Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

PERCEPTIONS

SYMBOLS OF SHIVA

To Lord Shiva

I am your plaything. You can breathe into me

the fire of eternal life, and make me immortal; or You can scatter my atoms to the far corners of the universe so that I disappear for ever.

You can fill me with light and power so that I shine like a meteor against the darkness of the midnight sky; or You can extinguish my spirit so that I sink for ever into the deep and fathomless ocean of time. You can set me among the eternal stars resplendent with your divine fire; or You can hurl me into the abyss of darkness, so that I can never again be visible to mortal eyes. You can come to me with the glory of a thousand cupids; or You can turn from me and leave me stranded in a grey and ghastly desert of despair. You can smile at me with the radiance that kindles the universe;

or You can open your eye of fury and reduce me to a heap of ashes

I am your plaything; the choice is yours.

- Dr. Karan Singh

RUDRAAKSHA A person is regarded as Shiva if he wears a thousand rudraaksha beads all through his upper body. Found primarily in Nepal and the East Indies, it is created from Shiva's tears of joy. The root of the bead is Brahma, the centre Vishnu and the top Rudra. According to Skandapurana, he who wears rudraaksha on his body destroys all his sins. Worship of rudraaksha is regarded as comparable to the wor- ship of the Shivalinga. Any person who bathes draping the rudraaksha on his head is regarded as one who has bathed in the holy Ganga. The devotee who performs the japa with rudraaksha beads is rewarded with innumerable bliss and happiness. Medicinal value - in Ayurveda it is believed to be a remedy for blood pressure and heart ailments.