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Re: Siva as yogi?
>
>As a matter of fact, Lord Shiva is the greatest devotee of
>Vishnu, the Supreme God. This is confirmed by the statement in
>the Bhagavatam: vaisnavanam yatha sambuh. When Shiva is seen
>chanting on japa beads, eyes closed and seated in meditation, it
>is because he is meditating on Lord Vishnu's transcendental
>form and chanting His holy names.
>
>This information is not something most Shaivites appreciate,
>because they want to believe that Shiva and Vishnu are on the
>same level. But as far as the scriptures are considered, Shiva,
>though an expansion of Vishnu, is still in the position of His
>devotee.
>
>Some Hindus who claim to respect/believe in Shiva will get very
>agitated by this posting, but this is because they refuse to
>accept Lord Shiva as he is, and prefer instead to make up their
>own Lord Shiva. This kind of attitude simply shows how much they
>supposedly respect Shiva.
Extract from “Lord Shiva and His Worship” - by Sri Swami Sivananda
- published by THE DIVINE LIFE SOCIETY.
“A Saivite is a devotee of Lord Siva. A Vasinavite is a devotee of Lord Vishnu.
Upasana means worship or sitting near God. Upasaka is one who does Upasana .
Upasana is one who does Upasana. Upasana or Aradhana leads to realisation of God.
A bigoted Virasaivite entertains hatred towards Lord Vishnu, Vaishnavites and
Puranas which treat of Vishnu. He never enters a Vishnu temple. He never drinks
water from a Vaishnavite. He never repeats the name of Hari. He speaks ill of Lord
Hari, Vaishnavites and Vishnu Purana. He thinks that Lord Siva is superior to Lord
Vishnu. He never reads Vishnu Purana. Is this not the height of folly ? Is this not
extreme ignorance ? He has not understood the true religion. He is fanatic, a bigot, a
man of little understanding, a narrow sectarian, with a very small constricted heart. He
is like a frog in the well which has no idea of the vast ocean.
A bigoted Vira Vaishnavite entertains hatred towards Lord Siva, Saivites and Siva
Puranas which treat of Lord Siva. He never enters a Shiva temple. He never makes
friendship with a Saivite. He never drinks water from the hands of a Saivite. He also
behaves exactly like the Virasaivite. The lot of this man is also highly deplorable.
There is a temple in Sankaranayanar Koil in the Tirunelveli district (Tamilnadu), where
the idol has one half of it depicted as Siva and the other half as Vishnu. The inner
significance of this is that Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu are one. Sri Sankaracharya also
has said in very clear terms that Siva and Vishnu are one all-pervading Soul.
On one ocassion, a Virasaivite entered the temple in Sankaranayanar Koil to worship
the Lord. He offered license. He plugged the nostrils of Vishnu with the cotton as the
fumes were entering His nose also. After that a Vira Vaishnavite entered the temple
and he also offered incense. he plugged the nostrils of Siva as the fumes were entering
His nose also. Such is the bigotry and narrow-mindedness of sectarians. A devotee
should have a large, broad heart. He must see his tutelary deity in all aspects of the
Lord and in all forms. He can have intense love for his Ishtam in the beginning, to
intensify his devotion for that particular deity (Prema-nishtha), but he should have
equal devotion to the other forms of the lord also.
Siva and Vishnu are one and the same entity. They are essentially one and the same.
They are the names given to the different aspects of the all pervading Supreme Soul of
the Absolute. “Sivasya hridayam vishnur-vishnoshca hridayam sivah - Vishnu is the
heart of Siva and likewise Siva is the heart of Vishnu’.
The sectarian worship is of recent origin. The Saiva Siddhanta of Kantacharya is onle
five hundred years old. The Vaishnava cults of Madha and Sri Ramanuja are only six
hundred and seven hundred years old respectively. There was no sectarian worship
before seven hundred years.
Brahma represents the creative aspect; Vishnu, the preservative aspect; and Siva, the
destructive aspect of Paramatman. This is just like wearing different garbs on different
occasions. When you do the function of a judge, you put on one kind of dress. At
home you wear another kind of dress. When you do worship in the temple, you wear
another kind of dress. You exhibit different kinds of temperament on different
occasions. Even so, the lord does the function of creation when He is associated with
Rajas, and He is called Brahma. He preserves the world when He is associated with
Sattva Guna, and He is called Vishnu. HE destroys the world when He is associated
with Tamo-Guna, and He is called Siva or Rudra.
Brahma, Vishnu and Siva have been correlated to the three Avasthas or states of
consciousness. Duringteh waking state, Sattva predominates and during the deep
sleep state Rajas predominates and during the deep sleep state Tamas predominates.
Hence Vishnu, Brahma, and Siva are the Murtis of Jagrat, Svapna and Sushupti states
of consciousness respectively. The Turiya or the fourth state is Para Brahman. The
Sushupti state is immediately next to the deep sleep state. Worship of Siva will lead
quickly to the attainment of the fourth state.
VISHNU PURANA GLORIFIES VISHNU AND IN SOME PLACES GIVES A
LOWER POSITION TO SIVA. SIVA PURANA GLORIFIES SIVA AND GIVES A
LOWER STATUS TO VISHNU. DEVI BHAGAVATA GLORIFIES DEVI AND
GIVES A LOWER STATUS TO BRAHMA, VISHNU AND SHIVA. THIS IS
ONLY TO INSTIL AND INTENSIFY DEVOTION FOR THE RESPECTIVE
DEITY IN THE HEARTS OF THE DEVOTEES. IN REALITY, NO DEITY IS
SUPERIOR TO ANOTHER. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THE HEART OF THE
WRITE. (emphasis added)
May you all realise the oneness of Siva and Vishnu ! May you all be endowed with
pure subtle intellect and proper understanding
--
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References:
- Siva as yogi?
- From: ms018c@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Matt Stanley)
- Re: Siva as yogi?
- From: Hari Krishna Susarla <susarla.krishna@studentserver1.swmed.edu>
