( Shiva Ardhanarishwara )

MY SHIVA IS EVERYWHERE

“Moksha or liberation is nothing but the awareness of one's true nature,” wrote Acharya Abhinavagupta. Acharya Kshemaraja, in his Spandkarika, observed that the fleeting moment between two thoughts — Unmesa — reveals the true nature of the self, accessible to anyone who seeks it. Rishi Vasugupta, the sage of the celebrated Shiva Sutras, affirmed, “Only awakening is the knowledge.” And the Bhakti poet Mahatma Krishen Joo Razdan offered the simple, heartfelt plea: “ Hosh dim lagayo pamposh paadan' .......'Grant me awareness. This life at your lotus feet, my lord' .”
Awareness is indeed the key. Shiva is overwhelming: present in every breath, every heartbeat, every movement, and every moment of creation. He engages in a continuous act of re-creation, a cosmic play that sustains and transforms the universe. He is visible in the turning of the seasons, in the shedding of autumn leaves so that spring may bring fresh green attire. In the warmth of the sun and the blessing of the rain, he nurtures life, sustaining every living being. Clouds drift across the sky, disappear, and return — a silent reminder of his eternal roles as creator, sustainer, and destroyer.
The music of the world itself is Shiva’s expression. When birds chirp in the morning, when wind rustles through leaves, when waves lap gently against the shore, or when brooks murmur along their paths, it is he who plays the symphony of life. As Panchmukhi, he composed five profound ragas: Shree, Deepak, Hindol, Megh, and Bhairavi for the celestial Gandharvas. His Damru maintains the rhythm of the cosmos. In the thunderstorm’s roar and in the fury of floods, we witness his Rudra Swaroopa. Even with closed eyes, Shiva is present: in the cadence of our heartbeats, in the sway of our limbs, and in the eternal dance of sun, moon, and stars performing his celestial Aarti, this moment and every moment.
Shiva is not only present in nature, but also in human life. He is there with carefree children lining up to enter their school buses each morning, and with those who fall asleep hungry, comforted only by a mother’s lullaby. He is in hospitals where life begins, in schools where knowledge blossoms, and at crematoria where we confront the ultimate reality. He is present when seeds are sown, and shoots emerge, when crops are harvested, and when the struggles of human beings unfold — the struggle for dignity, equality, justice, and compassion. He is in the generosity of those who serve humanity selflessly, in the undemanding love of mothers, the faithfulness of life partners, the warmth of genuine well-wishers, and in every act of gratitude.
Equally present is his companion, Shakti, the life-giving force of sun, wind, fire, and water. She is the energy that propels us across the Bhavsagara, the ocean of Samsara. As the supreme dancer, Shiva performs the fierce Tandava and the gentle Lasya, male and female energies in perfect harmony, on the stage of this worldly life. As Ardhanarishwara, the composite form of Shiva and Shakti, he teaches the eternal lesson of the unity of opposites — consciousness and energy, Purusha and Prakriti, each incomplete without the other. Ardhanarishwara reminds us that to accommodate others, we must sometimes shed a part of ourselves, cultivating empathy and understanding in our daily lives.
It was in Kashmir that Rishi Vasugupta expounded the Shiva Sutras, revealing that the individual self is none other than Shiva: pure, self-luminous consciousness. In Kashmir, the philosopher and Shaivacharya Abhinavagupta entered the sacred cave at Beerwah, accompanied by a thousand devoted followers, proclaiming, “Chidānanda rūpaḥ Shivoham Shivoham” — “I am of the nature of consciousness and bliss; I am Shiva, I am Shiva.” In Kashmir, the realised Advaita preacher Adi Shankara arrived, dispelling fear from every heart, reciting:
"Ati bhīṣaṇa kaṭu bhāṣaṇa…
Maraṇāgāta samaye
Śiva Śaṅkara Śiva Śaṅkara
Hara Hara duritam mama."
(Your words are terrifying in their intensity… at the moment when death approaches, O Shiva, O Shankara, O Hara, remove my sins and misdeeds.)
And in Kashmir, Lalleshwari, the mystic poetess known as Lalla Ded, sang with sublime simplicity:
“Aasa bol padinam saasa ……..” — “If Shiva is with me, let them call me by a thousand bad names.”
The universe, in its infinite diversity, is a theatre of Shiva’s presence. Every raindrop, every gust of wind, every leaf trembling in the breeze, is a note in his eternal symphony. The rhythm of life itself, from birth to death, from joy to suffering, is the expression of his cosmic play. And in this play, human beings are both spectators and participants, each of us carrying a spark of consciousness, each capable of awakening to the truth of our divine nature.
In witnessing life, we begin to understand that Shiva is not distant or abstract. He is the pulse in our veins, the beat of our hearts, the thoughts that rise and fall within us. He is in every act of kindness, every moment of compassion, every gesture of love, and every effort to alleviate suffering.To see Shiva is to see the sacred in all of life, in the ordinary as well as the extraordinary.
Shiva is present with me even in my exile, where he sustains the hope of returning to my homeland with dignity and honour. So, truly, my Shiva is everywhere.
SHIVRATRI GREETINGS: HAR-RATRI OR HERATH GREETINGS

( Avtar Mota)

CHINAR SHADE