Symbolism in the postures of shivs

The admirers of this and other two blogs (akshayaharshudou.blogspot.com & akshaywaves.blogspot.com) are familiar with the writing pattern of Akshay Chaitanya. Today you are invited to read about symbolic representation of the shiva who is one of the trinity in vaidic dharma / Hinduism. Other two are Brahma and Vishnu. The trinity is in charge of creation (Brahma), maintenance (vishnu) and destruction (Mahesh / shiva). Their manifested forms were imagined and used to teach the mass in the symbolic way. 

Most probably they were personified in the post vaidik period. The common reason was to show respect and bring them in the domain of ritualistic patterns. As we all know, the emergence of rituals was meant for the benefit of the mass. As the society started becoming organised the concept of the division of labour took place. A need was felt to help various groups who were not the same financially. The steps of the rituals contained those ingredients which asked for the participation of every group of the concerned area. This noble vision was slowly manipulated to control others also. 

For further instruction on the pros and cons of this vision you are requested to read (Analysis of Inapt Education and yaksha yudhisthira samvad). Since this was meant for the mass human beings like forms were imagined for the personification. One unique thing with the trinity is their presence and acceptance in pre and post vaidic period. Their individual 

prominence in the society was dependent on the powerful person of that particular area. As we see in the case of shiva, he was projected in various ways. From an ascetic to a householder, his actions had both direct - indirect impact on the society. 

Even an image can teach if one knows the art of reading. Our ancestors presented the essence of various scriptures via sculptors and idols. The temples became the easiest medium to do this. It was the period when the society constructed the temples with the perspective of imparting knowledge in this way. Anyone who don't have the time to read the scriptures or unable to understand o there is a lack of real mentors and the urge of knowing is there, can easily get the guidance by seeing an idol. The picture of Shiva's family teaches various things. 

The vahanas (vehicles) of the members are animals (shiva, Parvati, ganesh) and a bird (Kartikeya). All the vahanas are of opposite nature. In the food chain 

Mouse → Snake → Peacock and bull → lion. The natural food chain does not work in the family and all of them stay in harmony. If the master, owner, leader, boss knows one's own responsibility and maintains a balance in rights and duties, sets an example of the values needed for unity. By mistake if one takes this as a love for other creatures it will be a blunder since many of them are eaten by human beings and even offered as naivedyam in many temples. After all, sanatan dharma is not based on any diet plan. Every true sanatani must oppose the conspiracy of equating vegetarian food with Hinduism. 

With this, the family neither tries to overpower eachother nor jealous of the popularity and preference of any member in the society. The stories highlighting the opposite mentality are not the parameters. 

The crescent moon on the head is in constant touch with the brain and it denotes coolness. The powerful head of the family must be of that mentality while behaving with the family members, etc. 

The flowing river (Ganges) from the head tells about the value of water. Since the water is shapeless, , odour less, colour less it is adjustable but not due to ulterior motive. In a group personal identity must not become a source of breakup. With this the lesson of preserving water bodies is given. The cooked stories regarding the origin of the river Ganges are simply bogus and just like the fuuny tales about onion garlic, carrot, jackfruit or calling few schools of Indian philosophy as nastika, etc. These have defamed sanatan dharma. 

The pose teaches the leadership quality of a powerful leader. For others it is a lesson that the mere respect of any leader due to fear, obligation, oiling isn't any health situation. Therefore one who is attracted towards the post of a leader must possess those qualities as shown in the picture. From the standpoint of the leader concerned responsibility and duties are more important than the facilities received due to the protocol. 

The crescent shape is an astronomical phase of the moon. A waxing crescent is a sickle-shaped curve, representing a harvesting hand tool known by the same name. A most common, essential tool used by the farmers. Even in the modern harvesting machine another version of sickle is used.. 

This analysis matches with that phase of waxing crescent which is moving towards full moon (Purnima). On the other hand the waxing crescent phase from the full moon to new moon shows death and rebirth. The shape and use is same in the both cases. The only difference is in the material being cut. The journey towards the new moon asks for moving away from worldly affairs. 

When the waxing gibbous is towards full moon it starts showing the sign of abundance and the journey towards new moon asks for introspection. 

In the Egyptian mythology, the waxing crescent is related with their moon god Khonsu. And the implied meaning is same as said before. 

In a single image continuous process of creation - destruction is shown by the combination of the two styles of dance – Tandav and Lasya. There is a constant movement (dance) of subatomic particles in the universe shown by the cyclically closed arch. The energy produced by the dance of subatomic particles is the fire or energy needed in every aspect of life. In the image the left leg is in the front and the right leg is behind and standing on the ground. A human-like figure is shown in between his right foot and the ground. The figure is ignorance about one's own true nature and identity. This can be removed by the knowledge of self. In the beginning 

information about one's own true nature / atma gyan is received and a genuine practitioner starts preparation for converting that into knowledge. The position of the left hand and leg shows the nature of the mind when it is towards the world and is involved in the process of creation. At this point the mind moves away from its true nature. In Ardhanareeswara form the left portion is said to be related with mother Parvati. As we all know that the responsibility of delivering a child lies on a mother. 

The nataraja pose clearly talks about the cycle of creation - destruction emerging from one source. In the other words the manifested forms mentioned for creation to destruction are equal and there is no higher or lower in them. In the beginning the common human intellect is unable to grasp or experience that trinity so they are taught separately. 

Ardhanareeswara form shows the blending of masculine - feminine energy present in every creature. The biological difference is natural which must not be negated but both forms of energy are inseparable and interdependent. Here, Shiva is shown with his consort Parvati. Their position is quite significant. 

In this  form we are seeing the combination of prakriti - purusha. In the manifested form they are teaching the need and value of unity needed for the welfare of the mass. It must be accepted in every aspect of life and forms of livelihood. 

In the symmetrical human brain cerebrum is divided in two hemispheres by a deep longitudinal fissure or groove. The right cerebral hemisphere controls the left portion of the body and the left cerebral hemisphere controls the right portion of the body. Both are joined at the bottom by the corpus callosum. It delivers messages from one half of the brain to the other. 

We will take a few examples to understand the concept of unity with keeping their own uniqueness. Artistic, singing, painting, dancing, song's rhythm, music skills are in the right hemisphere and the language, speech, comprehension in the left. In an natural way the concept of community living is taught. 

✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️

Whenever internal - external churning is done types of impurities will come out in the beginning of the process. It is a natural phenomenon and can't be avoided. The word 'internal' points to micro level churning done by a seeker by following the path of introvertedness. Whereas external churning is at macro level. The same person can become a part of both types of churning. In internal churning it is the seeker who starts controlling the consumption of goods and services. With this there is a control on behaviour. In the case of external churning someone takes the responsibility to control the impurities from spilling the work meant for the welfare of the mass. 

आत्ममंथन

जब - जब जहाँ-तहाँ 

हुआ हो रहा होगा मंथन 

 आएगा पहले पहल विण 

पाओ अगर कर पान 

 धारण करना आया अगर

 शिवत्व पाओगे उसी क्षन 

आत्ममंथन सर्वोत्तम मंथन 

विषैली हवा विषैला जल 

जमा विष तक जाएगा पिघल 

 शिवरात्रि करो अपनी सफल। 

यह केवल गल्प नहीं 

किया अभी मंथन नहीं 

विष तभी निकला नहीं 

  संभलो अब इक बार 

तनिक चाहो इक बार 

परव सिखाए इक बार। 

(this poem was written on the occasion of Mahashivratri 8th march 2024)

✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️

What about the analysis / interpretation done by the intellectuals of that era when these sculpture, image were made. For this we have the many examples of the seals, etc found during excavation where written matter describing them were either not found or even existed. For a lay person an idol is nothing more than the name - form. It is the expert who is trained to decode an image / sculpture. The major problem is either people start searching the implied meaning of every object or try to prove its relation with their own ideology by giving funny, irrelevant, absurd interpretations. 

In this context let us see the interpretation where Vishnu is said to be sleeping on the cosmic ocean and is responsible for creation. To prove this claim puranas were diluted. In the old editions of the scriptures of the higher order like Shathpath Brahman, etc talks about kurma, varah, matsya as the incarnation of Brahma and even in the old editions of Mahabharata, matsya is not related with visnu. Since India had monarchy before independence, there were various kingdoms who were attached with this or that form of trinity and incarnations and wherever they got a chance things were added or totally changed. 

In the scientific world conclusion is placed before the scientists of the same subject before preparing the theory. Here, we are simply addressing the issue where the scientists working on the same topic are present. In the same way rishis of vedic age gave the formulas to judge the authenticity of any scripture or commentary or any other form of presentation. Unfortunately this is not done and in result chaos is increasing in the name of analysis. Even written proof is negated for one's own prestige. For further input read the following post :- 

In this name of teaching veda 

http://akshaygroundreality.blogspot.com/2023/08/in-name-of-veda.html

 

in the name of teaching veda

The game of guruism 

It is nice to see that the young generation is moving towards Vedic literature. The market is full of fake gurus who are preaching wrong things in the name of vedas. This is an age -old tradition so it is our duty of every true sanatani to analyse the situation. The young mind is like a blank paper and any kind of written material results in disaster. The concerned person becomes a fanatic brainwashed follower. In most of the cases they're not even ready to check the received information in the name of blind devotion towards their own guru. Normally every human being is given 5 gurus by birth. Unknowingly or the vision of staying in the comfort zone stops a person from properly maintaining, respecting nature and gifted gurus.

You are invited to listen the experimented and experienced analysis on the word 'guru'.

(links of two live on the word guru is given in the comment. Please listen them.). 

Western atheism, God, spirit, demon, etc do not apply on Vedic literature and Indian philosophy. Bhagvan and ishwar are different and God isn't the right translation. Discussion on these is present in the blog and the channel. Here the example of the word asura will be taken. It is taken as negative energy or negative quality. Whereas Adi Shankaracharya described it as extrovert person in the bhashya of Chandogya Upanishad. It isn't his personal interpretation but it is revealed in the upanishad itself. 

Q - Why this word was taken here? 

A - The river Danube was known as Dānubius in Latin (Dānubiī or Dānubī). Few took it as demon and even translated as asura. The lineage totally follows and defines philosophically when someone asks the reason of calling the river Danube as asura. The essence of their answer is, the river is the pure light and asura is the negative quality. And both are present in all of us. Whereas the river Danube is also known as Istros, Dunaj, Duna, Dunav, Duna, Donau, Dunăre.

Danu (Sanskrit: दनु, romanized: Dānu) is a Hindu goddess mentioned in the Rigveda as the mother of the eponymous race of Danavas. This translation needs to be analysed properly. Just on the similarity of the word Danu few equated it with the river Danube and others with the Celtic goddess Danu of nature and motherhood. In Ireland one can hear people calling themself as the children of that goddess. To prove the connection with India few claim that after the defeat in Das Rajan Yudh mentioned in the Rigveda, the king who worshipped Danu migrated towards Europe. The so-called gurus cleverly called danu as river goddess. That is why European rivers have 'da' in their name. None felt sorry to change the introduction of 'Danu' who was more like a family or community deity. She was promoted as the 'river goddess' which is totally fake. 

Sanatan dharma is not based on any particular diet. Unnecessary chaos is created in the name of vegetarians and non vegetarians. Both are hindus. Indian saints who ate non vegetarian food are insulted by a few vegetarian preachers but that is wrong. It has nothing to do with spiritualism or atma gyan. Why can they not promote themself without insulting others? Globally there were many highly elevated saints who were non vegetarian and no one has the right to insult them. A true seeker won't do this. 

The way in which non vegetarian hindus are hated is really shameful. If they leave Hinduism, who will be responsible? From the past few decades several people who pretend to be sanatanis are projecting Hinduism as totally vegetarian. Examples of Gita are taken where a food item is not written. When upanishads were written the consumption of fish and meat was common. Many temples of devi have non vegetarian food as prasad. Non vegetarian biryani is offered as naivedyam in the few temples of south India. People sacrificing goats also oppose this in social media. Few told me that they have to follow the trend. You can watch videos on this in my channel. 

In this order to prove their own superiority and speciality onion, garlic, carrot, jackfruit are defamed by giving funny cause of their origin. Cooked stories of puranas are also not a proof since their contents are paratah siddha and not swatah siddha - their reliability depends totally on the verification. All the funny reasons goes against Ayurveda and old scriptures on agriculture products. One can listen the videos on this in my channel. 

Regarding 33 koti devas upanishad is the only proof. Other childish reasons are meant for promoting one's own ideology without analysis. The upanishad clearly says about 33 departments. The word koti means shreni or vibhag or department in English. Unfortunately another meaning of koti which is crore became famous. Sanatanis are also promoting this. Other meanings are neither verified nor supported by the upanishads. Since there are various theories on the creation of the universe in Vedic literature one must use parameters to judge them and of course one must do the required sadhana. Now let's see few funny definitions given by the so called sanatanis :-

1 During the time when it was written the population was 33 crore. 

2 A step further another fellow added few words in the previous point. The new version took bhagvan, ishwar as one and said one in every person. Like this the number was adjusted. 

3 There are 330 crore gods. 

4 Now comes the scientific reason. 33 denotes 33 vertebrae of the spinal chord and the nerves are the numbers. Few even divided the nerves on the basis of the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacral regions of the spinal cord. 31 pairs of spinal nerves branching out from the spinal cord and two from the coccyx, or tailbone. They either avoided every query or started fuming. Since they believed their guru so others must do that. Only the number is common and one must start connecting it with spinal cord. Sometimes a mental disorder develops in the name of science and spirituality. This type of patient starts defining everything on the basis of science or spirituality. The most lucrative way is to relate with authentic Vedic literature without analysing. In fact there is no need to equate unmanifested (33 koti) with the manifested spinal cord and nerves. 

In the name of mysticism many things are famous. Seeing patterns, figures, colours in meditation is often based on the upbringing where a child continously stays with that kind of literature. It is stored in LTM (long term memory) in the brain and slowly comes out during meditation or deep thinking where sub conscious mind starts playing the game of showing various things. These are often taken as true and books are not only written but promoted as the part of the Vedic literature. 

On the other hand we see few common symbols, geometrical patterns present in various civilizations. The global similarity of the symbols isn't a coincidence or copy paste but spiritual revelation. The most common is shatkona or the star of David. Another is number seven. One must be careful while seeing the similarity. It must not be a case of 'somehow prove' concept

I have two posts on this. 

Varieties of absurd views and interpretation are being promoted in the name of the vastness of veda. Personal interpretation is good for the concerned sampradaya / cult / free thinker and their followers. When it is related with the simplification of veda, prescribed time tested parameteers must be used to make it acceptable for the mass. Rishis of Vedic age gave the formulas to judge the authenticity of any scripture or commentary or any other form of presentation. Several sampradayas, modern preachers, free thinkers have sidelined them. Their lineage start presenting hypothetical approach as authentic. Though few talk about fake gurus but they themself are in that trap. For them initiation is the only thing needed. Most of the sampradayas have taken pauranic literature as authentic and older than veda. When children are taught like this they become brainwashed fanatic follower of this or that organisation. Others who are unware of the Vedic contents and run after them due to their reputation are also spoiled slowly.