The philosophy behind the image and symbol of Lord Shiva ...
The image of Lord Shiva that you see in posters, tv, etc. has a philosophy behind it...
1. Blue Body of Lord Shiva
Contrary to the belief that he drank the poison/halahal of the ocean and so his body turned blue, the philosophical reason is that blue is the last colour that our eye can see.
Since the sky is nothing but space and space is limitless, birthless, deathless, boundless, directionless. Hence, Shiva is depicted as blue as he is the last that our aatma knows. He is just like the Sky/space which is limitless, birthless, deathless, boundless, directionless.
2. Bhasma
Smearing of Bhasma is seen as sacred by all shiva devotees called Shaivites. Bhasma is a philosophical reminder to a devotee that.....
“Do not be attached to this material body, to its maya, its kaya and its swaroop because your ultimate reality is the “bhasma”.
"As bhasma a human, animal, tree, guru, shishya, raja, rank none will be discriminated as u can’t discriminate that which bhasma is of a raja and which is that of a cow. hence, Bhasma is a reminder that this body and world are not the true realities” .
3. Trishool
Trishool or the trident of Shiva explains the philosophy of time. The 3 Shools are a philosophical symbol of “Past-Present-Future“.
It is a reminder to the devotee that:
“The existence of past, present and future lies within the hand of MAHAKAAL as he alone is the base on which time stands and he alone is the slayer of time”.
4. Tripunda – Three Stripes on Forehead
The three stripes on forehead called the Tripunda a symbol of the 3 Gunas.
1.Sattva Guna – is harmonious, pure, welfare and construction base, kindness, goodness, creative, balanced
2.Rajas Guna – is confusion, overactive or eager, passionate, self-centered, egoist
3.Tamas Guna – is lazy, heavy, destructive, impure, destructive
5.Damru
It represents the cosmic sound and is called Pranavamand and represents the “Shabda Brahma” or OM. It is from which came out grammar and music.When a damaru is vibrated, it produces dissimilar sounds which are fused together by resonance to create one sound.
The sound thus produced symbolizes Nada, the cosmic sound of AUM, which can be heard during deep meditation.
In the scriptures, it is said that when Shiva mode of creation, his damru vibrates 14 times.
These 14 basic formulae contain all the alphabets in sanskrit arranged in ways to facilitate various grammatical processes. Therefore, the Damaru represents the alphabets, grammar, and language itself.
6. The 3rd Eye of Lord Shiva
Lord Shiva is often depicted with a 3rd eye and called Triyambhkam, Trinetra etc. The third eye is a symbol for Shiva devotees to develop the sight of knowledge. Our two eyes are not always sufficient to judge things and know realities.
Shiva’s third eye represents the rejection of desire.Even a normal man must have Samta(balance), Sadhuta(purity of character) and doordarshita(broader vision).
He must not fall pray to desires arising out of women(other than wife), money(other than that which is earned by sweat and purity), fame(other than that which arises out of sattvic actions.
From Yogic point of view, it is said that when the pineal gland or ‘third eye’ is awakened, one is able to see beyond space time into time space. It raises the frequency on which one operates and moves one into a higher consciousness..
With more research it is being realized that it is essentially a spiritual antenna the mystical third eye of ‘lord Shiva’. For many eons, the third eye has been seen as a way to reach higher levels of consciousness while still being present in a physical body.
The purpose of this third eye is the key here, which opens the door to the metaphysical interpretations that ancient wisdom talks about. The pineal gland is also responsible for secreting two extremely vital brain fluids related to our mental health.
Those are, melatonin, which is the hormone that induces sleep, and serotonin, which is the chemical that helps to maintain a happy, healthy balanced mental state of mind, among other functions.
7.Rudraksha
It has been derived from the Sanskrit roots Rudra(Shiva) Aksha (Teardrop). Hence, rudraksha means the teardrop of Lord Shiva. Since Shiva is Trinetra. Rudraksha is referred to Shiva’s 3RD eye. The eye of knowledge.
Rudraksha is a symbolism to the Shiva devotees, yogis and sadhaks to balance their chakras and energies by wearing it as Rudraksha can lead a person to high spiritual know-how.
8. The Moon Crescent – Ardha-Chandrama
From a scientific and philosophical point of view, the moon on Shiva’s forehead depicts control on time in terms of nature. The waxing and waning of the moon was used to calculate the days and months in earlier times.
Thus, the Moon symbolizes time and Lord Shiva wearing the moon on his head denotes that Shiva has complete control over time and is beyond the measure of time and is eternal.
Control on time and the moon is important to control nature.
An example that i can quote here is the high tides and the low tides that arise due to the gravity of the moon. Hence, it is Chandrashekhara alone who can control time.
9. Snake ( Vasuki )
Shiva’s snake is known as “Vasuki”. Shiva never discriminates among his devotees. Even the most venomous creatures are accepted by Lord Shiva as an ornament.
However, it must be understood philosophically that all good and bad arises from Shiva and finds Mukti in him. Hence, all Rishi, munis, avatars, and rakshas merged back into Shiva.
10. Baghambar Chaal And Yogic Posture
Shiva is depicted sitting on a baghambar chaal in a yogic posture.
This suggests to a devotee that with the practice of Yoga and meditation one can know himself and him who understands his real roopa as “ahm brahmaasmi” or “Shivoham” sits victorious on all his fears. Tiger is an animal that produces fear.
11.Ganga
The Ganga is considered the life source. It’s descend from the matted locks of Lord Shiva is a symbol of a continued flow of mental energies and knowledge which is the source of parmananda.
It is believed that King Bhageeratha performed Tapasya to MAHADEV to bring Ganga on to the earth so that he could help his 60,000 ancestors to be liberated. These ancestors were reduced to ashes by an angry saint (Kapil).
Lord Shiva granted him the boon and to break the flow of the Ganga (so that the great flow don’t lead to destruction on earth), Shiva consumed it in his matted locks.
Maha Shivaratri is a festival that honors Lord Shiva, it is the Hindu festival that is dedicated to the worship of the great Lord. The fourteenth day of every lunar month or the day before the new moon is known as Shivratri.
Among all the twelve Shivratri that occur in a calendar year, the one that occurs in the month of Feb/ March is of the most spiritual significance, hence it is called Maha Shivaratri. Thus, it is believed that worshiping Lord Shiva on this day helps one get rid of all the sins.
Also, it popularly believed that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married on this day.
Two common beliefs include:
2. With the world facing destruction, Parvati asked her husband Shiva to save it by dedicating a night where living souls would become active again and upon worshiping Shiva would have his blessings. Hence, it became known as the night of Shiva.
Also Maha Shivaratri celebrates the night when Lord Shiva performed the ‘Tandava‘, the cosmic dance.
@Shrimaan
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