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Shiva: The Consciousness of the Universe
Part I

In the masculine trinity of the Vedic tradition, two of the three members of the trinity are represented as created "with form," while the third is not. Among the masculine trinity of Brahma Vishnu and Shiva, Shiva does not appear in any form at the beginning. That being which is sometimes called the Great Destroyer remains without form.

Story: The Search
Shortly after the creation of the cosmos, Brahma and Vishnu are traveling around the cosmos and see a pillar of light off in the distance. They go to investigate. When they arrive, they find a column of light that stretches off into the distance going both up, and down with no end anywhere in sight. After a conversation, they decide that they will split and each investigate the origins of a one of the ends of the pillar of light. Brahma goes in one direction and Vishnu goes in the other.

After what would seem like an eternity to us, they meet back at the spot where they first began. Vishnu states that as far as he went, there was no end to the pillar of light. Brahma says that he did find an end in his direction. Immediately after Brahma made this statement, the pillar changed into a blue figure with matted locks and a crescent moon on his forehead. The figure charges Brahma with lying. Identifying himself as Shiva, the pillar of light that now has assumed a form states that because ego is needed to create, Brahma has succumbed to ego and told a falsehood. Shiva states that he extends infinitely in either direction, making it impossible to find either a beginning or an end. Shiva then utters a curse upon Brahma that because he lied he will not be observed in the traditional ceremonies propitiating the divine beings and principles. Thus, among the trinity, Brahma is seldom worshipped as a central figure, but he is frequently remembered in more classical services and ceremonies. His only temple is in Pushkara, Rajastan, India and is said to be one of the most powerful pilgrimage spots on the planet.

"The Destroyer" is a Misnomer
Often called the Great Destroyer, Shiva, as the consciousness of the universe, cannot destroy that of which he is a part. This common conception of Shiva as destroyer is not quite correct or complete. Shiva is several things simultaneously.

1. Shiva Is The Great Spiritualizer Of The Universe. As a conscious and continually evolving entity, the level of consciousness of all matter is slowly and inexorably increasing as time passes. Humans and other sentient species help the process as some of their number achieve enlightenment, Christ consciousness, Buddhahood, saguna and nirguna realization, and liberation. Our and their advance quickens the entire process. Ultimately a point is reached where the form of the universe can no longer contain the level of consciousness being achieved. When this happens, the universe undergoes a change of state that appears, from the outside, to be destructive, but it is not. It is transcendent, which is why Shiva is dancing. Far from a gloating figure who dances in glee as the universe dissolves in shudders of cataclysm, rather Shiva's dance is one of joy as the consciousness of the universe itself outgrows the form that was created to contain it.

Here is a good analogy that aids in seeing the process as a whole. As ice begins to accumulate heat, no visible outward sign is apparent. Suddenly, however, a point is reached where the form of the ice can no longer contain the accumulated heat, and it begins to melt. To an uninformed outside observer, it appears that the ice is being destroyed, but we know that the molecules of water are not affected. They are still there. However, the state of their apparent existence has changed. If the process of energy accumulation continues, the water molecules undergo another change of state into steam. In that process, the water molecules appear to be destroyed, but as we know from the distillation process, the destruction is only apparent. The water molecules reappear as if by magic under cooler circumstances. Similarly, the universe accumulates consciousness until it can no longer be contained within the form.

2. Shiva Is the Self-aware And Spiritually Potent Holy Spirit. In the story told above, Shiva is first seen as a pillar of light. That light is spiritual energy coursing through the "spine" of the universe and in our own spine. That light is power in its most stainless and pure aspect white to the point of being impossible to look at, and conscious in the same sense that "enlightenment" represents one peak in the range of human spiritual development. Power and consciousness, existing everywhere, is one way of viewing the Holy Spirit. Able to manifest at any time and anywhere, but especially active when working with an Avatar, Prophet, Master or True Guru, the Holy Spirit is Shiva in his androgynous yet formless aspect.

3. Nataraja: He Who Dances With Joy As Consciousness Transcends The Physical Limits Of This Universe. One of the most prevalent icons of Shiva is a four-armed figure with wide shoulders and narrow waist that dances upon some hapless figures while surrounded by a circle of flames. The flames represent the dissolving physical universe. The figures on the bottom are those beings still in individual bodies who must endure the painful transformation process while still inhabiting a form. Shiva dances with joy because consciousness has overcome form and transcended the physical limitations of this universe. The narrow waist and broad shoulders, along with the four arms, show an androgynous being.

4. Yoni-Lingham. The icon of Shiva used in most traditional Hindu ceremonies is a flat circular shaped stone or metal beneath a post standing up in the center. Even a cursory look at the object clearly shows something looking quite similar to the female labial genitalia surrounding a phallic symbol. This is androgyny in its most clear and basic context.

It is astounding to observe that throughout the many branches of Shaivism, a nearly exclusive worship of this object as male is practiced. Yet it is clearly both masculine and feminine. The only reasonable answer is that the consciousness aspect of Shiva, which is the masculine aspect, is that being propitiated through song and ceremony. When the power aspect is the focus of worship, an icon from the feminine trinity is used.

5. Tibetan Approach To Shiva Is Through Kalachakra. The masculine trinity of traditional Hinduism is not observed in Tibet. The anthropomorphized principles found there are completely different, deriving from both Buddhism and the Bonpo religion that preceded it in the region. But the consciousness aspect of Shiva, with all its feminine power combined in Yub-Yum androgynous form, is found in Kalachakra - The Wheel of Time. In Sanskrit Kala means time, and Chakra means wheel, so the derivation is not in question.

In Hinduism, another name for Shiva is Mahakala or Lord of Time. The Kula branch of Shaivist doctrine found in Northern India, contains understanding of an esoteric chakra that is referred to as the Kalachakra, or sometimes the Lalani Chakra. In some texts the qualities as well as the number and form of petals on the chakras are clearly delineated.

Although the mechanism is somewhat different, the overall approach to becoming a Siddha, or perfected being, is strikingly similar to the effects of the Shiva mantra below.

To be continued next month.