Sunday 11 January 2015

Lord Shiva - some notes

Some notes on Lord Shiva

Origin 



I had asked this question to HG Suhotra Prabhu, who explained that Shiva is the glance of Lord Sri Vishnu to Devi.

Among many things, mother Devi is all that we can see in this material world.

Since Lord Vishnu has nothing to do with  matter He transforms to Lord Shiva.

Lord Brahma explains in his prayers like this
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Bs 5.45
kṣīraṁ yathā dadhi vikāra-viśeṣa-yogāt
sañjāyate na hi tataḥ pṛthag asti hetoḥ
yaḥ śambhutām api tathā samupaiti kāryād
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

Word for word: kṣīram — milk; yathā — as; dadhi — yogurt; vikāra-viśeṣa — of a special transformation; yogāt — by the application; sañjāyate — is transformed into; na — not; hi — indeed; tataḥ — from the milk; pṛthak — separated; asti — is; hetoḥ — which is the cause; yaḥ — who; śambhutām — the nature of Lord Śiva; api — also; tathā — thus; samupaiti — accepts; kāryāt — for the matter of some particular business; govindam — Govinda; ādi-puruṣam — the original person; tam — Him; aham — I; bhajāmi — worship.
Translation: Just as milk is transformed into curd by the action of acids, but yet the effect curd is neither same as, nor different from, its cause, viz., milk, so I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whom the state of Śambhu is a transformation for the performance of the work of destruction.
Purport:
(The real nature of Śambhu, the presiding deity of Maheśa-dhāma, is described.) Śambhu is not a second Godhead other than Kṛṣṇa. Those, who entertain such discriminating sentiment, commit a great offense against the Supreme Lord. The supremacy of Śambhu is subservient to that of Govinda; hence they are not really different from each other. The nondistinction is established by the fact that just as milk treated with acid turns into curd so Godhead becomes a subservient when He Himself attains a distinct personality by the addition of a particular element of adulteration. This personality has no independent initiative. The said adulterating principle is constituted of a combination of the stupefying quality of the deluding energy, the quality of nonplenitude of the marginal potency and a slight degree of the ecstatic-cum-cognitive principle of the plenary spiritual potency. This specifically adulterated reflection of the principle of the subjective portion of the Divinity is Sadāśiva, in the form of the effulgent masculine-symbol-god Śambhu from whom Rudradeva is manifested. In the work of mundane creation as the material cause, in the work of preservation by the destruction of sundry asuras and in the work of destruction to conduct the whole operation, Govinda manifests Himself as guṇa-avatāra in the form of Śambhu who is the separated portion of Govinda imbued with the principle of His subjective plenary portion. The personality of the destructive principle in the form of time has been identified with that of Śambhu by scriptural evidences that have been adduced in the commentary. The purport of the Bhāgavata ślokas, viz., vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ, etc., is that Śambhu, in pursuance of the will of Govinda, works in union with his consort Durgādevī by his own time energy. He teaches pious duties (dharma) as stepping-stones to the attainment of spiritual service in the various tantra-śāstras, etc., suitable for jīvas in different grades of the conditional existence. In obedience to the will of Govinda, Śambhu maintains and fosters the religion of pure devotion by preaching the cult of illusionism (Māyāvāda) and the speculative āgama-śāstras. The fifty attributes of individual souls are manifest in a far vaster measure in Śambhu and five additional attributes not attainable by jīvas are also partly found in him. So Śambhu cannot be called a jīva. He is the lord of jīva but yet partakes of the nature of a separated portion of Govinda.
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Humility

Some people worship Devi for so many material things, but Lord Shiva who is the husband of Devi, shows by example, that He owns nothing, no home even.



Plus he is constantly meditating or chanting. He is the best yogi and vairagi (renunciation).



Lord Shiva has no issues drinking an entire ocean of poison, so save the world and keep it in His throat, hence He is called neel kantha(blue throated).

And still at times when needed He is forced to act to show us how to act and not to act.

When Daksha prajapati was being disrespectful, Lord Shiva just tolerated, and even gave good advice to Devi.

Devi could not tolerate insult to Lord Shiva. She implored Daksha to repent and change.

It was only when Devi by her own power left her body, given by Daksha and still Daksha did not show any remorse, Lord Shiva was forced to act and even after all of this, He forgave Daksha and gave him some spiritual intelligence.



Here is how Daksha Prayed when he gained some spiritual  intelligence.
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SB 4.7.15
yo ’sau mayāvidita-tattva-dṛśā sabhāyāṁ
kṣipto durukti-viśikhair vigaṇayya tan mām
arvāk patantam arhattama-nindayāpād
dṛṣṭyārdrayā sa bhagavān sva-kṛtena tuṣyet

Word for word:
yaḥ — who; asau — that; mayā — by me; avidita-tattva — without knowing the actual fact; dṛśā — by experience; sabhāyām — in the assembly; kṣiptaḥ — was abused; durukti — unkind words; viśikhaiḥ — by the arrows of; vigaṇayya — taking no notice of; tat — that; mām — me; arvāk — downwards; patantam — gliding down to hell; arhat-tama — the most respectable; nindayā — by defamation; apāt — saved; dṛṣṭyā — seeing; ārdrayā — out of compassion; saḥ — that; bhagavān — Your Lordship; sva-kṛtena — by your own mercy; tuṣyet — be satisfied.
Translation: I did not know your full glories. For this reason, I threw arrows of sharp words at you in the open assembly, although you did not take them into account. I was going down to hell because of my disobedience to you, who are the most respectable personality, but you took compassion upon me and saved me by awarding punishment. I request that you be pleased by your own mercy, since I cannot satisfy you by my words.

Purport:
As usual, a devotee in an adverse condition of life accepts such a condition to be the mercy of the Lord. Factually, the insulting words used by Dakṣa against Lord Śiva were enough to have him thrown perpetually into a hellish life. But Lord Śiva, being kind toward him, awarded him punishment to neutralize the offense. King Dakṣa realized this and, feeling obliged for Lord Śiva’s magnanimous behavior, wanted to show his gratitude. Sometimes a father punishes his child, and when the child is grown up and comes to his senses, he understands that the father’s punishment was not actually punishment but mercy. Similarly, Dakṣa appreciated that the punishment offered to him by Lord Śiva was a manifestation of Lord Śiva’s mercy. That is the symptom of a person making progress on the path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. It is said that a devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness never takes any miserable condition of life to be condemnation by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He accepts the miserable condition to be the grace of the Lord. He thinks, “I would have been punished or put into a more dangerous condition of life due to my past misdeeds, but the Lord has protected me. Thus I have received only a little punishment as token execution of the law of karma.” Thinking of His grace in that way, a devotee always surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead more and more seriously and is not disturbed by such so-called punishment.

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Maha Raas

When Lord Sri Krishna was performing Maha Raas, not many people other than the Braja Vasi's were allowed to take part.

Even powerful demi-god were not allowed. According to Shrimad Bhagvatam Lakshmi Devi is sitting, performing meditation to cross the Yamuna to enter the Raas leela. This is at Belvan near Vrindavan.

Raas is the great dance of the soul and the Super-soul where ego has no place. Anyone with any tinge of any kind ego, other than "I am just the servant of the servant many times removed of the Lord of the Gopi's", can not enter.

And yet when Lord Shiva came to the area of the Raas, Sri Krishna left all and rushed to see him and

Lord Shiva not only took part, for all eternity anyone who wants to enter Raas, must first approach Gopeshwar Mahadeva as per Lord Sri Krishna.

 
Vaishnava
 
As per the Srimad Bhagavatam Lord Shiva is the greatest of All Vaishnava's .
 
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SB 12.13.16
nimna-gānāṁ yathā gaṅgā
devānām acyuto yathā
vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ
purāṇānām idam tathā

Word for word:
nimna-gānām — of rivers flowing down to the sea; yathā — as; gaṅgā — the Ganges; devānām — of all deities; acyutaḥ — the infallible Supreme Personality of Godhead; yathā — as; vaiṣṇavānām — of devotees of Lord Viṣṇu; yathā — as; śambhuḥ — Śiva; purāṇānām — of Purāṇas; idam — this; tathā — similarly.
Translation: Just as the Gaṅgā is the greatest of all rivers, Lord Acyuta the supreme among deities and Lord Śambhu [Śiva] the greatest of Vaiṣṇavas, so Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the greatest of all Purāṇas.
 
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Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains the mood of a Vaishnava
 
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CC Madhya 13.80
nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro
nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛha-patir no vanastho yatir vā
kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramānanda-pūrnāmṛtābdher
gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ

Word for word:
na — not; aham — I; vipraḥ — a brāhmaṇa; na — not; ca — also; nara-patiḥ — a king or kṣatriya; na — not; api — also; vaiśyaḥ — belonging to the mercantile class; na — not; śūdraḥ — belonging to the worker class; na — not; aham — I; varṇī — belonging to any caste, or brahmacārī (A brahmacārī may belong to any casteAnyone can become a brahmacārī, or lead a life of celibacy); na — not; ca — also; gṛha-patiḥ — householder; no — not; vana-sthaḥ — vānaprastha, one who, after retirement from family life, goes to the forest to learn how to be detached from family life; yatiḥ — mendicant or renunciant; vā — either; kintu — but; prodyan — brilliant; nikhila — universal; parama-ānanda — with transcendental bliss; pūrṇa — complete; amṛta-abdheḥ — who is the ocean of nectar; gopī-bhartuḥ — of the Supreme Person, who is the maintainer of the gopīs; pada-kamalayoḥ — of the two lotus feet; dāsa — of the servant; dāsa-anudāsaḥ — the servant of the servant.
 
Translation:
“  ‘I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a vaiśya or a śūdra. Nor am I a brahmacārī, a householder, a vānaprastha or a sannyāsī. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the maintainer of the gopīs. He is like an ocean of nectar, and He is the cause of universal transcendental bliss. He is always existing with brilliance.’ ”

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