The concept of Shiva cannot be explained in a nut shell and it needs a through and detailed study. Rudra, Shiva, Mahadeva, Sadhashiva, and Bhairava are the popular names of Shiva. There are various interpretations for Shiva.
Brahma the creator did penance with a desire to create. But nothing materialized for Brahma. He got angry and started crying. From his tears appeared deadly snakes. Brahma got upset on seeing these snakes and lost his senses and ultimately died. From the body of Brahma appeared 11 Rudras. They are called ekā dasa (eleven) Rudrās. The name Rudra is formed out of ru and dru. Ru means cry and dru means move. Therefore Rudra means roaming around crying. This explanation is given in epics. But Upanishads give different interpretation. The eleven Rudras represent ten sensory organs in the human body and eleventh Rudra is mind says Brhadaranyaka Upanishad. This explanation seems to be logical. There is yet another explanation for Rudra which says he is the remover of misery. Dru also means dissolve or melt and ru also means fear. Rudra removes all miseries of men. This is the reason for performing eka dasa rudram. Eka dasa Rudram names 11 Rudras. They are – 1. Shivan, 2.Rudran, 3.Shankaran, 4. Neelalohithan, 5. Ishanan, 6.Vijayan, 7.Bhiman, 8.Devadevan, 9.Bavothbhavan, 10.Adhityamaka Rudran and 11. Sambha Parameshwaran.
In Krishna Yajur Veda kanda (chapter) IV, sub-chapter 5 anuvakas (stanzas) 1 to 11 praise Lord Rudra and this IV.5 is called Rudram. The recitation of Rudram 11 times is called eka dasa rudra parayana. This chapter is also called namakam, because the word nama is used several times in Sri Rudram. The recitation of Rudram is very popular in India. Chanting of Rudram is supposed to prevent untimely death. In the middle of this kanda IV chapter 5 the mantra of Lord Shiva is placed. This mantra is called pancākṣaram i.e pancha (five) + aksharam (letters) or five lettered mantra. Na + ma +shi + va +ya = namaśivāya is the mantra.
Rudra provides for Brahma to create. Brahma is the lord of creation, Vishnu the upholder and Shiva the destroyer. Destroyer is not the apt word to describe Rudra. Rudra does not like anybody acting against rules and regulations. If somebody violates, Rudra does not hesitate to destroy him. It is wrong to say that He kills a person who unknowingly commits mistakes. He only destroys the thought and energy for committing mistakes. If he is the killer, nobody will recite Rudram, whereas it has become a ritual to chant eka dasa Rudram during birthdays. The chanting of Sri Rudram removes all evil energies. It is firmly believed that when chanted, the energy generated out of the words of Sri Rudram drives away the lord of death Yama. The right interpretation for this is that a person may not have a premature death like accidents or injury. However, every one of us has to ultimately die. There is one verse calledmritunja mantram(mrityu means death) in Sri Rudram beginning withtryambagam, discussed later in this article.
Sri Rudram has 11 anuvakas. Anuvakas can be called as stanzas. There is no relevance between the names of 11 Rudras and the 11 anuvakas. Let us briefly look into the interpretation of Sri Rudram. It begins with salutation to Rudra's arrow and his bow. It is said that these arms of Rudra are auspicious and give happiness and blessings. Shivam amongst other things means blessings. He dwells in a mountain called Kailash or Maha Kailash (Maha Kailasa nlaya – nama 578 in Lalitha Sahasranamam) Maha Kailasam means top head chakra or sahasrara. He guides one's speech. His neck is blue in colour due to the poison that He swallowed. On seeing Him swallowing poison, His consort held Her hand in His throat to prevent the poison entering His system (humanity). Here the poison means the worldly attachments. Rudra in his prakasha form prevents the poison of material attachments percolating into the humanity. Obeisance is paid to Him to give the right frame of mind and for protection against disease of our mind and action. He is also prayed for wealth and knowledge. He is called satvanām, the lord for people with satvic (one of the three gunas) qualities.
He is called the killer of enemies. Enemies mean our inner qualities such as greed, anger, lust etc. He is prayed to destroy such undesirable qualities. He is called a thief as He steals the hearts of His devotees. He is in the heart of everybody, irrespective of a person being a thief. He is in the form of atman and exists everywhere and thieves cannot be an exception. Taskaraanaam means thieves. Then, permeating qualities of Rudra is expressed. The attendants of Rudra are praised. Rudra is called Bhava meaning exists everywhere. Bhairava originated from the word Bhava. Rudra is saluted as the lord who destroys sins. Rudra is addressed as vamana an incarnation of lord Vishnu. In another verse he is praised by saying that he is old in age whose glory is enhanced. This epithet is a clear indication that we gain knowledge as we grow old. He is called prathamaya meaning the first. As a matter of fact nobody has created Him. He has created Himself. In Sanskrit He is called aathi and anaathi. Rudra is also called as the controller of Yama, the lord of death. He is present in all the mantras. It can be recalled here that all the tantra sastras are in the form of teachings by Shiva to Shakthi. Shiva in His prakasha form is self illuminating. To substantiate this theory Rudra is called bilma meaning illumination. He is praised as the one in the form of shrutha. Shruthi means Vedas.
His trishul (trident), drum, bow and arrow are considered auspicious and rich tributes are paid to them. He is also worshiped as the lord of rain. When there is drought, Rudra is invoked and Sri Rudram chanted for causing rain. Kanda IV, chapter 5, auvaka 8, verse 11 says ‘namashivaya cha shivataraya cha'. This is the panchakshari mantra. In this mantra Shiva is invoked as auspicious form of Paramatman or the Absolute. Absolute is the combination of prakasha (the principle Self-revelation) and vimarsha (awareness that brings about the world-process) forms. In the whole of Sri Rudram Shiva is invoked in every form beginning with grass to the form of the Absolute. As a matter of fact he is worshiped even in dust. Rudra gives two aspects of life; one is materialistic pleasures and another jnana or knowledge. Here knowledge means Self realization or the knowledge of the Brahman within. Rudra is also worshiped to protect our parents. Pitaram mota mataram says Sri Rudram. Rudra is said to be vital force for any living being and the cause for evolution. He makes everyone to progress. He makes everyone to think about this moment and the life after death. He does not encourage people to think about the past and the future. Rudra wants cleanliness of both body and mind. Sri Rudram ends by worshipping Him in all the directions and with a plea to destroy enemies. Enemies are the materialistic pleasures and attachments that go against the path of Self realisation.
Shiva is also known as Bhairava. There are different interpretations for Bhairava. Shiva is worshiped in 25 forms as per agama sastra. The important ones are Lingothbhavar, Arthanadeswarar, Somaskanthar, Dakshinamurthy, Kalasamharamurthy, Sarabeshwarar, Neelakantar, Bhairavar, rishabarudar, Chandrasekarar, Natarajar and Gangadharar. Out of the 25 forms of Shiva, Bhairava form is considered as important. Abhat- tuth- tharanar, Vadugar, Kshetrabalar, Brahma-sira-chethar are said to be the other names of Bhairava. There is another school of thought which says that Shiva Himself crated Bhairava. There was one demon by name Dahruhasuran who got a boon that he could be killed only by a woman. Kali was created by Shakthi to kill him. The wrath of Kali killed the demon. After killing the demon, the wrath became a child. Kali fed the child with her milk. Shiva made both Kali and the child to merge with Him. From this merged form of Shiva, Bhairva appeared in his eight forms (ashta Bhairavas). Since Bhairava was thus created by Shiva, he is said to be one of the sons of Shiva, others being Ganesha, Muruga or Skanda, Iyanaar (said to be the God of villages) and Virabhatrar.
Bhairava is the ultimate form of manifestation or pure I consciousness. This form is called Maha Bhairava or Shiva the Supreme. Others give Him terrifying forms. The word Bhairava originates from the word bheeru, which means fearful. Bhairava means terribly fearful form. The right interpretation is that He protects His devotees from dreadful enemies. Who are the dreadful enemies? They are greed, anger and lust. Bhairava protects His devotees from these enemies. These enemies are dangerous as they never allow us to seek Him within. There is also another interpretation. Bha means creation, ra means sustenance and va means destruction. Therefore Bhairava is the one who creates, sustains and dissolves the three stages of a life. In this context He becomes the Ultimate or the Supreme.
Bhairava is also called the protector. If Bhairava is manifested as a form of Shiva, He becomes the protector of the universe. In all the temples, there will be a Bhairava statue. This Bhairava is the protector of temples. In Shiva temples, when the temple is closed, the keys are placed before Bhairava. In some of the ancient texts, Bhairava is described as the protector of women. He is described here as the protector of the timid and in general women are timid in nature, hence this description.
Puranas (epics) too give different versions of Bhairava. Brahma is the lord of creation. He thought that He is the Supreme and abused Shiva. Shiva created Bhairava who removed one of the five heads of Brahma and took away his skull. There is yet another version. There was a war between gods and demons. To eradicate the demons, Shiva created Bhairava from whom ashta Bhairavas were created. These ashta Bhairavas got married to ashta matas. These ashta Bhairavas and matas have dreadful forms. From these ashta Bhairavas and ashta matas, 64 Bhairavas and 64 yoginis were created.
The eight Bhairavas are Asithanga Bhairavar, Ruru Bhairavar, Chanda Bhairavar, Krodha Bhairavar, Unmatta Bhairavar, Kapala Bhairavar, Bhishana Bhairavar and Samhara Bhairavar. Apart from these eight forms there is yet another form called Swarna Akarshana Bahiravar. Maha Bhairavar is said to be Shiva himself. Normally in Shiva temples idols of Bhairava are situated in the north, facing southern direction. He is also called Keshetrabalar. He appears in a standing position with four hands. His weapons are drum, pasam, trine and skull. In some forms of Bhairava, there are more than four hands. He appears without dress and with a dog. His weapons, dog, protruding teeth, terrifying looks, garland with red flowers all these give him a frightening appearance.
In all Shiva temples, regular pooja rituals begin with Sun and ends with Bhairavar. Bhairavar likes ghee bath (abhishekam), red flowers, ghee lamp, unbroken coconut, honey, boiled food, fibrous fruits etc. If a Bhairavar idol is facing west it is good; facing south is moderate; facing east is not good. The right time to pray to Bhairava is midnight. During midnight it is said that Bhairava and his consort Bhairavi (Lalitha Sahasranamam 276) are together and will give darshan to their devotees. The most appropriate time is Friday midnight. There are eight types of flowers and leaves used in archana to Bhairavar.
The eight Bhairavas are said to represent five elements viz. Akash, air, fire, water and earth and other three being sun, moon and atman. Each of the eight Bhairavas are different in appearance, have different weapons, different vahanas (vehicles) and they bless their devotees with eight types of wealth representing ashta Lakshmis. Continuous worship of Bhairava leads the worshipper to a great Guru. There are separate dhyan slokas (verses) and moola mantras to all the eight Bhairavas.
Apart from the ashta Bhairavas there is one more important Bhairava called Swarna Akarshana Bhairavar. He has red complexion and clothed in golden dress. He has moon in his head. He has four hands. In one of the hands he carries a golden vessel. He gives wealth and prosperity. Performing pooja on Tuesdays gives quick results. Akasha Bhairavar is called Sarabeshwarar. In some of the ancient texts he is said to have 32 hands, shape of a bird, golden complexion, terrible teeth, and human form above the hip. Worshipping Him destroys enemies. It is generally believed that worshipping Bhairavar gives prosperity, success and good progeny, prevents premature death and solution to debts and liabilities. Different forms of Bhairava evolve only from Shiva, who is called the Maha Bhairava.
Lord Shiva has five faces called Ishana, Tatpurusha, Aghora, Vamadeva and Sadyojatha. These five faces of Shiva represent the five basic elements viz. akash, air, fire, water and earth. In fact these faces can be called five forms of Shiva. Any creation has to be made out of these five gross elements. The first form or face called Ishana, is the first physical form of Shiva. This form gives us pleasure that is enjoyed by our physical body. This is represented in the form of organs of hearing and speech in our body and in the form of subtle sound and the celestial sphere or akash. It may be recalled that ancient rishis got the sound of Vedas only from akash (ether). The second form or face is called Tatpurusha, the second physical form of the Lord. This form is identified with prakrti or the source of objectivity (Nature). This is the home of atman. This form is represented by organs of touch, organs of action, and is the subtle form of air. The third form is Aghora is the third physical form of Shiva. This is identified with cosmic intellect. This form is represented by eyes, feet and dharma. This is identified with rupa or physical structure and the subtle form of fire. The fourth form is Vamadeva and exists in man in the form of ego, tongue, rectum and subtle form of water. The next form Sadyojatha is the fifth physical form of the Lord and exists in the form of mind, organs of smell, organs of generation, and the subtle form of earth. Shiva created these five gross elements and His only other creation is Shakthi, the vimarsha form or the kinetic energy. The five faces Shiva should not be taken in literal sense and these faces represent five basic elements, five organs of action, five organs of knowledge and pancha tanmatras. These twenty tatvas along with anthakkaranam (mind, intellect, knowledge and ego) are the cause for creation. In other words, these 24 tatvas are the cause for creation.
Everybody is attached to his creator. As already discussed, we need both static and kinetic energy for creation. In other words we need two to create a third. When Shakthi is creating, She has Shiva as Her creator. Therefore, Shakthi is always attached to Shiva. When a baby is born, only the mother introduces the baby to its father. This universe is mothered by Shakthi and fathered by Shiva. Without the help of Shakthi, no one can have darshan of Shiva. Only Shakthi alone can take us to Shiva. That is why She is called Shivajnanapradyini (Lalitha Sahasranamam 727) meaning She imparts the knowledge of Shiva to those who seek Him. Shiva is cit (the foundational consciousness) and Shakthi is citi (the consciousness). Shiva is the core of every living being. There is no difference between Shiva the Supreme, whom we manifest out of ignorance, as different from our own physical form. Shiva is the atman within our own self. As seen above, our physical body is made up of pancha bhuthas (five basic elements of ether, air, fire, water and the earth). After the physical body, there is sukshma sarira or the subtle body. While the physical body is made up of five gross elements, the subtle body is made up of five tanmatras derived from the five gross elements. These five tanmatras like sound, touch etc are the perception of five pancha bhuthas. These five tanmatras along with mind, intellect and ego (anthakkaranam) form the subtle body. In this subtle body the jiva (the soul) with karmas embedded in it is placed. This jiva leaves the physical body at the time of death. Death happens when Shakthi or vimarsha decides to withdraw the prana supplied to the body for its sustenance. Though we say that prana is supplied by Shakthi, the origin of prana is from Shiva. That is why it is said sarvam ishwara mayam jagat, meaning that entire universe is Ishwara.
Beyond Shiva we talk about Mahadeva, Sadashiva and Kameshwara. Anything beyond Shiva, talks about the advanced activities of Shiva. In fact there is nothing beyond Shiva. Shiva also exists in shoonya or vacuum too. In Kundalini meditation, a stage called turiya is often referred. Turiya is nothing but bliss. This turiya stage is the fourth stage, the other three being awake, dream and deep sleep. Turiya is a stage where universal consciousness is contemplated. Shiva is individual consciousness as well as universal consciousness. So, both are Shiva consciousness. Shiva exists everywhere, without exceptions. Either contemplating universal consciousness or individual consciousness means the same thing, contemplating Shiva. Every one of us is witnessing Shiva consciousness in all our activities, but we fail to realise that. Realising Shiva consciousness is called bliss or ananda. Why we are not able to realise that? Our accumulated karmas prevent this. Karma is the bundle of good and bad deeds done during our past births. Is there any way out for this? Yes. Shiva himself gives answer in His Dakshinamurthy form. Dakshinamurthy form of Shiva can be explained as the form of Supreme teacher who clarifies the doubts of students. Dakshnamurthy is worshiped as the one who removes maya and leads to the path of self realization. Dakshinamurthy in a nut shell says ‘Brahman created That and Brahman entered into That'. Here That means Brahman. In the form of Dakshinamurthy, Shiva has become a Guru who teaches Self realization.
For liberation one has to cut off his bondage. For cutting off bondage, one needs to know some ways and means. The ways and means are taught by Shiva himself. This is called ‘Brahman created That and Brahman entered into That'. When I consciousness gets merged with the Supreme consciousness, it is called Self realization. But this Self realisation should be achieved and realised in every second of our life without any efforts. In the initial stages, one needs to have Guru, read scriptures, perform yogic exercises, do pranayama, do stretching exercises, sit for meditation, do japas, do poojas, do havanas etc. All this will lead to the right path. These rituals are tools in tuning our mind. Ultimately one will stop all the rituals and will become disinterested. If this is not happening at some point of time in our lives, then we have wasted your precious time. This is the true Self realization.
What does Shiva mean? Shiva means auspiciousness, good health and prosperity. Observe the beauty of the meaning. When Shiva is realized within, He gives us all round prosperity. Why He is addressed as Mahadeva or Maheshwara (maha+Ishwara) or Parameshwara (Param+Ishwara)? Maha or Para means the supreme. Since there is nothing beyond Shiva He is invoked by these names. There is one more name of Shiva called Sadhashiva. This again is a tatva. Shiva tatva comprises of five divisions called Shivan, Shakthi, Sadashivan, Ishwaran and suddha vidya (pure knowledge). The experience of ‘I' is predominant here. The experience of self is more visible than the experience of this. In other words, the subject gets importance than the object. Subject is Shiva and object is maya. Beyond Sadashiva, there is Maha-kameshvarar. Mahakameshvarar with Maha-kameshvari is the form of the Absolute, which is the ultimate.
Shamkara is another name of Shiva. Sham means blessings which indicate Shiva is full of grace waiting to be showered on those seeking Him. Shakthi is the creation of Shiva. Lalitha Sahasranamam 281 ‘unmesha nimishotpanna vipanna bhuvanavali'. The meaning of this nama is Shakthi creates and destroys at the wink of Her eyes. How She derived such sweeping powers? Is it not the duty of Shiva, whom we call as the Supreme? As discussed earlier Shiva is the static energy and Shakthi is the kinetic energy. Shiva is self illuminating like the sun and Shakthi derives light only from Shiva like the moon. All the potent energy of Shiva is transferred to Shakthi. Shakthi does not have any potent energy of her own. She will not exist without the intent and will of Shiva to create her. So, Shakthi is merely a tool (svatantraya) used by Shiva to perform the acts of emergence and submergence. You and I do not move towards the sensory objects out of our own will. Our movement is controlled by the dynamic Shiva, through His Shakthi. We can realise Shiva only if our ego is dissolved. We can dissolve our ego only if Shiva so desires. So everything and every activity is controlled by Shiva through Shakthi. They do not control these activities out of their own will and pleasure. They are guided by our karmas. They are the judges and decide on the effects of our karmas.
We have to realise our essential self and not our empirical self. It is always better to realise by experiment rather than going by theories. You read these articles on self realisation. It can only show you the correct path; but you have to walk along the path to reach the destination. This is the difference between theory and practice. Divinity consists of two things viz. subject and object. Subject is Shiva who does not change and object is Shakthi who is subject to change. Without subject there cannot be an object. Without Shiva there is no Shakthi.
Shiva is to be realised first through introvert meditation and later by extrovert meditation. Introvert meditation leads you to self realization and extrovert meditation leads you to understand that Shiva exists everywhere. It is not just enough to realise Him only within, though it is the first step. The fact is that He does not reside within you alone. Your aim is not just to experience Him, but to merge with Him and ultimately become Shiva Himself. Becoming Shiva Himself is the real experience. When you become Shiva what happens? Shiva does not have desires, attachments or any worldly things. So, when you become Shiva you also get rid of your desires, worldly attachments etc. When you become Shiva himself, you also look at others as Shiva. You do not and you cannot distinguish and differentiate between your children, your father, your sister, the beggar on the road or a billionaire. This stage is called Shivoham. Shiva + aham = shivoham means that ‘I am Shiva.'
The main difference between a yogi and a person like us is that a yogi can commune with Shiva in all the three stages viz. awake, dream and deep sleep. Such a commune is established by a yogi through his spine. But the yogi has to be ever alert to receive His commune. But in our case, if we are sincere in seeking Him, He communes with us only in our dreams. The difference is due to the fact that the yogi has become Shiva Himself and we are yet to seek Him within. We are not willing to come out of the clutches of mundane rituals. Shiva is beyond the last step of the ladder. If we are stranded in the first step, how we can reach the last step? Yogi can skip several meals continuously, but we cannot even skip a single meal. Our mind is not conditioned not to think about hunger or not to feel the hunger. As long as we have attachments to worldly things, our mind cannot be tuned to higher frequencies to receive the Divine command.
Let us discuss about the reality that exists in our life. Most of us are involved in family life and have duties and responsibilities. How then we can realise Shiva? Is that possible? These questions always loom large in our mind without an answer. Lord Krishna answers this question in Gita. He says ‘do your duty and leave the result either good or bad to me'. So our duty is to attend to our responsibilities in right earnest. Suppose you have achieved something which others cannot accomplish, you take credit for that achievement. But who has made you to achieve that? So, forgetting your creator and misguided by maya, your ego raises its ugly head and you end up saying I did this. When this is the reality why should we think about a yogi in last step of the ladder? Let us first go to the second step, third step and gradually reach the top most step. Without making sincere attempts, what right do we have in blaming Shiva? We need to tune our anthakkarana i.e. mind, intellect, consciousness and ego to realise Shiva.
Tatvas are used in identification and elimination process. Let us take the example of ego. Unless we know what is ego, we cannot determine whether it is good or bad. Great saints have given interpretations about ego. A number of books discuss about ego. With the help of these we know that ego is bad. Why and how and to what extent it is bad is to be experienced. Unless you walk in the scorching sun, you cannot feel what the heat is. In the same way, these tatvas are to be realised. But ultimately, they are to be eliminated. The question is how to eliminate them? Your neighbour tunes his audio system to the highest volume. The sound is blaring. You have limited options now. Either you request your neighbour to tune down the volume or ignore the sound. Ignoring the sound is elimination and requesting your neighbour is ego. Why it is ego? Because, you (I) do not like that noise. You manifest that your ears are not listening to the blaring sound. Over a period of time, your ears will be tuned in such a way that you not hear the blaring sound at all, in spite of your neighbour tuning to the peak volume. This is how every tatwa is to be dissolved and eliminated. When you are able to eliminate all the tatvas, what else remains? Nothing but Shiva as Shiva exists everywhere.
The ultimate result of this experience is that the jiva (soul) within you forgets its mundane nature and gets transformed into divine in nature. It stops distinguishing between poor and rich, young and old, beauty and ugly. Since the jiva feels the experience of the divine, its ‘I' consciousness merges with the universal consciousness. In the next stage it realizes that there is no distinction between I consciousness and universal consciousness. Finally it realises that there is only one stage called Shiva consciousness. In fact this stage should not be called as Shiva consciousness. It should be called Shivam, which is attained first by transition and finally by transformation. When jiva reaches this stage it has no more births, since it has become Shiva the Supreme.
