Shiva: Living with all

Writing this exactly in the middle of the Shivaratri, sitting alone in my room and watching a rare photograph (in fact a snapshot of a painting) of Lord of the lords Shiva; is something really thrilling for me. Just got this photograph of the Mahadev somewhere on the internet; and with it, got a flood of different thoughts and feelings in my mind.

Shiva is the oldest worshipped deity in the world. Unborn and immortal, the most powerful destructor yet the savior, he is being worshipped everywhere by all, since infinity. Right from the tips of the Kailas where they say, he resides, to the southernmost corner of the land at Rameshwara, Shiva is worshipped everywhere in India. While he is the deity of Sadhus who forsake materialistic world in search of the spiritual or sometimes of the ghostly world; he is also being worshipped by the people who enjoy family life. From warrior Kings to Vaidik Brahmins, from rich to poor, from technocrats to tribals, all worship the Mahadeva. Shiva accepts delicate flowers from the artists as he is the master of all fine arts while on the other hand, Ghost catcher Tantricks offer him skulls and ashes and he accepts that with equal pleasure.

Shiva rules over ghosts and also rules over arts. He blesses the demons and also blesses the gods. He forsakes the worldly relations; still is a family man. He is destroyer and creator, too. He is hot tempered and naive too. He is fearful. He is lovable. He is ugly. He is attractive. He is mystic. He is simple. A brutal killer, a passionate Lover, a caring husband, a loving Father; still out of all this, Shiva is a Yogi who enjoys Samadhi for ages together. How many personalities reside without any conflict in this one person? I think this is what makes him a Lord of the lords.

In fact, all personalities of Shiva do reside in every human being, too. But, Shiva becomes the God of all Gods because he lets all the personalities groom and show. Like us, he never lets the injustice happen with any emotion of himself, he never suppresses any of his personalities. When he wants to win fear, he wanders through the crematoriums, and embellishes himself with hot ash of incinerated corpses. When he wants to dance, he forgets whole world and makes it a ‘Tandav’. When he wants to make love, he makes it with all passion for ages. When he wants to express grief, he lifts the dead body of his wife in hands and walks whole world screaming in her remembrance. When he is pleased with the penance, he gives anything and everything asked by the devotee. When he is angry, he beheads his own son. When he wants peace, he goes into Samadhi, and if someone tries to disturb, he burns him into ashes.

Instead of indulging into the futile exercise of winning the emotion, Shiva goes natural and lives with the emotion, giving the emotions the due respect they deserve. He stays with all and this is the way how he stays out of all. Like in Dvapar Yuga, Shrikrishna stays with all -- with thefts, with Rasa Leela, with running away from warfront, with sixteen thousand and one hundred and eight wives, -- and still he becomes 'Yogeshwar’ by staying out of all. Shiva, too, is a Yogeshwar.

Just think once about people like you and me. Countless of personalities and infinite emotions we murder day and night. How many of us kill artist in ourselves for money-making job? How many of us suppress our tears just to show that I am strong. How many of us don’t laugh and don’t dance on being happy; just to show that I am modest or mature. How many of us need liquor to be strong and speak truth. How many?

Well, no one, even other deities could not become Shiva because Shiva is the free soul. He is living ‘with’ all emotions and all differentiated personalities, without keeping them aside. What we can do is just a try to give justice to as many emotions, and as many different aspect of our own personality. I think, one can do this much, for sure.