Tag: Siva

  • Who Is Lord Siva, Nirvana Shatakam

    Realization is going beyond the pairs of Opposites,

    Pleasure and Pain, Happiness and Sadness,sacred and the Sinfulness.

    Nirvana or Moksham or Realization is attaining that where these pairs of Opposites do not affect us.

    Things are what they are.

    Lord Siva s Linga.
    The SivaLinga

    We can not change them.

    As in day today Life, we can not change things, people or events, but we can change ourselves.

    In our Daily life, changing ourselves denote changing into a Mode which is gives us pleasure , comfort.

    Unfortunately, the feelings of Happiness or Sadness are also alien to our Nature, the Nature of the Soul.

    From our mundane life, we know that what gives us pleasure at one point of Time gives us pain at another time.

    Changing ourselves to suit our comfort,pleasure is not solving the problem.

    What does one do?

    Change our Perception, Reaction to things , Events and people.

    In common language’ Be indifferent’.

    Indifference does not mean unconcerned, but concerned without being disturbed by it.

    To cite an example, take the instance of an Assembly Line worker.

    He keeps on doing the work, say fixing Windshields for a Car, day and Day out.

    He does it with monotonous regularity,efficiently but ‘but after a Time, is not even aware of it.

    Also the natural duties our bodies perform, like relieving oneself.

    They are being performed daily but we do not Consciously think of them, except when we have a problem.

    This Attitude is what is meant by being ‘indifferent’.

    This is what Lord Krishna advocates in the sloka ‘Karmanyeva Adhikarasthe’ in The Bhagavd Gita,Chapter 2.

    Transcending the pairs of Opposites is the ultimate attribute of Realization.

    When we adopt this Attitude, there is Nothing Sacred nor sinful in whatever we do, na Punyam, Na paapam’.

    There are instruments or tools to attain Moksha or Realization.

    Mantras, Chanting of sacred Texts or words, Geometric depiction of Reality with Mystical Intonations, Tantras.

    Even these, though they may be tools, also bind you by rewarding you with Good Results, which is a Golden shackle.

    So are the Vedas, Yajnyas.

    Following the Karma Kanda of the Vedas also binds you.

    The performance of Yajnyas lead to bondage y giving Beneficial Results.

    So much so, the ‘Chamaka'(of Sri Rudra Prasna) says ‘Yajnyo Yagyena kalpathaam’, May the resultsof the Yajnyas be sacrificed in this Yajnya.

    ( The difference between a Yaga and Yagnya is that the Yaga is performed with a specific result in mind as a Resolution or Sankalpa, The Yagnya is performed because it has to be performed with out any resolutions.)

    What happens if we follow this path?

    You are not the Enjoyed,the Enjoyed or the process of enjoyment.’Aham Bhojanam Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhoktaa’

    You become ‘Cid-Aananda-Ruupah Shivo[a-A]ham Shivo[a-A]ham’

    You become the Supreme Consciousness,Bliss,That which is always Auspicious(Sivam)

    न पुण्यं न पापं न सौख्यं न दुःखं
    न मन्त्रो न तीर्थो न वेदो न यज्ञ ।
    अहं भोजनं नैव भोज्यं न भोक्ता
    चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ॥४॥
    Na Punnyam Na Paapam Na Saukhyam Na Duhkham
    Na Mantro Na Tiirtho Na Vedo Na Yajnya |
    Aham Bhojanam Naiva Bhojyam Na Bhoktaa
    Cid-Aananda-Ruupah Shivo[a-A]ham Shivo[a-A]ham

  • Arudra Darisanam Lord Siva Facts

    Arudra Darisanam Lord Siva Facts

    The Arudra Darisanam falls on the 26th of December,2015.

    10, Maargazhi Masam, 1937 Shaka, Sri Manmatha Year, Kaliyugam 5115.

    It is the Star in which Lord Siva is assumed to have been born- Arudra or Tiruvadirai in Tamil

    Worship of Siva on this day is considered auspicious.

     

    Lord Siva is called ‘Ayonijan’-the One who does not reside in a Womb.

    Lord Vishnu when he descends to Earth, assumes a particular form and goes through the motions befitting that Birth.

    As in Rama, Krishna, Balarama,Vamana,Parasurama,Narasimha,Matsya,Koorma,Varaha….

    In the first three he undergoes the ordeals one is expected to go through as a Man, while in the others His behavior was in keeping with the characteristics applicable to the Genus.

    Lord Siva, on the other hand, is never born of a womb nor does He undergo the trials and tribulations specific to the Genus.

    He appears from nowhere suddenly , does His job disappears as in Pitukku Mansumanathau.Sundarar episode,etc.

    Siva Facts.

    Siva means ‘prosperity’ ,Mangalam in Sanskrit.

    Siva is not to be confused with Rudra who forms the Trinity along with Brahma and Vishnu, just as one gets confused between Narayana and Vishnu.

    Rudra is One of the 11 Rudras while Vishnu is one of the  12 Adityas.

    This is the reason in Brahmin Marriages,of Aiyars, the ‘Cheer’ is 11 or multiples , and in Aiyangars, it is 12 or multiples thereof.

    ‘Adithyaanam aham Vishnu’

    ‘Rudranaam Sankarosmi’

    Bhagavad Gita.

    Sankara is one who destroys to recreate, Vishnu is One who protects.

    (Vishnu is from the Root Jishnu meaning the Supporter or Protector)

    Siva represents Five Functions.

    Srushti-Creation

    Sthithi-Maintanence

    Samharam-Destruction

    Thirodaanam -Hiding(The Reality) and

    Anugraham(Blessings)

    He is The Laya or the Cosmic Vibration.

    He Dances to His Laya(Cosmic Dance of Lord Nataraja)

    His Moolaksharam or the Mantra that represents and Bonds Him is Panchaakshara-Five Letters.

    Nama Sivaya

    Some pronounce it as Namach chivaaya-this is incorrect

    Lord Nataraja
    Lord Nataraja

    These Five letters represent Five Elements, Pancha butas that make up th macrocosm

    Earth,Water,Fire, Air and Ether.

    It also represents the Panchtendriyaas-(Gnanendriyaas)

    Eyes,Ears,Nose,Skin,Mouth.

    Lord Arunachaleswara.
    Lord Arunachaleswara.

    It represents Five Karmendriyaas,

    Seeing,

    Hearing,

    Smelling,

    Tasting,

    Tactile sensation.

    It also represents the Qualities of

    Sight,

    Hearing,

    Smell,

    Taste,

    Tactile sensations( these five are called Tanmatras)

    He is the embodiment of the Dormant Energy.Animates

    Coupled with Parvati, His consort who is the representation of Dynamic energy, He is complete.

    Siva’s Quality is Hot, therefore we offer Him Vilva , which is cold in Nature.

    He is Hot because He resides in Burning Ghats, Narayana is Cold as He is in Ocean of Milk which is cold(therefore we offer Tulsi to Narayana as it is Hot in Nature.

    His Color is Red Hot Ember.

    He is The Silent Preceptor, Lord Dakshina Moorthy, who teaches through Silence.

    Lord Krishna teaches through Discourse.

    Lord Siva is to be approached as you approach a Guru, while Narayana as Your Father.

    Siva is reprsented as Linga, the Male Principle.

    Arudra Darisanam is celebrated with devotion at Tiruvannamalai, Chidambaram,Tamil Nadu on a Grand scale

    E SWARA-006-Mahaperiava-Discourse on Arudra Darisanam.Part I flv

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  • Shaiva Siddhanta Vedas Advaita 2 Difference

    The term’Siva” or rather His Attributes of appear in only in The later part of The Rig Veda.

     

    ‘Rudra’, literally meaning ‘howler’ appears as The personification of The Destructive Power in the early part of the Rig Veda.

     

    Only in the later part of the Rig Vedas does the term’Siva’ appears  and he is called “Maha Deva’

     

    In Svetevara Upanishad,Siva is shown as knowable through Bhakti.

     

    Personal Theistic concept is introduced thus regarding Siva.

     

    At best  Shaivism can be called as Theistic Non Dualism as an instrument of Realization and not as a System of Non Dualism per se.

     

    The Essentials of Indian Philosophy -Professor Hiriyanna,pages 33-34,175)

    Saiva-Siddhanta/images/Advaita-According-To-The-Saiva-Siddhanta-403.jpg
    Advaita-According-To-The-Saiva-Siddhanta.

     

    In the Vedic text, ‘Ekam‘ means that there is only one and that one is the Pati (Lord). You who say ‘There is one ‘ is the Pasu, bound up in Pasa. The word ‘Advaita’ means that beside God nothing else will exist, as when we say that there will be no other letters (consonants) when the vowel ‘A’ is not.” And the meaning will be clear when the illustration is fully understood. The illustration is that of vowel and consonants i.e.,Advaita According To The Saiva Siddhanta 399andormeaning soul and body.

    Advaita According To The Saiva Siddhanta 402

    “Thevowelbecoming one with the consonants is natural union,” is the Nannulsutra.

    And the illustration of body and mind or soul was what was stated in the first stanza.* So that we have two

    *We are glad to extract the following from Mr. Armstrong’s book, ‘God and the Soul’ wherein he brings out the same analogy.

    “But I would much rather put it in this way: the relation of the physical universe to God is, within certain limits, analogous to the relation of my body to myself. The movement of my tongue as I speak, of my eyes as I glance at my friend, of my hand as I write these words, proceeds from that stream of conscious energy which you may call my mind, my soul, my spirit, my will, or myself- Instantaneously the command of my unseen self flows through my seen self and modifies its attitudes, its gestures, its several and separable parts. But the intimate connexion between myself and my body does not imply that I am my body or that my body is myself, the ‘Ego.’ If they are in absolute alliance they are also in absolute antithesis. Nor, even if you went on to imagine my body the absolute product of my own will, and its automatic and reflex action, the breath, the circulation of the blood, the beating of the heart, the growth of the hair and the nails to be the effect of my will, and my consciousness to be perpetually engaged in conducting these processes, would you be one step nearer identifying me, the’ Ego,’ the self, with this body, but it would be other than the body, above andbeyondit, transcending it, of a nature belonging to a superior order to it, in another and a higher plane than it.”

    http://chestofbooks.com/new-age/spirituality/saivism/Saiva-Siddhanta/Advaita-According-To-The-Saiva-Siddhanta-Part-3.html#ixzz29hrpwYTB

     

    In essence The Reality arrived at by Neti Nyaya is given a Name and Form because the Human Mind can not operate in vacuum and this our Rishis have understood.

     

    Therefore an Easwara is necessary .

     

    But in the final analysis, ‘Realization is the goal and the paths are many.

     

    ‘Ekam Sat, Vipra Bahuta Vidanti’

     

    Truth is One,Learned say it is Many’

     

    Lord Krishna observes ‘Panditas say a lot about Reality, but only one in a thousand really earns after it, yet scarce are people who attempt it’

    It is my conviction that our job is to attempt at Realization rather than which system  precedes which.

     

    My reply continues on the other points.

     

     

  • Is it a Sin or Dosham For Sri Vaishnava Visit Siva Sthalam?

    Differentiating between Siva and Vishnu is in fact a sin.

     

    Sankaranarayana
    Siva and Vishnu in One Murthy.Image Source:http://sankarankoviltemple.in/arulmigusankaranaarayanaswamy_english.htm

     

    Prambanan: Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma temple
    Prambanan: Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma temple (Photo credit: Felix Krohn)

     


    Siva means ‘that which is auspicious(mangalam)’, while Vishnu means “supporter(from the root Jishnu-Vishnum Jishnum,Vishnu Sahasranaama-means support)


    Tri -murthis,Brahma, Vishnu are the three Principles representing three aspects of Reality namely,Creation,Protection and Dissolution and Reality is manifested as an aspect in each and that is not complete.


    In Nirguna(Attributeless) Upasana where Reality is conceived as principles that are attributable we use the terms Avayaya,avakta,aprameya etc(Vishnu Sahasranama); while worshiping as Sauna(with attributes that are the best according to us)(this is a lower level in Self Realization– we use some epithets which we normally use when w praise namely Maheswara,Rama,Krishna,Vishnu etc.


    So, for a Devotee both standpoints -that is worshiping only one ,without worshiping the other, are correct.


    But in the correct Philosophical sense it is incorrect.


    This concept of Siva Vs Vishnu along with other Gods , have been a hall- mark of middle ages in India when Buddhism was on the up-rise for Buddha preached Nihilism or Sunya while people , with a vengeance as it were, to counter him, worshiped many Gods that too one God to the exclusion of others .

    Adi Sankaracharya wanted this Polytheism to be streamlined and established

    SixSystemsShanmatha,Kaumaaram,Souram,Ganapathyam,Saivam,Saaktham, and Vishnavam and declared that one can follow any one of these.


    Unique to Indian Philosophy is the fact is that Self-Realization is intensely personal and no institution is recommended-in fact Vedas do not mention common worship or temple worship at any place-and Self Realization is conditioned by individual Gunas or Dispositions;there fore one can worship Reality in any form he wants so long as his goal is Realization.

    As an aside you may find find common Naamavalis in Vishnu Sahasranaama and Siva Sahasranaama and between Lalitha Sahasranaama and Laksmi Sahasranaama.
    For staunch Vishistadvains-“Akaasat paththam thoyam yatha gacchati Saagam;Sarva Deva Namakaaraha,Kesavam pratigacchadhi”

     

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  • Snake performs Obesiance to Lord Siva.True Story on 15 Dec 2010

    A snake performed obeisance to to Lord Siva on 15 Jan 2010, the day of Solar eclipse.
    In a town near Kumbakonam, about 300 miles from Chennai,Tamil Nadu, a snake was found with its hood spread over the image of the Linga(a sculpted figure in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, which is consecrated and worshiped),climbed down, went to the nearby tree,plucked a leaf three times-vilva,which is used for Lord Siva-and placed it at the feet of the Lord.This has been reported in reputed Daily Dinamalar on 15 January.Tamil version is reproduced here below ,followed by an image of Lord Siva in Linga roopa(shape)

    DinaMalar Link:http://www.dinamalar.com//humantrustdetail.asp?news_id=157

    கும்பகோணம் : தேப்பெருமாநல்லூர் சிவன் கோவிலில், வில்வத்தை பறித்து வந்து அர்ச்சனை செய்த நல்ல பாம்பை, பக்தர்கள் திரண்டு சென்று பார்த்து அதிசயித்தனர். தஞ்சாவூர் மாவட்டம் திருநாகேஸ்வரம் அருகே தேப்பெருமாநல்லூரில், வேதாந்தநாயகி சமேத விஸ்வநாத சுவாமி கோவில் உள்ளது. இத்தலத்தில், விஸ்வநாத சுவாமிக்கு ருத்ராட்சத்தால் மட்டுமே அர்ச்சனை நடப்பது சிறப்பு. நேற்று காலை, சூரிய கிரகணம் நடப்பதற்கு முன், 10.30 மணிக்கு, நல்லபாம்பு ஒன்று கோவிலில் விஸ்வநாத சுவாமியின் மேல் இருப்பதை, கோவில் சிவாச்சாரியார் சதீஷ் கண்டார். பாம்பு, சுவாமியின் மேலிருந்து இறங்கி, நேராக தலவிருட்சம் வில்வமரத்திடம் சென்றது. மரத்தில் ஏறி, வில்வ இலையை பறித்துக் கொண்டு, மீண்டும் சுவாமி சன்னிதிக்குள் வந்தது. பின் வந்தவர்களை பார்த்து சீறியது. சுவாமியின் மேல் ஏறி, தலையில் அமர்ந்து படம் எடுத்தவாறு, சுவாமியின் மீது வில்வ இலையை போட்டது. இது அனைவரையும் மெய்சிலிர்க்க வைத்த காட்சியாக இருந்தது. இது போல் இரண்டு, மூன்று முறை செய்தது. இத்தகவல் பரவியதும், கிராம மக்கள் கோவிலுக்கு வந்து, நல்ல பாம்பை பார்த்து சுவாமியை தரிசனம் செய்தனர்.

    Lord Siva..
    Snake performs Obeisance to Lord Siva-True story on 15 Jan, 2010.