A very important question has been asked right at the beginning of the Upanishads – Kim Kaarannam Brahm i.e. Who is Brahm, who is said to be the basis of this world? In the later texts, however, the word Brahm is replaced by Rudra and Shiva. The holy texts mention – Ekohi Rudra Sah Shivah i.e. the ruler of this world is one, Rudra, although He is present in every living being. He has created all the living beings and when this world ends, all the souls shall merge within Him.
In other words, this world is but a part of the Rudra form. It is from this form that all souls have emerged and at the end shall merge back into this very form.
Lord Rudra is the Lord of all deities and Gods like Indra. He is the Supreme and He bestows one with intelligence.
This world and all its actions go on according to the cycle of Karmas. Throughout life, a person experiences both joys and sorrows and in the end the soul merges with the Supreme.
Lord Shiva is also known as Har i.e. one who frees one from sorrows. This is why when we pray to Him, we say – Har Har Mahadev! i.e. O Lord! Free us (of our sorrows). Lord Shiva is formless as well as with a definite form. Therefore, He is said to be both Sagun (with a definite form) and Nirgun (formless). Those who wish to pray to His Nirgun form, worship a Shivaling and those who prefers praying to His Sagun form, worships Him in His various other forms. The devotees of Lord Shiva call Him Trinetra, one with Three eyes, Trishooldhari, one who carries a trident, Mundmaladhari, one who wears a garland of skulls, Digambar, one who is naked, Shamshanvaasi, one who resides in cremation ground, Ardhnaarishwar, one who is total and assimilates the virtues of both man and woman, Bhasamdhaari, one who wears ashes. In fact, the three eyes of Lord Shiva symbolize the present, the past and the future. They also symbolize – the sun, the moon and fire. The garland of skulls around His neck reminds one of death, which is inevitable. This is meant to bring one’s senses and distance oneself from evil deeds.
Although He remains without clothes, Lord Shiva is capable of bestowing all the riches on His devotees. Even though He lives in a cremation ground, He rules over the entire universe. He is the king among all the yogis. He always remains with His divine consort Goddess Parvati, yet He has perfect control over His senses. He wears nothing except ashes, yet He can gift His devotee’s precious jewels. He is worshipped as the formless Supreme as well as in His other various forms.
He has countless name like – Mahadev, Bhav, Divya, Shankar, Shambhu, Pashupati, Umakant, Har, Neelkanth, Ish, Ishaan, Mahesh, Naheswar, Parameshwar, Sarva, Rudra, Maharudra, Trilochan, Viroopaaksh, Vishavaroop, Kaamdev, Kaal, Mahakaal, Kaalvikarna, etc. Shiva means wellbeing, His name Shankar means one who bestows wellbeing. Shiva is Brahm or the Supreme and He is the creator as well as the preserver.
Just as fragrance and a flower, coolness and moon, light and sun co-exist, similarly, Shakti is found with Shiva. Shakti may be in any form – Uma, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Brahmani, Indrani or MahaKali – all forms are present in the form of Lord Shiva. If Shiva is Purush (man), Uma is Stree (woman). If Shiva is Brahma, Uma is Saraswati, if Shiva is Vishnu, Uma is Lakshmi, if Shiva is sun, Uma is shade, if Shiva is moon, Uma is star, if Shiva is Yagna, Uma is the Yagna pit, if Shiva is fire, Uma is the holy offering. Therefore, Shiva and Shakti are worshiped together. In the Shivalinga too, both Shiva and Shakti are present in the form of Linga and Yoni.
The mantra, Om, is the divine song of Lord Shiva. In other words, Om is the first sound that resonated through the universe. This first sound is said to be omnipresent. It is the supreme Mantra, it hides in itself divine knowledge and it is the basis of all Mantras. This is the reason why the Mantras are prefixed with Om.
Lord Shiva is also termed as Mrityunjaya and Trayambak. A common man always fears death and tries to avoid it at any cost. And only Lord Shiva can save a person from the clutches of death as He is Mahakaal (one who has won over time), Mrityunjaya (one who has won over death) and Amriteswar (Lord of elixir).
On one hand where Lord Shiva is a symbol of spiritualism, He is a symbol of materialistic world on the other hand. In the material sphere, a person needs everything – a happy family, joy, knowledge, fearlessness, wealth etc. All these are present in totality in Lord Shiva’s family. The divine Goddess, Mother Parvati, is His consort, foremost amongst all Gods, Lord Ganpati, is His son, the commander of the Gods, Kartikeya, is His elder son, Riddhi-Siddhi are His daughter-in-law. Shubh-Laabh are His grandsons. Thus, He has everything in life, yet He remains lost in divine joy and without bothering about material comforts, remains clad only in a covering of ash and lives in Himalayas.
He possesses everything, yet He is free of infatuation. Where there is Lord Shiva, Mother Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya and all divine powers are bound to reside at that place. Where there is Lord Shiva, there is water (Goddess Ganga emerges from His hair) and where there is water, life exists at that place.
Worshiping Kundalini power along with Shivalinga is actually a combined worship of Lord Shiva and Mother Goddess Parvati. Without accomplishing Shiva Sadhana and without the grace of Lord Shiva, it is impossible to even think of offering prayers to a Shivalinga. The unending flow of Ganga from the locks of Lord Shiva symbolizes the importance of water in life. If all the water is drained out from a human body, the person can’t survive. Water is life and thus water is offered to Shivalinga and this process is known as Abhishek, which means a constant flow. In other words, where there is Lord Shiva, a continuous flow of life exists. All the lives have originated from water and it shall end in water. Thus, it is impossible to contemplate about life without water.
Water gives life and till there is water, life exists. Even the blood in the body mostly contain water. Among the five elements of the body, much importance is given to water. Even the tender feelings get expressed by water in the form of tears. Not only this, semen, which is again a water-based fluid, propagates the life within itself.
When a person comes in contact with water, the spirit gets filled with joy as the water outside forms a subtle link with the water inside our body. There may be hundreds of ways of keeping oneself clean, but the most refreshing one is taking a bath. Similarly, when a human being sees rain, the spirit gets uplifted. Rains are a boon of Lord Shiva and all the divine fluid, including elixir are granted by Lord Shiva. Due to this reason, He is also called as Rasheswara.
Now the question arises as to how a person can fully assimilate the divine elixir in his life and attain complete satisfaction and joy. The best way to attain such a state in life is by worshiping Lord Shiva and performing His Sadhanas during the monsoons. The Indian month of Shravan, coincides with the monsoons and in these days as the rain showers on the parched earth, it seems as if nature, the Shakti in the form of earth, is eager to meet Shiva in the form of sky. And as soon as the first rainfall occurs, the earth gets covered with greenery.
The month of Shravan is known as the month of Lord Shiva. Just as Shivalinga symbolizes the coming together of male and female energies, similarly, the month of Shravan symbolizes the confluence of sky (Shiva) and the earth (Shakti). In the present age, no Sadhana of Lord Shiva that is accomplished with full devotion, can go fruitless. Wherever there is life, there is Shiva and when it is the month of Shravan, the grace of Lord Shiva showers along with the rains. Lord Shiva is the one who has been worshiped by all, including Gods and demons and all of them were able to attain boons from Him. On one hand, where Lord Ram worshiped Lord Shiva, Ravan too was a great devotee of Lord Shiva.
The month of Shravan also symbolizes love and romance. Shiva is the Lord who showers divine love upon everyone. When the mind is full of joy, divine feelings and beauty, one should surely accomplish the Sadhana of Lord Shiva in His Rasheswara form. And once Lord Shiva is pleased upon anyone, for sure blessings of Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganpati, Lord Kartikeya and entire Lord Shiva family blesses such and individual.
Shiva is truth, Shiva is beauty and that is why the texts mentions –
Satyam Shivam Sundram
which means Shiva is the truth, Shiva is
the divine joy and Shiva is beauty.
Presented below are four Sadhanas related Lord Shiva which should be performed by every Sadhak during this auspicious month of Shravan month.
It is mandatory to obtain Guru Diksha from Revered Gurudev before performing any Sadhana or taking any other Diksha. Please contact Kailash Siddhashram, Jodhpur through Email , Whatsapp, Phone or Submit Request to obtain consecrated-energized and mantra-sanctified Sadhana material and further guidance,
