Different Forms of Shiva

SHIVA is the supreme God & the God of Transformation & Recreation. Lord Shiva represents the Trinity of creation, continuation & completion, which is symbolized by the Trimurti, the impressive statue with three faces we can see in the Elephanta Cave on an Island near Bombay. Shiva is the God of Transformation & also the God of giving Moksha which is the relief from the cycle of rebirth.

Moreover, Shiva is taking us from the illusionary world of attachment (Moha), desire (Kama), anger (Krodha), ego (Mada), jealousy (matsarya) and greed (Lobha), making us realize who we are and what our true purpose of existence is.

The power of transformation & completion of Lord Shiva has a great purifying power on a universal level and opens up the path for a new creation of the universe, a new opportunity for the beauty and drama of universal illusion to unfold. Being Truth (Satyam), pure consciousness (Shivam) and divine beauty (Sundaram), Lord Shiva represents the personification of “Shivahood” which is also called “Buddhahood” or oneness as highest state of consciousness, of goodness and godliness.

A crucial moment of the year is the Shivaratri puja held on the festival “MahaShivratri” which takes place once a year and is an invocation of the power of Shiva & his divine consort, Goddess Parvati, inviting their blessings.

Shiva is depicted wearing Rudrakshas on his arms, wrists, neck and hair mat as his favorite ornament. Shiva went into the meditation on Mount Kailash and out of compassion for the world a tear run down on his cheek and transformed into the Rudraksha seed out of which the Rudraksha tree grew.

Shiva wears a cobra around his neck, which symbolizes the journey of life with its ups & downs. It also depicts the Kundalini energy which is dormant at the base of the spine and represents the Shakti and female energy. This energy can be awakened in Shiva Dhyan Yoga and rise up to the crown chakra, which symbolizes the thousand petalled lotus or Shiva, the pure consciousness. Shiva Shakti union means as such the union of the individual consciousness with the higher self or the divine in us.

Additionally, Shiva holds a Trishul (trident) which shows his supremacy over the three dimensions of the time, past, present & future. In another hand Shiva plays the drum (damaru) playing the OM-sound, the sound of origin with which he has created the universe. Often Shiva is depicted holding a Kamandalu (water pot) in his hands with the nectar of immortality and bliss. Shiva wears a tiger skin which conveys that he has conquered lust.

Shiva in the form of a yogi and ascetic sitting in the lotus posture represents the God & founder of Yoga. As such Shiva shows perfect equanimity & mind control & represents the highest consciousness itself or a state which is called Oneness.

In Shiva Dhyan Yoga this state can be achieved after making the mind still when one experiences Oneness or Samadhi.

Shiva Dhyan Yoga has been given from Shiva to Shakti who has then imparted it to the 7 Rishis, the 7 sages in Himalaya.

In Shiva Dhyan Yoga meditation, the mind becomes calm & one reaches to the core of the existence & achieves completion. It is about knowing who you are and about living life with love and loving the life you live.

Forms of Shiva

Shiva takes different forms among which are Ishana, the Shiva Linga, then Tatpurusha, the meditating Shiva, Varna Shiva showing Shiva as the auspicious God who gives blessings), the Mahamrityujaya form of Shiva as the conqueror of Death & giver of immortality, Ghorak Shiva & Shiva wearing Rudraksha malas, the rosaries made with the seeds of the Rudraksha trees.

Shiva in the dancing form is called Nataraj, wherein the dance signifies the creation, continuation, completion & recreation of the universe with its cycles of birth, death & rebirth. Shiva as Lord of dance, represents the Shiva Sutra “the soul is a dancer”, which is a state of awakened awareness & pure consciousness. As dancing Shiva, he keeps down the demon with one feet, representing the ignorance and ego of the human being from which Shiva releases his devotee. The fire around Nataraja Shiva represents purification and transformation, from completion to recreation. Another form of Shiva is Ardhanarishwara, half Shiva, half Shakti, half male & half female.

In the end, Shiva is beyond any form. Shiva represents the entire existence & the nature, the breath of life itself. SHIVA is S= Synergy with the self, H=Harmony for Humanity, I=Initiation & Ignition, V=Vastness & Variety, A=Awakening Awareness.

OM Namah Shivaya

Shiva Guruji Aruneshvar