I am not too much of a religious person, spiritual, maybe, but I
don't really understand religion, but mythology always mesmerizes me. (Thankfully today we can differentiate
between religion and spiritualism.) I never fail to be awed by it's depth and immense scope, its
ability of always surfacing and conveying something that is new,
its paradoxical ability of being ancient, yet so contemporary and
relevant. I'm going to express all that comes to my mind, so sparing the
anachronism, I hope that you all will enjoy reading my thoughts as and when
they spring up from my mind.
The first image that comes to my mind is quite obviously---
The Enigmatic Krishna
I always find Krishna to be too cute and mischievous in any one of his various roops and avatars. Though he is so friendly and approachable, more of an anthropic representation rather than a frightening God, he is also surrounded with controversy. There is much flak and criticism about many of his actions be it stealing the makhan, teasing the gopis, leaving the battlefield for he doesn't mind being called 'ranchod' (the one who fled from war). He's also been criticised about his raslilas and those 1000s of wives he had. Well, those who slur his purity and justify their own petty actions holding his tasks up as models do indeed have a very superficial understanding of his huge persona.
I can't be chronological, and am going to write whatever comes to my minds first of all. And what is finding way out of my fervid mind is ---
To feel and experience any of the symbolism embedded in any of the representations, if we ourselves become Krishna, we'd be able to understand the complex very easily. We all have many selves, and according to me, they are all real. We are selfish and mean at times and so humble, selfless and sublime at others. In other words, we have a higher self and a lower self. I liken Krishna to be my own higher self. Krishna represents me caught in this Mayajaal of reality. It's paradoxical, isn't it, but so true that what we believe is the harsh reality is actually ephemeral and transitory. It will fade away and what we perceive as unreal, will, maybe, remain, as it is eternal.
Lord Shiva and Shani dev
Almost all ancient religions of the past had this element of having to propitiate the unknown forces that affected their lives significantly. Shani Dev is perhaps the most misunderstood and consequently the most feared God in the Hindu Pantheon. There is very little in the sacred texts that redeem him. His gaze is supposed to be symbolic of such evil that all Shani Dev has to do is to look upon his charge or adversary and misfortune would befall them instantaneously.
The Kashi section of the Skanda Purana mentions the origin of Shani Deva. Born to Surya Dev (or The Sun God) and Goddess Chhaya (or Goddess Shade), Shani Deva is known as the elder brother to the God of the Underworld- Lord Yama. It is said that these brothers were charged with the duty of preserving Dharma or Piety in creation. Lord Yama judged sinners in the after-life while Shani Deva brought judgement to the wicked and evil while they lived on earth. Since suffering after death is still a metaphysical concept but observable suffering in real life is scarier, people fear Shani Deva much more than Lord Yama. People believe that at birth, an individual’s destiny is charted by the particular positioning of the 9 planets or the NavaGraha. Lord Shani’s direct shadow or influence is said to be extremely harmful. There is actually such a phenomenon as the “Shani-Mahadasha”, or the time which is replete with misfortunes in their life.
Shani Dev is known to test the virtue of his devotees repeatedly. When even under duress, his devotees continue to be loyal to him, he makes them rich and prosperous beyond measure. In other words, Shani Deva is an enemy of egoistic personas, and devotees honestly believe one cannot get away with being vain and snooty without inviting the wrath of Shani Dev. An interesting trivia about this aspect of the Lord Shiva-Shani Dev relationship happens to be the fact that in Shani Singhnapur, located in the Indian state of Maharashtra, nobody has houses with doors let alone bolts. People live fearlessly, immune to the possibility of theft of any other form of injury. There is a self-created or Swayambhu idol or rock formation of Shani Dev in this village. Generally the term Swayambhu is used to denote Lord Shiva but this is an exception.
Shani Dev apart from being the brother-in-law to Lord Shiva through the latter’s marriage to Goddess Kali ( sister to Lord Yama and Shani Dev) is also the embodiment of Lord Shiva’s Vairagya principle. Using the elements of Vairagya, Lord Shiva manages to sever his ties with material desires and pleasure of life, focussing attention upon the fact that every form of attachment is essentially evanescent. In the cosmic cycle of time, all forms of attraction to materiality only manages to defer the human soul from attaining Moksha or liberation from the eternal cycles of life, death and rebirth. Shani Dev is then the first guardian of the human soul in so far as he makes it a point to make people suffer for their sins in their lives, so as to purify and cleanse them of the negative influence of evil they have acquired in the pursuit of materiality.
The relevance of Lord Shiva and Shani Dev relationship gains utmost importance in the Kaliyug (the age of Kali or hedonism)- a form of consumerist lifestyle infests the contemporary world. Never in the history of human civilization has human life been so enamoured of superficiality than in our current times. Regardless of which part of the world one may look at or which religious or ethnic demographic one observes, the lure of the lucre rules supreme. Even Christianity marks this as the age of Mammon son of Satan- Lord of corrupt Wealth. The system of creating values and preserving the values that uphold simple humanitarian principles, which in turn reinforce the matrix of social life, lay woefully neglected. The reign of corrupt capital and market economy have successfully commodified the best of human hearts. Oil and energy politics is literally generating devastating wars and catastrophic climate changes resulting in the suffering and deaths of millions of people every year globally.
The time to introspect and make change happen first in our hearts and then to the world is now. Paying attention to the philosophical significance of the Lord Shiva and Shani Dev relationship might be a valid starting point.
The first picture that comes to my mind is the battlefield of kurukshetra, with the heroic Arjuna sitting in his 'ratha' (chariot) of five horses and the Glorious Krishna in all his splendour as the charioteer. Each and every time I see this picture,either with my eyes or in my mind, it always emanates as a hugely symbolic representation of the human mind. Isn't the ratha a psycho physical representation of our mind, with Krishna residing as our higher self and the five horses as our grosser physical senses that pull us towards baser, animal instincts. If the Arjuna in us rules, we are dominated by our petty selves, restricting our minds to the self, becoming egocentric. Whereas, if we start looking at the larger picture of life, start attaching the others' happiness to our own, it implies that it is the Krishna in us who is driving our chariot.
The Raaslila, the Gopis and Radha
I am Krishna and each one of my thoughts is a Gopi. My mind is so vast, vivid and has the potential of thinking so many thoughts at the same time. So much so, that it is flooded with thoughts all the time. Even when we are sleeping, some of our thoughts sneak out from the conscious, unconscious or sub conscious minds in various forms such as somniloquism or more commonly as dreams. We don't get respite from our thoughts all our lives. It is the brain that consumes 90% of our blood, is what I have heard people say, and we need to concentrate, meditate and reduce the number of thoughts in our mind. If we do so, we are able to feel realize and use the immense potential hidden inside us... But we can't do it, that's what we feel. Well, not so easily of course. So, for the first time meditators, we have stages like the alpha, where we are able to reduce our active thoughts, then, we gradually start slipping into beta, where we slip into strong concentration and then we have the theta which is akin to deep meditation.
Krishna with gopis is such a magnificent allegory to illustrate how "I" the Krishna is with each and every "Gopi" thought of mine, I am with her because it is my thought, and I am so worldly wise attached to it, enjoying the entire Raaslila... I keep dancing and keep dancing and keep dancing to the tunes of this world till I start feeling detached and keep reducing my thoughts, mainly with the help of meditation, slipping into concentration and then into dhyaan and I meet my own real self, I meet my Radha. I see Radha and Krishna as symbols of the male and female energies inside each one of us. The Chinese call it Yin and Yang, we refer to it as purush and prakriti, Radha and Krishna never meet, yes never, not in this worldly representation. There is no place in this physical world where it is possible for Radha and Krishna to meet. And yet they are always together, so what is this mystery. They are together as they coexist in each being as complements, as components that complete each other.
The first image that comes to my mind is quite obviously---
The Enigmatic Krishna
I always find Krishna to be too cute and mischievous in any one of his various roops and avatars. Though he is so friendly and approachable, more of an anthropic representation rather than a frightening God, he is also surrounded with controversy. There is much flak and criticism about many of his actions be it stealing the makhan, teasing the gopis, leaving the battlefield for he doesn't mind being called 'ranchod' (the one who fled from war). He's also been criticised about his raslilas and those 1000s of wives he had. Well, those who slur his purity and justify their own petty actions holding his tasks up as models do indeed have a very superficial understanding of his huge persona.
I can't be chronological, and am going to write whatever comes to my minds first of all. And what is finding way out of my fervid mind is ---
To feel and experience any of the symbolism embedded in any of the representations, if we ourselves become Krishna, we'd be able to understand the complex very easily. We all have many selves, and according to me, they are all real. We are selfish and mean at times and so humble, selfless and sublime at others. In other words, we have a higher self and a lower self. I liken Krishna to be my own higher self. Krishna represents me caught in this Mayajaal of reality. It's paradoxical, isn't it, but so true that what we believe is the harsh reality is actually ephemeral and transitory. It will fade away and what we perceive as unreal, will, maybe, remain, as it is eternal.
Lord Shiva and Shani dev
Almost all ancient religions of the past had this element of having to propitiate the unknown forces that affected their lives significantly. Shani Dev is perhaps the most misunderstood and consequently the most feared God in the Hindu Pantheon. There is very little in the sacred texts that redeem him. His gaze is supposed to be symbolic of such evil that all Shani Dev has to do is to look upon his charge or adversary and misfortune would befall them instantaneously.
The Kashi section of the Skanda Purana mentions the origin of Shani Deva. Born to Surya Dev (or The Sun God) and Goddess Chhaya (or Goddess Shade), Shani Deva is known as the elder brother to the God of the Underworld- Lord Yama. It is said that these brothers were charged with the duty of preserving Dharma or Piety in creation. Lord Yama judged sinners in the after-life while Shani Deva brought judgement to the wicked and evil while they lived on earth. Since suffering after death is still a metaphysical concept but observable suffering in real life is scarier, people fear Shani Deva much more than Lord Yama. People believe that at birth, an individual’s destiny is charted by the particular positioning of the 9 planets or the NavaGraha. Lord Shani’s direct shadow or influence is said to be extremely harmful. There is actually such a phenomenon as the “Shani-Mahadasha”, or the time which is replete with misfortunes in their life.
Shani Dev is known to test the virtue of his devotees repeatedly. When even under duress, his devotees continue to be loyal to him, he makes them rich and prosperous beyond measure. In other words, Shani Deva is an enemy of egoistic personas, and devotees honestly believe one cannot get away with being vain and snooty without inviting the wrath of Shani Dev. An interesting trivia about this aspect of the Lord Shiva-Shani Dev relationship happens to be the fact that in Shani Singhnapur, located in the Indian state of Maharashtra, nobody has houses with doors let alone bolts. People live fearlessly, immune to the possibility of theft of any other form of injury. There is a self-created or Swayambhu idol or rock formation of Shani Dev in this village. Generally the term Swayambhu is used to denote Lord Shiva but this is an exception.
Shani Dev apart from being the brother-in-law to Lord Shiva through the latter’s marriage to Goddess Kali ( sister to Lord Yama and Shani Dev) is also the embodiment of Lord Shiva’s Vairagya principle. Using the elements of Vairagya, Lord Shiva manages to sever his ties with material desires and pleasure of life, focussing attention upon the fact that every form of attachment is essentially evanescent. In the cosmic cycle of time, all forms of attraction to materiality only manages to defer the human soul from attaining Moksha or liberation from the eternal cycles of life, death and rebirth. Shani Dev is then the first guardian of the human soul in so far as he makes it a point to make people suffer for their sins in their lives, so as to purify and cleanse them of the negative influence of evil they have acquired in the pursuit of materiality.
The relevance of Lord Shiva and Shani Dev relationship gains utmost importance in the Kaliyug (the age of Kali or hedonism)- a form of consumerist lifestyle infests the contemporary world. Never in the history of human civilization has human life been so enamoured of superficiality than in our current times. Regardless of which part of the world one may look at or which religious or ethnic demographic one observes, the lure of the lucre rules supreme. Even Christianity marks this as the age of Mammon son of Satan- Lord of corrupt Wealth. The system of creating values and preserving the values that uphold simple humanitarian principles, which in turn reinforce the matrix of social life, lay woefully neglected. The reign of corrupt capital and market economy have successfully commodified the best of human hearts. Oil and energy politics is literally generating devastating wars and catastrophic climate changes resulting in the suffering and deaths of millions of people every year globally.
The time to introspect and make change happen first in our hearts and then to the world is now. Paying attention to the philosophical significance of the Lord Shiva and Shani Dev relationship might be a valid starting point.
The first picture that comes to my mind is the battlefield of kurukshetra, with the heroic Arjuna sitting in his 'ratha' (chariot) of five horses and the Glorious Krishna in all his splendour as the charioteer. Each and every time I see this picture,either with my eyes or in my mind, it always emanates as a hugely symbolic representation of the human mind. Isn't the ratha a psycho physical representation of our mind, with Krishna residing as our higher self and the five horses as our grosser physical senses that pull us towards baser, animal instincts. If the Arjuna in us rules, we are dominated by our petty selves, restricting our minds to the self, becoming egocentric. Whereas, if we start looking at the larger picture of life, start attaching the others' happiness to our own, it implies that it is the Krishna in us who is driving our chariot.
The Raaslila, the Gopis and Radha
I am Krishna and each one of my thoughts is a Gopi. My mind is so vast, vivid and has the potential of thinking so many thoughts at the same time. So much so, that it is flooded with thoughts all the time. Even when we are sleeping, some of our thoughts sneak out from the conscious, unconscious or sub conscious minds in various forms such as somniloquism or more commonly as dreams. We don't get respite from our thoughts all our lives. It is the brain that consumes 90% of our blood, is what I have heard people say, and we need to concentrate, meditate and reduce the number of thoughts in our mind. If we do so, we are able to feel realize and use the immense potential hidden inside us... But we can't do it, that's what we feel. Well, not so easily of course. So, for the first time meditators, we have stages like the alpha, where we are able to reduce our active thoughts, then, we gradually start slipping into beta, where we slip into strong concentration and then we have the theta which is akin to deep meditation.
Krishna with gopis is such a magnificent allegory to illustrate how "I" the Krishna is with each and every "Gopi" thought of mine, I am with her because it is my thought, and I am so worldly wise attached to it, enjoying the entire Raaslila... I keep dancing and keep dancing and keep dancing to the tunes of this world till I start feeling detached and keep reducing my thoughts, mainly with the help of meditation, slipping into concentration and then into dhyaan and I meet my own real self, I meet my Radha. I see Radha and Krishna as symbols of the male and female energies inside each one of us. The Chinese call it Yin and Yang, we refer to it as purush and prakriti, Radha and Krishna never meet, yes never, not in this worldly representation. There is no place in this physical world where it is possible for Radha and Krishna to meet. And yet they are always together, so what is this mystery. They are together as they coexist in each being as complements, as components that complete each other.
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