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by Jayaram V
Lord Siva has four aspects corresponding to the four main functions
and principles he represents. These are:
- Parameswar or Paramasiva
- Maheswar or Mahasiva
- Iswar or Lord Siva
- Minor Incarnations and Emanations
At the highest level, Lord Siva is Parameswar, or Paramasiva. As
Paramasiva he is the transcendental Reality, the highest and the most
unknown. He is Brahman Himself, the Supreme Lord, the Eternal Truth,
the Absolute Principle, without a beginning and without an end,
indivisible, beyond the senses and mind, without a form and without
division, the end of all devotional and spiritual practice, by knowing
whom everything is known and realized. In this aspect he is the
eternal mystery, pure consciousness and bliss, whom Uma Haimavathi
refers in the Kena Upanishad as the "Spirit Supreme", by
knowing whom Indra excelled all other gods and became the ruler of the
heavens.
At the next lower level he is Maheswar or Mahasiva, the Lord of the
manifest universe. As the awakened Supreme Self he is the Cosmic
Lord, who combines within himself the roles of creation, maintenance and
destruction and projects out of himself all that we know as material
universe. The creation is but his conscious dream, a set of vibrations
that emanate from his cosmic dance and makes possible all that we
experience and enjoy as conscious beings. He is the Purusha of the vedas,
the cosmic male, who creates Prakriti the cosmic female and then
establishes himself in it in order to manifest the wonders of creative
forms and sustains life and consciousness in them.
At the next lower level he is Iswar, representing an aspect of the
Trinity. Till this level the whole creation is one and
indistinguishable. But at this level, the dual nature of creation
becomes apparent and the Highest aspect of Brahman manifests itself into
each of its cosmic roles. While Brahma is the Creator and Vishnu is the
sustainer, in this plane Lord Siva is the destroyer. He is hara and
Shankara, the lord with a thousand names, the lord of Kailash, the
partner of Parvathi and the object of veneration of all the siddhas,
siva ganas and myriad yogis and devotees. In this role he facilitates
the spiritual progress of humanity. He destroys things and elements in
order to facilitate the renewal and regeneration of the manifest
material universe. He destroys all the undesirable movements and
emotions, desires and thoughts in our consciousness to facilitate our
spiritual evolution. Finally at the end of current creative cycle, he
destroys the worlds to prepare the ground for yet another cosmic
renewal. In this role he is also responsible for the flow of divine
consciousness into our earth consciousness and our transformation into
spiritual beings.
At the next lower level we see many of his incarnations. As a part of
his cosmic role, in this plane he assumes many forms and roles for one reason or the other.
Hanuman, Dakshinamurthy,
Tandavamurthy, Bhairava, Virabhadra, Chandakesvara, Mahakaleswar,
Ardhanariswara, Bhikshtanamurthy, Tandavamurthy are some of his well
known minor aspects or incarnations.
It is important to know that Lord Siva is not a mere idol or
sivalinga whom people worship in the temples or in open for temporary
boons. He is the eternal Brahman himself who descends into lower planes
to manifest an alternate reality which we experience as the immediate reality.
It is only by transcending this physical reality through devotion and
spiritual practice and through the grace of ones personal divinity we will be able
to overcome our limitations and become one with the Highest Truth.
Suggested Further Reading
| Author's note: The aspects of
Siva are such that this subject can be approached from many
perspectives.
Here I have approached this subject from a cosmic perspective and
dealt with the four highest aspects. I have excluded any reference
to the Panchanana aspect of Lord Siva as well as his peaceful and
terrific aspects. You may find reference to these aspects in my
other articles available on this website. Followers of Lord Vishnu
may argue that the first two levels are also represented by
Vishnu. This is very much true because at these highest levels
there is no clear distinction and demarcation of roles among the
trinity of gods. We can ascribe these roles to any of the Trinity
Gods equally. The confusion is well explained in the story
relating to eternal nature of Lord Siva where both Lord Brahma and
Lord Vishnu set out to find the beginning and end of a Sivaling
and fail. - Jayaram V |
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