creator, preserver and destroyer of all that exists. Aum.

4. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE in the Mahadeva Lord Ganesha, son of Siva-Shakti, to whom they must first supplicate before beginning any worship or task. His rule is compassionate. His law is just. Justice is His mind. Aum.

5. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE in the Mahadeva Karttikeya, son of Siva-Shakti, whose vel of grace dissolves the bondages of ignorance. The yogi, locked in lotus, venerates Murugan. Thus restrained, his mind becomes calm. Aum.

6. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE that each soul is created by Lord Siva and is identical to Him, and that this identity will be fully realized by all souls when the bondage of anava, karma and maya is removed by His grace. Aum.

7. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE in three worlds: the gross plane (Bhuloka), where souls take on physical bodies; the subtle plane (Antarloka), where souls take on astral bodies; and the causal plane (Sivaloka), where souls exist in their self-effulgent form. Aum.

8. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE in the law of karma — that one must reap the effects of all actions he has caused — and that each soul continues to reincarnate until all karmas are resolved and moksha, liberation, is attained. Aum.

9. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE that the performance of charya, virtuous living, kriya, temple worship, and yoga, leading to Parasiva through grace of the living satguru, is absolutely necessary to bring forth jnana, wisdom. Aum.

10. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE there is no intrinsic evil. Evil has no source, unless the source of evil’s seeming be ignorance itself. Saivite Hindus are truly compassionate, knowing that ultimately there is no good or bad. All is Siva’s will. Aum.

11. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE that religion is the harmonious working together of the three worlds and that this harmony can be created through temple worship, wherein the beings of all three worlds can communicate. Aum.

12. Siva’s followers all BELIEVE in the Panchakshara Mantra, the five sacred syllables “Namasivaya,” as Saivism’s foremost and essential mantra. The secret of Namasivaya is to hear it from the right lips at the right time. Aum.

Source: www.siddha.com.my/saivism

Inscription of Pathira Kaali Kovil in Thirukoanamalai

In Thitukoanamalai (Trincomalee) town there is a famous temple of the Goddess Kaali. It has a historical account. Its importance lies on an inscription as well. In the temple’s right hand side pillar details its antiquity and the specialty of the temple. The pillar is in the hall of the temple.

Dr S Gunasingham an archaeologist conducted a research on this inscription and came to some findings.

“The pillar is 09 feet and 02 inches long and 09 feet wide. In four parts of the pillar letters are inscribed. The pillar with the inscription might have been a remnant of the ruined temple. It may be that while work was in progress of the building of the temple during a particular period, this pillar might have been brought from somewhere and instituted there.

In the three sides of the pillar there are inscriptions. The greatness of the Chola king Rajendra 1 (1012-1044) is inscribed there. The king was the son of Raja Raja Cholan”

Inside the temple there is a place f or breaking the husk of coconuts. It’s called Ullil. It is mentioned in the inscription that the Ulil was made by Ayi Sembulingam in Thai 1878 in honour of the Kaali Amman.

There is a myth surrounding this temple. It was believed that a Hindu priest in Rameswaram in Thamilnadu declaring his dream said that “under a shoe flower tree near the beach there is a big earthenware and within it one would find the statue of Kaali Amman and lamps and bells. Bring those and hold poojas daily.”

People unearthed the land at the spot described and found a statue of the Kaali deity. It was the establishment of the Kaali temple. The name of the priest was Mathurai Iyer. It is the descendants of the priest that adminster the temple now.

KSS

(Source: E.Somasundaram in magazine “Sannithi” June 1998)

Panniru Thirumurai

Panniru Thirumurai is the collection of twelve holy scriptures written by twenty seven marvelous devotees in Tamil language. These are the highly respected scriptures of Tamil Saivaites.

The philosophers who came in the later days like the Santhaana Kuravars who wrote the Saiva Siththantaha texts and others like Thayumaanavar and Ramalinga Vallalar have adored these scriptures and their authors in their works. Like the 27 stars that shine in the sky these great devotees gave the Thirumurai which are like the twelve suns (Devadhasa Aathithyas This splendid luminance has been guiding the suffering masses from their darkness to the Supreme in whose presence the sticky bonds (Paasam) is driven off.

The first letter in the first Thirumurai (In Tamil script) is “tho” can be separated as “th” + “o”. The last word in the last Thirumurai (Periya Puranam) is “Ulagelaam”. In that the last letter is “m”. By joining the first letter of the first Thirumurai and the last letter in the last Thirumurai one can see that it is the holy “OM”. So it can be noted that the Thirumurai is the description of the Pranava itself. It could also be noted that the first consonant “th” is same as that of the first consonant in Vedas!

These Thirumurais are for masses to elites, simple devotees to great yogis, are for married people as well for ascetic. Because they have all the elements the people of various states would look for. While the honey dipped words (Oh, honey is glorified !) of Ththiruvachakam that just is nothing but pure devotion and surrender, Thirumandhiram is a marvelous text on the sophisticated concepts of Yoga Shastram.

The Thiruththaandaham of Appar Peruman are very simple to pass rich concepts even to masses and there are some hymns from Sambanthar that dwells in the beauties of grammar and music.

These have the songs praying for good family and material life at the same time those of devotees like Pattinaththaar who praise the ascetic life against the married !These 12 Thirumurais are arranged in four catagories. They are Thoththiram (stotram) (praise) which are the first nine Thirumurais. Chaththiram (Shastram) (guidelines) which is the tenth Thirumurai namely Thirumandhiram. Prabhantam (assorted) which is the eleventh Thirumurai. (Becuase the songs in this are composed of various language constructs). Puranam (history) which is the twelth Thirumurai. Let these great beacons shower wisdom in our minds !!

Source: www.shaivam.org

The Pancha Nitya Karmas

The Pancha Nitya Karmas means “five constant duties”. The religious obligations, when properly performed, bring holy feet of our Great God Siva and fulfill the basic offering to our religion and ourselves.

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