Hindu philosophy lays great store on the greatness of Lord Shiva . Every other Hindu is his devotee. Destruction is necessary for re-creation. When Lord Shiva does the tandav, or the cosmic dance of destruction, we fear that the whole creation is annihilated, so that it can be re-created. There are so many tales woven around this belief. Anger caused Shiva to dance with the lifeless body of Sati his wife, whose insult He could not tolerate. This dance was viewed with fear and wonder--fear because it denoted destruction and wonder because it was so full of rhythm and beauty. But this is a story to many, not a reality.
The real truth is that Shiva dances when the laws of nature are broken and then imperfection sets in. The cosmos suffers from the negation of the laws of nature, and when this reaches its climax the whole order of things is upset.
Then comes the necessity to re- order, to re-organize the natural forces and energies, for which Nature invites mass destruction. There is chaos everywhere, and hence the body of Lord Shiva, which is governed completely by natural forces, automatically starts performing the tandav, so that the message of the impending doom is conveyed to the whole creation. There is harmony and rhythm even in this aspect of nature.
Lord Shiva is beautiful and serene, always deep in meditation. Contemplation and compassion are ingrained in Him. He is known as the granter of all boons. He makes no distinction as to the efficacy of granting something to someone. He is satisfied by the effort and penance made by a devotee and therefore does not consider any of his desires as illogical or undeserving.
We all love Him as our true lord and our wellwisher. This Shiva ratri let us honour Him by observing a night vigil while the torch climbs up the temple walls to be installed at the highest point.
No comments:
Post a Comment