A Tribute to Shiva: The Bolenath- part1

Shiva a personality , of whom one could debate, of his several identities. The discussions may prolong, for it may never end and yet thrills one, who craves to know about Shiva and that’s so him!!!. Popularly known amongst his devotees as “Bholenath”, meaning the most innocent. This post of mine might be a contradiction of my previous post ”Was Shiva addicted to sex?”, in a few segments, as am just trying to cover various facets of Shiva.

The birth of Shiva:

1.According to Shiva purana he’s the Bramhan himself, he is the “aum-kara”, he is the origin and the end, the infinity.

2.The Shakthi purana states that Goddess Adi-Shakthi creates Shiva, Vishnu and Bramha.

3.According to Bhavishyath purana, Bramha encumbered with ego thinks he’s the almighty himself as he had the opportunity to “create”. To teach him a lesson Bramhan takes the form of a baby and reaches lord Bramha who till then thought that he could cope any situation, handled the baby with ease not knowing that it was the Bramhan, the baby then  cried out loud in hunger, the cries were so shrilling that lord Bramha felt deafened  and named him Rudra. Later surrenders to the almighty.

4.According to a folk-lore of South-India, he was a son of a female dancer, who didn’t know who his father and was being insulted by the society on every occasion. Hence, decides to abandon the rules and principles of the society and the society itself who abandoned him.

5.But, Bhagavathi puran, Bhagavatham, rigved and a few more mentions how in this universe or vyom, when nothing existed it was desire which incited with no roots or origin, as desire is more of a feminine quality it took a female form, due to boredom desires for a companion, she herself tries to become a man of her choice, they then were called Shiva and Shakthi who are both the same of two different sexes, when conjoined results in Bramhan again.(note: Bramhan is different from Lord Bramha)

 

6.There are few more stories and a Tantric philosophy which states how one can attain the echelon of  Shiva or an ecstasy of eternal bliss and one can become Lord Shiva himself. By practicing a few tantric rituals men and women can turn Bhairavs and bhairavis, others have another stand of the same, that one who follows the similar practice of Tantra, strain their body to relieve themselves from worldly desires by practicing the same in excess (in terms of wine, meat, sex etc) which is unlike the regular penance to attain salvation.  By these kind of practices their soul is chosen by the “paramathma” or the almighty to be in him and becomes “Him”. Similarly when this is related to Shiva’s origin, some got to say that one who is victorious in accomplishing these tantric rituals is chosen by Shiva himself and resides in his body, by aiding him to be Shiva himself. Thus are many other notions about Shiva’s origin.