Nature has its way of preserving balance in Creation. For every aspect, there exists an equal and opposite one. Darkness is nothing but the absence of light. Silence is nothing but the absence of sound. It is only the duality in nature, the coexistence of positive and negative that gives meaning to the existence of the whole.
What if at any given time, there exists simultaneously the entire positive and negative? Then the two will balance each other out completely, the net result being shunya or zero. So, there would be everything yet nothing. The only form that could fit such a description is the formless—Nirakaar, Para Brahma. This is the swaroop of Lord Shiv. In the words of Adi Shankaracharya, ‘Na Punyam Na Paapam Na Saukhyam Na Dukham, Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Shivoham.’
What then is the dancing male form, the form of half-man and half-woman, or the sadhu clad in a loincloth with his body smeared in bhasma? Are Natraj, Ardhnareshwar and Neelkanth myths? Let us dwell upon the infinite energy that is Shiv, let’s go back to the beginning of Creation.
When Creation began, there existed just one supreme consciousness that manifested as Adi Shakti. From her emerged anything and everything; from her emerged Shiv. Interestingly, the first physical manifestation of creation was the sound “AUM”, which emerged from the damru of Shiv; his dance of Creation that gave form to the Universe. Thus, what manifested was Shiv and the energy responsible for this manifestation was also Him.
Adi Shakti in all her glory chose to be Shiv’s consort as Shakti or Parvati. While the entire creation (including Shiv) draws its energy from Shakti, Shakti without Shiv is just pure energy that needs a vehicle to channelise itself. Evolution in its entirety thus becomes the union of the two—Ardhanareshwar or Shiv who granted half his body to Shakti.
This evolution is seen as the awakening of Kundalini in humans. The process involves ascending through the chakras—what rises up being Kundalini or Shakti; a semi-dormant force residing at the base chakra. For this to happen, Shiv seated at the highest chakra has to come down and unite with Shakti at every subsequent chakra. The Samudra Manthan where both amrit and vish were produced during the churning of the ocean is nothing but the awakening of Kundalini.
Amrit is the union of Shiv-Shakti that bestows salvation. The vish or venom produced as an equal and opposite necessitates the role of Guru in evolution. It was Shiv as Neelkanth who drank all the poison and preserved it in his throat, for maintaining the balance. In this sense, Guru too is not separate from Paramguru Shiv.
Shiv thus becomes the transformer, the granter of salvation, ‘dev-adi-dev Mahadev’. The first experience of this all-pervasive energy lies in closing the eyes. When they are shut, one experiences a limitless expanse of space—the chittakaash—wherein lies everything perceivable and unperceivable. Strangely though there exists no space between the eye and eyelid. There is everything yet nothing.
The night of Mahashivratri has a special significance as the energy patterns of this day resonate with the energy of Shiv. For a spiritual aspirant, this is the night of Sanatan Kriya and mantra sadhana. The guru, who monitors the shishya at every step, gives him a specific mantra and kriya to practice at the right muhurat (time) on this night. The amazing psychic experiences that follow bring results worth the effort of several lifetimes, in just one night.
Yogi Ashwini is the spiritual head of Dhyan Ashram.
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