When I arrived at Parmath Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh and I came face to face with the most beautiful, Divine Shiva floating on the ganges I realised how strongly I felt connected to this diety. I was drawn to meditate and practice in his presence and so have been doing a vinyasa flow and meditation facing Shiva and the ganges at the auspicious Braham Muhurta (hour of God) time at 4am. It is a truly magical experience practising amongst people coming to bathe in the holy waters and as the sunrises.
As if in answer to my questions on why I felt connected to a Hindu diety I attended an evening talk with Anand Mehrotra on Shiva. Dieties embody energies that we may wish to call on to guide and help us at particular times in our lives. Ultimately these qualities already reside within us but we may struggle to find them or doubt ourselves so they can provide light, strength and act as a mirror to what we wish to see within us.
In India these dieties grace homes, cars, shops and temples and are an important part of daily life. When I visited a holy Shiva temple in the Himalayan mountains north of Rishikesh I was struck by the Hinda's unwavering devotion and excitement about visiting and honouring Shiva. Dressed in their finest clothes, bringing puja's with fruit, Ganges water, flowers and pictures they were happy to wait in a long line, eager in anticipation at opportunity to grace Shiva with gifts and kiss his feet. In the West we look to celebritiesand try to emulate them, however this is only adding to the illusion given you have no clue who they really are, they encourage you to buy things you don't need and they may behave in ways which are less than inspirational.
Shiva, meaning auspicious one, is finite and infinite, limitless, ageless, fierce and powerful yet serene. He is beyond the ego - deeply detached. Shiva is transformative and represents destroying and letting go of what doesn't serve us and so he is an important energy and figure for spiritual seekers, hence it's natural that I'm drawn to him at this transformative time. I will continue to call on his power through Shiva mantras, meditations and a dear soul mate kindly gave me a Shiva diety from the temple which will stay with me wherever I go.
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
As if in answer to my questions on why I felt connected to a Hindu diety I attended an evening talk with Anand Mehrotra on Shiva. Dieties embody energies that we may wish to call on to guide and help us at particular times in our lives. Ultimately these qualities already reside within us but we may struggle to find them or doubt ourselves so they can provide light, strength and act as a mirror to what we wish to see within us.
In India these dieties grace homes, cars, shops and temples and are an important part of daily life. When I visited a holy Shiva temple in the Himalayan mountains north of Rishikesh I was struck by the Hinda's unwavering devotion and excitement about visiting and honouring Shiva. Dressed in their finest clothes, bringing puja's with fruit, Ganges water, flowers and pictures they were happy to wait in a long line, eager in anticipation at opportunity to grace Shiva with gifts and kiss his feet. In the West we look to celebritiesand try to emulate them, however this is only adding to the illusion given you have no clue who they really are, they encourage you to buy things you don't need and they may behave in ways which are less than inspirational.
Shiva, meaning auspicious one, is finite and infinite, limitless, ageless, fierce and powerful yet serene. He is beyond the ego - deeply detached. Shiva is transformative and represents destroying and letting go of what doesn't serve us and so he is an important energy and figure for spiritual seekers, hence it's natural that I'm drawn to him at this transformative time. I will continue to call on his power through Shiva mantras, meditations and a dear soul mate kindly gave me a Shiva diety from the temple which will stay with me wherever I go.
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
No comments:
Post a Comment