Shiva: the Lord as white as jasmine

Hari Aum.

I have been wanting to write in praise of Lord Shiva for a long time and today seems like an ideal opportunity.

I would like to start by quoting a poem by a famous poet-saint devotee of Lord Shiva called Akka Mahadevi. She lived in the 12 century in southern India and worshipped Lord Shiva by the name "Chenna mallikarjuna" which translates as "lord as white as jasmine". She was for Lord Shiva what Mirabai was for lord Krishna.

Here is one poem by Akka Mahadevi expressing her devotion for Lord Shiva:

"Him who illumines":

I have seen Him in His divine form,

Him with the matted locks,

Him with the jewelled crown,

Him with the gleaming teeth,

Him with the smiling face,

Him who illumines the fourteen worlds with
the light of His eyes.

I have Him and the thirst of my eyes is
quenched.

I have seen the great Lord whom the men
among men serve but as wives.

I have seen the Supreme Guru Chenna Mallikarjuna
sporting with the Primeval Shakti,
And saved am I."

The Supreme Being, the nameless formless, genderless One has all names and all forms. Some of the many names of this Supreme Being are Shiva, Shankara, Vishnu, Narayana, Skanda, Ganesha, Parameshvara, Parameshvari, Durga, Narayani, Saraswati and so on. There is no end to the names and forms of that Being who is infinite.

Shiva and Vishnu are two well-known names of the One Parameshvara, God with male form.

There is no difference between Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. So says my Guru Sivananda. Shiva is Vishnu and Vishnu is Shiva. The mantras of Lord Shiva lead one to the same Goal of liberation as the mantras of Vishnu- as per my Guru. (Similarly Durga/Lakshmi/Saraswati mantras also lead to the same goal as Shiva/Vishnu mantras).

Shiva is a particularly beautiful form of God. He is depicted as fair in colour, of handsome appearance, with a beautiful face, lotus like eyes and impressive matted locks (through which goddess Ganga, the sacred river, emerges). Although He is the source of all wealth in the world, material and spiritual, His beauty is expressed in simplicity. There are no jewels and silks here, He shines in His own pristine beauty. 

His beautiful form is smeared with ash-  one of the things symbolised by ash is the perishable nature of the world- we all turn to ash in the end (physically speaking). He wears a tiger skin over His lower body, and the King of cobras decorates His neck. On His hair, glitters the crescent moon and in His hand, He holds the trident. His throat is stained blue by the poison He swallowed to protect the world.

The form of Lord Shiva shows beauty in austerity. He is the master of yogis, the supreme Guru. He is the embodiment of all that is pure, spotless and noble.

Mount Kailash is His home where He resides with His wife Parvati and the divine family Ganesh, Kartikeya and His devotee Nandi.

He creates, maintains and dissolves all creation. He has infinite forms including the sweet auspicious form as Shiva, and the fierce form as Rudra. He is known as Ashutosh, one who is easily pleased. Bael leaves are dear to Him. He is Nataraja, the cosmic dancer. 

He is the husband of Parvati (who is known by many names including Uma and Durga). Numerous are His Lilas. There are many mantras used to worship Him- one of the most famous is the sacred panchakshara "Om Namah Shivaya". This is a moksha mantra which leads to bhakti, jnana and mukti as per my Guru Sivananda.
His great mantra the Maha Mrityunjaya mantra grants long life, health, protection from accidents/untimely death and also gives liberation (I chant this mantra always for protection when I start any journey by road, rail or air - a tradition followed by Swami Vishudevananda, disciple of Swami Sivananda).

He is said to have incarnated on earth in the form of the great Guru Adi Shankara in the 8th century. He established Advaita Vedanta, the world's most liberal tolerant philosophy, all over India. Advaita holds that all is God. All forms are that of God. It is the ultimate monotheistic philosophy in that it holds that there is nothing but God. God alone exists. The One appears as many. It grants freedom to the devotee to worship God in whatever form he or she wishes. 

It is sad therefore to hear of people squabble with each other over the superiority of their version of God. This is simply ignorant. It is ignorance to say that Vishnu is superior to Shiva, or that Shiva is superior to Vishnu. Or that Shiva/Vishnu is superior to the Goddess. Or that any name and form of God is superior to any other. Advaita holds that all names and all forms of God are equal and worship of all these are a valid way to liberation, mukti. 

Advaita also holds that God can be attained via a variety of paths- the path of bhakti, jnana, nishkama karma. The right hand path, the left hand path, there are so many paths. We have to choose a path that suits us, and while this may the best path for us (based on our temperaments, samskaras etc), we should understand that other paths may be suitable for others (based on their nature/samskaras). It is foolish to tell other people that their way is wrong. To each their own way. God alone decides which path He/She wants each one of us to take- therefore we have no right to criticise the way of others.

Obviously all spiritual paths, no matter how different they appear externally (in terms of rituals/mantras/names and forms of God), must have some things in common. This common base of all paths is the yamas and niyamas- yogic ethics. Ahimsa (non-violence, cosmic love), Satya (truth), brahmacharya (control of the senses) are three great principles on which all genuine spiritual paths are based all over the world. 

Coming back to Lord Shiva, I am sharing one of my favourite short prayers to Him here (sloka from the Yajur Veda):

Karpura gauram, karuna avataram,

Samsara saram, bhujagendra haram,

Sada vasantam, hridaya aravinde,

Bhavam Bhavani sahitam namami.

Meaning:

The One who is as white as camphor, the embodiment of compassion, the essence of the world, whose garland is the serpent king, who ever resides in the lotus of the heart, to that Lord and His consort Bhavani, I offer my obeisances.

I would like to conclude by quoting another beautiful poem by the saint Akka Mahadevi.

She says:

"I have fallen in love, O mother with the

Beautiful One, who knows no death,
knows no decay and has no form;

I have fallen in love, O mother with the

Beautiful One, who has no middle, 

has no end, has no parts and has no features;

I have fallen in love, O mother with the

Beautiful One, who knows no birth and
knows no fear.

I have fallen in love, O mother with the

Beautiful One, who is without any family,
without any country and without any peer;

Chenna Mallikarjuna, the Beautiful, is my husband.

Fling into the fire the husbands who are subject
to death and decay."

And finally, this is an excellent book by my Guru Sivananda which describes in great detail some methods of worshiping Lord Shiva and attaining His Grace:

http://www.dlshq.org/download/lordsiva.htm

Om Namah Shivaya. 

Om Shri Durgayai Namah

Om Shri Gurave Namah

Hari Aum Tat Sat

P.S. As far as I am concerned, I feel that I am worshiping One Parameshvara who is Vishnu and who is Shiva. That One when He wears silks and sandal paste is Vishnu, the same One when He wears white ash and the crescent moon is Shiva. Both are equally stunning, they are two spectacular forms of the same God.

I dedicate all my mantra purascharana sadhana at the holy feet of Lord Hara, Lord Shiva who is equal to, and the same as, Lord Hari, Lord Vishnu.

Om Namah Shivaya. Om Namo Narayanaya.

Vishnu: Favourite slokas and quotations

Hari Aum.

Just felt like sharing some favourite slokas here (I am fond of many slokas to Devi, Shiva and other forms of God, but as Hari is my favourite form of God, unsurprisingly all my favourite slokas are related to Him):

1.
Kayena vacha, manasendriyairva,
budhyatmanava, prakritisvabhavat,
karomi yadyat, sakalam parasmai,
Narayanayeti samarpayami.

Meaning: Whatever I do with speech, mind, senses, intelligence, the whole of my nature/being, all this I offer to Lord Narayana.

This is a famous prayer to Narayana to help surrender sense of doership. As Sivananda says, it is Narayana/God who is the source of body, senses, mind, intelligence and all things are done by Him alone.

2.

Mookam karoti vachalam, pangum langhayate girim,
yat kripa tamaham vande, paramanandam Madhavam.

That One whose grace grants a mute person eloquence of speech, and which makes a lame person climb mountains, to that supreme bliss Madhava, I offer my obeisances.

3.

 Shantakaram Bhujagashayanam
Padmanabham Suresham,
Vishwadharam Gaganasadhrisham
Meghavarnam Shubhangam.
Lakshmikantam Kamalanayanam
Yogibhirdhyana gamyam
Vande Vishnum Bhavabhayaharam
Sarvalokaikanatham.

Obeisances to Vishnu who is peaceful, who rests on the serpent, with a lotus navel, leader of the demi-gods, the supporter of the whole world, as vast as the sky, dark in colour like the rain clouds, the handsome one, the husband of Lakshmi, with lotus eyes, who removes fears in life, the lord of all the worlds.

4.
Narayana gayatri
Aum Narayanaya vidmahe, Vasudevaya dhimahi, Tanno Vishnu prachodayat.

Narayana gayatri- let us meditate on Narayana, Vasudeva, may Lord Vishnu guide us.

5.

Aum Sri Krishnaya Vasudevaya Haraye Paramatmane, Pranatah kleshanashaya, Govindaya namo namah.

6.

Yada yada hi dharmasya, glanirbhavati bharata, abhyuthanam adharmasya, tadatmanam srijamyaham. Paritranaya sadhunam, vinashaya cha dushkritam, dharma samsthapanatharya, sambhavami yuge yuge.

Sri Krishna's words to Arjuna in the Gita:
Whenever dharma declines and adharma prevails, then I appear. To protect the good and vanquish evil, I appear in every age.

7.

Naham vasami Vaikunthe, yoginam hridaye na cha, madbhakta yatra gayanti, tatra tishthami Narada.

Lord Hari's words to Narada from the brihad-Naradiya purana: I neither reside in Vaikuntha, nor in the hearts of yogis. Where my devotee sings, there I reside Narada.

8.

Harer namaiva namaiva namaiva mama jivanam. Kalau nastyeva nastyeva nastyeva gatir anyatha.

Famous quotation from the Padma purana: The name of Hari alone is my life. In kali yuga, there is no other way (to liberation).

9.

Yatra yogeshwara Krishno, yatra Partho dhanurdhara, tatra shrirvijayo bhutirdhruva nitir-matir-mama

Ekasloki Gita:  spoken by Sanjaya, the last sloka of the Gita:
"Where there is Krishna, the master yogi, and where there is Arjuna, the master bowman, there will be prosperity, victory and righteousness- this is my firm opinion.

10.

Sarvam Shri Krishnarpanamastu

To Lord Krishna, I give my all

11.

Sarva dharman parityajya, mamekam sharanam vraja,
Aham tva sarva-papebhyo, mokshayishyami, ma shucha

Lord Krishna's famous promise in the 18th chapter of the Gita:

Meaning: Leaving all dharmas, come to Me alone, I will liberate you from all sins, do not sorrow.

12.

Shri Krishna sharanam mamah
Shri Rama sharanam mamah

Meaning: Shri Krishna, Shri Rama, please grant me refuge

Hari Aum Tat Sat

Lord Narayana's promise

Hari Aum.

Lord Narayana has made a number of great promises that are well-known. In the Gita, He makes a number of promises regarding the preservation of good, destruction of evil, and granting relief to His devotees from the pains of samsaric existence. We are all familiar with His statements that He will incarnate in every yuga to uphold dharma (goodness/righteousness) and remove adharma (evil/unrighteousness). Also His promise that one who abandons all sense of personal doership and seeks refuge at His feet, will be delivered by Him.

I would like to discuss one particular promise of His however that is mentioned in the Padma Purana. Here Hari and his devotee Narada are having a conversation. Hari says to Narada "Naham vasami Vaikunthe, Yoginam hridaye na cha. Madbhakta yatra gayanti, tatra thishtami Narada".

He says "I do not live in Vaikuntha, nor in the hearts of yogis. Where my devotee sings, there I reside Narada". This sloka is quoted by many, including my Guru Sivananda, as a reason to perform sankirtan- singing the names of God. God is an embodiment of Truth. Truth is given great importance in the spiritual path. God's words are not to be taken lightly therefore. The origins of these words is the embodiment of Truth Himself and therefore the words are also absolutely true.

Of course in truth, God is everywhere. In Vaikuntha, in our hearts, here, there and everywhere. There is nowhere where He is not. However, this sloka is to give importance to the practice of the singing of the names of God as a powerful means to be in the presence of God. People often complain that God feels very far away. Through the practice of kirtan we can invoke His presence and feel Him near us.

Almost as a response to this great promise of Narayana, is the devotee's statement in the Brihan-Naradiya purana. "Harer namaiva, namaiva, namaiva mama jivanam. Kalau naastyeva, naastyeva, naastyeva, gatiranyatha". This means "Hari's name alone, name alone, name alone is my life. In Kali (yuga), there is no other way,  no other way, no other way". The repetition of the phrases three times in each sentences is for added emphasis.

I like to sing these two slokas sometimes when singing by myself (I almost always sing alone as this feels more natural and unrestricted - and I don't have to worry if my singing sounds good or otherwise!). The first sloka is to remind Lord Narayana of His promise to be present where His names are sung (He is present anyway, so it is probably more a way to remind myself that He is present here and now). The second sloka is to make a request to God that the name of Hari should be the basis of my life.

I have a picture of my Guru Sivananda on the wall just above my wooden temple with Vishnu and other deities. My Guru loved kirtan and used to be called 'sankirtan samrat' during his lifetime as he was so keen on promoting this sadhana as an effective means of God realisation. I know he is listening when I sing, his picture looks extremely alive to me. Guru is a principle not a body, and is everywhere, including in the photo. Looking at his photo while singing gives me increased faith and interest in kirtan and the name of God, as my Guru is an embodiment of faith in the Name.

Om Sri Guruve Namah
Om Sri Krishnaya Namah 

Hari Aum Tat Sat.