DHYANI SHIVA

Back in the hut, the animals never once disturbed Him as He meditated. Sometimes, He opened His eyes after hours of inward concentration, to see a deer looking at Him curiously! A snake or two cuddled peacefully in a cozy corner was not uncommon either. It was unbelievable, that sometimes, bumble bees hovered around His Kamandalu, desperately looking for the source of a sweet and enigmatic aroma that would emanate almost every time He went into meditation. It was as if the animals knew meditation was the only thing worthy of watching in the humans; the only thing that they didn’t themselves have, or, for that matter which wasn’t outrightly copied from them.

But with Rudra, the arrangement was fair. He loved to watch the lions, the jungle dogs, the wild asses and goats and even the monkeys. He had observed the minute details of their bodily functions and imitated their morning stretches in His yoga.
Seeing this, the animals felt a gratification; they felt an immense dimension of themselves in His presence. He liked each of them for what they were. He realised that they were more wronged than doing wrong; that they were scorned, only because they looked different. He saw that mankind had an obsession for devising labels. Humans loved to customise descriptions of other beings, so as to suit their own parameters, ignoring the beauty of Nature’s bigger plan. He realised that to look for beauty only in beauty was a subtle ugliness.

~ From the book SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. by Shail Gulhati
Available on Amazon :http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017ECI6CU
and for INDIA exclusively:
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B017ECI6CU

Kundalini, the Chakras, and Raja Yoga of Lord Shiva.

Kundalini is the Universal energy force present in each of us in its microcosmic aspect, symbolised in the form of a sleeping serpent.Yogis teach that since this force is latent, it needs to be raised from its lowest residence, passing through various stations, called Chakras, to the highest peak, where lord Shiva Himself resides. When she does reach the summit and merge into her lord, the person is supposed to become 'enlightened', having really found himself ( That's why you may have noticed the portayal  of a serpent head over the head of many of our saints )

The whole inner journey of arousing the energy and raising it to its highest potential, is supposed to be the summary purpose of human evolution to a higher being, carefully systemized under Raja Yoga marg by Lord Shiva. And this divine power, itself permeates both the inner and the outer world. And speaking of  the outer, or macrocosmic dimension of the force, while Tibet ,Egypt, and many other civilizations learnt of the force,even the gnostics of western tradition knew of it, but  the ancient Indian science of spirituality ,is now becoming truly becoming international. Or should we say kundalini has risen above geographical boundaries ,in her macrocosmic arousal! And we find a whole lot of literature, research and teaching going on, the world over.
In India, of course our peers have always known of the chakkers! but extensive work has been done on this esoteric science right  in Jammu and kashmir, from Lal ded, Abhinava Gupta,down to Swami Lakshman jee and Pandit Gopi krishna in our own age, all of who have been doyens in teaching of this sacred science. The very basics of the science state that a human has seven major levels of existence, each corresponding to a station within his own body, like a vortice or dominative energy field of that particular realm of existence.
So , we have :

1) Muladhar, The base Chakra below the spinal cord, where Kundalini sleeps, happy with her shelter, and if this Chakra is not transcended,one would lead an existence of food/shelter needs.
This can go on for years, as in the human evolution itself,and we know that our forefather, the first man, lived as a cave dweller for years before he wandered out to explore.
Even today, though the human race as a whole has evolved past just looking for shelter,
the first Chakra dwellers would be  those individuals who never rise above material realms.So it can be a moneyed man or even a nation that does not think beyond materialism.

2) Svadhisthan,the second Chakra at the root of the progenitive organ, which,appropriately, stands for the procreative need of the individual or race.

3) Manipura, the third Chakra,at the navel, symbolising the 'power' need, a sort of umblical cord of the individual to his higher potential.

4) Hrdya, the fourth, at the heart,denoting the emotive need. Behaviours may be better understood at this level.

5) Visudhha, the fifth at the throat, denoting eloquence .An appreciation of arts and crafts leads to 'culture'.

6) Ajna, the sixth, at the forehead, also the third eye, or Gyan chakshu,denoting intuition, again, appropriately, the sixth sense.

7) Sahasrara, the seventh, over the roof of the head,meaning literally,the thousand petalled, or, symbolically, where the individual becomes, anant- endless,or the Universal itself.

Interestingly, in the outer macrocosm, this is true of sacred geography,and so you may understand even Yatras, to be gradual ascents,
for example, at Vaishno deviji Yatra, say from Kol kondoli ,to Charan paduka, Ardh kawari, Haathi matha and finally Mata darbar at Vaishno devi; or at our Amarnath yatra , beginning from Pahal gam, Chandanwari, Sheshnag,Panchtarni, the Mahagunas, and finally the linga at the top, called Amarnath!
Of course, this is true for even the geographical abode of Shiva ,Kailash! where one traverses through various stations,before the  culmination of Kailash darsana itself.
You may even realise that the older day maharajas had gardens,palaces, even cities designed in the chakra weave, Jaipur , with its pols(gates) may be a fine example of sacred geometry. Such was the importance given and pointers erected in honour of Kundalini.
 Aum Namah Shivaye.

Shail Gulhati is the Author of the books :
SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.
The Yogi and the snake
Shiva Poetry
NAAM ROOP- A Tribute to the Divine
And Life Said.

Available on Amazon E books :
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07HVY1PPS  ( India) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HVY1PPS ( USA)

AUM PURNAMADAH PURNAMIDAM

Dear friends and Shiva bhakts,
we all know the story of how Shiva volunteered to receive Ganga on His head when she had to descend to earth from the heavens for the upliftment of humanity, both living, and the dead. But, she was so full of Divinity that the very earth she was coming to purify would not have been able to take the impact of the torrential 'weight' of her Gyana or satvikta! Shiva stepped forward to make His own matlocks a landing pad for her, Shiva's Yogic hair already contained the ultimate Gyana,infinite Divinity within, and could receive an infinite amount more.

This reminds us of the Purna prayer from the teachings of the ancient hindu rishis, in the Isha Upanishad, which is the first Upanishad.

ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पूर्णमुदच्यते ।
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥

Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Puurnnam-Udacyate |Puurnnasya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||

Meaning:
Fullness 'that' (Outer World)
Fullness 'this' (Inner World)
From Purna is manifested Purna (From the Fullness of Divine Consciousness within, the outside world is manifested),
Even after manifesting a whole Purna from itself, Purna still remains the same.

Shaivites believe that Shiva is the Adi Purnam, the Original Fullness, therefore no amount of giving or receiving Gyana will affect His own Fullness in any way. And this makes it easier to understand why Shiva has a nature of taking every cosmic event upon His own head, be it the Samundra manthan or then, the reception of Ganga.
Aum Namah Shivaye

~ Shail Gulhati , Author of :
SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.
Shiva Poetry
The Yogi and the snake
And Life Said.
NAAM ROOP- A Tribute to the Divine

Available on Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017ECI6CU

SHIVA MAHADEVA- MIGHTIEST WARRIOR, GENTLEST SOUL

“Tell me, Nandi,” asked Bhringi the next morning as he went for his field walk with Nandi.“What kind of God is our Lord?”

“What do you mean, Bhringi?”retorted Nandi.

“I mean, you saw what happened yesterday. That vain Daksha was heaping insults on Shiva, and what did Shiva do in turn? He just turned away…”

“Are you suggesting Shiva was not up to taking on Daksha?” Nandi growled.

“No! Not at all!! I am not that ignorant of our Master! I meant, how does He have so much patience, how can He remain so calm when someone insults Him? Aren’t we mountain warriors? Don’t we have a temper?” asked Bhringi with a childlike innocence.
“Ah, now I see what you mean,” said Nandi in a mellowed tone. “Actually, to be honest, even I lost my temper yesterday. One who loses his temper, often loses control, as our Master has always taught. And yesterday was an example of that: the Master, by remaining composed, showed a mastery, and I, just lost my mind and therefore my control, bull-headed beast that I am!”

“Aw, no you are not,” said Bhringi in literal awe, closing up to Nandi and holding his hand.“You are a loving soul, like an elder brother to all the ganas. It’s okay, even I was losing my temper yesterday, ready to be at your side if a fight ensued, no matter what the consequence.”

“It is not as if Shiva cannot fight,” continued Nandi, pleased at being accorded the status of an elder to all elementals. “Verily, Shiva is the gentlest soul. However, He can also be the most dreadful of all. He is the mightiest warrior these mountains, in fact  this world has ever known. No onslaught is powerful enough to even budge Him for more than a moment. On the other hand, none can stand His onslaught. You do know the power that propels His mighty Trisula, do you not?”
“Ah yes, it is like the comet of death itself, hurtling at a being whose time is surely over,” shuddered Bhringhi.

“Yes. That is the power of Shiva, the God of Power itself. He is Shakti Maan, the wielder of Shakti!”

“Then… why… why did He remain so calm? How come He didn’t get into the hurtling mood?” asked Bhringi, again with the same childlike innocence.

“For the same reason, my dear Bhringi, for the same reason: Shakti.”

“I do not quite follow,” said Bhringhi.

“It is Shakti who Herself is Sati. Daksha the haughty does not know this, because of his very attitude of being ‘a know all’.
But Shiva, the Supreme Knower, is, of course, mindful that Sati is His own half, She is Shakti.
Daksha thinks that he is the cause for bringing Sati to this world, whereas in reality, it is Sati Herself who has chosen Daksha as a ‘venue’ to be manifested at.
But by so doing, She is bound to honour the Karma of manifestation itself, bound to honour Her earth father.
And Shiva it is, who puts His whole Self into Her respect:
He will never stray from that, even if it means a heap of insults from an insolent, ignorant man. That man is the father of His beloved, and that is what lets him go free, from the comet of death or any other terrible fate charging at him.”

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.
Available on Amazon as an E book
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017ECI6CU
and for INDIA exclusively:
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B017ECI6CU

Art Rishabh Dev Sharma

SARVATRA BHAIRAVA- Shiva is all around !

Dear Friends
this very beautiful Nataraja pic gave me a very positive vibration.
And then the realisation:

'Sarvatra Bhairava', Shiva's dance is everywhere.
If you look closely, and match this with your science lessons, you will be taken back to the fact of how the entire cosmos is made up of One energy, which manifests into the smallest matter as atoms, which then join other atoms, to make molecules, and which in turn join yet more, to create elements. Shiva is 'Bhuta Ishwara', Lord of the elements, this then, is His science.
And we are also told that He enhances this skill by Bhuta Sandhaan ( combining) to make compounds, and that He allone knows the mystical science of Bhuta Prithak ( dis- engage)

But unlike the generation of 'things' by AI (artificial intelligence ), it all happens not as a mathematical equation or logarithm. The ancient Kashmir Rishis told us, Shiva creates like a poet, not out of calculation, but out of His over flowing pure ecstasy.This reminds me of a beautiful analogy i once heard : When God was a baby He spilled his milk and created the milky way! ( The entire galaxy where our own planet earth lives)

Shiva is the ancient drummer, His Damaru sounds the pulse of the Universe, it is the 'pacemaker' of the heart of this world....And commensurate with His own beat, next comes the tapping of His Divine feet...
and the dance begins; the play of Nataraja is on, and He seems to invite us by being ' The first on the floo'
We must know that we are are part of it and dance our steps accordingly, with Shiva consciousness; come, join the dance of Shiva.
Aum Namah Shivaye!

~ Shail Gulhati is the author of the book SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.
Available on Amazon as an E book
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017ECI6CU
and for INDIA exclusively:
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B017ECI6CU

HIDING AND SEEKING, GUIDING AND THEN MEETING!!

असतो मा सद्गमय
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय
मृत्योर् मा अमृतं गमय
ॐ शांति शांति शांति - बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् 1.3.28.

Lead Us From the Unreal To Real,
Lead Us From Darkness To Light,
Lead Us From Death To Immortality,
Aum (the universal sound of God)
Let There Be Peace Peace Peace.
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28.)

Thus sang the Upanishadic Rishi .For is this not the ultimate aim of all mankind? To be able to find the Real ( Permanent) world instead of living in an endless cycle of birth and death.Is it not the goal of all beings to move on from the darkness of ignorance, to the light of enlightenment ?
To move from the mortality of the body to the immortality of the soul
So too, He who leads us fro Darkness to light , is the Guru.

Lord Shiva is the source of the light of the world. He is The Primal Guru. In Leading us to The Light, He leads us to Himself, in leading us to Himself, He leads us to our SELF.
It is all one great mystic,spiritual circle!
Hiding and seeking,
Guiding , and then Meeting!
It is all the Leela of Shiva and Shakti .
This is the Gist of the world play.
Aum Namah Shivaye!
~ Shail Gulhati is the author of the books:SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.
The Yogi and the snake
Shiva Poetry
NAAM ROOP- A Tribute to the Divine
And Life Said.

SRISTI ISWARA MAHARAJ

Sati announced Her intention to go every morning to worship the ancient Shivlinga in the royal forest reserves. The Shivlinga was so old that no one knew its history, not even Daksha or the noble ministers of the court, nor too the sages who were rumoured to have meditated in the mountains long before the city of Daksha had come into full being.

But the Shivlinga was there, in its monumental presence.
An enormous and beautifully carved out marvel, in mystic grey granite. All around it was the lush green of the forest, and the contrast of grey and green gave it a yet greater mystic feel.
A snake or two were always seen cuddled around it, as though to assert that they were a permanent part of Shiva.
Flowers strung together as garlands, put on the Shivlinga by worshippers, were undoubtedly more transient than the snakes, but nevertheless lay alongside in devotion.
It was common for Shivlingas to have a name. Usually the devotee of Shiva who had constructed a Shivlinga would name it by adding the suffix of Ishwara to his own name, thus acknowledging Shiva’s supremacy and also immortalizing himself, in the bargain.
Almost all the devatas had ritually made a Shivlinga. So there were Indreshwara, Varuneshwara, Agnieshwara Shivlingas.
They were magical and purported to be standing in the winds, fire and the celestial sky itself.
They formed the earliest places of Shiva worship, much before the Jyotirlingas that would become popular in later times.
But this, the colossal forest Shivlinga, grounded as it was, had a magnetism to it, which none could compare. True to its enigma,
it was unnamed. No devata was even born before it existed; so who would name it?
But it did have an extraordinary title - ‘Sristi Iswara Maharaj’,
The Lord of all creation itself.

Sati loved Sristi Iswara Maharaj. Whenever She approached the forest, She felt Her feet breaking into a run; She could never just walk. In the forest, She thought She clearly heard the leaves rustling into a chorus of invitation, singing ‘Sristi Iswara Maharaj’.
She thought that they sang to Shiva, but in Her haste to get to Sristi Iswara, what She did not notice was that the leaves were actually bowing in Her direction when She ran deep into their midst.
This became a daily ritual: She would not stop running till She reached the enigmatic Shivlinga, Her heart beating and the leaves pulsating with Her run till she arrived at the Sristi Iswara.
Faster each day was the run and the pace of life, faster this divine heartbeat, the mystic crescendo that had become all -encompassing. So fast, that She would almost fall in sweet collapse at the Shivlinga.
And then She would remain there in bliss, for hours on end, day after each passing day. Till the days turned into months and the months into a year. Her entire life itself had become an offering, Her time a rosary count.
 And then, one day, Shiva appeared.

~ From the book ~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.
by Shail Gulhati  Available on Amazon as an E book
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017ECI6CU
and for INDIA exclusively:
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B017ECI6CU

Art: Rajeshwar Nyalapalli