God Shiva is one of the supreme gods in Hinduism. Along with Brahma (Creator) and Vishnu (Preserver), he is one of the main trinity of main gods, in which he plays the role of the Destroyer. Other names of Shiva can be found in sacred manuscripts - Mahadeva, Maheshvar and Parameshvara. Lord Shiva controls the series of births and deaths in the world. Shiva represents the aspect of the supreme being who destroys in order to give rise to a new life cycle of the Universe.
At the same time, Shiva is the God of mercy and compassion. He protects his devotees from evil forces such as lust, greed and anger. He bestows blessings, grace and awakens wisdom. All the sacred scriptures like Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, Shruti and Smarti and others say that one who worships Lord Shiva can attain Supreme Bliss.
Attributes of Shiva
The main symbols that are used when depicting Lord Shiva are:

• A naked body covered in ash. Shiva is the source of the entire Universe, which emanates from him, but he transcends the physical world and does not experience suffering.


• Tangled hair. They personify the ideal of yoga as the unity of physical, mental and spiritual energies.


• Ganga. Symbolically represented as a woman from whose mouth flows a stream of water falling to the ground. This means that Shiva destroys all sins, eliminates ignorance, bestows knowledge, purity and peace.


• Waxing Crescent. One of the decorations.


• Three eyes. God Shiva is also called Tryambaka Deva and is depicted as having three eyes. His first eye is the sun, his second is the moon, and his third is fire.


• Half-open eyes. When Shiva opens his eyes, a new round of creation begins, and when he closes them, the universe is destroyed, but only to be reborn again. The half-open eyes symbolize that creation is a cyclical process with no beginning or end.


• Snake around the neck. It wraps around Shiva's neck three times and looks towards the right side. Each of the snake's rings symbolizes time - past, future and present.


• Rudraksha necklace. The Rudraksha necklace symbolizes that Shiva adamantly maintains law and order in the universe without compromise.


• Varda is wise. The right hand of Shiva is depicted as simultaneously giving blessings, destroying evil, destroying ignorance and awakening wisdom in followers.


• Trident (Trishula). The trident depicted next to Shiva symbolizes his three main energies (shakti): desire (icchha), action (kriya) and knowledge (jnana).


• Damaru (drum). Symbolizes two extremely dissimilar forms of existence - obvious and non-obvious.


• Nandi the Bull. Shiva's vehicle.


• Tiger skin. Latent energy.


• Burnt earth. Shiva sitting on the scorched earth symbolizes that he controls death in the physical world.

"To the consort of Gauri, the Lord of the night, the bringer of mastery, the destroyer of time (death), the owner of snake bracelets, the bearer of the Ganga, the slayer of the king of elephants, the owner of his skin; the destroyer of poverty and misfortune, Shiva the Good - worship! Dressed in skin, smeared with cremation ashes, having eyes on the forehead, Decorated with snake rings, With feet adorned with bracelets, With hair twisted into jata, Destroying grief and poverty - bow to Shiva!

Shiva is most often depicted sitting in the lotus position, with white skin (smeared with ash), with a blue neck, with hair matted or twisted into a bun on the top of his head (jata), wearing a crescent moon on his head, entwined with snakes like bracelets (on his neck and shoulders) . Dressed in tiger or elephant skin, also seated on a tiger or elephant skin. On the forehead is the third eye, as well as a tripundra made from sacred ash (bhasma or vibhuti).

"...... In His throat there is a deadly poison, Halahala, capable of instantly destroying all living things. On His head is the sacred river Ganga, the waters of which can heal all diseases anywhere and everywhere. On His forehead is a fiery eye. On His on his head is the cool and comforting Moon. On his wrists, ankles, shoulders and neck He carries deadly cobras that live in the life-giving air. ... Shiva means "mercy", "goodness" (mangalam).... The very Image of Shiva reveals an example of great patience and endurance. He holds the poison halahala in his throat and wears the blessed Moon on his head...."

The Trishula (trident) in His right hand symbolizes the three gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas. This is a sign of supreme power. Through these three gunas He rules the world. The damaru which he holds in His left hand represents shabdabrahman. It symbolizes the syllable "om" from which all languages ​​are composed. The Lord created Sanskrit from the sounds of damaru.

The crescent moon signifies that He is in complete control of His mind. The flow of the Ganga symbolizes the nectar of immortality. The elephant symbolically represents pride. The elephant skin robe shows that He has subdued His pride. Tiger - lust, tiger skin bedding indicates conquered lust. The Lord holds a doe in one hand, therefore He has stopped the canchalata (impulsive movements) of His mind, for the doe is constantly moving. Snake jewelry signifies wisdom and eternity - snakes live for many years. He is Trilochana, the Three-Eyed One, and in the middle of His forehead is the third eye, the eye of wisdom.

"Haum" is the bijakshara of Lord Shiva.

He is Shivam (Good), Shubham (Auspicious), Sundaram (Beautiful), Kantam (Shining), "Shantam Shivam Advaitam" ("Mandukya Upanishad").

Countless times I, with folded hands in prayer, bow down to the lotus feet of Lord Shiva, the non-dual, Adhishthana - the support of the world and any consciousness, Sachchidananda, the Ruler, Antaryamin, Sakshi (the silent Witness) of all things, the One who shines with his own light, exists Himself in Self and Self-sufficient (Paripurna), Who removes the original avidya and is Adiguru, Parama-guru, Jagad-guru.

In my essence I am Lord Shiva. Shivo' boor, Shivo' boor, Shivo' boor.

Snake on Shiva's body

The snake is the jiva (personal soul) which rests on Shiva, Parsshatman (Supreme Soul). The five hoods represent the five senses or five tattvas, namely earth, water, fire, air and ether. They also symbolize the five pranas, which move hissing through the body like snakes. Inhalation and exhalation are like the hissing of a snake. Lord Shiva himself became five tanmatras, five jnanendriyas, five karmendriyas and other groups consisting of five. The personal soul enjoys the existing objects in the world through these tattvas. When the jiva attains knowledge by controlling the senses and mind, he finds his eternal safe shelter in Lord Shiva, the Supreme Soul. This is the esoteric meaning of the snakes that the Lord carries on His body.

Lord Shiva knows no fear. The Sruti says: “This Brahman is fearless (abhayam), immortal (amritam).”

"Namah Shivaya" is the mantra of Lord Shiva. “Na” stands for earth and Brahma, “ma” for water and Vishnu, “shi” for fire and Rudra, “va” for vayu and Maheshvara, “ya” for Akasha and Sadashiva, as well as jiva.

Lord Shiva's body is white. What is the meaning of this color? This is a silent teaching, the meaning of which is that one should have a pure heart and pure thoughts, get rid of dishonesty, pretense, resourcefulness, envy, hatred, etc.

On the Lord's forehead are three stripes of bhasma, or vibhuti. What does it mean? The meaning of this silent teaching is that it is necessary to destroy the three defilements: anava (egoism), karma (action with a view to the result) and maya (illusion), as well as the three desires for possession - land, woman and gold - and the three vasanas (locals). vasana, deha-vasana and sastra-vasana). By doing this, you can approach Him with a pure heart.

What does the balipitha (altar) standing in front of the sanctum sanctorum in the Shiva temple symbolize? A person must destroy egoism and selfishness (ahamta and mamata) before he can come to the Lord. This is the meaning of the altar.

What does the presence of Nandi bull in front of the Shivalingam mean? Nandi is a servant, guardian of the threshold of Shiva’s abode. He is also the vehicle of the Lord. It symbolizes satsanga. By being among the sages, you will definitely come to know God. The sages will show you the way to Him. They will destroy the treacherous pits and traps that lie in wait for you along the way. They will dispel your doubts and strengthen dispassion, knowledge and discrimination in your heart. Satsanga is the only reliable boat that can take you across the ocean to the shore of fearlessness and immortality. Even if it is very short, satsanga (association with sages) is a great blessing for those who are studying and also for people with worldly consciousness. Through satsang they become firmly convinced of the existence of God. Sages destroy worldly samskaras. The society of sages is a powerful fortress that allows a person to protect himself from the temptations of Maya.

Lord Shiva is the destructive aspect of the Divine. On the mountain peak of Kailasa He indulges in absorption into Himself. He is the embodiment of severity, renunciation and indifference to the world. The third eye in the middle of His forehead indicates His destructive energy, which, when released, destroys the world. Nandi is His favorite, the guardian of His threshold. He makes everything around him quiet so that no one disturbs the Lord in His samadhi. The Lord has five faces, ten arms, ten eyes and two legs.

Vrishabha or bull symbolizes the god Dharma. Lord Shiva rides this bull. The bull is His vehicle. This means that Lord Shiva is the protector of dharma (law), He is the embodiment of dharma, justice.

The four legs of the doe symbolize the four Vedas. Lord Shiva holds a doe in His hand. This means that He is the Lord of the Vedas.

In one of His hands He holds a sword, as He is the destroyer of death and birth. The fire in His other hand indicates that He protects the jivas by burning all bonds.

According to the sacred texts, Shiva is a master of dance and music, and an excellent dancer and musician (vinahar). Bharata's Natya Shastra mentions 108 dance poses and the Tandava Lakshan dance.
He has four arms. In His matted hair are the Ganges and the crescent moon. In His right hand He holds a damaru (an hourglass-shaped drum - a symbol of cosmic rhythm and sound). It is believed that all the rhythms of the Cosmos can be extracted from this drum. The sound of the drum calls individual souls to fall at His feet. It symbolizes omkara (the syllable “om”, the most sacred mantra of Hinduism, another name is pranava). The entire Sanskrit alphabet was formed from the sound of damaru. Creation arises from damaru.

In one of His left hands He holds a flame. Fire produces destruction. The figure of God is often enclosed in a bronze halo with tongues of flame, personifying the Universe in which the Great God dances - a destroyer and a creator at the same time, creating a dynamic evolutionary balance in the Cosmos with his dance. With His raised left hand, He demonstrates abhaya mudra (the mudra of protection and blessings of fearlessness to overcome the fear of death) for His devotees. “My devotees, do not be afraid! I will protect all of you!" - this is its meaning. With his free right hand He points down to the asura Muyalaka, who is clutching a cobra. His left leg is gracefully raised. The raised leg means maya (illusion). The downward-pointing hand is a sign that His feet are the only refuge for individual souls. Shiva's head is decorated with a crown with a skull - a sign of victory over death.

He dances very calmly. If He becomes angry while dancing, the world will instantly disappear. He dances with his eyes closed because the sparks from His eyes can burn the entire universe. The five activities of the Lord (panchakriya) - creation (srishti), preservation (sthiti), destruction (samhara), illusion (tirobhava) and grace (anugraha) - are His dances.

At the appropriate time, Lord Shiva, while dancing, destroys all names and forms with the help of fire. And again there is silence.

The dance of creation also has important numerological symbolism - the total number of movements is 108. This is the number of beads on the rosary, and 108 sacred names of Shiva. The same number of movements is used in both Indian martial arts (Karali Paittu in the Kerala system) and Chinese Tai Chi. However, the very last movement cannot be conveyed, since it has a multidimensional nature and is the very act of creation of the universe.

All 108 movements only create an energy channel and prepare the ground for Creation.

The next phase is aimed at maintaining balance and harmony in the created world. At this stage, Shiva dances facing South, holding Damara in his lowered right hand. This personifies overcoming the fear of death, one of the most destructive passions that interferes with the full realization of a person and humanity as a whole.

In the destruction phase, Shiva dances with a flame in his raised left hand. This symbolizes fire, destroying everything in an outdated world.

The fourth form of dance represents victory over the power of illusion (Maya). Here Shiva dances, trampling with his right foot a prostrate dwarf (a symbol of the demonic energy of illusion). The lowered left hand points to the left leg raised in the dance, recalling the path of personal and universal salvation, deliverance from illusory existence.

The most amazing dance of Nataraja is Urdhva Tandava. In this dance, the left leg is raised up so that its toes point towards the sky. This is the most difficult type of dance. With this dance pose, Nataraja defeated Kali. According to legend, a dispute arose between the god Shiva and his wife Uma about which of them was the better dancer. A competition was organized to the accompaniment of a divine orchestra, in which goddess Saraswati (patron of arts and knowledge) played the veena (lute), god Indra played the flute, god Brahma played the cymbals, god Vishnu played the drum, and goddess Lakshmi sang soul-touching songs . In all other ways of dancing, Kali successfully competed with Shiva. While dancing, Nataraja lost His earring. By dancing in this way, He was able to return the decoration to its original place with the finger of His foot, without the audience noticing.

Nataraja danced with his right leg raised up. This is the Gajahasta pose in Nritya dance. He danced for a very long time, without once changing the position of his feet. Goddess Uma decided that in this case one should show modesty and admit that the winner is Shiva.

There is another dance pose of Shiva - “on the head of an elephant.” Lord Shiva in this form is called Gajasana Murthy. The head of an elephant-like monster is visible at the foot of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva has eight arms. In His three right hands are a trident, a drum and a noose. In two hands He holds a shield and a skull, the third left hand is in the vismaya pose.

One asura took the form of an elephant to kill the brahmanas who were sitting around the Visvanatha Lingam in Benares, completely immersed in meditation. Suddenly Lord Shiva appeared from the Linga, killed the monster and adorned Himself with its skin.

In this article you will learn:

God Shiva is one of the supreme gods in Hinduism, translated means “bringer of happiness.” Shiva, together with the gods Brahma and Vishnu, forms the trimurti - the sacred, divine triangle. The many-armed god is the personification of time and at the same time destruction and fertility. Shiva is a deity who symbolizes the contradictory nature of the world. His goal is to destroy the world and other gods to renew and create something new.

The legend of the birth of the god Shiva

Let us tell you some interesting stories about the birth of Shiva. Each of them is different from each other.

The first story of Lord Shiva says that he was born in response to Brahma's prayers for a son. The prayers were heard, and a blue-skinned deity was born. The child ran near Brahma, crying and asking him to give him a name. Brahma named the child Rudra, but the boy did not stop; the father was forced to give the boy 10 more names. In total there were 11 names and 11 incarnations.

Another legend says that the multi-armed Shiva (Rudra) - the result of Brahma's anger and malice - emerged from his eyebrows. This was the reason that the most negative energy of all the energies of Hinduism became the nature of the newborn deity.

Another legend tells that Brahma is the son of Vishnu. Brahma had 4 sons who did not want their own offspring. God became angry, and a blue-skinned child appeared from between his eyebrows. He was given a name - Rudra and 10 more names and lives, Shiva is one of the names.

The last legend says that Vishnu is the father of Brahma. At the moment of Brahma's birth, there were demons nearby who wanted to destroy God. Because of this, Lord Shiva appeared at the place where Vishnu’s eyebrows meet with a trident in his hands and protected Brahma.

Symbolism and attributes of God in Buddhism

Like other Indian deities, the multi-armed deity has symbols, attributes of Shiva, reflecting the facets of his nature. Attributes include:

• the body is covered with ashes, expresses the beginning of the Universe, which is wider than the boundaries of existence;
• braided hair is a plexus of different energies;
• the moon in the hair represents the power of control over the mind and understanding;
• 3 eyes – moon and sun, fire;
• half-closed eyes - the infinity of life processes; open eyes - the birth of life, closed eyes - the destruction of the old life;
• snakes on the neck and shoulders - the personification of the current time, past and future;
• Ganga in the hair - symbolizes the removal and cleansing of sins;
• right hand - conquers evil, gives strength and blessing;
• the bull is the faithful companion of the destroyer of desires, a means of transportation;
• clothing made from tiger skin - victory over shortcomings and obscene desires;
• the drum also refers to the attributes of Shiva, personifying physical and out-of-body existence;
• a halo around the body - personifies the Universe;
• phallus - lingam, masculinity and fertility;
• The deity’s weapon is a trident, symbolizing 3 facets: the destroyer of desires, the guardian and the creator.

The most common symbol of India is the dancing Shiva. The dance is called tandava. Every element of an image or figurine, every movement is imbued with a non-random meaning. The main meaning is the destruction of the Universe. The image is dynamic, moving, some gestures are woven into an ornament.

Such dynamics mean the eternal passage of time, constant changes, alternating processes of creation and destruction.

The story of Shiva's consorts

Shiva's first wife is Sati, the daughter of the god Daksha. Dakshi himself did not love Shiva, did not recognize him as a god and did not want such a marriage and husband for his daughter. But at the festival of choosing her future spouse, Sati herself chose the many-armed god. The father had to come to terms, but his feelings for Rudra did not change. At one of the festivals, Lord Shiva did not show respect to Daksha, for which the latter decided to take revenge.

Daksha arranged a sacrifice on Mount Himavat for all the gods except Shiva. A beautiful horse was sacrificed. Frustrated, Sati demanded a piece of sacrificial meat from her father and for Shiva, but Dakshi refused. Unable to bear the humiliation, Sati threw herself into the fire for sacrifice and burned.

Shiva became very angry and created the monster Virabhadra, which destroyed Daksha by cutting off his head. For a long time, Rudra mourned the death of his wife on Mount Kailasa, and did not pay attention to the world, women and the prayers of his admirers for hundreds of years.

During this time, Sati was reborn on earth in the form of Parvati. Sati's love was transferred to Parvati, the girl decided to conquer the harsh god with repentance. She went to the mountain, changed expensive clothes, fasted, ate only leaves, but Shiva remained adamant.

The other gods decided to intervene, and a war broke out between the demons and the gods. Only the unborn son of Rudra could defeat the leader of the asuras. The god of love Kama was sent to Shiva to instill new love, but nothing came of it either: Shiva’s thoughts were only about Sati.

Parvati again surrendered to repentance. The goddess exhausted her body and soul for many years. One day she met a young Brahman who was asking why he was exhausting himself so much. To the arguments and persuasion of the brahman, Parvati gave one answer: no one is needed in the world except Shiva.

The young priest was transformed: an image of Shiva appeared in front of Parvati, and then the god himself. He was touched by such love and worship, and he took Parvati as his wife. The wedding was magnificent, the gods were present at the celebration. After the wedding night, the newlyweds had a son, Skanda, the god of war with extraordinary power.

The meaning and symbolism of Shiva in Hinduism

The religion of Hinduism is full of symbols that embody philosophical movements and teachings, gods and goddesses. It is customary to divide symbols into 2 categories: mudra - gestures and postures, murti - images and images.

Nataraja is the famous image and symbol of Shiva.

Lord Shiva is the king of dancers, the lord of dance. The deity dances in the center of the universe, which personifies the human heart.

Often Rudra is symbolically shown in the form of a lingam, an upright cylinder with a rounded top. Lingam means fusion, dissolution. Shiva from the east is a deity who brings blessings to all beings for fusion.

Legends say that people once possessed almost divine powers. They could live up to 800 years and easily communicate with the inhabitants of heaven - remember the biblical characters! That was the golden age of humanity... But modern science claims: there is nothing impossible in regaining the gift of eternal youth and supernatural psychic abilities. However, let's start from afar.

The hangover experience of Pierre Boucher

Parisian artist Pierre Boucher earned extra money by taking photographs, which became fashionable at the end of the 19th century. One evening the photographer got drunk “to hell” - in the most literal sense: according to personal confession, two devils with pitchforks in their hands were chasing him all night. In the morning he trudged to the darkroom. Chaos reigned on the table: exposed cassettes were scattered interspersed with clean ones. Boucher tried for a long time to figure out which of them needed to be shown, then he waved his hand and showed them all. And he was dumbfounded: those same disgusting faces of the “night guests” were looking at him from the records.

Boucher's friend, a scientist, became extremely interested in the strange phenomenon and, after examination, even sent an article to the Academy of Sciences about the possibility of photographing alcoholic hallucinations. As one might expect, they did not dare to publish it. But articles soon followed about the “psychic photographs” of the famous astronomer and researcher of anomalous phenomena Camille Flammarion. New evidence of the reality of the phenomenon has also emerged. The famous Russian psychiatrist V.Kandinsky reported about “radiations from the head” and even their projection onto the screen: “Projected pictures... are invisible in bright light, but once the room is darkened, they appear very clearly.”

The Ted Serios Phenomenon

The mystical turn of the century gave way to a stage of materialism, and there was a lull in the research of psycho-radiations. It was violated in the early 60s of the 20th century by the American sailor Ted Serios, who was written off ashore. He accidentally discovered that he could project his own mental images onto photographic film. For the amusement of the public, they pointed the camera at the sailor, clicked the shutter and... instead of the face of “drunkard Ted,” well-known buildings and landscapes appeared on the film...

Intrigued scientists persuaded Ted to become a “guinea pig” and conducted about eight hundred experiments. To avoid cheating, the scientists sealed the Polaroid and ordered the “pictures” from Ted themselves. He carried out the “order” with amazing accuracy. And what was absolutely surprising was that at some out-of-town and foreign objects there were new signs and other changes that Ted had no way of knowing about, since he had been stuck in Chicago for many years. Pundits were stumped... Even philosophers joined the discussion about mental images.

The venerable Soviet scientist A.M. Mostepanenko put forward the hypothesis that hallucinations are an objective reality that exists in space and time. It seems that the experiments were given the “green light”, but... Either the scientists were terribly afraid of the devils, or they were afraid of the result, which could leave no stone unturned from classical psychology - no one wanted to take risks.

Some daredevils still dared to experiment. Perm psychiatrist G.P. Krokhalev in 1974 risked photographing the hallucinations of the “alcoholic contingent” of the clinic. The old Zenit regularly recorded everything, including the above-mentioned devils. Both amateurs from the media and fellow psychiatrists took up arms against the scientist. Meanwhile, Krokhalev, purely by chance, conducted another experiment: he placed several patients suffering from hallucinations in a shielded chamber... and all the hallucinations immediately disappeared. The question arises: what does the brain have to do with it then?

"Knowing the Three Times"

Classical science is not yet able to explain this phenomenon. But ancient Eastern teachings do not see anything supernatural in it. According to them, special energy centers of the body - chakras - have the ability to receive and emit mental images. Moreover, the so-called ajna chakra, which has long been called the “third eye,” has become especially proficient in this.

In many beliefs, this amazing organ is a mandatory accessory of the immortal gods. The image of the third eye on the forehead of the deity Shiva can be found on paintings and sculptures of Hindu temples.

Adherents of Eastern religions claim that the “eye of Shiva” once existed among all people, as a gift from the heavenly ancestors of humanity. He, like a satellite dish, captured subtle cosmic energies. The consciousness of our ancestors was open to the flows of information permeating the Universe; they had access to the world “database”, and therefore the sphere of their perception was much wider than the three dimensions familiar to us.

Opening the third eye is the goal of life for many ascetics who spend years of spiritual improvement on this. The possibilities they achieve are amazing. Thus, yogis who have opened the “eye of Shiva” have not only the gift of clairvoyance, telepathy, overcoming gravity, etc., but can observe events occurring at great distances and in other eras - in the past, present or future. In India they are called Trikala Jna - “knowing the three times.”

What is this? Mystic? A beautiful but unrealistic fairy tale? Apparently not. The prominent Soviet scientist Nikolai Kobozev, who studied mental processes at the atomic level, came to the conclusion that the matter of the brain... by itself is not capable of providing thinking. This requires an external source of fluxes, so-called fermionic (information-carrying) particles.

And if this hypothesis is correct, a very interesting picture emerges: a person does not think of his own free will. We are not the source of the mind, but our thoughts and images come from the Mind, which is immeasurably greater. Remember the version of the philosopher Mostepanenko about the independent existence of visions from the one whom they visit?

Let me say, yogis are one thing, but drunks with their hallucinations are something completely different. Are we confusing God's gift with scrambled eggs? Patience, dear reader. Everything will fall into place.

Still, Leonardo was right!

The fact is that the mysterious third eye is not an abstract concept, but a very real organ that is formed in everyone during intrauterine development. This is the pineal gland, or pineal gland, located in the head of vertebrates and humans. In reptiles, in place of the pineal gland, there is a real parietal eye, for which there is even a hole in the skull. It is covered with skin and is able to perceive not only light. It is known that it is especially sensitive to the millimeter wave range, the magnetic field, and also, possibly, to a number of other (including information?) radiations.

(I think that zombification technologies are specifically designed to irradiate the third eye, i.e. the human pineal gland)

In humans, the pineal gland is located deep in the skull. This “atavism” is responsible for the production of melatonin and serotonin – the hormones of “sleep” and “joy”. Quite modest to claim to be the “eye of Shiva,” isn’t it?

But Leonardo da Vinci considered the pineal gland to be the seat of the human soul. And modern science has proven that he was probably right. It turned out that pineal gland hormones help fight cancer, have a rejuvenating effect and prolong our life. And if the functions of this gland are artificially maintained... old age will never come! And a few years ago, specialists from the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology managed to take the first step towards immortality: the drug they created based on pineal gland hormones triggered the reverse passage of time in the body of old macaques - they began to rapidly grow younger!

Microchips in the brain

Let us suppose. And yet, where is the connection with the “eye of Shiva”, the “antenna” into the cosmic information field, bestowing extrasensory qualities? A bold analogy was inspired by the amazing ability of the pineal gland to rotate like an eyeball. Significant similarities with the eye were recently found in the structure of this gland: the rudiments of a lens and... receptors for the perception of colors were discovered there.

And one more thing: the pineal gland contains so-called “brain sand” - mineral bodies ranging in size from fractions of a millimeter to two. The function of this sand remains not entirely clear to science. However, X-ray analysis showed that the grains of sand contain even smaller crystals with a large percentage of silicon, which is used to record information in microchips!

The experiments allowed us to conclude: It seems that brain sand stores data in holographic form about a person’s existence in space and time. Scientists believe that microcrystals are capable of capturing external radiation and reading information sent by cosmic bodies.

There is another (albeit indirect) evidence that the pineal gland is really connected with vision and information capabilities : in some Indian monks who devote themselves to spiritual practices, the pineal gland increases significantly in size, as if swelling the brain. And the parietal bone becomes thinner, dissolves, the area of ​​the skull above the “third eye” becomes like a baby’s fontanel, which facilitates the penetration of cosmic energies.

According to researchers, the third eye explains the phenomenon of clairvoyance: the picture that appears before the mind's eye is projected from the pineal gland onto the retina of the eye, just as light from a movie installation is projected onto a cinema screen.

This version answers another question quite well: why did priests and soothsayers from ancient times resort to the help of children and virgins? It has been reliably established that the pineal gland is directly related to sexual functions, and abstinence greatly activates it. And in children who have not reached puberty, all the power of the pineal gland is directed, willy-nilly, not into the sexual, but into the spiritual sphere.

It is no coincidence that hermits who have taken a vow of celibacy have such a great ability to perceive visions from above.

The power of Shiva. Shiva was such a god. But, since the death of the world will not be soon, Shiva, like other gods, takes care of it for the time being.

Shiva surpasses both Brahma and Vishnu in his power. They say that one day these two gods argued about which of them was more powerful. Suddenly a pillar of fire appeared in front of them, which had no beginning, no middle, no end. This pillar looked like fire consuming the world at its destruction, and sparkled among the fiery wreaths. Brahma and Vishnu decided to find the end of this pillar. And so Brahma turned into a swan and flew up. For a thousand years he flew, but there was no end to the pillar. And Vishnu turned into a boar and began to dig up the pillar from below. He dug for a thousand years, but did not get to the bottom of the pillar. This pillar was Shiva - so he showed that he was more powerful than the Creator of the World and his Guardian.

The image of Shiva. Shiva's appearance is formidable: he has five faces and several hands - they said that he has four or eight of them, and maybe all ten: after all, no one can accurately describe his appearance. His red hair is decorated with a crescent moon, and through his hair the sacred river Ganges falls to the ground. When she fell from the sky to the bottom, Shiva was afraid that the earth would not bear her weight and took her on his head. His throat is decorated with a necklace of skulls, his collar is made of snakes, and his earrings are made of snakes.

Shiva has not two eyes on his face, like other gods, but three. The third eye, crowned with a silver crescent, is located in the middle of his forehead, but it is always closed. Woe to the one whom Shiva looks at with this eye! With its brilliance it will burn any creature, and even the immortal gods this look is dangerous. With his three eyes, Shiva sees the past, present and future. Shiva's third eye appeared like this. One day his wife, the goddess Parvati, came up behind him and, as a joke, covered his eyes with her palms. But a mighty god cannot remain invisible even for one moment! And a third eye immediately appeared in Shiva’s forehead. Therefore he is often called Trilochana - Three-Eyed.

Meditating Shiva -
patron of tantra and yoga.
Modern image

But, despite such a terrifying appearance, the name “Shiva” translated means “Bringer of Happiness” - after all, Shiva can be either formidable and terrible, or good and merciful. His anger overtook the gods more than once, but always, after the anger cooled down and the rage subsided, Shiva showed his merciful side.

Sacrifice of Daksha. Shiva's first wife was Sati, daughter of Daksha. Daksha himself did not recognize Shiva as a god and did not want his daughter to marry him. But when he arranged a celebration of choosing a groom, and Sati, according to ancient custom, had to present a wreath to the one whom she wanted to call her husband, Sati threw this wreath into the air, and it ended up on the neck of the unexpectedly appearing Shiva. This is what Sati wanted: she had long ago decided that Shiva and no one else would be her husband.

Daksha had to come to terms with his daughter’s choice, but he did not experience warm feelings for Shiva. One day all the gods gathered at Brahma, and Daksha also came. Everyone stood up to greet him, only Shiva remained seated. Daksha was offended by this - after all, Shiva refused to greet him, the father of his wife! He decided to repay this.

Soon, on the sacred mountain Himavat, Daksha arranged a sacrifice, but all the gods were invited. Only Shiva he did not call. A beautiful horse was sacrificed, and all the gods received pieces of sacrificial meat from Daksha. Sati, offended that her husband did not get the sacrifice, demanded that the meat be left for him too. When Daksha did not do this, the virtuous goddess, unable to bear such humiliation, threw herself into the fire lit for the sacrifice and burned in it. Since then, in India, the word “sati” was used to describe those wives who, after the death of their husbands, burned themselves along with them on funeral pyres.

Monster Virabhadra. Shiva, having learned about the death of his wife, was filled with terrible anger. From his mouth he created the terrible monster Virabhadra. He had a thousand heads, a thousand arms and a thousand legs, and in each hand was clutched a formidable weapon; Long fangs protruded from his thousand wide mouths, and he was dressed in a tiger skin stained with blood. Falling to his knees before Shiva, the monster asked: “What should I do for you, O greatest of gods?” The formidable Shiva answered him: “Go and destroy the victims of Daksha!” Having received this order, Virabhadra created thousands of monsters like himself. The earth trembled, the sea raged and the sun faded from the roar they raised. They overturned the sacrificial cauldrons, scattered all the utensils for the sacrifice, desecrated all the sacrificial food, and they beat and mocked the gods, who were speechless with horror. Many gods were then maimed or killed, and Daksha himself was cut off and thrown into the fire.

Thus Shiva satisfied his anger. When the anger passed, so did the gods. Having bowed before him and acknowledged his power, the Destroyer of the World had mercy. He raised all the dead and healed all the maimed. Only Daksha's head disappeared forever. Instead, Shiva gave him the head of a goat.

Shiva and Parvati. After the death of the faithful and virtuous Sati, Shiva plunged into deep sorrow. He retired to Mount Kailash and sat there, detached from the bustle of the world, immersed in sad thoughts. He was not interested in the world, nor in female beauty, nor in the prayers of his admirers addressed to him. So many hundreds of years passed.

Meanwhile, Sati was born again on earth in the form of the beautiful Parvati (Uma). The love that Sati felt for Shiva now passed on to Parvati, and she dreamed of marrying Shiva. Knowing that Shiva was not interested in worldly affairs, she decided to win his heart through severe penance. And so, going to the mountains, she took off her luxurious clothes, replacing them with clothes made from tree bark. Three times a day she bathed in the icy water of a mountain spring, for a hundred years she ate only leaves from trees, for another hundred years - fallen leaves, for a hundred years she strictly fasted and did not take a single crumb into her mouth. But all this could not soften the stern Shiva; he constantly thought about the deceased Sati.

Perhaps all her efforts would have remained in vain, but other gods decided to intervene. At this time, there was a fierce war between the gods and asuras. The leader of the asuras, Taraka, having led the life of a stern hermit for many years, exhausting himself with fasting and prayers, achieved from Brahma that none of the gods could defeat him. Only a seven-day-old baby could do this, and this baby had to be the unborn son of Shiva.

Kama tries to inspire Shiva with a new love. But if Shiva plunged into grief forever, it means he will never have a son. Therefore, the gods sent Kama, the god of love, to Shiva. Kama sat astride a parrot, in his hands he held a bow made of sugar cane with a string made of bees, and in his quiver he had arrows - flowers that, striking people right in the heart, brought them love.

It was spring and nature was awakening when Kama arrived at Kailasa, where, not noticing the spring blossoms, Shiva was sitting among the trees, immersed in sad thoughts.

Kama carefully approached him and penetrated his head through his ears, distracting him from thoughts about Sati. Shiva felt that the beautiful image of his wife was fading in his memory, and began to revive it with the power of his thoughts - and then his wife returned to him again, again occupying all his thoughts. But Kama did not calm down and shot his arrow made from flowers into the heart of Shiva. Feeling her sting and seeing Kama, the Destroyer of the World directed his withering gaze at him, and not even a pile of ashes remained from the god of love. Later, Kama's wife persuaded Shiva to resurrect her husband, but it was impossible to restore his body. Since then, people call him Ananga - Incorporeal.

Shiva the Brahmin and Parvati. After this, Parvati-Uma again indulged in severe penance. In the summer heat she tormented herself with the heat of fires, in the winter cold she stood for hours in icy water. Many years passed like this. And then one day a young priest, a brahman, appeared in her hut. Parvati received him cordially, and he, having rested from the road, asked: “Why do you exhaust yourself so severely, O beautiful maiden?” “I have no joy from my beauty,” he heard in response. “I don’t need anyone in the world except Shiva, whom I have loved since childhood!”

The Brahman tried to convince Parvati that it was in vain that she was enduring such suffering because of Shiva, but she rejected all his words and continued to praise her love. Then Parvati saw how her young guest was transformed, and instead of the brahman she saw Shiva himself, who, with a voice like thunder, announced that he was touched by such love, and he joyfully takes her as his wife.

Birth and deeds of Skanda. The wedding of Parvati and Shiva was magnificent. Brahma himself presided over the wedding ceremony, and all the celestial beings were guests. After the wedding, the newlyweds rode on the great white bull Nandi to Mount Mandara, where their wedding night lasted for a whole year in the quiet forests. And when their son Skanda, the formidable god of war, whose strength surpassed the strength of other gods, was born, the earth and sky shook, and the world was illuminated with a wonderful radiance. Skanda was so powerful that already on the fifth day from birth he could easily pull his father’s bow and with arrows fired from it, he pierced through and crushed mountains into dust. His power was so great that he changed the paths of the celestial planets, moved mountains and forced rivers to flow along new channels. Even the gods were afraid of his power!

On the sixth day from birth, Skanda went out to fight Taraka. Their battle was fierce! The opponents fired thousands of arrows at each other, and inflicted thousands of blows with iron-bound clubs. But the strength of the mighty leader of the asuras was small compared to the power that Skanda possessed. With a blow of his club, he cut off the head of his enemy, and the gods rejoiced at this victory - after all, power over the Universe had returned to them again.

Shiva's sacred bull is Nandi.
XII-XIII centuries

Shiva is the destroyer of Tripura. The deceased Taraki had three sons, and each of them owned a city on earth. The eldest ruled the golden city, the middle - the silver, and the youngest - the iron. They lived peacefully for a thousand years, but then the skillful and powerful asura Maya came to them. He was the inventor of the art of witchcraft suggestion and a great builder. Once upon a time, subjecting himself to severe asceticism, he achieved from Brahma the fulfillment of one of his desires. “Let me build a fortress that no one can destroy!” - he asked. “But nothing exists forever, and even the world itself is destined for destruction! There cannot be such a fortress,” Brahma objected. - “Okay, then let only the great Shiva be able to destroy my fortress, and let him do it with just one arrow.” That's what they decided on.

Coming to the sons of Taraka, Maya convinced them to unite the three cities into one. And so the first of the fortifications was made of iron and dug into the ground, the silver stood on the iron, resting against the sky, and the gold rose above the silver, rising above the heavens. This city was called Tripura, each of its sides was a hundred yojanas in length and width, and the asuras who lived in it had unlimited power. Life in Tripura was sad. Along the road leading to the city gates there were vessels with wine and flowers, water gurgled in fountains in the streets, and music was always heard, the palaces were surrounded by beautiful shady gardens.

Rage of the Asuras. For many years the asuras lived in Tripura in peace and quiet, enjoying happiness and security, but one day envy, enmity, hatred entered their hearts - and peace disappeared forever. Discord and fights constantly broke out in Tripura, the asuras ceased to distinguish day from night: they slept during the day and feasted at night. Their violent attacks on their neighbors terrified the entire Universe.

Even the gods were thrown into confusion. When their attempt to capture Tripura failed and their army had to retreat, they turned to the progenitor Brahma with a request for help. After listening to them, Brahma said: “I gave Maya inaccessibility for the fortress he built, but he was unable to curb evil, and the asuras under his control bring misfortune everywhere. Their stronghold must be destroyed so that evil does not prevail over good. Go, oh gods, to Shiva and ask him to help you!”

Chariot of Shiva. The Destroyer of the World did not refuse the gods. “I will destroy Tripura,” he announced, “but you must help me equip myself for battle.” Then the gods began to prepare for Shiva a war chariot, which had no equal in the Universe. The earth was its foundation, Mount Meru was its seat, Mount Mandara was its axis, and the sun and moon were its shining wheels. The arrows in Shiva’s quiver were poisonous nagas - snakes, sons and grandsons of the great Vasuki, Samvatsara - the Year - served as his bow, and the Night of the End of the World served as his bowstring. Brahma himself became the driver of this great chariot, and at the head of the army of the gods, Shiva moved to Tripura.

Great battle. On the high walls of Tripura, hordes of asuras awaited battle. Looking at them, Shiva said, addressing the king of the gods Indra: “Take, O Indra, the whole army and all my retinue and attack Tripura, distract the asuras with a fierce battle, and I will wait for the right moment to release my arrow!” A fierce battle began. Indra's warriors stormed all three fortresses at once, and the inhabitants of Tripura bravely repulsed them, until finally the gods began to push them back. Then Maya resorted to witchcraft, and it began to seem to Indra’s warriors that a wall of raging flame was advancing on them from all sides, followed by thousands of predatory animals and poisonous snakes. The warriors fainted from fear, but Indra removed this obsession, and the battle began to boil with renewed vigor.

Thousands of asuras died, despondency crept into their souls, but Maya, with the power of his magic, created a pool of living water. Those killed, immersed in it, returned to life again and entered into battle, so that the power of the asuras no longer decreased. Then the gods turned to Vishnu and he, unnoticed, entered the fortress, turned into a bull and drank all the living water in one gulp, and then returned to Indra’s army. Victory again passed to the gods, and they began to press back the army of the asuras.

Once again Maya used magic. Tripura, moving from its place, plunged into the waves of the Ocean and disappeared from the eyes of the gods. But the omniscient Brahma showed Indra's army the way to where it was now, to the western shores of the ocean, so the battle immediately resumed. But inevitable death was already looming over the city: the stars in the sky came to a position that was favorable for Shiva’s shot. Taking his formidable bow in his hands, Shiva put an arrow on the bowstring and shot it at Tripura. A terrible thunder rang out, the sky above the fortress burst into flames, and it plunged forever into the abyss of the Ocean. None of the asuras who lived there were saved; only Maya Shiva allowed him to escape unharmed to the edge of the Universe, where he settled forever. And the gods, glorifying the great deed of Shiva, returned to their heavenly kingdom.

Shiva-Nataraja. Among the nicknames of Shiva is the nickname Nataraja - “King of Dance”. It comes from the fact that Shiva dances a frantic magical dance - tandava. He performs this dance every time at the beginning of the world, awakening it and setting it in motion, and with the same dance he will destroy the world when the time of its existence ends.

No one can resist Shiva's dance. They say that once Shiva wanted to convert ten thousand hermits who lived in the forest far from people. They were angry that Shiva was distracting them from pious thoughts, and they cursed him with a terrible curse. But it had no effect on the great god. Then they created a ferocious tiger from the sacrificial fire and sent it towards Shiva, but he tore off the skin from it with the nail of his little finger and threw it on himself. Like a precious robe.

Then the hermits set a terrible snake on Shiva, but Shiva wrapped it around his neck like a collar. The hermits sent the antelope, but Shiva grabbed it with his left hand, and has been holding it ever since. Then they sent the most formidable opponent against Shiva - the evil dwarf Mulayoku with a huge club in his hands. But Shiva threw him to the ground and danced his victory dance on his back. Then the hermits recognized the power of Shiva and began to worship him.

When Shiva dances on top of the sacred mountain Kailasa, the other gods not only enjoy his dance, but also help him. Indra plays the flute for him, Vishnu beats the drum, Brahma beats time, and Lakshmi sings. And while the sacred dance of Shiva lasts, peace and harmony reign in the Universe. [In India, it is believed that Shiva invented 108 different dances - slow, stormy and fast.]

Trimurti. So, we got acquainted with how in India they represented the three supreme gods with whom the fate of the world is connected. They are different in character, and Brahma cannot be confused with Vishnu, and Vishnu with Shiva; and the stories-myths that were told about them were also different. But in India they believed that these were not only three different gods, but also different manifestations of the same God, united in his greatness. When something is created in the world, this God manifests himself in the form of Brahma; when it is necessary to preserve the world order, to support it, he appears in the guise of Vishnu, and when the world comes to the point of its destruction, God appears as Shiva.

We will devote this article to a rather brief description of one of the greatest deities in the Vedic pantheon - the god Shiva. To fully describe all that he is would require a book or even several, because Shiva is the Universe or Universes, the Absolute. The most important and striking characteristics and aspects of God will be discussed in the published material.

Can't remember all his names. Since the times of the Vedas, the name Rudra has stuck to him, but everyone also knows his image as the king of the dance performing Tandava, and here he is already known as Nataraja.

Tandava is an unusual dance, it is also a symbol of the movement of the world. The world itself began with the dance of Shiva, and it will end with it, but as long as Shiva continues to dance, the world exists. From dance to yoga - one step or vice versa. This also applies to the story of Lord Shiva. He is the personification of Ananda (supreme bliss) and at the same time the king of yogis.

Among those who devote themselves to yoga, he is known as Shiva Adinath, where "nath" means 'master'. Therefore, the followers of Shaivism - in its yogic form - are called Nathas. It is not surprising that the founders of the broadest movement of yoga, Hatha Yoga, were Nathas. Matsyendranath and his disciple Gorakshanath are at the origins of this tradition on earth, founded in the 10th-11th centuries AD.

Yoga practitioners know that Shiva knows thousands and millions of asanas, but less is known that he passed on the most valuable knowledge about (the science of breathing control) to his wife Parvati. Yogis all over the world are grateful to Shiva for sending down the system of yogic knowledge to people, which is why he is so revered in communities of practitioners.

God Shiva

God Shiva is contrasts: contemplation and action, creation and destruction, anger and mercy. His image combines many aspects, which is not surprising, because he is considered the Absolute, and the Absolute contains everything. He is Mahayogi - the "great yogi", and also Nataraj - the "king of dance", but also Mrityunjay - the "conqueror of death", seated on the throne of Mount Kailash in the Tibetan Himalayas. This is a sacred place of power, which is revered not only by yogis and followers of Shaivism, but also by people who study the energies of the Earth, its influence on the human condition, his energy and consciousness. Knowledgeable people say that Kailash is truly unlike anything they have seen and experienced before. This is an indescribable experience, after which even big skeptics change their point of view and cast aside all doubts.

On the territory of India there are many places associated with Shiva, and all of them in one way or another can be called places of power. One of the most revered is the Ganga River. It is believed that a sacred river descends through the hair of the god Shiva, so bathing in it brings purification, both external and internal, spiritual.

Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva - trinity

The Hindu/Vedic Trinity, otherwise called Trimurti, consists of three gods: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, with Brahma as the creator, Vishnu as the preserver, and Shiva as the destroyer. This is the real Trinity of Vedism, and yet they are inseparable, these are different manifestations of the one.

Some branches of Shaivism, such as Kashmir Shaivism, see Shiva as a combination of all aspects: creator, preserver and destroyer. For Shaivites, he is Everything. Others perceive it as analogous to the Holy Spirit in Christianity. Shiva is the absolute Reality. Despite the fact that in the minds of mythology experts the god Shiva is associated with destruction, this does not at all mean destruction, understood as something negative. Our culture forces us to think this way. In fact, destruction can be interpreted in different ways: leaving the past, breaking with it; the cessation of the old way of life and the transition to a new stage, because in order to start something, you must first end the previous one.

Such a concept as the destruction of worldly vanity and even death also plays an important role. Shiva is the Absolute, therefore the word “destruction” is just one of the names, one hypostasis, because in the next he is the embodiment of mercy and compassion.

Multi-armed Shiva. How many arms does Shiva have?

Shiva is often depicted as a deity with 4 arms, and sometimes even 8. Why are so many arms needed? Naturally, this is connected with symbolism, and one should not take it literally that this god had 5 faces and 4 hands. In his hands he holds a damaru drum, symbolizing the rhythm of the Universe, in his other hand he holds the sacred flame of Agni - a symbol of purification and regeneration of the world.

Shiva is also depicted holding a trident. There is definitely a philosophical meaning behind such multi-armedness. If he has damaru and Agni in two hands, then the other two perform gestures: one performs a gesture of approval, the other - power and strength. According to legend, it is believed that the sound of this drum is the progenitor of all sounds, and the god Shiva himself gave people the divine syllable “OM”, which was later called the mantra in which the entire essence of the Universe is concentrated. The god can also hold a trident, arrows and a bow, but he does not look the same in all images. The figure of Shiva can be surrounded by snakes. The symbolic meaning of the snake is also ambiguous, because according to one version it can mean the wisdom of Shiva, on the other hand, the three coils of the snake around Shiva’s body can symbolize the past, present, future and the fact that he himself has gone beyond the boundaries of temporary concepts.

Shiva's third eye

There are many legends about the third eye of Shiva. It is interesting to note that other gods who have a third eye include Tara and Ganesha. That's all, actually - other gods don't have a third eye. Legends say that woe to the one whom Shiva looks at with his third eye. In the blink of an eye, this unfortunate creature will turn to ashes. It is not for nothing that they say that Shiva’s anger is terrible.

One of the clearest proofs of this is the story that happened between Shiva and the god of love Kama. One day, other gods sent the god Kama to Shiva to instill love in him, because they saw how the destroyer god suffered, having lost his first wife and realizing that he could no longer have a son. But Shiva did not even want to think about finding another wife, so he had to resort to the services of Kama. But this god was unlucky, because he tried to influence Shiva himself! To some extent, he succeeded, because we know about Shiva’s wife Parvati. However, when Shiva felt the prick of an arrow shot into his heart from Kama’s bow, the latter was immediately pierced by Shiva’s withering gaze, and now this god has no body. That’s what they call him: disembodied Kama.

There is another mysterious moment in the appearance of Shiva. He has three stripes on his forehead. They are usually interpreted as follows: this is a reminder to a person that he needs to get rid of ego, karma and illusions (maya), and can also be taken to another level and understood as working on oneself in order to get rid of three desires:

• bodily (the desire to prolong life, have good health, look beautiful, take care of one’s appearance);
• worldly, associated with vanity, desires to have wealth, recognition, success;
• mental (accumulation of knowledge, excessive cleverness and pride, which certainly follows all this, because it is so nice sometimes to realize that we are smarter than others).

It would seem strange why the desire to have good health from the point of view of Shiva is not welcomed. However, if we think about the psychological aspect of desires themselves, we will find many similarities in the explanation with Buddhism. After all, any desire, whatever it may be, comes from the ego. It is not we who desire, but our ego, which has “settled” in the physical shell and identifies itself with it. This is where our aspirations come from: to prolong life on Earth and take care of the body, that is, to want to live a long time in this guise.

A few words about mindfulness

In fact, you can take care of your health, as long as you don’t make it an end in itself. Just take it for granted, but do not succumb to the temptation and fetishization of appearance. This may be difficult to accomplish in our reality, when the cult of the body and concerns about increasing life expectancy are implanted everywhere. This has become the new religion of our era. The new god and religion are not “new age” or even a “golden calf”, as many tend to think, because wealth usually serves some purpose, in contrast, the cult of appearance gives people the opportunity to prolong their youth and simply show off to others by their appearance. Even inner joy and pride in oneself are also manifestations of the actions of the ego. You can be happy that you've lost a few extra pounds, but don't make a cult out of it any longer. Live correctly, stay healthy, do yoga, but don’t let these activities and hobbies completely take over your consciousness. There is no need to become a slave to ideas.

There is a very interesting saying that says that “it is not we who find and use the idea, but it uses us,” that is, we become obsessed with something and no longer belong to ourselves. For those who support the theory that our world is controlled by egregors, it will be clear that by admiring the idea and succumbing to it, you fall under the influence of a certain egregor and serve it. He is the one who guides you through life. Scientists, great athletes, artists, writers and many other more or less famous people are led by their egregors. How did they connect to them? Of course, through an idea that once flared up and captivated them. There is nothing wrong with serving an egregor, and people, without knowing it, still do it, but the point is that the more we are aware of our thoughts and actions, the less energy we spend outside.

That's why they say that awareness is the key to everything. By becoming more aware of ourselves, acting less under the influence of desires, we stand on the path of yoga, the ultimate goal of which is self-realization and disidentification with our own ego and the desires inspired by it. It is not surprising that even in the guise of Shiva, the three stripes on his forehead constantly remind us of this, because Shiva himself was a yogi and, according to some legends, knew millions of asanas.

Trident of God Shiva

The trident of Shiva, or otherwise Trishula, is the most important attribute of this god. For a person with a Western way of thinking, an association will immediately arise with Poseidon, the god of the sea elements, who is depicted with him on all statues.

There is also a trident symbol in Buddhism, symbolizing the “Three Jewels” of the Buddha. One involuntarily recalls Christianity with its symbol of trinity - the Trinity. In many religions, the number 3 represents a certain sacredness. Often the main postulates of religions are expressed in such numerical terms, and in general the number 3 symbolizes support, balance. Two oppositely directed principles do not fight among themselves, as often happens in traditions based on dualism. The Trinity is a harmoniously balanced combination of various elements that coexist in peace with each other, primarily due to the constant balancing of one principle by two others.

It should be noted that, seemingly far from Shaivism, the fact that in the modern system of power there are often two opposite sides opposing each other, while in the ancient world there was a system of government of three (if we remember Ancient Rome, then there was a triumvirate ). We will not go into details of the structure of political systems now, but the power of the triumvirate was initially distinguished by greater consistency and stability than what we have in the modern world, built on democracy, where two sides are constantly fighting for power. There is no need to talk about any balance here. The only thing is that if one of the parties nominally wins in a short time period, it means that the game will proceed predominantly according to its rules. The same applies to the other side.

The interpretation of Shiva’s trident is not too far removed from modern times. These are three aspects: creator, preserver and destroyer rolled into one. In this interpretation we see more influence from Kashmir Shaivism, where the god Shiva includes these three components. In other traditions, creation corresponds to Brahma, preservation to Vishnu, and only one hypostasis is assigned to him - destruction.

Instead of an afterword

Whatever form Shiva appears in, he remains, perhaps, the most revered of all gods for yogis. Not the least role here is played by the large semantic and philosophical load that his image carries, and by studying the stories set out in ancient scriptures, the Upanishads, one can learn many new facts and symbolism hidden in the image of Shiva.