Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Lord Shiva Redefined

I believe every Indian epic, illustrated mythology and 330 million gods have some logic and scientific reasons for their existence. 

Shiva (Sanskrit: Auspicious One) is one of the main deities of Hinduism trios (Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh) that is worshipped as the paramount lord by the Shaivaite sects of India. Mahesh, Rudra, Omkareswar, Rameshwar, Mallikarjuna, Bhimashankar…. 1000s of names defining him individually.  

Today being an auspicious Maha Shivaratri. Here is my attempt to define Lord Shiva logically.

 Basic Appearance and Attributes.

Shiva is shown either in deep meditation in the kailash (Mt. Everest)  or in the form of a Dancing God Nataraja. Shiva is 'tri netra' or three eyed, and is 'neela kantha' - blue-necked (having consumed poison to save the world from destruction).Besides, there are a lot many attributes associated with Lord Shiva. Below is my logical reasoning which are collected by reading various scriptures and attempt to know more about ayurvedic healing .

Scientific and Logical Metaphors.

Shiva Tandava (Anandatandava):  Fritz of Capra in his article "The Dance of Shiva: The Hindu View of Matter in the Light of Modern Physics," and later in the The Tao of Physics beautifully relates Nataraj's dance with modern physics. He says that "every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction…without end…For the modern physicists, then Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter. As in Hindu mythology, it is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the whole cosmos; the basis of all existence and of all natural phenomena."

The Cobra Necklace: He consumed the poison to save the world from mass destruction after the samudra manthan. This poison in his throat, gives him the name Neelakantha. In ayurvedic healing a mineral poison is counteracted by an animal poison. This cobra venom is the anti-venom for the poison. The cobra necklace is considered as a first aid. 

The Sacred Ganga & Crescent moon: Modern medicine says poison generates immense heat in the body. The Ganga on his head, cools the body and the moon creates tidal waves and helps the steady flow of water.

The Vibhuti: Vibhuti is a three line of ashes drawn on the forehead. Ash as the product of fire is considered intrinsically pure. The cow dung is obtained from the cows that are fed sixteen varieties of medicinal leaves. The dung of these cows are collected after allowing sufficient time for digestion. The collected dung would then be formed into flat cakes and dried in the sun. 108 types of herbs, and twigs ['Samithi'] of high medicinal value are used in the homa in which the dried dung cakes are added. Six types of medicinal leaves are burnt along with these. So this defines a medicinal value.

Tiger Skin*: Lord Shiva stays high in the cold mountains in search of medicines and some say he is in search of peace, the animal hide helps in keeping his body warm. As the tigers are considered as ferocious, other wild animals may reconsider before attacking him. 

Ganja**: (marijuana or cannabis sativa): It is said Lord  enjoys ganja and this is being misused by many shiva followers . The ancient drug soma, mentioned in the Vedas, was sometimes associated with cannabis. Britain have been struggling to demonstrate the merit of drugs derived from marijuana, others have agitated for legalisation of the plant itself.  The ayurveda uses this wonder drug (not in its actual form) in many of its medicinal preparations.


I could go on and on to define everything associated, with logic and scientific reasonings…. And lets modern science prove  and provide us with such mystifying theories.  I would request you to enlighten me with your comments and your contributions to this topic. And please share the link to your friends and relatives if you find this useful. 

 


 * Hinduism doesn’t preach poaching
** Hinduism doesn’t promote illegal usage of drugs        
     
(Disclaimer: I have been contacted by many spiritual preachers, followers and philosophers personally for critiquing the authenticity and reality. Religion being a sensitive issue I do not intend to hurt any religious sentiments of the readers; This is my way of looking at life and searching a logical reasoning behind everything. And thanks each and every sources for helping me write this post, Special thanks to my brother and his teachers)

7 comments:

  1. hey bro good attempt.....keep gng..

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  2. Anonymous1:00 PM GMT+4

    perhaps a more discription of shiva will b gud as to y the snake around his neck , the sun that is behind his head and the THIRD EYE.... :)

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  3. @sreeni thank you for your comment

    @anonymus thank you for dropping by and giving your valuable comment. i guess snake around the neck is been explained above as the cobra necklace.

    By sun did you mean the halo behind the head?
    well all human beings radiate a powerful light that shines far beyond their physical bodies. according to reiki Yellow halo around the head means high spiritual development. A signature of a spiritual teacher. Do not accept spiritual teachings from anyone who does not have such a yellow halo.
    further reading:

    http://www.reikilessons.com/Meaning_of_colors_in_aura.html

    The third eye hmmm I can't define it by any scientific or logical reason yet, coz no human being is been born that way. But in philosophical and spirituality has something else to say... The third eye (also known as the inner eye) is a mystical and esoteric concept referring in part to the ajna (brow) chakra in certain spiritual traditions. It is also spoken of as the gate that leads within to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness. In New Age spirituality, the third eye may alternately symbolize a state of enlightenment or the evocation of mental images having deeply personal spiritual or psychological significance.

    further reading:

    http://www.adishakti.org/_/vertical_eye.htm

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_eye

    Hope that helps you my friend... thanks again for dropping by... i know you will visit again. :) enjoy the stay at my space and don't forget to comment.

    regards

    DuDo

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  4. Anonymous4:49 PM GMT+4

    hmmmm nice study. these are just a few meanings of his appearence. one should also study the meanings of RUDRA'S actions. as it is said brahma is the creator, vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. he is not only the destroyer of the evil at times when he is angry but other times he is the most calm and handsome, compared to any body in our mythology.he is the best example for study of Psycology "when to be calm and when to be horrrorrrrr". we should pray for the calm part of him,not the BHAIRAV AVTAR.

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  5. Typically people do not apply reason to religion. But if they do, they understand it better. I think did in an excellent job. I really like it. I wish I could add more but do not have enough knowledge but I am glad I read your post.

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  6. hey nice attempt...loved it...visit my blog to read a bit about a place called tarnetar in Gujarat. It is one of the biggest 3 temples of lord shiva in the world is what i know about the place. it is very beautiful and has historical background of Mahabharata...do research on the same..i m sure you will love that place... your blog is very nice...

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  7. Ur post made me to get more closer to My Shiva.... it motivated n inpired me a lot..... ;)

    ReplyDelete

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