Sati: the legend of the Shakti peethas

 Hari Aum.

As Navaratri, the celebration of the glories of the Divine Mother, approaches, I would like to write a bit about a famous Puranic legend connected with Her. This is the story of Sati and the creation of the 'Shakti peethas' (sacred sites associated with Her as Shakti; in Sanskrit, the word 'shakti' means 'power' and the Mother as Shakti embodies Divine Power).

 The reason I feel like writing about this topic currently is that I recently received an email that suggested performing worship of a particular form of the Mother that is associated with these Shakti peethas (this occurred as a result of my being on the mailing list of a spiritual organisation that teaches Goddess worship— this is not the exact tradition of my Guru though there are many similarities). 

This was recommended due to the upcoming sacred period of Navaratri (and I have decided to perform this sadhana, and some additional related ones, but will not describe the exact details here— this is because, although it is very much a 'right hand' sadhana, it associated with the tradition of Tantra and may be prone to misunderstanding. I may write another post on this subject later).

So let us study the legend of the Shakti peethas, how these were formed and the reason for their great significance and importance in worshipping the Mother over many centuries up to the present day.

Once upon a time, Lord Shiva and His eternal Consort and Power, Mother Shakti, were in a state of separation (externally that is of course; no separation was ever possible internally). The Mother was in an unmanifested state (without form) at this time, and Shiva retreated to His home at the snowy peak of Mount Kailas and spent all His time absorbed in meditation. 

Over time, a state of great imbalance and negativity manifested in the universe. To correct this and restore a healthy balance, it was deemed necessary for the Divine Mother to take on a physical avatar and unite with Shiva. In order to achieve this purpose, the Divine Mother was born as the daughter of a celestial being called 'Daksha'. He was the son of Brahma, the creative aspect of the Divine, and held an important position (known as 'Prajapati' in Sanskrit) within the material realms assisting his father in creation.

Unfortunately, Daksha was a rather proud and ignorant man. He regarded himself as a great devotee of Narayana/Vishnu. Due to his inability to perceive the oneness of the various forms of God, he regarded all other forms of the Divine as inferior, especially Lord Shiva whom he particularly despised. 

Over time, Daksha and his wife, Prasuti, had a number of charming and beautiful daughters. Their youngest daughter, whom they named 'Sati' (meaning 'one who is the embodiment of Truth) was an avatar of Shakti. She was an exceptionally charming, sweet and intelligent child and Her father and family doted upon Her.

When Sati and Her sisters grew up into beautiful young women, it was deemed that it was time for them to marry. The sisters of Sati married various noble sages and left the family home. Eventually it was Sati's turn, and She had set Her entire heart and mind upon Shiva alone (being His eternal consort, this was natural). 

When the time came, She declared Her wish and intention to seek and marry Lord Shiva. When this news fell upon her father's ears, he was shocked and greatly angered!

How could his own daughter even contemplate such a thing, he reflected! Determined to do everything possible to prevent Her from marrying Shiva, he approached Her and spoke in a manner that he had never spoken before. 

Filled with fury, he stated that he would never permit Her to marry Shiva! Instructing Her to stay away from Him, he declared that She would be cast out of the family forever if She dared to go against his wishes! 

Sati, who had only ever received great love and affection from Her father and family, was filled with great grief at his words. She listened to him silently and, after he had finished speaking, attempted explain Her desire to marry Shiva. 

Her father, however, had no time for any explanations. He angrily left Her quarters stating that She was to obey his orders. He would find Her a suitable groom and She would marry the person he chose-- and that was to be the end of the matter! 

Sati was deeply distraught at Her father's opposition to Shiva. However, as it was Her divine destiny to unite with Him, She sought and found Him and They got married. They experienced great peace, love and contentment as a result of Their divine union.

When the news of the wedding of Sati and Shiva reached Daksha's ears, He was filled with immense rage. 

He declared that his once beloved daughter, was now dead to him! He stated that nobody in the family was ever to utter Her name again and She had ceased to exist as far as he was concerned. 

Sati's mother, sisters and other family members were filled with great sorrow at Daksha's resolve, but were unable to change his mind. They were thus compelled to accept his wishes. Years passed and there was no contact between Sati and Her father or the rest of Her family. 

One day, while in the company of Shiva at Their home in Mount Kailas, Sati noticed a large number of celestial beings passing by. They appeared to be on their way to a grand ceremony of worship. She called to them to ask where they were going, and they replied saying that they had been invited to Her father, Daksha's home. They explained he was going to conduct a great yajna (fire ceremony) in honour of Vishnu and other divinities. 

The only exception was Shiva who would not be honoured in any way at Daksha's ceremony (though it was the tradition that He too ought to have been worshipped). All Her sisters, their husbands and extended family were invited to the grand event. Sati and Shiva, however, had received no invitation. 

Sati was filled with anguish at the thought of Her father not wanting to see Her after so many years. She thought he would surely be willing to forgive his own beloved daughter if only She could meet and speak with him. She told Shiva that They should attend her father's home and that it did not matter that there was no invitation-- She was Daksha's daughter after all and had a right to visit Her own father!

Shiva heard Her impassioned plea in silence. He replied saying that They should not go; it would be unwise, He said, to go to places where one was not invited. Sati was very upset that Her husband did not seem to understand Her feelings. He did not seem to realise the grief and pain that She had experienced in separation from Her family. It was only natural that She would want to try and reconnect with them.

She told Shiva that She would go alone if He was unwilling to accompany Her. She would speak to Her father and make amends. All would then be well, She assured Him, and the rift between Her husband and father would be healed.

Shiva looked at Her with a mixture of immense tenderness and sadness. He told Her that all would not be well if She went, and therefore, She should not go-- She should remain with Him at Kailas where She would be safe. He knew that Daksha had no real devotion to the Divine (whether as Narayana or any other form), and the sole purpose of his worship, was only self-aggrandisement and to humiliate Him by the exclusion. 

However (in accordance with the Divine Lila that was unfolding), Sati was unable to accept Shiva's advice. She insisted that She would like to attend the worship and meet Her family. Bidding Him goodbye, She said that She would soon return and then made Her way to Her parental home where the grand worship of Narayana was about to begin.

As She arrived at the entrance to Her father's magnificent palace, the guards tried to block Her way saying She had no invitation. She told them to stand aside as She was a daughter of Daksha and had every right to be there. 

She then entered the palace and saw that it was filled with divine sages, the demi-gods, apsaras, gandharvas and all manner of celestial beings. The entire area had been decorated beautifully with heavenly flowers and lamps, and the air was fragrant with incense. 

Seeing Her childhood home and family, Sati was filled with great joy. Her mother and sisters saw Her enter and were filled with delight. They rushed to greet Her and they all embraced each other with great affection.

Daksha heard the commotion and murmuring among the guests caused by the arrival of Sati. What was the matter, he demanded. What was all the fuss about! The palace attendants quietly told him that his daughter, Sati, had arrived. Hearing this, Daksha was filled with great rage and indignation. 

Declaring that he had no daughter called 'Sati', he marched over to where She stood just within the entrance to the palace. After severely rebuking Her for coming home, he was still not satisfied. 

To cause even greater pain, he launched into a tirade of abuse against Shiva. (I am not going to describe in detail the negative words he used here, but suffice to say, these were related to the appearance of Shiva, His character, His apparent lack of worldly wealth and so on-- all these statements were based upon spiritual ignorance, which Daksha embodied, and were entirely false).

Sati, who had managed to tolerate the insult and humiliation of Herself, could not bear to hear a word against Shiva. Upon hearing the slander of Him, She became inflamed with a terrible rage (until this time, She had manifested as a sweet youthful woman, with little evidence of Her divine power-- this now changed).  

Blazing with divine wrath, She declared that every word that Her father had uttered against Shiva was completely false-- and that this was only a testimony to his own enormous pride, ignorance and undivine nature! 

She then stated that She did not desire to remain his daughter for an instant longer, and therefore, would give up Her body immediately. Her ears, She said, had been polluted by being exposed to the ignoble statements about Shiva made by Her father. 

He did not know anything at all about Shiva, She declared, closing Her eyes, and fixing Her mind upon His presence within. She then used Her divine power to create a mystic fire that engulfed Her physical body. Her burning body fell to the ground as She departed. 

There was a terrible uproar in the palace upon this occurrence. Previously, nobody had dared to say a word as father and daughter confronted each other, but this was too much for them to bear! Everyone present was filled with great sorrow at Sati's departure, and had a dreadful sense of foreboding of things to come. Daksha however, was briefly startled, but then composed himself and remained unrepentant. 

Meanwhile, at Mount Kailas, Shiva felt the energy of Shakti leaving Her physical body. He felt the immense suffering and grief that Sati had experienced before She left. He had not been affected by Daksha's foolish and ignorant statements about Him (which had been going on for years), but inflicting such suffering upon Sati and causing Her to leave Her body, was completely unacceptable to Him.

Filled with immense grief and divine wrath, He decided to teach Daksha a lesson once and for all. He then drew two strands from His matted locks of hair, and as He did so, the strands transformed into two, exceedingly fierce divine forms-- a male form, called 'Virabhadra', and a female form, called 'Bhadrakali'.

"Go", said Shiva to these divine manifestations, "and teach Daksha a suitable lesson". Virabhadra and Bhadrakali were exceptionally powerful manifestations of divine anger and were frightening to behold. 

In accordance with Shiva's instructions, They set off rapidly for Daksha's home accompanied by various attendants. Upon arrival, They entered the palace and destroyed all the arrangements for the false, egoistic worship that Daksha had wanted to conduct. Next, they turned to Daksha himself. 

Now, in the yogic tradition, the head is said to represent the ego. It represents the intellect. Daksha's conduct over the years, including his behaviour with Sati, had clearly demonstrated beyond any doubt that his intellect was severely corrupted and that he was devoid of virtually all goodness. His mind and intellect were filled mainly with pride, anger and other vicious, undivine qualities. 

As a gesture to relieve Daksha of the burden of this terrible ego, Virabhadra severed his head from his body (this may seem a bit macabre, but this story has an esoteric meaning-- and does not in any way condone anyone severing heads in general! 

It is the egoistic head that needs to be removed for us to make spiritual progress, so that our Higher Self can express itself, so that we can attune ourselves to the Divine-- this is a key message of this Lila. Perhaps this is the reason why, in many spiritual traditions, people bow down before the Divine, placing their heads upon the ground as an act of worship. This symbolises humility and giving up the ego before God).

Upon Daksha's head being severed from his body, there was an outcry at the palace. Shiva Himself appeared at this juncture, and upon seeing Him, various family members pleaded with Him to restore the Prajapati's life. Hearing their prayers, Shiva agreed, and Daksha was revived. He understood that he had been a victim of foolish pride and other negative qualities and repented for his past mistakes. He asked for forgiveness from Shiva who blessed him.

Another fascinating aspect of this Divine Lila now unfolded. Filled with immense grief at Sati's departure, Shiva lifted Her lifeless body from the ground and embraced this; the sight of the body served as a reminder of the injustice and cruelty that She had faced. This filled Him with extraordinary rage and and pain, and unleashed tremendous cosmic forces of destruction from within His being. 

The serene, meditating form of Shiva now transformed into an avatar of cosmic destruction-- Rudra. As He held the body of Sati, He began to dance the dance of destruction, the Rudra Tandava (this is usually conducted at the end of a cycle of creation to pave the way for the next one)!

However, it was not yet time for that cycle of creation to end. Therefore, Vishnu, the Preserver of the universe, stepped in and took action to protect all of creation. He released His divine weapon, the fiery discus known as the Sudarshana chakra, at Shiva. The weapon sped towards Him and swiftly caused the disintegration of the body of Sati.  

Shiva, seeing that there was no longer any physical trace of Sati, withdrew again from the world. Returning to His home at Mount Kailas, He went deep into meditation for many years (until Sati returned as Parvati and They were reunited for ever more-- will try and write another post about this happier event later!).

The disintegrated parts of Sati's body fell on to the Earth and became the famous 'Shakti peethas' (each part of Sati became a unique manifestation of the Mother). These are places that are said to have a potent presence of the personal aspect of the Divine Mother. (They are also associated with Shiva; it is said that He guards each one of these areas in a unique form known as 'Bhairava').

Worship of the Mother in the forms associated with the Shakti peethas is said to grant great spiritual and material blessings.

These places are particularly associated with the practice of Tantra (a specific method of worship of the Divine using certain mantras, pujas, homams and so on). This includes both the ‘right hand’ (dakshina marga) and ‘left hand’ (vama marga) paths of spirituality.

Tantra sadhana should generally always be performed under the guidance of a genuine Guru of the tradition. The student who embarks upon the path of Tantra in particular must have already cultivated a high degree of practice of the yogic ethics (particularly ahimsa, satya and brahmacharya; as without these, there is a very real risk of a serious spiritual fall).

The practice of the Tantric worship of the Divine Mother can range from the recitation of simple mantras to more elaborate types of ritual. The one that I am performing for Navaratri is a relatively simple one advised by a lady Guru whom I respect and regard as a genuine spiritual teacher (though I do not know her personally and have not met her—though I might try to one day). In accordance with the teachings of my own Guru, Sivananda, I am not practicing any elaborate mantras with many beejas and so on as this is not the main spiritual path that I usually follow. 

I do find the Tantric forms of the Mother beautiful and fascinating though, hence the reason I have decided to perform a simple worship of one of these for Navaratri. I may write further posts on the various forms of the Goddess in the Tantric tradition as I learn more and perhaps practice a bit of this type of sadhana.

In summary, there are various messages in the story of Sati, ranging from the dangers of excessive egoism to the importance of being able to see One God in all names and forms (and thus being able to respect all, while practicing one's own spiritual path). And also, most importantly, the power of the grace of God that manifests as various personal aspects that we can connect with and worship to benefit spiritually.

May Mother Sati bless us all with spiritual progress and material happiness.

Om Shaktyai Namah.

Om Namah Shivaya

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

P.S. There are a couple of eclipses coming up in the next two weeks (including one in three days time). These are excellent times for sadhana for spiritual and material progress. Let us chant mantras for the peace and wellbeing of ourselves, our loved ones and the entire cosmos during this time.

Markandeya: devotion and destiny

 Hari Aum.

I hope all readers are keeping well and that your sadhana is going smoothly. My sadhana is carrying on steadily-- I am on holiday visiting family at present and am managing to keep up my daily japa in the midst of all the social activity. I am very relieved that the situation in Asia has calmed down (it was a horrible nightmare to put it mildly—am so grateful to the Divine Mother that the situation has been brought under control. Hope it stays that way).

Anyway, now that that nightmare is behind us (for the present anyway), I thought I would write a post about Lord Shiva's Lila as Mrityunjaya (I have dreamt about this name of Shiva a couple of times including recently which has contributed to my desire to write this post).

'Mrityunjaya' means the 'defeater of Death'. Why is Lord Shiva known by this name? Well, He is of course the Supreme Being who removes the illusion of this mortal world and grants us knowledge of our true immortal, deathless spiritual nature-- and therefore, this name suits Him perfectly.

However, there is also a famous Lila or Divine play related to Shiva as Mrityunjaya. Many of you will be familiar with this famous story already. However, for those who may not be familiar, I would like to narrate this here. 

This story describes the power of 'purushartha' or self-effort. It demonstrates how sheer determination and hard work can enable the spiritual seeker or devotee to overcome the effects of karma and destiny. It describes how the devotee invokes the grace of God to conquer death itself and attain immortality. This, in fact, is the meaning of the famous 'Mahamrityunjaya mantra' of Lord Shiva (will come back to this again later). 

So let us begin the story-- this is originally from the Puranas. Om Mrityunjayaya Namah. Salutations to Shiva, the One who conquers death.

This story centres around the life of Markandeya, a young devotee of Shiva.

Markandeya was born of a rishi and his wife after they had prayed ardently to Lord Shiva to be blessed with a child. Shiva had appeared before the couple and said that He would grant their wish-- they could choose to have a wise and noble child who would be short-lived or an ignoble child who would live long.

The couple chose to be blessed with a spiritual child and Markandeya was born. His parents were overjoyed at his birth though this was mixed with sorrow due to the knowledge that he was destined to die at the age of sixteen. 

They showered their love upon Markandeya who blossomed into a wonderful young boy. He excelled in all aspects of spiritual life, both jnana (wisdom) and bhakti (devotion). He mastered the Vedas with ease and developed strong devotion to Lord Shiva whom he worshipped daily.

The sage and his wife rejoiced as they saw their child grow and reveal his talents but secretly grieved as each year passed by. They had not told Markandeya about his destiny but, as his sixteenth birthday approached, found it difficult to conceal their sorrow.

One day, Markandeya noticed his parents seemed to be plunged in grief, and asked them what the matter was. What, he asked, was this secret sorrow that they seemed to harbour all the time and which appeared to rob them of the ability to enjoy their lives fully. 

They initially declined to tell him, but upon much persuasion, gave in. They explained that he had been born as a result of a blessing from Lord Shiva and that his destiny was to die upon attaining the age of sixteen.

Markandeya heard of his destiny in silence and spent some time contemplating upon this. He then addressed his parents, resolutely assuring them that all would be well. Telling them not to grieve, he declared that he would conquer his destiny by attaining the grace of Shiva Himself. His parents blessed him and made a prayer for success in his sadhana and the boy began his worship in right earnest.

He immersed himself in worshipping Lord Shiva dedicating every moment to Him alone. He remembered Him constantly and performed various rituals to worship Him daily (such as puja, homam and so on). Thus Markandeya became a true devotee of Lord Shiva, reaching the pinnacle of bhakti, and the state of atma-nivedana (or self-surrender).

The sixteenth birthday of Markandeya now dawned. On this day, like every other, the boy arose early in the morning and commenced worship of Lord Shiva. He performed a puja of a Shiva linga (symbolic abstract representation of Lord Shiva) while reciting His names and mantras. 

As he did so, Lord Yama, the demi-god of death, approached, a fearsome figure of dark hue, riding upon a large black bull with sharp horns. The appointed hour, the time for Markandeya's death, had arrived.

Seeing Markandeya, Lord Yama called out to him saying his time on Earth was up. It was time to give up his body and all worship. Whatever had been achieved had been achieved, and there was no further time available for more. Markandeya, however, did not notice Yama at all. He remained with eyes closed, absorbed in contemplation upon Lord Shiva. 

Seeing this, Lord Yama called out to the boy more loudly, declaring that it was time to leave and that death waited for nobody. Markandeya now opened his eyes and, upon seeing Yama, told him that he had not yet completed his worship. He was not ready to depart the Earth, he said.

Yama, who was familiar with souls who were not yet ready to leave, now took up his famous noose (this noose was the tool he used to remove the unwilling soul from the body and thus give death). He then threw the noose around Markandeya, intending to draw his soul away from his body. 

Markandeya, however, seeing the noose coming towards him, threw his arms around the Shiva linga that he had been worshipping. The noose of Yama thus fell upon both upon the boy and the Shiva linga. 

As the noose of death tightened around Markandeya, he concentrated his mind upon Shiva with intense devotion and uttered the following words:

Markandeya said:

Om Trayambakam yajamahe,

Sugandhim pushti vardhanam,

Urva rukamiva bandhanan,

Mrityor mukshiya mamritat!

This means:

Om - syllable that is the Supreme Being in sound form

Trayambam- O Three eyed One (Shiva has two eyes and the third one in the centre of His forehead which is a symbolic 'spiritual eye'. This third eye opens when He wishes to unleash His destructive power to dissolve the cosmos)

Yajamahe- I worship You

Sugandhim- the One who is fragrant (symbolic of being filled with virtues)

Pushti vardhanam- the One who nourishes all beings

Urva rukamiva bandhanan- as a ripe cucumber is released from the stalk

Mrityor mukshiya mamritat- free me from the bondage of death and grant me immortality

These words comprise the famous Maha Mrityunjaya mantra of Lord Shiva. It is said that Markandeya is the sage who first revealed this mantra to humanity.

As the boy uttered these words, it is said that a terrible sound was heard and Shiva Himself emerged from the linga. He had come in response to the ardent prayer of His devotee. 

Glaring at Yama, He rebuked him for daring to cast his noose around His devotee and upon the Shiva linga. Filled with Divine wrath, He gave death to Death himself and Yama fell to the ground lifeless. 

Thus, Shiva came to be known as 'Mrityunjaya', the One who is victorious over death, and as 'Kalantaka', the One who ends time or death.

Having dealt with Yama, Lord Shiva now turned to Markandeya and blessed him. Declaring that He was greatly pleased with his devotion, He stated that Markandeya would live in the form of a sixteen year old youth for as long as the cosmos existed. 

Markandeya was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude at the appearance of Lord Shiva and venerated Him with many hymns.

Upon realising that Yama had been given death, the other demi-gods/devas were greatly distressed. Who, they asked, would now perform the important task of overseeing the departure of souls from their bodies in the mortal realms? Who would keep an account of the karma of souls and dispense justice in accordance with Divine will? Lord Yama simply had to be brought back to life to perform this vital task, they declared!

The devas thus approached Lord Shiva and ardently prayed to Him to bring Yama back to life. Hearing their pleas, Shiva relented and granted their wish. Yama thus opened his eyes as life returned to his body. Upon seeing Lord Shiva, he bowed to Him asking for forgiveness and then departed for Yamaloka, his own realm. 

Having blessed Markandeya and Yama, Lord Shiva departed. The young sage then went to his parents who were overjoyed to discover that their son had overcome his destiny.

Markandeya went on to become a great sage in his own right and a Guru to many disciples (there is an entire Purana named after him). The Mahamrityunjaya mantra (described above) that he revealed to humanity has been recited by many Gurus and their disciples over the centuries.

In the Vedic tradition, the recitation of this mantra is said to grant both spiritual and material benefits. Aside from the spiritual benefits (it is a great 'moksha' mantra or granter of Self Realisation), it is a particularly important mantra for preservation of health/overcoming karma related to disease, and prevention of accidents/untimely death. In many spiritual traditions (including the lineage of Sivananda), this mantra is recited on people's birthdays and when they are unwell to pray to Shiva for health and a happy, prosperous life (it is also recited after death to pray for the peace of departed souls).

The legend of Markandeya thus gives encouragement to every soul to overcome unfavourable destiny through the power of devotion. He teaches us that we too can, by self-effort or 'purushartha', draw the grace of the Divine upon ourselves, and thus overcome death and attain knowledge of our true spiritual nature.

Om Mrityunjayaya Namah. Om Kalantakaya Namah. Om Namah Shivaya.

Salutations to Lord Shiva, and to His great devotees, sage Markandeya and Lord Yama, who participated in this Divine Lila.

Om Sri Durgayai Namah. 

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

The Kala Bhairava ashtakam

 Hari Aum.

Kala Bhairava is a form of Lord Shiva. He has a fierce form and is particularly associated with the destruction of sins and death (in Sanskrit, 'kala' means 'time', and 'Bhairava' means the 'fierce One').

Lord Shiva has two main aspects-- a sweet, peaceful, auspicious form  (I have described this in a previous post https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/803812822913447625/6919573210704216119).

However, He also has another aspect-- a furious, tremendously energetic form that destroys sin, suffering and negativity. 

Kala Bhairava is one of His particularly fierce forms and is an embodiment of divine power. He is described as being blue-black in colour (like His divine consort, Mother Kali/ Bhairavi). His dark matted locks are decorated with the crescent moon, and celestial serpents ornament His person (as garland, amulets and anklets). 

Like Mother Kali, He holds a skull, symbolising complete annihilation of the lower ego (symbolised by the head). He holds the trident and sword, His divine weapons to destroy suffering, disease and death. He holds the drum, the symbol of cosmic sound and all Creation. 

Although He is extremely fierce in appearance and in His deeds, He is said to have a gentle compassionate aspect, and is particularly known for granting protection (He is known for being a protector of anyone who is vulnerable and of women in particular).

The worship of Kala Bhairava is undertaken by those who walk both the right-hand (dakshina marga) and left-hand (vama marga) spiritual paths. He is worshipped by Tantriks and Aghoris as well as Vedantins. He is worshipped by many for both spiritual and material benefits.

His worship is said to be associated with intense cleansing of past negative karma, thus paving the way to experiencing peace, bliss and spiritual enlightenment. 

There are various famous prayers and slokas dedicated to Him. One particularly well-known one is the Kala Bhairava ashtakam. 

These eight verses in praise of Kala Bhairava were composed by Adi Shankaracharya, great Guru of Advaita Vedanta. 

Listening to or reciting this prayer is said to produce great spiritual benefit in terms of overcoming the effects of past negative karma and experiencing spiritual joy and material wellbeing.

Please see below for links to the Kala Bhairava ashtakam (words and set to music): 

https://greenmesg.org/stotras/shiva/kalabhairava_ashtakam.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkmaPmCRiJA

I discovered the Kala Bhairava ashtakam recently and feel drawn to listen to it these days. It feels like the worshipping the other half of Mother Kali whom I have worshipped for a while (including recently when I visited our family temple dedicated to Her in Kerala). I have been to Kashi previously and would like to visit again sometime when possible and offer worship at the Kala Bhairava temple.

Om Sri KalaBhairavaya Namah.

Om Sri MahaKalikayai Namah.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat

P.S. In these complex times on our planet, it would be useful to pray to Lord Kala Bhairava to protect the Earth, dispel all negative energies and to allow peace to be restored.

P.P.S. Based on some recent experiences, I feel the worship of Kala Bhairava and Mother Kali will help twin souls cleanse themselves of the effects of past negative karma, attain a state of inner peace and achieve a harmonious reunion in the 3D in a form that is in accordance with Divine will.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

Bala Kanda Part 7: The legends of Ganga and Ahalya

Hari Aum.

Om Sri Ramaya Namah.

In the previous post on the Ramayana, we saw Sri Rama begin the work of His avatar on Earth to protect the good and destroy evil. We see Him rid the forest of demonic beings and grant safety to the sages engaged in spiritual practices.

Sri Rama and His brother now set off with the sages to the kingdom of Mithila to witness the worship of the divine bow of Lord Shiva. 

Their journey through the forests took a few days and as they walked, they engaged in many interesting conversations with the sages and learned about various subjects. A lot of the conversations began by Sri Rama asking Vishvamitra to tell Him about the history of a particular place or river that they saw. 

During the course of these discussions, Vishvamitra told Sri Rama a bit about his own family (his sisters and their marriages; one of his sisters had taken on the form of a sacred river known as 'Kaushiki'!). 

They also passed by the sacred river known as the Ganga, which represents a form of the Divine Mother. Rama asked about Her origin, and this led to an extremely detailed discussion about the Ganga, Mother Parvati, Lord Shiva and Kartikeya. (This is explained in very great detail in the Ramayana; I will provide a relatively brief summary here).

The deity of the Himalaya mountain known as Himavan, and his wife, Menaka, had two daughters. The older was Goddess Ganga and the younger was Goddess Parvati. 

Goddess Ganga had the capacity to purify anyone She came into contact with. The demi-gods thus requested Her presence in their celestial realm, Svarga, and so She went to reside with them. 

Goddess Parvati performed severe penance, against the wishes of Her parents, and achieved Her desire of marrying Lord Shiva. Their union led to the birth of a son, Kartikeya, who became the leader of the army of the demi-gods. 

In the meantime, various events took place upon Earth that led to the Goddess Ganga being brought from the celestial realms to this planet (the Ganga is said to flow in three realms-- heaven, Earth and the underworld). 

This in itself is a long story but, in essence, Her waters were needed to purify and release the negative karmas of a group of royal princes who had been cursed by a divine sage. Three generations of kings of this royal family (who were none other than Sri Rama's ancient ancestors) performed intense austerities to please the divine Creator, Brahma to obtain the boon of having the Ganga come to Earth. The first two Kings were unsuccessful, but their descendent, King Bhagiratha, finally succeeded in pleasing Brahma with his austerities. 

After granting the boon to King, Brahma reflected that the Earth would not be able to bear the tremendous force of the direct descent of Goddess Ganga from the celestial realm. He therefore told King Bhagiratha that he needed to perform further austerities to obtain Lord Shiva's help regarding this matter.

After the King performed further intense austerities, Lord Shiva appeared and said that He was pleased with him. He told him that He would allow the Ganga to flow through His matted locks of hair to enable Her to make a safe descent to Earth.

Thus, the lovely Goddess Ganga, daughter of King Himavan, prepared for Her journey to the Earth. She now assumed the form of an immensely great and powerful river. As She was about to descend upon the sacred head of Lord Shiva and enter His hair, She privately wondered if He would truly be able to handle Her power. She doubted it and reflected that She would probably end up flowing directly to the underworld carrying Him with Her! 

Lord Shiva, seeing Her pride, was not at all pleased and decided to give Her a fitting response! And so, as Goddess Ganga flowed into His hair, She found Herself in a vast realm similar to that of the Himalayas. She wandered about for a long time trying to find a way out but discovered that She was completely lost!

Meanwhile, King Bhagiratha, who had been anxiously awaiting Her arrival on Earth to free his ancestors, saw what had happened. He then performed another round of intense spiritual practices to please Lord Shiva and secure the release of Ganga from His hair!

The King finally succeeded, and at long last, the moment came for the Ganga to flow upon the Earth. Knowing that this would be a unique and spectacular sight, the demi-gods, divine sages and other celestials gathered together in the heavens in great excitement to watch. 

They saw Goddess Ganga emerging from the matted reddish-gold locks of Lord Shiva, and entering the Himalayas. As She flowed onto the Earth, there was tremendous sound, and great sprays of water rose high up into the air, forming foam that appeared like little white clouds. Numerous fish, dolphins, snakes and various other creatures were seen within Her sparkling waters.

King Bhagiratha was overwhelmed with joy to see that his penance had finally borne fruit. He now set off, accompanied by the Ganga, to a faraway place within the underworld where his ancestors had been cursed by sage Kapila and reduced to ash. The Ganga became a broad and fast-flowing river as She followed him. When She flowed over the ashes of the royal princes, their souls were purified of all past negative karmas, and they entered the celestial realms rejoicing.

Sri Rama and Lakshmana were enthralled to hear about the legend of the Ganga and the efforts of their ancient ancestors in bringing about Her arrival on to Earth. As it was now night time, Vishvamitra said that they should all get some rest. They went to sleep and, upon rising the next day, continued their journey towards Mithila. 

On the way, they reached the wonderful city of Vishala where they would spent a night before reaching their destination. Rama wanted to know about the history of this area too, and this led to another interesting discussion with Vishvamitra. This place was connected to a divine lila of Narayana which involved the churning of the divine milky ocean by the devas and the asuras (I have explained this lila elsewhere on this blog--the post on eclipses dated August 2017-- so will not describe it again here).

King Sumati, the ruler of Vishala, was delighted to hear the news of the arrival of the sages and the two princes, and warmly welcomed them. After ensuring that they were all well-rested and had eaten a delicious meal, he curiously asked the sages who these two princes of divine appearance were. 

The sages explained that they were the sons of King Dasharatha, ruler of Ayodhya. They told King Sumati that the Princes had been of great help in ridding the forests of asuras and in granting them protection. The King was wonderstruck and delighted to hear of the valiant deeds of the Sri Rama and Lakshmana and they all spent a very pleasant evening together.

The next day, they bade farewell to King Sumati and set off for Mithila.  After walking for a while, they arrived at the outskirts of the kingdom which appeared to be filled with great beauty and splendour. 

As they all gazed upon Mithila and praised its beauty, Sri Rama noticed a small hermitage not far from where they stood and asked Vishvamitra to tell Him about it. The sage explained that it was a place associated with misfortune and went on to tell the tale.

The hermitage had been the home of the noble sage, Gautama, and his exceedingly pretty wife, Ahalya. The two of them had performed spiritual austerities there for many years. One day, the sage went to the river to bathe and perform some worship. 

Upon his departure, Indra, King of demi-gods, and husband of the demi-goddess Sachi, appeared at the hermitage. Using his divine powers, he now assumed the form of Ahalya's husband, Gautama. Entering the hermitage, he beheld the beautiful Ahalya and addressed her with charming words. 

Declaring that those who desired enjoyment did not care for rituals related to appropriate timing (it was the tradition then to have intercourse based on favourable times of the menstrual cycle), he declared his desire to sleep with her at once.

Ahalya, using her own divine powers, recognised that the person in front of her was Indra in the guise of her husband, rather than the sage himself. As she too desired Indra, she agreed to his request and they slept together. Afterwards, they felt very satisfied and pleased with themselves, but then wanted to avoid being caught by sage Gautama who was known for his tremendous ascetic power!

Ahalya therefore requested Indra to leave the hermitage immediately, saying that he should guard both himself and her from her husband ever finding out about their deed. Indra, who was highly pleased, laughed and declared that he would depart as unobtrusively as he had arrived. He then took leave of her, walking quickly and hoping to avoid encountering the sage.

However, just as Indra approached the door of the hermitage, he saw sage Gautama entering, carrying sacred grass and wood for a fire ritual. The two Gautamas now stood facing each other-- one filled with anxiety and with lowered eyes, and the other glaring with intense wrath!

Realising what had taken place, the enraged sage Gautama pronounced a curse on both Indra and Ahalya. For his misdeeds, he declared that Indra would immediately lose his masculinity (this led to Indra being instantly castrated; he later sought the help of the other demi-gods and corrected this with some difficulty!).

Turning to his wife, Gautama declared that she should perform intense penance at the hermitage for several years to expiate her sin. He told her to remain there without food or water, and surviving on air alone. Declaring that she should henceforth sleep on ashes on the ground, and be filled with remorse, he stated that her beautiful form would, from now onwards, be invisible to all beings in the material realms.  

He told her that Sri Rama would visit their hermitage in the future, and she would be purified of all sin only after meeting Him. After this had occurred, he said that he would accept her back as his wife. Sage Gautama then left the hermitage and went to the Himalayas where he continued his spiritual practices.

After narrating the legend of Ahalya, Vishvamitra led Rama to the hermitage. As Sri Rama entered, His eyes fell upon Ahalya, who by now had an extraordinarily bright divine aura as a result of years of penance. 

In accordance with tradition, Sri Rama and Lakshmana touched her feet as a mark of respect. She in turn, welcomed them and Vishvamitra to the hermitage with great reverence and offered them food, drink and hospitality. 

After meeting Sri Rama in this way, Ahalya regained her original visible celestial form, and the demi-gods and other celestials rejoiced and showered flowers from the heavens upon them all. Sage Gautama now returned to the hermitage and joined his wife in worshipping Sri Rama (they then resumed their life at the ashram and performed spiritual austerities together once again).

After this auspicious event, Sri Rama took leave of sage Gautama and Ahalya, and left for Mithila with Lakshmana and the sages.

To be continued......

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

Natya Veda and Lord Nataraja

 Hari Aum.

Many of us would be familiar with term 'Veda'-- this term represents spiritual knowledge that was intuited by seers or 'rishis' in ancient times. There are four well-known Vedas-- the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda and the Atharva Veda. The knowledge of the Vedas was preserved from ancient times to the modern day by a rigorous system of teaching (that requires the student to spend years memorising the ancient texts and perfecting the pronunciation and intonation of mantras). 

As part of my recent study of Bharatanatyam, I have come to discover the existence of the Natya Veda; some people refer to this as the 'fifth Veda'. I find the legend of the origin of the Natya Veda interesting and will explain a bit about this here.

According to our scriptures, a very long time ago, during the Treta Yuga (the second yuga after the Satya Yuga), the devas (demi-gods) observed that the spiritual consciousness of human beings was declining. People were less inclined to contemplate the divine and thus experienced more negative thoughts. This led to an increase in the number of conflicts and suffering on Earth.  

The devas were greatly concerned by this situation and desired to help humanity. They approached Brahma (the creative aspect of the Supreme Being Narayana) and requested him to find a solution.

Brahma listened to their concerns and assured them that he would help. He went deep into meditation and the answer was revealed to him. He intuited that music and dance was the answer to humanity's problems.

Music and dance that would elevate the restless, negative human mind to sublime spiritual heights was what was required he said. This would allow people to feel the Divine within themselves and others and thus experience bliss.

Brahma took an element from each of the four existing Vedas (e.g. words from the Rig Veda, music from the Sama Veda and so on) and synthesised a unique and beautiful scripture dedicated exclusively to the arts-- this was the 'Natya Veda'. This explained in great depth the use of various types of music (both vocal and instrumental) and dance to express devotion to the Divine. 

He taught this Veda to a sage known as Bharata. The sage Bharata then compiled this knowledge into a famous text known as the 'Natya Shastra'. He then gave this knowledge to his sons, who taught it in turn to their disciples (both celestial and human). Thus, the knowledge of the Natya Shastra was preserved for many centuries via the Guru-disciple tradition.

After imbibing the knowledge of the Natya Veda, the devas decided to put up their first performance-- this was known as 'Asura Parajaya' (meaning the defeat of the demons, the arch enemies of the devas). The asuras came to know about the production of this play and were furious. They were determined that the play should not go ahead and vandalised the building and attempted to attack the artists.

Brahma then commanded the divine architect of the demi-gods, known as Vishvakarma, to construct an extremely strong and secure theatre that would withstand any attack by the asuras. Vishvakarma did as requested and the devas were delighted to be able to put up their first performance (related to the churning of the milky ocean and the procurement of the divine amrita/nectar).Various illustrious guests were invited to attend the play including Lord Shiva, the Divine Mother Parvati and Lord Narayana. 

After watching the play, Lord Shiva was very pleased. He decided to bless the performers by revealing to them the knowledge of His own sacred dance. He taught this knowledge to a beloved disciple known as Tandu. The disciple then went on to teach this to others; thus this dance of Shiva came to be called 'Tandava' (this dance is a highly energetic one that reflects the power and glory of the masculine aspect of the Divine). 

Mother Parvati too was most delighted by the performance and taught Her beloved disciple, Usha, the knowledge of Her form of dance. This is a more gentle, feminine style of dance and is called 'Lasya'. Usha then shared this teaching with others (including later, the gopis). 

Over the centuries, many great Gurus of classical music and dance have studied the Natya Shastra of sage Bharata and written further texts and commentaries upon this. One particularly famous work is the 'Abhinaya darpana' of Nandikeshvara. This Sanskrit text contains detailed information about dance-- the use of various hand gestures, movements, expressions and more. For instance, it explains the 'mudras' (hand positions) used to represent the deities, the nine 'grahas' (planets), the various avatars of Narayana and so on. It is this text that I have been studying in the past year as part of my learning of Bharatanatyam.

As part of my study for my upcoming examination in Bharatanatyam (there is a theory and a practical portion), I have been asked to contemplate upon Lord Nataraja and the message that He represents. Nataraja is a manifestation of Lord Shiva. I regard Him to be one of the most beautiful manifestations of the Divine and would therefore like to write a bit about Him here. 

In Sanskrit, 'nata' means 'dance', and 'raja' means 'king'; thus, 'Nataraja' means 'King of dance'. In this manifestation, Shiva is portrayed in a dramatic and beautiful form (unlike His popular serenely meditating form, here He is highly active and energetic as He dances). 

He has four hands-- in His upper right hand, He holds a special type of drum (shaped like an hourglass and called 'damaru' in Sanskrit'). The drum represents 'Shabda Brahman', or God in the form of sound (this includes all mantras). The sound generated by this sacred is Om, and it is said to be the origin of all the alphabets of the Sanskrit language and all sound. 

His left upper hand holds a ring of fire that surrounds Him. This fire (Agni) represents the cosmic fire of destruction that occurs at the end of a cycle of Creation so that a new cycle can begin. His other hands are held in a posture to grant blessings and protection to His devotees (abhaya mudra). 

He stands with His right foot placed over a being known as Mulayaka; this being symbolises all that is dark, negative and spiritually ignorant in Creation. By standing upon this being, Nataraja symbolises conquest over the lower forces in the Universe. His left foot is held above the ground and crossed over His body indicating the vigour and energy of His dance. 

Like the serene meditating form of Shiva, this energetic and active form as Nataraja, also has long, matted hair through which the sacred river, Ganga, flows (She represents the waters of immortality). He too has the crescent moon in His hair, representing conquest over the mind.

The essence of the form of Nataraja is said to be the great panchakshara (five syllabled) mantra of Lord Shiva, namely "Namah Shivaya"

The dance of Nataraja is said to represent the Divine Lila of Creation, preservation and dissolution of the Universe. According to Sivananda, He dances in order to free jivas (individual souls) trapped within the cycle of birth and death known as samsara.

I came across a wonderful composition by Maharishi Patanjai recently known as the Nataraja stothram (prayer to Nataraja). It is a poem in Sanskrit and the image of Nataraja it portrays is exceptionally beautiful. (I confess I am totally smitten and now aspire to have His darshan in addition to Lord Narayana and Mother Durga! They are all One of course. In my mind's eye now when I meditate upon Narayana, in His heart centre, I see Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, as described in this poem and what a wonderful sight it is!)

I will conclude by sharing Sivananda's wonderful work on Lord Shiva (there is much written about Nataraja and Tandava here): https://www.dlshq.org/download/lord-siva-and-his-worship/#_VPID_37

I would also like share the beautiful Nataraja stothram that I mentioned above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBjOaBqYI4c

Om Salutations to Lord Nataraja, the manifestation of the grace of God in the form of beautiful dance. May He bless us all with His darshan.

Om Sri Natarajaya Namah.

Om Namah Shivaya.

Om Sri Durgayai Namah.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

Sivananda on dreams

Hari Aum.

Most of us have experienced dreaming at night. The underlying reason for dreams is not well-understood in modern science. There are various theories for the existence of dreams, ranging from the brain processing information to manifestation of hidden desires. There remains uncertainty in the scientific world, however, as to the precise cause and purpose of dreams.

The yogic opinion on dreams is complex and interesting. Yogis believe there are four states of consciousness. They say that three states are experienced by everybody, namely the waking state, the dream state, and the deep sleep state. The fourth state is the state of superconscious awareness (self-realisation) that is believed to be the destiny of all beings (though in practice, only a few strive for and attain this at any point in time).

Yogis believe that there are various types of dreams. Some dreams are indeed the result of the mind processing experiences of the waking state. Other dreams are said to be the expression of impressions or 'samskaras' from previous births. Some dreams are granted as the fruits of karma- one can work out the results of past karma in dreams.

Some dreams are said to be signs or guidance to us - these are prophetic dreams, they may be signs of positive or negative experiences that we will experience in the waking state in the future.

My guru, Sivananda, has written a detailed book explaining the yogic view on dreams- see link below for this. At the end of the book, he describes a number of dream symbols and their meanings- this is quite interesting.

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

The ultimate yogic viewpoint is that the waking state and the dream state, both of which feel very permanent when we exprience them, are both transient. Yogis regard the waking state as a prolonged 'dream' in the sense that this state, like the dream state, is ultimately a fleeting non-permanent unreal experience. The yogi engages in spiritual sadhana in order to transcend the three lower states of consciousness, and attain the highest fourth state, the superconscious self-realised state where permanent peace, wisdom and bliss are experienced.

Sivananda says, in his books on dreams, that dreaming of God is a fortunate experience which indicates future success and elevation. I have been through a very stressful time recently due to various difficulties at work and at home. Frankly I felt in need of some encouragement from God.

Two nights ago, on MahaShivaratri night (Feb 13), I had an interesting dream. I dreamt of Lord Shiva. In the dream, I was in a Shiva temple with my parents and, in front of us, was a beautiful Shiva linga made of black stone. Shiva's three eyes were on the statue and two of them were open (they were a green colour), and He talked to us. He gave my parents some advice and then said something to  me in a language I do not understand in the waking state (though it made sense to me in the dream!)- in the morning, I felt this was either Sanskrit or Tamil, and I am able to speak neither! Anyway I woke up feeling happy that I had dreamt of Shiva.

Due to work pressures, I had not done any elaborate worship for Shiva during the day or night for this Shivaratri. I simply did the usual ashtakshara japa, including before sleeping, and reminded myself that Shiva and Narayana are One- therefore when I worship Narayana, I am worshipping Shiva too. I was therefore quite surprised to have a dream about Shiva as I think of God mostly as Krishna or Narayana.

 Anyway, I hope that, in accordance with my Guru's words, this dream indicates some positive developments in spiritual life, and hopefully in my worldly life too. It is not everyday that I dream of God, so this experience was interesting. I have never before had a dream where God directly talked to me. In terms of other spiritual dreams, some years ago, I dreamt of a Goddess temple with a young girl who was sitting and watching me closely- when I woke, I felt this girl represented the Goddess. Another time, many years ago, I dreamt I saw Krishna in a dream- He was going somewhere, and looked at me but did not speak. I have also dreamt of my Guru Sivananda and his disciple Chidananda. That's about it in terms of spiritual dreams. I also find that, when I sit to meditate in the morning, I get flashbacks of my dreams from the previous night- as if, memories of these are just below the surface of my conscious mind and they naturally arise when I quiet my conscious mind a little during mantra japa. Anyway, whether or not dreams indicate anything important, I guess one should spend more time thinking of God and less time analysing one's dreams, and so I will conclude here!

Hope we wake up from all dreams, both in the waking and dream state, and attain the eternal true state of bliss, beyond the pleasure and pain of dreams. 

 Hari Aum Tat Sat

P.S. I was listening to 'Shivashtakam', one of my favourite songs on Youtube today (see link below - it's a nice rendition). In this, the name 'Aparna kalatram' comes up as one of Shiva's names- this means 'consort of Aparna'.

Since 'Aparna' (a name of Goddess Parvati) is my first name, given to me at birth by my parents, I've always felt a connection with Lord Shiva. This name represents Goddess Parvati when She was doing intense tapas (spiritual practice) to attain Shiva as Her husband. ('Vishnupriya' is my spiritual name given at my mantra initiation).

Anyway, as I listened to this song, I thought that 'Aparna kalatram' i.e. Shiva has every right to appear in the dream of Aparna. ;) As my Guru says, Shiva and Narayana are one. Let Him give darshan in any form He pleases, I would be very happy if I could become deserving enough to see the forms of both Hara and Hari, though I worship Him as Hari/Narayana.

Shivashtakam sung beautifully by Pandit Jasraj:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej6kihJCNTs

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.

Our Divine Parents

Hari Om,

I was reflecting recently that our Divine Parents are such a wonderful couple in every way. Now, we know as Advaita vedanta yogis, that there is only One Supreme Being which is the source of all, present everywhere, that this has become all, that this is beyond male/female/age/life/death....pretty much incomprehensible to our tiny human brains and minds. Something impossible to imagine, whose nature is impossible to describe, but spiritual Teachers all over the world describe this as being of the nature of pure selfless love, sweetness, bliss, peace, wisdom and immortality. This nameless, formless Being encompasses all names, all forms, everything and even more.

Yet this nameless, formless Being takes on names and forms in this world and also celestial forms that resemble human beings  that we humans can relate to and worship. And the purpose behind this is to enable humans to be able to meditate upon these forms and thus attain oneness with this Supreme Being.

So hence the Supreme takes on the male God-the-father "Parameshwara" form and female God-the-Mother "Parameshwari" form. They have infinite Names in Sanskrit each describing them as infinite, immortal, the embodiment of love, bliss, peace, desirelessless, full of wisdom, kindness and every virtue (and equally free of anger/pride/lust/hate and any vice).

So in Hinduism, we learn not only that we have Divine Parents, but we learn of their activities both in the celestial spheres (such as heaven, Vishnu/Siva/Devi lokas etc) but also on Earth (when God assumes a human avatar). We learn about our Parents in this way from ancient scriptures known as the Puranas, not composed by any human mind, but revealed to us by great spiritual Teachers. These Teachers also are only manifestations of our Parents also who in their infinite compassion to beings suffering in samsara, explain to us the way to attain Them...in other words, the way to return home.

Let us examine our Divine Parents in the form of the two most popular couples well known in yoga/Hindu philosophy...They who are worshiped by yogis to attain the Supreme Being (Liberation/Moksha/Nirvana....this state has many names, none of which can really describe it as per the Gurus).

The two couples are Siva and Gauri, and Vishnu and Lakshmi. (Saraswati is worshiped on Her own by yogis seeking moksha, but worship pf Her consort Lord Brahma tends to be less common compared to other forms of the Divine).

Each member of both couples represents the all-encompassing Supreme Being described above, and is therefore worshiped in His/Her own right by yogis seeking liberation.

Even if one is partial to one form out of these, one cannot help but appreciate the sheer beauty and awe-inspiring nature of the other forms too. One is also wonder-struck at the stories of romance and human emotions expressed in the stories of these two couples, but yet, they are woven over the mysterious divine tapestry of Brahman (therefore not a straightforward human story).

Yet for all their similarities in their inner nature, these two divine couples are quite different externally.

For example, Shiva and Durga are the ultimate power couple. Shiva exudes power, strength, yogic self-control, desirelessness, lack of interest in worldly things, self-contentment, fearlessness, withdrawal of the mind inwards towards the Supreme (He is usually pictured seated immovable in deep meditation).
Interestingly also, though Shiva Himself represents supreme wealth (both spiritual and material), He assumes the garb of one who has nothing- no flowers, no jewels, no pretty clothes. Only snakes as garlands and amulets, a tiger-skin as his robe, the glittering crescent moon decorating his matted locks. Yet, for all His rough appearance, He is simply unsurpassable in beauty.
He is visualised as handsome man with beautiful features, despite being dressed as a beggar. His inner beauty makes Him all the more beautiful. This powerful combination of external beauty and internal beauty make Him absolutely adorable to all. Since time immemorial, his devotees have repeated His great mantra (such as "Om Namah Shivaya") and many others with deep love and fervour, and thereby attained their beloved Shiva. Who would not feel bliss repeating the Name of such a great One? After all, He is the very essence of our being, our very own Self.

Durga embodies extraordinary yogic tapas like Shiva. She matches Him in Her ability to withdraw Herself from the world and meditate (in Her famous avatar as Parvati). Like Shiva, She combines this with a hugely dynamic energy that destroys evil. When one pictures Durga, one thinks of God manifesting as Power (the Power of good). She is depicted as seated on a lion, holding celestial weapons in her delicate hands, out to protect good and destroy evil. Like Shiva, She is incomparably beautiful....with an exquisite shapely delicate feminine form, but yet tremendously powerful.

While Shiva is generally pictured in the mind's eye as serene and motionless, seated in meditation (except in His highly energetic tandava form), Durga is almost always seen as a form with great energy and great activity....activity to win the battle for good over evil.  Unlike Shiva who appears withdrawn, Durga appears completely involved.
Shiva and Durga complement each other beautifully. They are both depicted as extraordinarily beautiful in form, fierce (in a loving parent way), yet infinitely compassionate and loving. Durga is no demure shy female....She is power embodied, strength embodied....She is the One to go crying to if one is feeling scared of anything at all in the world, for She is afraid of nothing, and all the bad guys tremble at the very mention of Her Name....She grants absolute security to Her devotees and makes them pure in mind and heart....

And how romantic are the stories of Shiva and Durga....one is simply wonder-struck by the sheer beauty of the romantic Lilas of our Divine Parents as this couple. And what is even more fascinating is that underneath all the seeming romance, there is no lust at all....only pure selfless love, the love that is divine in nature. There is absolutely no lewd, crude lust here. On the contrary, it is all pure, desireless, deep true love.....a love that loves for no reason, because it is simply one's nature to love.

Now moving on to Vishnu and Lakshmi and some of Their avatars in human form.
Vishnu is depicted as equally handsome as Shiva (unsurprisingly, as they are of course, two forms of the One Parameshwara, God as male). He has all the inner qualities of Shiva, but His external garb is different. He is dressed charmingly with exquisite flower garlands, jewels, clothes - all these ornaments obtain their beauty from Him.
He is just as beautiful and alluring as Lord Shiva, but in a different way. Unlike Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu does not appear withdrawn from the world. Like Durga, He is seen as actively involved in our human world and all worlds (Shiva is too of course, but just appears to be deep in meditation most of the time). Lord Vishnu is the One who takes human form as avatars, such as the well-known Sri Rama and Sri Krishna.

His consort Goddess Lakshmi is the embodiment of sweetness and virtues. She is portrayed as lovely, delicate, demure and shy....quite different from Her other form as the feisty Mother Durga. She is the Mother who is prayed to for material and spiritual wealth, children and both earthly and spiritual attainments. She is symbolic of all that is good and pure in the world.

Both Vishnu and Lakshmi take on avatars as humans at the same times, forming complementary couples. Sri Rama is the ideal married man and human being, His wife Goddess Sita is the embodiment of a loving dutiful wife. Sri Krishna is the Purna Avatar (full avatar of God), He is handsome, cheeky, humorous and playful. His lovely consort Sri Radha is more serious in temperament than Him, and is also feisty (She freely tells Him off when She is not amused by His humorous behaviour). She is the embodiment of devotion, pure love for the Divine, the ideal devotee.

Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi exude sweetness, traditional beauty and tender love.
Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga exude energy, unconventional beauty and fierce love.

Both are stunning Divine Couples and one feels fortunate to belong to a spiritual tradition where one is taught not only that one has Divine Parents, but also has the chance to read about Their activities (known as 'Lilas' in Sanskrit).

Not only this, one knows, as a child of the yogis, that one can oneself meet and experience these forms of the Divine. They are not made up characters by some talented author. No, yogis from time immemorial have retreated into caves (or indeed into one's room in a modern house), and devoutly worshiped the male and female forms of the Divine described above. They have then been blessed with Their Vision ('Darshan' in Sanskrit) and been granted supreme bliss and wisdom or moksha/nirvana.

 Shiva, Durga, Vishnu and Lakshmi are perfectly real. They are, in fact, more real than you and I. You and I are temporary beings on this earthly planet. We are here today, gone tomorrow. But these forms of our Divine Parents have existed since time immemorial and will continue to exist for eternity....worship of Them holds the key to Their eternal realm, our true home.

Hence the strong traditions in yoga that have existed forever.....each based on which of the three (Siva, Vishnu and the Goddess) is chosen as the main deity for worship (yoga advises developing undeviating love and devotion to one form of God of one's choice while respecting other forms of God of course).
 Therefore there exists the tradition of Siva-worshipers (Saivites), Vishnu-worshipers (Vaishnavites) and Goddess-worshipers (Shaktas). All in truth worship the same One Supreme Being, but only in different external forms.

We are indeed fortunate to be able to hear of and admire our Divine Parents in such exquisitely beautiful forms (externally and internally) as Siva, Durga, Vishnu/Rama/Krishna, and Lakshmi/Sita/Radha.

Sivananda says the path of devotion (one of the four main paths to God in the yoga tradition) is sweet in the beginning, sweet in the middle and sweet in the end. Other paths certainly have their merits and are also good.... but he and many Gurus, say that the path of bhakti reigns supreme in terms of easiness to practice as a sadhana, as well as efficacy and the joy experienced throughout.

May Shiva, Durga, Vishnu and Lakshmi (or whichever form of God we worship) grant us supreme devotion, love for love's sake for Him/Her in this very lifetime.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.