Siva: Difference between revisions

Shiva: (pronunciation: [ʃɪ.ʋə]; Sanskrit: शिव, Śiva, lit. "Auspicious one" ) is a major Hindu god, and one aspect of Trimurti. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the supreme God, while in the Smarta tradition, he is one of the five primary forms of God.

Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva). Shaivism, along with Vaiṣṇava traditions that focus on Vishnu, and Śĝkta traditions that focus on the goddess Devī are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.]

Shiva is often propitiated in the 'spadika' (an indirect form) as a Shiva linga. In images, he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or in a the well known sculpture, usually cast in bronze, which represents Shiva dancing the Tandava (the dance of destruction/of the world) [1] with him dancing in an aureole of flames, lifting his left leg while he balances on a demon or dwarf (Apasmara) who symbolizes ignorance (Maya). It is a well known sculptural symbol in India and is popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture. The Tandava dance, in which Shiva dances to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for Lord Brahma to start the process of creation is similar to the fundamental beliefs of many of the world's major religions which mirror the cycle of life and death, of winter and spring, as celebrated in many festivals and cultures around the world.

• Christians believe that Jesus will return to destroy an evil world and that those who believe Jesus to be the Messiah will be resurrected and dwell in Heaven.
• Sunni Muslims also believe that Jesus will return during the resurrection (but not as God or his son) and will eventually die and be buried next to the Prophet of Islam. They too will be resurrected (Yaum al-Qiyamah) [2] and join those (Martyrs, et al) who have already made it to Heaven and its wondrous bounties of Heaven, among which are, for the men, the Houris - "Whom no man or Jinn before them has touched…" ( Sura 55:70,72,74) and the rivers of wine. One Hadith says, "The Prophet Muhammad was heard saying: ‘The smallest reward for the people of paradise is an abode (a home) where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine, and ruby, as wide as the distance from Al-Jabiyyah (near Damascus) to Sana'a (Yemen)’."
• Shia Muslims believe that their last or 12th Imam, who is currently in seclusion (who has not died) will again reveal himself as the Mahdi [3], who will rid the world of error, injustice and tyranny alongside Jesus. (during the Yaum al-Qiyamah).
• The Sufis (a sect of Shia Islam) played an important role in the converts to Islam in India (the Bani of Baba Farid who is revered as a Sufi is included in the Guru Granth Sahib and the noted Sufi Sant Hazrat Mian Mir was invited by the Sikh Guru Arjan to lay the cornerstone of Sikhi's most venerated Temple - the Harmandir Sahib). Some of the Sufis often use dance as a whirling form of meditation. Often referred to as Whirling Dervishes [4] they try to desert their egos or personal (worldy) desires by dancing to sufi music, thinking (about God) and whirling, as electrons whirl around their nucleus or the planets around the Sun.

• All Muslims, during the Haj, make a set of counter clockwise circumnambulations around the Kaaba (in the same direction the planets circle the Sun).
• Hindus do clockwise circumnambulations around the Murtis (representations of the Hindu Gods) in many Temples. Many Hindus even undertake an arduous, extraordinary Pilgrimage to Mount Kailash [[5]] (believed by them to be the Earthly home of Lord Shiva) in the Himalayas and actually circumnambulate the Mountain, which is the source of several of India's and Pakistan's major rivers (the Sindhu (Indus), the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra. Mount_Kailash is considered as a sacred place in four religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and the Bön faith.
• Sikhs and other visitors to the Golden Temple, traditionally circle the Harmandar Sahib (House of God) in a clockwise direction before taking the causeway to the 'Golden Temple'. This tradition was most likely begun while the Mahants or Udasi caretakers, who added some Hindu rituals to many Sikh houses of worship during their tenure, had control of the Harmandir Sahib.

Other Hindu Divas (lit. Bright, shining ones)

For many Hindu Sects, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva represent the three primary aspects of the divine and are collectively known as the Trimurti. In this school of religious thought, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer. Hinduism has also listed Buddha as an Avatar of Vishnu and to the consternation of Sikhs they also hold the Sikh Gurus to be a part of Hinduism.

Reference

Wikipedia / Shiva [6]