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Writer's pictureNeha Khaitan

The Will of Shiva

Generally speaking God is the product of the imagination of the human

mind. A concept of a complex personality includes - cognition, emotions

and will. And in the realm of Hindu Philosophy also there is a direct

mapping to each of these facets of our personality - God is viewed as

Brahma or the supreme knower, Vishnu - the great lover and Siva - the

perfect will.


Sketch - The Vashisht Temple


Why is "the will” of a personality is attributed to Shiva?

The whole universe at the most elemental level is the limitless number of

interacting subatomic particles and to a Hindu mind Shiva is a

Divine manifestation of this - He is regarded as formless, limitless and

unchanging Brahman, the soul (Atman of the universe).

As a part of its spiritual development the mind carves iconic and an-iconic

representations of its beliefs. And to the Hindu mind the concentration or

condensation of the cosmos is that of the an-iconic Shiva Linga.


The particles of the universe are forever in a pulsating process of

creation and destruction and this is how life functions at the most

elementary level. The energy in this continuous interaction of the

subatomic particles and continuous destruction and creation is

unfathomable. To the mind, which has carved out this image of a lingam to

be a condensation of the entire cosmos, the energy retained in one single

form must also be immense. And this form is eternal and so obviously the

energy or the Tapas is contained within this, circulates within the structure

and does not dissipate. To be able to retain infinite reverberating energy or

Tapas (meaning heat) in one form and that too from eons must be a matter

of great strength and will. This is perhaps why the will of the our

personality is attributed to Lord Shiva and this also explains the depiction

of the Shiva as an ascetic involved in Tapasya. An ascetic retains this

state in extreme conditions only by virtue of great will.


And the dance of Shiva is an energy dance, the dance of subatomic matter, the dance of

creation and destruction involving the cosmos, the bases of all existence

and natural phenomena.

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