Festival of Shiv:Days 15, 16 & 17-Shiv's Things

First of all on UCP we apologize for not having individual blogs for each of the past two days of the festival and now having to lump all into one day as three! :) But as we from time to time remind readers the authors of UCP are hardly full time bloggers and as such sometimes our full time jobs and lives makes the UCP nearly impossible! Especially on a daily basis! And of course as we always remind readers if they want UCP's authors to become full time bloggers...hey start clicking on those Ads...LOL! Let's see how many cents would that be?

But now on with the festival...

I've blogged on Day 3 of the festival about rendering onto Shiva the things that are Shiva's and then went on to say that the things that are Shiva's are perhaps us-spirits and perhaps everything else spiritual...I think the whole metaphysical world is Shiva's.

However remember how I keep talking about how in Hinduism the big becomes the little bit and the little becomes big...i.e. it is marvelous a religion for looking at things from both the microscopic and macroscopic levels all at the same time! :)

So today I want to explore Shiv's things as in the things that adorn his 'murti' form. Let's use my beloved guru form picture as my illustration...and explain the things we see in this form which is just one form Shiv can be depicted in...


So now looking at the form let's go! I think this site gives a good explanation as below:

'Physical Attributes

Ganga: Sun is the focal point of the solar system and soul is the focal of the body. Similarly, Gan is the focal point of the divine consciousness of each object and also that of pavitrakas (pure particles). The source from which Gan flows is Gan gaha – Ganga. Gan flows from Shiva’s crown. Hence the notion, that Ganga has descended from Shiva’s crown.

The river Ganga on the earth contains a fraction of the principle of the spiritual Ganga; hence, it remains holy despite environment pollution. Thus, the water of the river Ganga is found to be the most pure, when compared to that of any other river in the world – a fact which is understood not only by those who understand the subtle dimension, but also by scientists.

Moon: Shiva adorns His forehead with the moon. Moon is considered to be the origin of the vibrations of affection, compassion and motherly love. This means that chandrama (lit. moon), represents a state in which these three types of vibrations are unified

The third eye

Shiva’s left eye is considered to be the first eye, the right eye to be the second and the eye (in subtle form) situated slightly above the midpoint between the eyebrows, is the third eye. The upward looking third eye represents the combined energy of both the eyes, the right and left. So also it is a seat of the divine energy. It is also known as Jyothirmath, vyaspith, etc.

Chandra (moon), Ark and Vaishvanar are the three eyes of the Shiva. Ark is the Sun of ajanajlok, whereas Vaishvanar is the Sun of karmadevlok.

Shiva is ‘three-eyed’, which means He can see all events of the past, present and the future.

According to the yogic sciences, the third eye represents the sushumna nadi (the central channel for the flow of kundalini in the body).

The Snake (Nag)

Bhujangapatihari is also one of the names of Shiva. Bhujanga means a snake, that is, pavitrak (pure particle). Pati refers to one who nurtures and Hari means one who wears garlands around his neck. The different types of the snakes represent a collection of pavitrakas. Superficially, these appear as snakes, but reality they are a kind of a ladder. For spiritual progress, one needs to hold on to their tails to rise.

There are nine snakes coiled around Shiva one on the head, one around the neck, one each around the arms, one each around the both the wrists, one around waist, one each around both thighs. In other words, His body is composed of pavitrakas themselves or snakes representing pavitrkas, which play around his body and arms, the form of the Universe.

The snake is also considered as Shiva’s weapon. The nine snakes in the Universe are also known as ‘Navanarayan’. Navanath too, have their origin in these nine snakes.

Kartikeya, Jotiba, Ravalnath and Sabbu are the deities, which manifest at times in the snake form.

The snake exists in some context or other in the form of any deity.

Our body has five snakes, one of which is female and is referred to as the kundalini. The five snakes move inside the body in the form of five internal airs or energies (vayus). The remaining four snakes are normally present in the body; they present only in those who are spiritually evolved.

The snakes represent the male principle. He is the deity, which bestows progeny.'