My Understanding of Religion
Page 5
Shiva is the supreme deity of Shaivism. His name means 'Auspicious One' in Sanskrit. He may have evolved from Rudra the divine archer of the Vedas. Shaivism acknowledges three fundamentals: the Lord Shiva (pati), the individual soul (pashu), and the bonds that hold the soul to earthly existence (pasha). To gain freedom and the nature of Shiva (shivatva) the Faithful tread the paths of external acts of worship (carya), acts of intimate service to Shiva (Kriya), meditation (yoga), and knowledge (jnana). When Shiva is shown in human form it is as the cosmic dancer, a beggar, a naked ascetic, an androgyne, or yogin. In sculpture and painting he is depicted as white or ash in colour. His throat is blue: the result of holding poison in his mouth during the churning of the milk ocean. His hair is matted. Around his neck hangs a garland of skulls and a serpent. In his hands he holds a deerskin, a trident, a club with a skull at the end, or a hand drum. Shiva is three-eyed, and some traditions relate how he used his third eye to burn the god of desire to ashes. Other traditions allude to Shiva's love for marijuana.
Although Shiva is sometimes represented in human form, he is generally worshipped in the form of a phallus (linga) in Shaivite temples and private family shrines throughout India. The symbol for the female sexual organ (yoni) often forms the base of the erect phallus. Phallic like pillars with rounded tops have been found in Harappan sites. This suggests that the cult of the phallus existed in antiquity. Shaivism employs model phalli made from river clay, sandalwood paste, wood, metal, and precious gems. Strict rules determine the length and other dimension of the phalli. Some models have faces of Shiva carved on their sides and top, and there is a south India type that shows Shiva emerging out of a fiery phallus. Some phalli (svayambhuva lingas) are said to have self-originated at the beginning of time. They are among the most important and are worshipped in a variety of locations throughout India. Worshippers of Shiva offer flowers, fruit, leaves, tender grass, sun-dried rice, and water in their ritual. Shown in animal form Shiva is the bull Nandi.
Shiva is associated with Yoga. Consequently, it appears advisable to outline the basic principles of Yoga before moving on to discuss the religion of the Mother Goddess. Even though its prehistory is obscure it is assumed Yoga dates back to at least the 2nd century BC. Buddhism might be older than Yoga. However, the reverse could just as easily be true. The earliest known textbook on Yoga, the Yoga-sutras by Patanjali, comprises four volumes. As the first three volumes appear to have been written in the 2nd century BC and the fourth volume in the 5th century AD scholars are inclined to the view that more than one writer was involved in the production of the work. The four volumes are: Psychic Power, Practice of Yoga, Self-collectedness, and Liberation. Patanjali teaches that the process of Yoga involves eight stages: restraint, observance, posture, breath control, withdrawal, concentration, meditation, and trance (yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi). Several stages of trance (samadhi) are supposedly discernible. It is claimed that during the ultimate stage mentation moves beyond fluctuation and into freedom (kaivalya). Patanjali asserts that God (Ishvara: supreme lord) was the teacher of the fathers of mankind, and that he is a distinct self - purusa - untouched by actions and their effects.
Its acceptance of God notwithstanding, Yogic thought is traditionally regarded as synonymous with the Samkhya system of philosophy; so much so, that Yoga is also known as Seshvara-Samkhya (theistic Samkhya). There are six accepted systems of Indian philosophy. Samkhya is one of them. Its fundamental postulation is a dualism of matter (prakriti) and self (putusha). According to Samkhya thought matter and the self are all that is needed to explain the
universe. Consequently, it is unnecessary to assume the existence of God. The Samkhya system allows for innumerable, individual, and equivalent selves. Self, which is pure consciousness, exists everywhere and is separate from matter. However, when it wrongly identifies itself with matter the 'great one' (mahat) evolves and after this 'I-maker' (ahankara) comes into existence - ahankara can be thought of as the ego. In Samkhya terms right knowledge is necessary in order for self to distinguish itself from matter. Patanjali's Yoga and Samkhya philosophy claim that self and mind are distinct. Mind (citta) is classified as an object that cannot know itself. It is, however, known by the self. Through the process of Yoga an attempt is made to bring mental changes to a cessation (citta-vrtti) in order that the self can rest in its true essence. Patanjali views the body as unclean. Nevertheless, quite a lot of the discipline set down in the Yoga-sutras is designed for the perfecting of the body. Bodily perfection is composed of 'beauty, grace, strength, and adamantine hardness.'
Most scholars conclude the Yoga-sutras were written pseudonymously as the name Patanjali carries no cast indicator and is strongly insinuative of divine descent from Shesa: the great naga upon whose coils Vishnu is shown reclining. Some of the so-called mystical (tantric) forms of Yoga seem allusive to nagas. In these forms of Yoga the stated aim is to awaken a power known as the Kundalini, which is depicted as a coiled serpent at the base of the spine. Once the Kundalini has been awoken the yogi attempts to draw it up through seven psychic-energy centres (chakras). Theoretically, when the Kundalini reaches the seventh chakra the yogi experiences union - yoga means union in Sanskrit. There are, supposedly, eighty-eight thousand chakras associated with the human body. Of primary significance are the seven (four in Buddhism) that are found along the spine: the base of the spine, the spleen, the solar plexus, the heart, the throat, the forehead, and the top of the skull. The lowest chakra (muladhara) and the highest chakra (sahasrara) are considered the most important. Kundalini is encompassed by the lowest chakra and union is achieved when the Kundalini arrives at the highest chakra - chakra means wheel in Sanskrit.
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