How does SHIVA (The Unbound in Hinduism) relate to the Culture of Hinduism?

Question

How does SHIVA (The Unbound in Hinduism) relate to the Culture of Hinduism?

I am trying to find the relationship of Shiva (The Unbound...the statue with multiple arms) to the Hindu culture.

Does anybody know a good source where I can clearly find this relationship? Are there any Hindu's that would like to give me their perspective?

Thank you :)

Answer 1

~Umm, it might have to do with the fact that she is one of their (most important) Goddesses...

Answer 2

I am a hindu. I am also anxious to know the origination of hinduism.
If one starts to know the core thoughts then only one god would be first to be studied with. He is none other than Shiva also known as the destroyer.

He is said to be most powerful and all other 33 crore gods were said to be originated from him. So he is the start and he is the end as well. Great gods Vishnu also k/a protector and Bhrahma the creator were offspring of Shiva according to 'Shiva puran'. But there are other epics 'Bisnu puran', 'Brahma puran' and other saying else.

There is one story in 'Shiva puran' that states that there was a time when Bishnu and Brahma had a debate of being most poweful and unbound one. At that time they even forgot that the one who created them i.e. Lord Shiva was more powerful one. In order to show his unboundness he made the other two gods to find the start point and end point of his status 'Jotirlinga'. Bishnu went searching for the end point and Brahma went searching starting point. None of them could find what they meant to search for for hundreds of years.

It was then that it was proved that most powerful one was Shiva and till the date today he is worshipped as the unbound one.

However, Hinduism is so vast and complicated due to its thousands of years of history of origination that the core idea and the real origination of Lord Shiva is hard enough to be tracked down.

Answer 3

You mean God Nataraja -Siva.

The symbolism of Siva Nataraja is religion, art and science merged as one. In God's endless dance of creation, preservation, destruction and paired graces is hidden a deep understanding of our universe.

God Nataraja-Siva, has four arms ( for the purpose of significance). The upper right hand holds the drum from which creation issues forth. The lower right hand is raised in blessing, betokening preservation. The upper left hand holds a flame, which is destruction, the dissolution of form. The right leg, representing obscuring grace, stands upon Apasmarapurusha, a soul temporarily earth-bound by its own sloth, confusion and forgetfulness. The uplifted left leg is revealing grace, which releases the mature soul from bondage. The lower left hand gestures toward that holy foot in assurance that Siva's grace is the refuge for everyone, the way to liberation. The circle of fire represents the cosmos and especially consciousness. The all-devouring form looming above is Mahakala, "Great Time." The cobra around Nataraja's waist is kundalini shakti, the soul-impelling cosmic power resident within all. Nataraja's dance is not just a symbol. It is taking place within each of us, at the atomic level, this very moment. The Agamas proclaim, "The birth of the world, its maintenance, its destruction, the soul's obscuration and liberation are the five acts of His dance." Aum Namah Sivaya.
By Satguru Sivayasubramuniya Swami

Answer 4

Point number 2 describes that the Kalki Avatar will be the last Prophet. “He is the beginning” is described by the “Gospel of Barnabas” which says that the soul of Prophet Muhammad (s) was created 60,000 years before anything was created.



None of the descriptions apply to Prophet Muhammad (s)?



This is incorrect. All of the above apply to Prophet Muhammad (s). The eight superhuman faculties have not been described but Prophet Muhammad (s) had them all.

Salmal Island: In the Puranas of the Hindus the world has been divided into six parts. For example,
1. Jambu Island- India, Tibbet, Burma (i.e. Mayanmar) etc.
2. Shak Island- Europe
3. Karuncha Island- Beluchistan and Afganistan
4. Kaash Island- Africa
5. Shakli Island- Russia and China
6. Salmal Island- Arab and Asia Minor



This is a description of the Hindu books as the Hindus believed it to be. Since it is clearly mentioned that the man will be from Arabia, it is sufficient for us.

This is a very childish argument. Let me clear the Vishnu part first. In Persian God is called “Khuda”, in Hindi “Bhagwaan” and so on. If they call God as “Vishnu”, then let them but if they give God an image or a relation, then that is incorrect. For example, the Japanese called their emperor “Son of God” and the Christians call Jesus the same name. Does this mean that the Christian worship the Japanese emperor?



The name?



You say Moses

I say Moosa



You say Jesus

I say Easa



You say David

I say Dawood



You say Aaron

I say Haroon



You say Jersualem

I say al-Quds



You say Syria

I say Shaam



The list goes on and on…



Different languages have different words as names for people. Maitreya is Sanskrit and Pali which in Arabic is Muhammad. Paraclete is greek which in Arabic is Muhammad.

Two points are raised here,

1) Sambhala village

2) Quraysh tribe



The true meaning of Sambhala is not known. However, considering the events of Muhammad's (peace be upon him) life, it appears that the word Sambala refers to the city of Mecca. This is will be proved in Conclusion part.



Quraysh tribe had the keys to the Kaaba which was very sacred to the pagans before Islam. They were the most honorable tribe.

The verse reads as, “…will visit earth and the seven heavens riding on a 'horse' ".



Prophet Muhammad (s) did visit the earth and the 7 heavens and it was physical Mairaaj. You comment of Prophet’s wife Ayesha (R.A) being there is one made by Mirza Ghulam Ahmed of Qadyan. The truth is that Prophet Muhammad (s) did not marry Ayesha (R.A) till then and this is a lie by the rejecters of Mairaaj. The writer here seems to be following the same trick of deceit.

Answer 5

Regarding the statue...Lord Shiva with multiple arms is Natraj, the king of the dancers. All the various kinds of dances of indian origin consider Natraj as the supreme authority on dance and hence worship.
******
regarding Hindu culture.....
Lord Shiva is best explained by the theory of Brahmakumaris. If u have their centre nearby, please visit them. They have branches in several countries & u may have one in yours. Just check with www.brahmakumaris.com
To tell you briefly, he is infull command of the universe for Generation, Operate and Destroy (hence the name GOD) the world. All souls are similar to the supreme soul and need to rise to that level in his livelihood.

Answer 6

Basically Siva (Not Shiva),better written as Ssiva--does not mean Unbound.Sivam means "Benevolence" Siva means benevolent.He is also called Bhavam-Bhava--the one who gives "Life" to lifeless body--what probably you mean is Nataraja.According to Vedic concept Brahmam (omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient,immanent,all pervasive, all imbibisive, Ultimate Reality) remained Actionless(Nirraakaram) attributeless(Nirgunam)according to Vedham and sri.Vyaasa's school of thought which all Vedhaanthists follow))for Zillions of years--but according to Kashmere Saivism(Siva>>Saivism) and Tamilnadu's Saiva Siddhaantham Brahmam is "Spandam"=Eeshad chalanam=mildly active due to internal energy flow which -like cascade spary -this small energy(Shakthi)-nano volts- increased to micro and macro levels and Brahmam became active (Bhavam) and Saakaaram-Sivam =benevolent activity.This is expressed clearly in Acharya sri.Sankara's "Soundarya Lahari first stanza-"Siva Sakthya yukto(Union)yathi Bhavathi Sakthaha"--the energy which activated the Bhavam(masculine aspect of Divinity) is Bhavaani (femenine aspect of Divinity)--the Spandam(activated form) of Niraakara Brahmam(Actionless Reality) becomes multi armed Dancing(Activated,Creative Energy= Nataraja.

Answer 7

Siva(God) is a one being, yet we understand Him in three perfections: Absolute Reality, Pure Consciousness and Primal Soul. As Absolute Reality, Siva is unmanifest, unchanging and transcendent, the Self God, timeless, formless and spaceless. As Pure Consciousness, Siva is the manifest primal substance, pure love and light flowing through all form, existing everywhere in time and space as infinite intelligence and power. As Primal Soul, Siva is the five-fold manifestation: Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; Rudra, the destroyer; Maheshvara, the veiling Lord, and Sadashiva, the revealer. He is our personal Lord, source of all three worlds. Our divine Father-Mother protects, nurtures and guides us, veiling Truth as we evolve, revealing it when we are mature enough to receive God's bountiful grace. God Siva is all and in all, great beyond our conception, a sacred mystery that can be known in direct communion. Yea, when Siva is known, all is known. The Vedas state: "That part of Him which is characterized by tamas is called Rudra. That part of Him which belongs to rajas is Brahma. That part of Him which belongs to sattva is Vishnu."

The following are the excerpts from mystical Hindu scriptures.

Who is God? Where is God? How can I come to know God?"

God has no names, but all names are the names of God. Whether you call Him this or that, He remains Who He is. But in our tradition we call God by the loving name Siva, which is only one of His 1,008 traditional names. Supreme God Siva is both within us and outside of us. Even desire, the fulfillment of desire, the joy, the pain, the sorrow, birth and death -- this is all Siva, nothing but Siva. This is hard to believe for the unenlightened individual who cannot see how a good, kind and loving God could create pain and sorrow. Actually, we find that Siva did not -- not in the sense that is commonly thought. God gave the law of karma, decreeing that each energy sent into motion returns with equal force.

In looking closely at this natural law, we can see that we create our own joy, our own pain, our own sorrow and our own release from sorrow. Yet we could not even do this except for the power and existence of our loving Lord. It takes much meditation to find God Siva in all things, through all things. In this striving -- as in perfecting any art or science -- regular daily disciplines must be faithfully adhered to.

Siva is the immanent personal Lord, and He is transcendent Reality. Siva is a God of love, boundless love. He loves each and every one. Each soul is created by Him and guided by Him through life. God Siva is everywhere. There is no place where Siva is not. He is in you. He is in this temple. He is in the trees. He is in the sky, in the clouds, in the planets. He is the galaxies swirling in space and the space between galaxies, too. He is the universe. His cosmic dance of creation, preservation and dissolution is happening this very moment in every atom of the universe. God Siva is, and is in all things. He permeates all things. He is immanent, with a beautiful form, a human-like form which can actually be seen and has been seen by many people in visions. He is also transcendent, beyond time, cause and space.

That is almost too much for the mind to comprehend, isn't it? Therefore, we have to meditate on these things. God Siva is so close to us. Where does He live? In the Third World. And in this form He can talk and think and love and receive our prayers and guide our karma. He commands vast numbers of devas who go forth to do His will all over the world, all over the galaxy, throughout the universe. These are matters told to us by the rishis; and we have discovered them in our own meditations. So always worship this great God. Never fear Him. He is the Self of your self. He is closer than your own breath. His nature is love, and if you worship Him with devotion you will know love and be loving toward others. Devotees of God Siva love everyone.

This is how God Siva can be seen everywhere and in everyone. He is there as the Soul of each soul. You can open your inner eye and see Him in others, see Him in the world as the world. Little by little, discipline yourself to meditate at the same time each day. Meditate, discover the silent center of yourself, then go deep within, to the core of your real Being. Slowly the purity comes. Slowly the awakening comes.
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