Shiva Essay - 1713 Words

Shiva represents the most essential goodness, yet is the destroyer of all. Shiva is male, and yet contains female. He is peaceful, yet with the literal blink of an eye he can destroy the universe. â€Å"He is the god of life and death, of destruction and rebirth† (Gokhale 8). How can all that is opposite be embraced within one single being? This is the mystery of Shiva. With his 1008 different names, this represents the mass of his unconceivable mysteries (Gokhale 3). As the god with the greatest following in the Hindu religion, Shiva is known for his divine family, his extraordinary powers, his appearance, and his millions of devotees. He is one of the most well known and most worshipped aspects of Eastern Philosophy, and has left a mark in†¦show more content†¦Kartik, whom was not born directly from Parvati’s womb, fulfilled this prophecy when he was just seven days old by killing Taraka (Gokhale 47). Ganesha, the divine couple’s second son, was genet ically engineered while Parvati was bathing, and she instructed Ganesha to be her dwarpal, or gate keeper, in order â€Å"to protect Parvati’s modesty while she took her ritual bath† (Gokhale 47). Ganesha, doing what he was assigned to do, angered his father when Shiva tried to get in to his wife while she was bathing (Gokhale 47). As a result of this anger, Shiva cut of Ganesha’s head, but immediately realized his mistake and sent attendants to bring back the head of the first animal they encountered (Gokhale 47). This animal happened to be an elephant, and its head and trunk were placed onto Ganesha’s body immediately (Gokhale 47). Nandi, the last part of Shiva’s family, is the sacred bull who represents power and ignorance and also functions as Shiva’s vehicle (Pandit). The history and family life of Shiva has helped to form the depiction of Shiva that is widely known today. â€Å"Shiva is responsible for change both in the form of death and destruction and in the positive sense of destroying the ego, the false identification with the form. The power of destruction associated with Shiva has great purifying power. Destruction opens the path for a new creation of the universe† (Gruenwald). With the opening of Shiva’s third eye, that of fire andShow MoreRelatedHinduism and the God Shiva Essay898 Words   |  4 Pagesconnect with, I chose the Hindu deity Shiva. Some of Shivas characteristics are devotion, self-confidence as a motivating force, selfless service, and achieving balance on all levels. These are all characteristics and values that I find important. I would especially like to work on the ability to balance the mind, body and spirit, which is where my interest in Shiva began. This god is very interesting and complicated. 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