LORD SHIVA IN NATURE

LORD SHIVA IN NATURE

* Peaks
Famous "Kailash Peak' near Manasrovar in Tibet.
"Chhota Kailash", also in Tibet.
Another "Kailash Peak" in Gangotri region.
"Kinner Kailash" in Kinnaur Valley, Himachal Pradesh.
"Neelknath Peak" near Badrinath.
"Shivling Peak" near Gaumukh-source of Ganga.
"Shrikant Mahadev" peak in Himachal Pradesh.
"Kedar Dome and Peak" in Gangotri glacier region.
"Dhaulagiri Peak" in Nepal.
"Mani Mahesh Peak" beyond Chamba in Himachal Pradesh.
"Ganesh Himal Peak" in Nepal.
"Nandi Hills" near Bangalore.

* Lakes and Kunds
"Parvati Kund" near Kailash Parbat, Tibet.
"Parvati Kund" near Mani Mahesh.
"Gauri Kund" near Kedarnath.
"Kedar Tal" in Garhwal.
* Rivers/Streams
"Parvati River" in Kulu Valley.
"Kedar Ganga" in Gangotri town.
"Madhyamaheshwar Ganga" in Garhwal.
"Rudra Paryag" in Garhwal.

* Caves
"Patal Bhuvesneshwar Cave" in Kumaon.
"Jata Shankar Cave" in Pachmari, Madhya Pradesh.
"Mahadev Cave" in Pachmarhi.

* Natural Shivlings
"Ice Shivling" in Amarnath, Kashmir.
"Swayambhu Shivling" in Kedarnath temple.
A verically tall more than 100 feet high natural rock near Kinner Kailash called Shivling locally.
Shivling in Swayambhu temple in Nepal.

AMARNATH YATRA

There is famous Rigvedic Verse that says "Ekam Sat " that is "There is one Being, the sages call him by many names." The God (Parmeshwar) has three deities who carry on the world .This is Known as Holy Trinity. Brahma- the creator, Vishnu - the perpetuator of life and Shiva (Mahesh ) -the purifier and perpetuator of good and destroyer of evil. Rig Veda refer Shiva as Rudra as in its following verse . "We Worship Tryambaka (Rudra) , Who spread Fragrance and Increases Nourishment , May He release me, like the cucumber from its stem, From Mortal Life, But not From Immorality. "(Rig Veda Mandal VII Sukta 59 and Mantra 12)
The Yajurveda describes Shiva as ascetic warrior Whose robe is of Deer Skin and he carries Trishul.
According to the verse Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram the life is described as having three facets Truth (Satyam), Good (Shivam) and the Beautiful (Sundaram).
According to the older scriptures, He has three places of his residence. One is Kailash Parvat another is Lohit Giri under which Brahamputra flows and third is Muzwan Parvat.
The Amarnath Cave has special significance .
The Legend about the importance of Amarnath Cave is as follows :-
This is The Cave which was chosen by Bhole Shankar for narrating the secrets of immortality and creation of Universe to Maa Parvati ji. The story goes like this. Centuries ago Maa Parvati asked Shiv ji to let her know why and when he started wearing the beads of heads ( Mund Mala). Bhole Shankar replied when ever you are born I add one more head in my beads. Maa Parvati said, " My Lord, my body is destroyed every time and I die again and again, but you are Immortal. Please let me know the secret of this ." Bhole Shankar replied that it is due to Amar Katha ."
Maa Parvati insisted that she may be told that secret. For long Shiva ji continued postponing . Finally on consistent demand from Maa Parvati he made up his mind to tell the immortal secret . He started for lonely place where no living being could listen it. He choose Amarnath Cave. In preparation to that he left his Nandi ( The Bull which he used to ride ) at Pahalgam (Bail gaon). At Chandanwari he released Moon from his hairs (Jataon). At the banks of Lake Sheshnag he released the snakes. He decided to leave his son Ganesha at Mahagunas Parvat (Mahaganesh Hill ). At Panchtarni, Shivji left the Five Elements behind (Earth , Water, Air , Fire and Sky) which make living being. He is the Lord of these elements. It is believed that as a symbol of sacrificing the earthly world, Shivaji and Maa Parvati had Tandav Dance. After leaving behind all these, Bhole Shankar enters the Holy Amarnath Cave along with Parvati Maa. Lord Shiva takes his Samadhi on the Deer Skin and concentrate . To ensure that no living being is able to hear the Immortal Tale, He created Rudra named Kalagni and ordered him to spread fire to eliminate every living thing in and around the Holy Cave. After this he started narrating the secret of immortality to Maa Parvati. But as a matter of chance one egg which was lying beneath the Deer skin remained protected. It is believed to be non living and more over it was protected by Shiva -Parvati Asan (Bed). The pair of pigeons which were born out of this egg became immortal having listened the secret of immortality (Amar Katha).
Many pilgrims report seeing the pair of pigeons when they trek the arduous route to pay their obeisance before the Ice-Lingam (the phallic symbol of Shiva).

The trek to Amarnath, in the month of sharavan ( July–August) has the devout flock to this incredible shrine, where the image of Shiva, in the form of a Lingam, is formed naturally of an Ice Stalagmite, which waxes and wanes with the Moon's cycle. By its side are fascinating, two more Ice Lingams, that of Maa Parvati and of their son, Ganesha .

KAILASH PARVAT

Mt. Kailash has the unique distinction of being the most venerated yet least visited of the world's major holy places. Soaring above 22,000 feet, the mountain is the supremely sacred site of four religions and billions of peoplePilgrims to Kailash, after the difficult journey getting there, are then confronted with the equally arduous task of circumambulating the sacred peak. This walking around the mountain (clockwise for the Buddhists, counter-clockwise for Bon adherents) is known as a Kora, or Parikrama, and normally takes three days. In hopes of gaining extra merit or psychic powers however, some pilgrims will vary the tempo of their movement. A hardy few, practicing a secret breathing technique known as Lung-gom, will power themselves around the mountain in only one day (the author’s method). Others will take two to three weeks for the Kora by making full body prostrations the entire way. It is believed that a pilgrim who completes 108 journeys around the mountain is assured enlightenment. Most pilgrims to Kailash will also take a short plunge in the nearby, highly sacred (and very cold) Lake Manosaravar. The word 'manas' means mind or consciousness; the name Manosaravar means Lake of Consciousness and Enlightenment. Adjacent to Manosaravar is Rakas Tal or Rakshas, the Lake of Demons. Pilgrimage to this great sacred mountain and these two magical lakes is a life changing experience and an opportunity to view some of the most magical scenery on the entire planet. Kailash abode of Lord Shiva. The Jains call the mountain Astapada and believe it to be the place where Rishaba, the first of the twenty-four Tirthankaras attained liberation.

MOUNT SHIVLING

ARUNACHALA

MOUNT AGUNG - BALI

Mount Agung, Bali abode of Mt. Agung is the abode of Batara Gunung Agung (Mahadewa)

ADAM’s PEAK, SRILANKA

For Hindus, the name of the mountain is Sivan Adi Padham, because it was the world-creative dance of the god Shiva that left the giant footprint (5 feet 7 inches by 2 feet 6 inches).

Bili Mahima

Bili Mahima

Bili tree is a form of Mahadeva. Even deities worship the tree. All the pious places of pilgrimage are located at the rrots of Bili tree. A pious person who worships Lord Shiva in his linga Swarropa installed at the roots of Bili tree attains Salvation. By performing the Abhishek on Lord Shiva at the roots of Bili tree, one can attain the Punya of having holy dip at all the places of pilgrimage. Mahadev is pleased to see a Bili tree which is watered properly and nurtured. A seeker can attain Shivlok by worshiping Bili tree with Sandal, flowers etc. and his progeng flourishes. One can attain enlightenment by lighting lamps at the roots of Bili tree. All the sins are destroyed by worshiping this tree. Immense which is cooked in milk and ghee.

Punya and wealth can be attained offering food to the devotees of Lord Shiva. Adyaguru Shankaracharya has explained the benefits of offering Bili leaves to Lord shiva in Bilvashtaka.

Bilivashtaka

• A Bili Patra consisting of three Bili leaves represents three attributes – Satva, Rajas and Tamas. It also represents three eyes of Lord Shiva. I ofer this Bill Patra which destroys all the sins committed during past three lives.

• I worship Lord Shiva with tender and best Bili Patra which do not here any holes. I ofer the same to Lord Shiva.

• By Worshipping Nandikeshwar Shankara with unbroken Bili Patra, all the sins are destroyed. I offer the same to Lord Shankara.

• By offering a Bili Patra to Lord Shankara, Punya equivalent to donating a shaligram to a Brahmin could be accumulated. I ofer the same to Lord Shankara.

• By offering Bili Patra to Lord Shankara, Punya equivalent to donating crores of elephants, performaing hundreds of Ashwmedha yagya or crores of Kanyadan can be accumulated. I ofer the same to Lord Shankara.

• Bili Pratra which originated from the breats of Goddess Laxmi and which is plesing to Lord Mahadev. I offer the same to Lord Shankara.

• Sight and tough of a Bili tree can destroy allt he sins, including that of the lowest category. I offer this Biloi Patra to Lord Shankara.

• A Bili Patrais the form of Brahma at the roots, the orm of Vishna in the middle and the form of Shiva on the top. I offer the same to Lord Shankara.

A seeker who recites Bilvashtak in close vicinity of Lord Shankara is Liberated from all the sins and attains salvation.

Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva, Shiva, God Shiva, All Shiva, Shambhu, Shankar, Shiv, Shiva

His name means The Auspicious One. He is Pure Consciousness, Chidanandaroopa - the form of joy that pure consciousness takes. He is the oldest god known to mankind, and more interestingly is perhaps the oldest living god, tracing a genealogy of worship that is easily five thousand years old. Naturally, therefore, he is described as the God with no lineage. Like Yahweh, who may be his only contemporary, his name was not to be taken in vain. In fact his name was not to be uttered at all. He is the howler, Rudra, when he first appears to us in the Rig Veda. He is Raudra Brahman, the wild God of the Hymns. He is also Nataraja, the elegant King of the Dance, and in fact of all the fine arts. He is the Lord of yoga, the culmination of the universe, the cause of its dissolution - yet always transcending such petty events.

To attempt an overview of Shiva in one essay is an act of extreme idiocy. I shall therefore seek to communicate some of the flavors that are associated with Shiva, trusting that time will be vouchsafed us to explore him in detail as we grow as a web-site. Shiva has been around for so long that entire encyclopedias on him are necessary to get just a bird's eye view. This god is perhaps the single most important influence on the arts and culture of the Indian subcontinent. In a very real sense, you find Shiva all over the country, he is in fact the country, so closely interwoven are the myths of his actions with the culture and geography of the land. So strong is Shiva's hold on the imagination that all local area gods which seek to gain in prestige, or are sought to be subverted to the main body of the Hindu religion, end up being described as various manifestations of Shiva. If the god lives on a hill, a forest or a cave then there is no way he escapes being but one more aspect of Mahadeva - the great god who loves to linger in hills, forests and caves. This is what has happened to Khandoba in Maharashtra, Skanda in Tamil Nadu and Ayyapan in Kerala to give the three most common examples. In fact another manner of accommodating these local religions was to decree the gods to be sons of Shiva.

The Rig Vedic Shiva was known as Rudra. He was a grim mysterious god, living on the fringes of Vedic society, a god who was so much of an outsider that he was not even entitled to a share in the fire sacrifices. Yet the Vedic pantheon was clearly in awe of this self sufficient Hunter-God. The hymns praise him in all-too-visible anxiety that his strange powers may be aroused, and his name as mentioned was never to be invoked. "We live in dread, and pray that you pass us by", quavers the Rig Vedic verse. Yet it immediately goes on to add that He is the Awakener, who when touched by pleas, grants a thousand kinds of balm that heal.

In a sense Rudra was too much a part of the Life-Force, too acutely felt to be just a god. Rudra punishes Prajapati for the first primordial act of incest and in a sense he is the defender of Dharma ever since. He is also a slayer of a brahmana, Prajapati, in the service of a higher morality, a fact that has caused much anguish to medieval commentators who were busy trying to show brahmanas were gods on earth as well as in heaven. Rudra-Shiva is thus always about living an authentic life, with utter disdain for convention.

This Vedic manifestation of Shiva was thought to be the earliest known(1500 B.C.) before he became the great God of later Hinduism. Then came the discovery of a few seals from the Harrapan civilization (2750 B.C.) and the picture changed completely. The seals show a figure who is so manifestly Shiva that it had to be acknowledged as such, even though it smashed the nice theory that was emerging of invading Aryans destroying the cities of the Indus valley. It is known as the proto-Shiva seal. However, for those who can read the signs and can decode the evidence, this figure is far more important.

He is surrounded by animals, which directly links him up with the Rudra-Pashupatinatha of the Vedas. The tiger, the elephant, and the bull depicted here, all play prominent parts in the Shiva mythology. Even more importantly he is shown in a typical yogic posture, which would indicate the knowledge of the ancient art.

This posture is the Udharva Linga posture (and not the ithyphallic posture as is so easily assumed) and it indicates the triumph over the sexual impulse.. The balls of the feet press into the sacral region behind and beneath the testicles as is shown. The lingam is erect and it presses into the navel, signifying the complete conquest of the sexual energy. He is now Udharva Retas, "he whose semen flows upwards". In the yogic system when you do not dissipate semen through ejaculation, it transforms itself into a food for the brain called ojas, vital energy, and is the source of the creative force that alone can provide you with the fuel to break through into enlightenment. This posture is commonly practiced even today and the udharva linga experience is not uncommon for many spiritual practitioners. Even the founder of Kriya yoga has left an account of precisely this linga entering the navel and the subsequent freedom from all thoughts and desire of lust.

Akshaya Tritiya

The Golden Day

Krishna and Sudama

Hindus believe in the theory of "mahurats" or auspicious timings in every step in life - be it to begin a new venture or making an important purchase. Akshaya Tritiya is one such momentous occasion, which is considered one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu Calendar. It is believed, any meaningful activity started on this day would be fruitful.

Once a Year
Akshaya Tritiya falls on the third day of the bright half of Vaishakh month (April-May), when the Sun and Moon are in exaltation; they are simultaneously at their peak of brightness, which happens only once every year.

Holy Day
Akshaya Tritiya, also known as "Akha Teej", is traditionally the birthday of Lord Parasurama, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. People conduct special Pujas on this day, bathe in holy rivers, make a charity, offer barley in a sacred fire, and worship Lord Ganesha & Devi Lakshmi on this day.

The Golden Link
The word "Akshaya" means imperishable or eternal - that which never diminishes. Initiations made or valuables bought on this day are considered to bring success or good fortune. Buying gold is a popular activity on Akshaya Tritiya, as it is the ultimate symbol of wealth and prosperity. Gold and gold jewelry bought and worn on this day signify never diminishing good fortune. Indians celebrate weddings, begin new business ventures, and even plan long journeys on this day.

Myths Around Akshaya Tritiya

The day also marks the beginning of the "SatyaYug" or the Golden Age - the first of the four Yugas. In the Puranas, the holy Hindu scriptures, there is a story that says that on this day of Akshay Tritiya, Veda Vyasa along with Ganesha started writing the great epic Mahabharata. Ganga Devi or Mother Ganges also descended on earth on this day.

According to another legend, during the time of the Mahabhrata, when the Pandavas were in exile, Lord Krishna, on this day, presented them an 'Akshaya Patra,' a bowl which would never go empty and produce an unlimited supply of food on demand.

The Krishna-Sudama Legend

Perhaps, the most famous of the Akshaya Tritiya stories is the legend of Lord Krishna and Sudama, his poor Brahmin childhood friend. On this day, as the tale goes, Sudama came over to Krishna's palace to request him for some financial help. As a gift for his friend, Sudama had nothing more than a handful of beaten rice or 'poha'. So, he was utterly ashamed to give it to Krishna, but Krishna took the pouch of 'poha' from him and relished having it. Krishna followed the principle of 'Atithi Devo Bhava' or 'the guest is like God' and treated Sudama like a king. His poor friend was so overwhelmed by the warmth and hospitality shown by Krishna, that he could not ask for the financial favor and came home empty handed. Lo and behold! When he reached his place, Sudama's old hut was transformed into a palace! He found his family dressed in royal attire and everything around was new and expensive. Sudama knew that it was a boon from Krishna, who blessed him with more than the wealth he actually intended to ask for. Therefore, Akshaya Tritiya is associated with material gains and wealth acquisition.

Bright Births
It is also believed that people born during this time shine bright in life. Many luminaries were born during this period: Basaveshwara born on May 4, Ramanujacharya and Adi Shankaracharya on May 6, Swami Chinmayananda on May 8 and Lord Buddha on May 16. Akshaya Tritiya is also celebrated as the birthday of Lord Parashurama, one of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu.