Shiva, the Auspicious One
This exploration of the super heroes and heroines of yoga is fascinating!
Today´s Spark is about Shiva. This Auspicious god has many forms and each one talks about a different aspect of our inner evolution. A couple of months ago I wrote about Shiva Nataraja, god of Cosmic Dance, remember? Today´s Shiva reflects other qualities. This one is the quiet meditator, the one who holds all benevolent characteristics of the Self and Lord of Yoga.
He is often represented in the Kailash Mountain, in the Himalayas, seated in meditation on a tiger skin, reminding us that he has control over all the wild powers in the world. This Shiva is serenity and contemplation.
There are several elements that I would like to highlight:
The crescent moon adorning his head – he is the protector of the cycles of time and the energetic power of the moon. It also indicates that he always exists, at the beginning of time as well as at the end.
The river that flows from the mountains to his head – the descent of the Ganga to the Earth was in its start quite violent, but Shiva captured it in his head in order to canalize the powerful waters and stop terrible flooding from happening.
The coiled snake around his neck – tells us that he is beyond poison and death. It recalls the episode in which he drank the poison that arose when gods and demons churned the cosmic ocean of milk. Parvati, Shiva´s spouse, in order to block the venom going down to his stomach, put one of her hands over Shiva´s throat and made the poison stay there avoiding any further damage. Shiva´s throat turned blue and one of his names became to be Neelakantha (blue throat). The snakes are also a symbol of kundalini shakti, the primordial feminine energy.
The trident with the damaru – the trident is a symbol of the three natural principles that organize life and the damaru drum marks the rhythm of creation-sustenance-dissolution.
His third eye – is the eye of wisdom and inner vision, always centered in the middle way.
The rudraksha malas – his arms and neck are adorned with rosaries made of rudraksha seeds “the tears of Rudra” (Rudra is an ancient form of Shiva). They are a symbol of purity and concentration.
He is anointed with vibhuti ash – Shiva transcends all levels of consciousness and he exists in all planes of life.
This year on March 7th yogins celebrate Maha Shivaratri, the great night to Shiva. During the ceremonies, temples dedicated to this deity are visited by thousands of devotees who consagrate their prayers to the great yoga master. They fast for 24 hours, offer rituals, chant mantras and meditate during the whole night previous to the new moon. It is Shiva´s favourite day because it is also the celebration of his marriage to goddess Parvati, the conscious union between masculine and feminine principles being consecrated.
It is said that meditation done in this night frees the devotee from the karmas and the weight from the past. This is why the yoga superheroes practice for the week is:
Repeat the mantra Om Namah Shivaya 108 times with the intention to purify and liberate your body-mind-heart. May this practice guide us towards the revelation of our own benevolent qualities for the good of all.
See you on the mat!
Om Shanti
Zaira
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The Zunray Spark is a biweekly email with an inspirational message. It also serves as theme for the classes at Zunray
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