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Home > Paths of Yoga > Bhakti Yoga > Practice of Bhakti Yoga > Science of Worship > Glory of Lord Siva

What's New Glory of Lord Shiva

Spiritual Life...
a perspect ive...
by Swami Sivananda
Om. I bow wit h folded hands to Lord Siva, Who is t he Lord of t he universe (Jagat -Pat i), world's t eacher
(Jagad-Guru), Who is t he dest royer of Tripuras (3 cit ies, egoism, lust and anger), Who is t he Lord of
Uma (Uma Sankar), Gauri (Gauri Sankar), Ganga (Ganga Sankar), who is full of light (Jyot irmaya),
knowledge and bliss (Chidananda Maya), Who is t he Lord of Yogins (Yogeesvara), Who is t he
storehouse of knowledge and Who is known by t he various names as Mahadeva, Sankara, Hara,
Sambhu, Sadasiva, Rudra, Soolapani, Bhairava, Uma- Mahesvara, Neelakant ha, Trilochana or
Tryambaka (t he t hree-eyed), Visvanat ha, Chandrasekhara, Ardhanareesvara, Mahesvara, Neelalohit a,
Parama Siva, Digambara, Dakshinamurt i, et c.

How merciful He is! How loving and kind He is! He even wears t he skulls of His devot ees as a garland
around His neck. He is an embodiment of renunciat ion, mercy, love and wisdom. It is a mist ake to say
t hat He is t he dest royer. Lord Siva in realit y is t he regenerator. Whenever one's physical body
becomes unfit for furt her evolut ion in t his birt h eit her by disease, old age or ot her causes, He at once
removes t his rot t en physical sheat h and gives a new, healt hy, vigorous body for furt her quick
evolut ion. He want s to t ake all His children to His Lot us Feet quickly. He desires to give t hem His
glorious "Siva-Pada". It is easier to please Siva t han Hari. A lit t le Prem and devot ion, a lit t le chant ing of
His Panchakshara is quit e sufficient to infuse delight in Siva. He gives boons to His devot ees quit e
readily. How large is His heart ! He gave Pasupat ast ra to Arjuna wit hout any difficult y for his lit t le
penance. He gave a precious boon to Bhasmasura. In Kalahast i near T irupat i He gave Darshan for
Kannappa Nayanar, t he devot ed hunt er who plucked his t wo eyes to replace t he weeping eyes in t he
Murt i. In Chidambaram even t he untouchable saint Nandanar had Darshan of Lord Siva. He ran wit h
t remendous speed to make t he boy Markandeya immort al when he was in t he clut ches of t he God of
Deat h-Yama. Ravana of Lanka pleased Siva wit h his Sama chant ings. He init iat ed t he four virgin
yout hs Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanat ana and Sanat kumara into t he myst eries of Jnana in t he form of
Guru Dakshinamoort hy. In Madurai in Tamil Nadu, Sundaresvara (Lord Siva) assumed t he form of a
boy and carried eart h on his head for a devot ed lady for t he sake of Put t u (a kind of sweet meat ) as
wages when an anicut was erect ed in t he Vaigai river. Look at t he unbounded mercy for His devot ees!
When Brahma and Lord Vishnu went to find out t he head and feet of Lord Siva, He assumed an
infinit e, expansive blaze of light (Jyot irmaya). T hey were baffled in t heir at t empt s. How
magnanimous and self-effulgent He is! He lived in t he house of Pat t inat t u Swami in Sout hern India
for several years as his adopt ed son and disappeared aft er giving him t he small not e: "Even t he
broken needles will not follow you aft er your deat h. " T he reading of t his not e was t he st art ing point
for at t ainment of Jnana for Pat t inat t u Swami. Why not you all at t empt t his very second wit h
sincerit y to realise God (Lord Siva)?

Hat ha Yogins awaken t he Kundalini Sakt i t hat is lying dormant in t he Muladhara Chakra by Asana,
Pranayama, Kumbhaka, Mudra and Bandha, t ake it above t hrough different Chakras (cent res of
spirit ual energy) Svadhisht hna, Manipura, Anahat a, Visuddha and Ajna and join it wit h Lord Siva at t he
Sahasrara, t he t housand-pet alled lot us at t he crown of t he head. T hey drink t he nect ar of
Immort alit y (Siva-Jnana-Amrit am). T his is t ermed Amrit a-srava. When t he Sakt i is unit ed wit h Siva,
full illuminat ion comes for t he Yogi.

Lord Siva represent s t he dest ruct ive aspect of Brahman. T hat port ion of Brahman t hat is enveloped
by Tamo-Guna-Pradhana-Maya is Lord Siva who is t he all-pervading Isvara and who also dwells in
Mount Kailas. He is t he Bhandar or store-house for wisdom. Siva minus Parvat i or Kaali or Durga is
pure Nirguna Brahman. Wit h Maya (Parvat i) He becomes t he Saguna Brahman for t he purpose of
pious devot ion of His devot ees. Devot ees of Rama must worship Lord Siva also. Rama Himself
worshipped Lord Siva at t he famous Ramesvaram. Lord Siva is t he Lord of ascet ics and Lord of
Yogins robed in space (Digambara).

His Trishul (t rident ) t hat is held in His right hand represent s t he t hree Gunas-Sat t va, Rajas and
Tamas. T hat is t he emblem of sovereignt y. He wields t he world t hrough t hese t hree Gunas. T he
Damaru in His left hand represent s t he Sabda Brahman. It represent s OM from which all languages
are formed. It is He who formed t he Sanskrit language out of t he Damaru sound.

T he wearing of t he crescent moon on His head indicat es t hat He has cont rolled t he mind perfect ly.
T he flow of t he Ganga represent s t he nect ar of immort alit y. Elephant represent s symbolically t he
Vrit t i, pride. Wearing t he skin of t he elephant denot es t hat He has cont rolled pride. T iger represent s
lust . His sit t ing on t he t iger's skin indicat es t hat he has conquered lust . His holding a deer in one hand
indicat es t hat He has removed t he Chanchalat a (tossing) of t he mind. Deer jumps from one place to
anot her swift ly. T he mind also jumps from one object to anot her. His wearing of serpent s on t he
neck denot es wisdom and et ernit y. Serpent s live for a large number of years. He is Trilochana, t he
t hree-eyed One, in t he cent re of whose forehead is t he t hird eye, t he eye of wisdom. Nandi, t he bull
t hat sit s in front of Sivalingam represent s Pranava (Omkara). T he Lingam represent s Advait a. It
point s out "I am one wit hout a second. Ekam eva Advait eeyam" just as a man raises his right hand
above his head point ing out his right index finger only.

Kailas hills in T ibet are a huge range wit h a cent ral, beaut iful, nat urally carved and decorat ed shining
peak, et ernally clad wit h silvery snow 22, 980 feet above sea-level. Some t ake t he height to be 22, 028
feet . T his part icular peak is in t he form of a nat ural, huge Siva Linga (Virat Form). T his is worshipped
as t he form of Lord Siva from a dist ance. T here is neit her a t emple nor a Poojari nor a daily Pooja
t here. I had t he fort une to have Darshan of Kailas t hrough t he grace of Lord Siva on July 22, 1931. I
even climbed wit h pant ing breat h to t he foot of Kailas peak where t he Indus t akes it s origin. It is a
very pict uresque, soul-st irring scenery. You will have to ascend from Didipha Gupha, t he first halt ing
st age in Parikrama of Kailas. T he Indus gushes out as a small st reamlet t hrough blocks of ice from
behind t he back port ion of Kailas peak. T hough in t he pict ures of Lord Siva it is shown t hat t he Ganga
flows from His head, it is really t he Indus t hat t akes it s origin from t he head of Siva (Kailas) in t he
physical plane. Parikrama of Kailas covers 30 miles. It t akes t hree days. On t he way comes t he
famous and sacred Gauri Kund which is et ernally covered wit h snow. You will have to break t he snow
when you t ake a bat h.

JYOT IRLINGAS

T HE FOLLOWING ARE T HE T WELVE JYOT IRLINGAS OF LORD SIVA:

Somanat h in Gujarat .

Mallikarjuna in Srisaila Parvat in Andhra Pradesh.

Mahakala in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.

Omkaresvar on t he banks of Narmada in Amalesvarm.

Baijnat h near Gaya (Paralya).

Naganat h in Sout hern India.

Kedarnat h in Himalayas, Ut t ar Pradesh.

Tryambak, near t he source of t he Godavari in t he Nasik Dist rict , Maharasht ra.

Ramesvaram, in Ramnad dist rict , Tamil Nadu.

Bhima Sankar, near Poona.

Visvanat h in Benares.

Grishnesvar (Gokarna) in Karwar dist rict , Karnat aka.

Even if people remember t hese 12 places bot h morning and evening, t he sins of seven birt hs will be
dest royed.

In Sout hern India, t here are five famous Siva Lingas which represent t he five element s.

In Shiyali, Tanjore dist rict , t here is Prit hvi Lingam.

In T iruvana Koil, Trichinopoly dist rict , t here is Appu Lingam. T he Lingam is always in wat er. T iruvana
Koil is ot herwise known as Jambukesvaram.

In Kalahast i, Andhra Pradesh, t here is a Vayu Lingam.

In T iruvannamalai, via Villupuram Junct ion, Nort h Arcot Dist rict , t here is t he Tejolingam
(Arunachalesvar).

In Chidambaram, t here is t he Akasa Lingam.

During my recent t ravels, I used to hold Sankirt an in Monghyr (All-India Kirt an Sammelan 1932),
Sit apur, Lakhimpur, Ayodhya, Lucknow, Kakinada, Calcut t a and ot her places. People were very much
at t ract ed towards my t hree charming Siva Namavalis. I shall ment ion t hem here.

PANCHAKSHARA NAMAVALI

Sivaya Nama Om Sivaya Namah; Sivaya Nama Om Namah Sivaya.

Siva Sambho Sadasiva, Sambho Sadasiva, Sambho Sadasiva Bhum Bhum Bhum.
 Hara Hara Siva Siva Sambho, Hara Hara Siva Siva, Hara Hara Sambho, Siva Siva Sambho.

Rudra is t he dest ruct ive aspect of Siva. T here are eleven Rudras in t he cosmic hierarchy. Esot erically
t he Pranas and t he mind represent t he eleven Rudras. Sri Hanuman is a manifest at ion or aspect of
Siva only.

T HESE ARE T HE 25 LILAS (SPORT IVE PLAYS) OR MANIFESTAT IONS OF LORD SIVA.

1. Wearing of moon on t he head. 2. Living wit h Uma Devi. 3. Riding on Nandi. 4. Tandava dancing wit h
Kaali. 5. Marriage wit h Parvat i. 6. Begging. 7. Burning of Manmat ha or t he God of Love. 8. Victory over
Yama t he God of deat h. 9. Burning of Tripuras. 10. Killing of Jalandarasura. 11. Killing of Gajasura. 12.
Incarnat ion of Virabhadra. 13. Harihara. 14. Ardhanareesvara. 15. Trans- forming into Kirat a. 16.
Assuming t he form of Kankala. 17. Blessing Chandusvara. 18. Drinking poison. 19. Giving of Chakra. 20.
Dest roying of obst acles. 21. Having sons of Uma wit h Him. 22. Becoming Ekapada Rudra. 23. Being in
easy pose (Sukhasana). 24. Assuming t he form of Dakshinamoort hy. 25. Assuming Linga form.

In Me t he universe had it s origin, In Me alone t he whole subsist s; In Me it is lost -t his Siva - T he

T imeless, It is I Myself! Sivoham! Sivoham! ! Sivoham! ! !

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