SHIVA, THE ULTIMATE TIME TRAVELLER

 

SHIVA, THE ULTIMATE TIME TRAVELLER

Author’s Preface


He is the One who existed even before the world began.
He is the One who has been prayed to, even when He was unseen.
And ever since the very first time He chose to make His presence known, Shiva has been loved by millions.
Records about Him from ancient folklore are very interesting;
He is the perfection of opposites:
Supreme spiritual Guru, but warrior Chieftain,
Ascetic, but perfect husband,
Mendicant, but householder,
Master of yogic stillness, but King of dance;
Shiva is the fountainhead where paradox reconciles.
In the Hindu pantheon of Gods, He is called the destroyer,
And yet, known by the beautiful symbol of creation, the Shivlinga.

Shiva is a storyteller’s delight.
But because Shiva is hugely paradoxical, it comes as no surprise that, much as He is loved by the masses, there have been times when He has actually been maligned in some circles.This may have been by the design of a select few, as had happened at the instance of His own father-in-law, Daksha. Or then, it may simply be because of ignorance—a lack of knowing Shiva’s esoterics. Ignorance is not always bliss; ignorance mostly leads to a fear, which then makes up its own stories.

 

I believed it was important that Shiva’s endearing mythology, as well as His scintillating spirituality, both needed to be known.
The twin wings that make the truly ethereal flight He eternally embarks upon. It became my call to write a book that gives equal emphasis to Shiva’s story and reveals the fabulous mystic that He is, and indeed, has always been. 

At first, I was overwhelmed by His infinite aspects: What could one write about Him, who is Timeless, Limitless and Boundless? And then, the question itself revealed the answer. One sure mark of Shiva, is that He is bound to Parvati. It is said of Shiva that He does not incarnate. Of Parvati's bhakti (devotion), it is said She is one who can make even Shiva incarnate.
He is Timeless, and yet when Parvati manifests, it is time for Shiva to arrive. He is formless, but when She arrives, He manifests form. She is His eternal soulmate, and they always find each other, through the mists of cosmic time, even through lifetimes; such is the magic of their love! For it is said, Parvati is His wife even from Her previous birth, when She was called Sati.
And I realised that behind the innumerable tales about Him,
at the core of the myriad roles that He plays out, Shiva's story,
is essentially a love story, over and over again.

There is the Pauranic Shiva: The Timeless One vouchsafed to us by the ancient tellings of the Rishis, down to our grandmother’s tales. The Shiva from Kailash.
Shiva, the mountain Chieftain who lives happily with His beautiful Queen, Parvati, and the merry mountain men called ganas. Because His traditional story must always be respected and passed on, it is important to read about Shiva from the Puranas and assimilate this learning into the contemporary idiom of His legend.

 

But there is also the Adhunik Shiva; the Omnipresent, who is always here, lurking in our own hearts, in the present, and therefore the most modern at any time.
For Shiva is Mahakaal, the Ultimate Time Traveller...The Shiva who sometimes comes into the fantasies of writers to make up new stories—as indeed in my own heart He has been, and remains a constant inspiration, stroking my own imagination…

In the deepest reflection, we realise that all things are possible to God; As long as we do remember the Traditional, the modern can be imagined.
In my book, therefore, while there will be conformity to tradition in recalling the magnificent trysts of the players from ancient times, there will also be exciting new characters to introduce a dramatic interplay. These are names which may not have been heard before, but who nevertheless encapsulate the spirit of Shiva’s fantastic bhakts. They reiterate that the enigmatic story of Shiva, enfolds All! Past, present, future, history, mythology and fantasy.
A magical story about the possibility of Shiva in dance with all the mystics of all the worlds, through all the ages and to our own present time.

Aum ShivaShakti Namah!
Shailendra Gulhati

~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

A modern re-telling of Great God Shiva and Parvati's story by Shail Gulhati
Available on Amazon as an E book
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017ECI6CU ( USA)
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B017ECI6CU (INDIA )

THE END OF QUESTIONING- पूछताछ का अंत

THE END OF QUESTIONING

“A lovely story about the time of Shiva's wedding with Parvati, goes somewhat like this,” said Suta.
“Yes! Yes, Gurudeva, please tell!”
“At the point of the solemnising of the marriage by a holy Havan, the pundit asked Shiva, "Who is your father?" Shiva looked at Brahma and said, "He."
"And who is Brahma's father?" asked the pundit. Shiva looked at Vishnu and said, "He is."
But the pundit persisted. "And who, may I ask, is Vishnu's father?"
"I am," said Shiva rather curtly, but with a definite authority that indicated the end of such a conversation.”
“Haha, Gurudeva!” laughed Shaunaka.
“Even as children, whenever we heard the story, we laughed at the episode: at the pundit's persistence and Shiva's patience, wit, and then the estoppel authority.
This story has a very deep meaning; the pundit's questioning denotes the spiritual seeking, and the questioned Shiva is actually the answer to all things:
Shiva honours the manifest world; He honours Brahma as His father, and Vishnu as Super God. But it is only when a questioner persists in seeking the tree of lineage, he finds ultimately, that Shiva Himself is the source of His own Father!“
“I see, Gurudeva.”
“So you see, Shiva plays out the game of the manifest world, till its limit, and then, He takes you beyond its horizon, where the transcendent begins! So too, when the pundit asks Shiva His
Gotra, clan, Shiva replies, ‘Alakh’ - The unsighted, or niraakar.”
“Wonderful, Gurudeva!”
“Therefore, even though Shiva appears as a simple Yogi playing a role in this world, in reality, the whole of creation emanates from Him. Normally we will not be able to penetrate through the role play of the manifest, to find divinity seated in the midst of it all. But if we persist with our seeking, like the pundit did, then we may at last, arrive at the truth of beautiful Shiva as ‘The One’ behind it all. Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram!” resounded Suta, ending his lesson.

~

SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller.

(Humesha)

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पूछताछ का अंत

सूतजी ने कहा, "पार्वती के साथ शिव की शादी के समय की एक सुंदर कहानी कुछ इस तरह से है।"
"हाँ! हाँ, गुरुदेव, कृपया बताएं! "
"एक पवित्र हवन द्वारा विवाह के समापन के बिंदु पर, पंडित ने शिवजी से पूछा," आपके पिता कौन हैं? " शिव ने ब्रह्माजी को देखा और कहा, "वह।"
"और ब्रह्मा के पिता कौन हैं?" पंडित ने पूछा। शिवजी ने विष्णुजी को देखा और कहा, "वह है।"
लेकिन पंडित आपनी पूछताछ पे लगा रहा । "और क्या में यह पूछ सकता हूँ की विष्णु के पिता कौन हैं
?"
"मैं हूँ," शिव ने सख्ती से कहा ऐसे तरीके से की जिसका अर्थ था की यह वार्तालाप समाप्त हो चुकी थी । "
"हाहा, गुरुदेव!" हँसे शौनक।
" बचपन में भी, जब भी हमने यह कहानी सुनी, हम इस प्रकरण पर हँसे: पंडित की दृढ़ता और शिव के धैर्य, बुद्धि और फिर एस्ट्रोपल अथॉरिटी यानि समाप्ति सन्देश पर।
इस कहानी का बहुत गहरा अर्थ है; पंडित का प्रश्न आध्यात्मिक मांग को दर्शाता है, और प्रश्नित शिव वास्तव में स्वयं सभी चीजों का उत्तर है:
शिव प्रकट जगत का सम्मान करते हैं; वह ब्रह्मा को अपने पिता के रूप में और विष्णु को सुपर भगवान के रूप में सम्मानित करते है। लेकिन यह तभी होता है जब एक प्रश्नकर्ता वंश के वृक्ष की तलाश में रहता है, वह अंततः पाता है, कि शिव स्वयं अपने पिता का स्रोत है! ”
"मैं देख रहा हूँ, गुरुदेव।"
"तो आप देखते हैं, शिव अपनी सीमा तक, प्रकट दुनिया का खेल खेलते हैं, और फिर, वह आपको इसके क्षितिज से परे ले जाता है, जहां पर पारगमन शुरू होता है! इसलिए भी, जब पंडित शिव से पूछते है
गोत्र, कबीले, शिव उत्तर देते हैं, 'अलख' - या निराकार। "
"अद्भुत, गुरुदेव!"
“इसलिए, भले ही शिव एक साधारण योगी के रूप में इस दुनिया में एक भूमिका निभाते हुए दिखाई देते हैं, वास्तव में, सारी सृष्टि उन्ही से निकलती है। आम तौर पर हम सभी के बीच में बैठे देवत्व को खोजने के लिए, प्रकट भूमिका के माध्यम से घुसना नहीं कर पाएंगे। लेकिन अगर हम पंडित की तरह अपनी मांग पर कायम रहते हैं, तो हम अंतिम रूप से सुंदर शिव की सच्चाई पर पहुंच सकते हैं । सत्यम शिवम सुंदरम!" अपने पाठ को समाप्त करते हुए सूतजी ने कहा ।
Hindi translation by

Yash N R

 

TO LOVE SHIVA GO BEYOND JUST LISTENING, TO LIVING IN HIS EXAMPLE.

TO LOVE SHIVA GO BEYOND JUST LISTENING, TO LIVING IN HIS EXAMPLE. “I have heard mention of the so hum mantra by the great ones”, said the snake. “The seed of Ajapa is resting in your very breath, said the Yogi, “lest you forget. This is a great mantra. Literally, it means ‘I am He’. Here, ‘He’ stands for God. But chanting a mantra without understanding it, is like blowing on a flute without understanding its contraption, only a wasteful wind will come out the other end. Have you heard of the man from the land of the fan? There was once a man who voluntarily got into a time machine and went back a few years to a land, where electricity existed but there were no fans. The man tried his best to explain the concept of the fan to the natives, but try as he did, his own knowledge was limited to being an end user, so, he could not go beyond drawing sketches. This knowledge was very frustrating for him, he couldn’t do anything except wait for an engineer to land from his time or someone else to be able to follow his words to a re-invention. Such is the state of wisdom today. We draw yantras, chant mantras, and speak in parables about fantastic achievements; these are truths from ancient memory, not just wild imaginations, what we need is engineers, not just users; deep love of Divinity, not just terminological interest”. ~ From The Yogi and the snake ( Conversations with Shiva ) by Shail Gulhati Available on Amazon :http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LA9ZU4G शिव को प्यार करना सिर्फ उनको सुनने से नहीं होताअपितु उनके उदाहरण में जीने से होता है । सांप ने कहा, "मैंने महान लोगों द्वारा इस मंत्र का उल्लेख सुना है।" "अजाप मंत्र का बीज आपकी सांस में आराम कर रहा है,” योगी ने कहा," ऐसा न हो कि तुम भूल जाओ। यह एक महान मंत्र है। शाब्दिक रूप से, इसका मतलब है 'मैं वह हूँ'। यहाँ, 'वह' भगवान के लिए है। लेकिन बिना समझे किसी मंत्र का जाप करना, उसकी प्रबलता को समझे बिना बांसुरी पर उ फूक भरने जैसा है, केवल एक बेकार हवा दूसरे और से निकलेगी। क्या आपने पंखे के देश से आये आदमी की कहानी के बारे में सुना है? एक बार एक आदमी था जो स्वेच्छा से एक टाइम मशीन में घुस गया और कुछ वर्षों के लिए एक प्राचीन समय की भूमि पर वापस चला गया, जहां बिजली का अस्तित्व था, लेकिन कोई पंखे नहीं थे । उस शख्स ने मूल निवासियों को पंखे की अवधारणा समझाने की पूरी कोशिश की, लेकिन, उसका खुद का ज्ञान एक अंतिम उपयोगकर्ता होने तक ही सीमित था, इसलिए, वह रेखाचित्रों से आगे नहीं बढ़ सका। यह ज्ञान उसके लिए बहुत निराशाजनक था, वह अपने समय से एक इंजीनियर के इंतजार के अलावा कुछ भी नहीं कर सकता था, या किसी और को फिर से आविष्कार करने के लिए अपने शब्दों का पालन करने में सक्षम होने के लिए। ऐसी आज ज्ञान की स्थिति है। हम मंत्रों को आकर्षित करते हैं, मंत्रों का जाप करते हैं, और शानदार उपलब्धियों के बारे में दृष्टांतों में बोलते हैं; ये प्राचीन स्मृति से सत्य हैं, न कि केवल जंगली कल्पनाओं से, जो हमें चाहिए वे इंजीनियर हैं, न कि केवल उपयोगकर्ता; देवत्व का गहरा प्रेम, न कि केवल पारिभाषिक हित ”। Hindi translation by Yash N R

THE GREAT MAGICIAN

THE GREAT MAGICIAN An interesting picture of Shivji. He looks fierce, and the smoke exhaling from his nostrils seem to suggest he is angry.But a closer look will reveal that he is one with Nature, and yet also its master.Note the waterfalls on his left side, trickling downwards his strong arms like his own veins.And that is the truth of creation for the shaivite rishi: Lord Shiva nourishes this world with His own essence.He loves Nature, and sits firmly within it as Pasupatinath.Yes, he would be angry if there is an imbalance created in the world equilibrium just to benefit only a few people.We cannot always think about our own tiny gains, we must see the bigger picture: we are connected to each other and to God Himself, and we must take forward's Gods beautiful dream into a cosmic reality.Let us give Shiva reason to be happy and then watch His magic grow. and maybe next time he is just exhaling clouds from His nostril to amuse his children just like a loving papa performing a great magic show for his kids whom he loves very much.Why invoke His Bhooth Nath Nature, why not please him to be Bhola Nath Sada.. Aum Namah Shivaye.. ~ Shail Gulhati , Author of the book SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. एक महान जादूगर शिवजी की एक रोचक तस्वीर। वह भयंकर लग रहे है, और उनके नथुने से धुआं निकलता हुआ प्रतीत होता है कि वह गुस्से में है। लेकिन करीब से देखने पर पता चलेगा कि वह प्रकृति के साथ एक है, और फिर भी प्रकृति के स्वामी है। उनके बाईं ओर बहते झरने को देखें जो उनकी मजबूत भुजाओं की ओर चल रहा है नसों की तरह। और वह शैव ऋषि के लिए निर्माण का सत्य है: भगवान शिव अपने स्वयं के सार के साथ इस दुनिया का पोषण करते हैं। वह प्रकृति से प्यार करते है, और उनके भीतर पसुपतिनाथ के रूप में दृढ़ता से बैठता है। हाँ, वह विश्व में असंतुलन होने पर नाराज होंगे। केवल कुछ लोगों को लाभ पहुंचाने के लिए दुनिया में संतुलन बनाया गया है। हम हमेशा अपने छोटे लाभों के बारे में नहीं सोच सकते, हमें बड़ी तस्वीर देखनी चाहिए: हम एक-दूसरे से और स्वयं ईश्वर से जुड़े हुए हैं, और हमें अपने ईश्वर के सुंदर सपने को आगे ले जाना चाहिए एक लौकिक वास्तविकता। हमें शिव को प्रसन्न होने का कारण दें और फिर उनका जादू देखें। और शायद अगली बार वह अपने बच्चों को खुश करने के लिए अपने नथुने से सिर्फ बादलों को बाहर निकालें , जैसे एक प्यार करने वाले पिता अपने बच्चों के लिए एक महान जादू का खेल करते हैं, जिसे वह बहुत प्यार करते है। क्यों हम अपनी त्रुटियों से उनके भूतनाथ रूप को बुलावा दें ? क्यों न हम उन्हें प्रसन्न करके सदा भोलेनाथ रहने दें ? । ओम् नमः शिवाय। Hindi translation by Yash N R

SHIVA'S LESSONS TO PARVATI

#SHIVAPARVATI #DIARIES The lessons with Shiva were endless. They had to be. His talk was profound, but so was His silence. “You seem to be talking to me even when you are silent. Is it true or am I just too madly in love with you?”She asked. “Silence is a language only a few understand,” said Shiva. “Those special moments when silence speaks, when stillness gives wings,” He whispered. Even His smile was profound. Everything about Him was the embodiment of wisdom. Sati noticed that there were traces of this wisdom even when He joked. “Tell me you love me,” She said one day. “Prove it with your poems and clever words.” “Oh, but I do love you,” He said.“And it’s when you specifically ask me to say that I love you, I find myself speechless; such are your charms and magic,” Shiva laughed. “Really?” Sati was pleased. “So go on, tell me more.” “Before I met you, I had no wants. I was okay with everything that already was, but now…” “Now?” “Now it’s all changed, it’s all different” “How?” “Now you have spoiled the poor yogi,” He laughed. “Spoiled the yogi?” Sati looked at Him with a twinkle in Her eye. “I mean, you have spoilt my timings for yoga.” “Oh, really? But you are aloof for days on end…and I thought it’s me for whom you don’t have any time…” “That’s only when some very technical thought comes to me. Then I can’t let go until I see it to its logical culmination,” He looked at Her. “Yes, I know. I know, and I understand, Chintan,” She said. “But then, when I see you, and I see us together in this world, it all takes on a whole new meaning! The world is such a great place to be, with you by my side. I never thought I would want anything so much as your company.” ~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. art by Q Arlene Kumar

THE GAME OF LIFE

THE GAME OF LIFE Life was like a repeated throw of dice, and He knew, somehow the dice rolled from His hand. But He was not always in control of how the dice would roll.This was the interesting thing: It was a story whose end was fixed, but the journey itself was always unknown; a completely uncharted flight to a known destination. The play seemed to be in the remembrance of the simple knowledge that all would be well by the end. But no one knew when, not even He. Shiva smiled when he heard the men of a land called Italia use a wise proverb about a game of chess, “After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.” “Indeed,” He whispered to Himself. But this was about the game of life, and He was the box. He loved it when the game was played out upon His chest. Only one matter remained: If He wasn't always in control of how the dice would roll, how was the end fixed? That was simple too. He was endearingly Human, but He was God. And not knowing how the game would roll, did not lessen His omniscience at all. It in fact, enhanced the omniplay of the divine with itself. ~ SHIVA, The Ultimate Time Traveller. on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017ECI6CU जीवन का खेल। जीवन एक खेल के प्रकार था जिसमे बार-बार पासा फेंका जाता था , और वह जानते थे किसी तरह पासा उनके हाथ से लुढ़का। लेकिन वह हमेशा नियंत्रण में नहीं था कि पासा कैसे रोल करेगा। यह दिलचस्प बात थी: यह एक ऐसी कहानी थी जिसका अंत तय था, लेकिन यह यात्रा हमेशा अज्ञात थी; एक ज्ञात गंतव्य के लिए एक पूरी तरह से अज्ञात उड़ान। नाटक यह था की कहीं आत्मा को विश्वास था कि अंत तक सब ठीक रहेगा। लेकिन किसी को पता नहीं था, कैसे । शिव ने मुस्कुराते हुए कहा कि इटालिया नामक देश के लोग शतरंज के खेल के बारे में एक बुद्धिमान कहावत का उपयोग करते हैं, "खेल के बाद, राजा और प्यादा एक ही बॉक्स में जाते हैं।" "वास्तव में," वह खुद से फुसफुसाए। लेकिन यह जीवन के खेल के बारे में था, और वह स्वयं बॉक्स था। जब यह खेल उनकी छाती पर खेला जाता था तो उन्हें बहुत अच्छा लगता था। केवल एक मामला बना रहा: यदि वह हमेशा नियंत्रण में नहीं होता कि पासा कैसे लुढ़केगा, तो अंत कैसे तय किया गया? वह भी सरल था। वह कहने को मानव थे , लेकिन वह वास्तव में भगवान थे की लीला और क्रीड़ा थी । और न जाने कैसे खेल लुढ़केगा, उन्होंने अपनी सर्वज्ञता को कम नहीं किया। यह वास्तव में, स्वयं के साथ परमात्मा की लीला और क्रीड़ा थी की लीला और क्रीड़ा थी Hindi translation by Yash Nr

A LORD WITH NO KINGDOM

A LORD WITH NO KINGDOM “Now, it is my turn to ask”, smiled the Yogi. “There's a plethora of gods in the Universe...Why did you choose me?” “Although God is one, His attributes are different in His different manifestations. Your form held a particular appeal for me. I was awed both by your appearance and character. Here was a lord, with no kingdom, no material acquisitions, no riches, nothing, yet he was bestowing gifts upon others. Here was a God sitting serenely in meditation, a technical God? Someone who loved his wife and children, and was so much at ease with Nature. Someone who loved the forests and the hills, the rivers and the springs and all the beings, that lived in them. I loved the way you let your hair hang loose, and was intrigued at your informal attire. ~ The Yogi and the snake ( conversations with Shiva ) by Shail Gulhati on Amazon https://www.amazon.in/dp/B00LA9ZU4G बिना राज्य वाले स्वामी "अब, यह पूछने की मेरी बारी है", योगी मुस्कुराए। "ब्रह्मांड में देवताओं का ढेर है ... आपने मुझे क्यों चुना?" “यद्यपि ईश्वर एक है, उनकी विशेषताएँ उनकी विभिन्न अभिव्यक्तियों में भिन्न हैं। आपके फॉर्म ने मेरे लिए एक विशेष अपील का आयोजन किया। आपके रूप और चरित्र दोनों से मैं जाग गया था। यहाँ एक स्वामी था, जिसमें कोई राज्य नहीं था, कोई भौतिक अधिग्रहण नहीं था, कोई धन नहीं था, कुछ भी नहीं था, फिर भी वह दूसरों पर उपहार दे रहे थे। यहाँ एक भगवान ध्यान में बैठे थे, एक तकनीकी भगवान? कोई है जो अपनी पत्नी और बच्चों से प्यार करते थे, और प्रकृति के साथ सहज थे। कोई है जो जंगलों और पहाड़ियों, नदियों और झरनों और सभी प्राणियों से प्यार करते थे, जो उनमें रहते थे। मैं उस तरह से प्यार करता था जिस तरह से आप अपने बालों को लटकाते हैं, और आपके अनौपचारिक पोशाक में अंतरंग थे।Hindi transdaltion by Yash Nr