The Compassion of Lord Shiva | Sudhanshu ji Maharaj
कर्पूरगौरं करुणावतारं संसारसारं भुजगेन्द्रहारम् ।
सदा बसन्तं हृदयारबिन्दे भबं भवानीसहितं नमामि ।।
Lord Shiva, who is pure and white like Camphor, who is a personification of compassion; who is the quintessence of worldly existence, whose garland is a serpent, and who dwells in the hearts of devotees; I bow to Him and Goddess Parvati.
The Compassion of Lord Shiva
Mahashivratri marks the pious convergence of Shiva & Shakti.
Shiva is the soul and Shakti is the Kundalini that resides in the body. Shiva is the energy on which the entire cosmos dwells. This godly energy pervades the entire cosmos and is also present within every living being in the form of the element of ‘Shiva Tattva’. This element is human consciousness that inspires all to move towards one’s spiritual peak while living a pure and blessed life.
Shakti, on the other hand, is nature itself that creates life by bearing and taking care of the creative seed. She provides food for all life forms to sustain. She transforms Shiva into Shankar- the householder who is caring and compassionate and who doesn’t leave any stone unturned to provide His devotees with life-changing blessings.
Thus Shakti completes Shiva and this union leads to the balance of nature. This balance and equilibrium that Shiva and Shakti create together is celebrated as Maha Shivratri.
All our Hindu festivals have a deep spiritual meaning, leading one within themselves to seek the ultimate Reality. Mahashivratri is symbolic of dispelling ignorance, emanating the light of wisdom, and making one attuned towards the Shiva-Tattva.
On this auspicious day, devotees perform Rudrabhishek in which the Shiva Lingam is bathed with milk, honey, sacred water of the Ganges. Offerings of fruits and leaves are given. Devotees observe fast, chant Vedic mantras of Lord Shiva and meditate to awaken the consciousness within.
The Kind Lord, Shiva
Bholenath, as devotees address Him in devotion, showers his benevolence upon devotees in incredible ways. He is very easy to please and responsive to the problems and prayers of His devotees.
In fact, devotees know two aspects of Lord Shiva. In one aspect, He is compassionate wherein it is easy to please Him. He needs no lavish ornaments or clothing for decoration or worship. Just simple ash (vibhuti) and Indian bael leaves (bilwa leaves) are sufficient to pray and seek His blessings.
His other aspect is the ‘destroyer’ aspect that transforms as well as purifies.
So, His one form is being all compassionate while at the same time He transforms the imperfections of His devotees and tries to destroy them.
The virtue of compassion, moreover, turns Lord Shiva into the hope of the hopeless.
He was the only one willing to swallow poison during the churning of the ocean (Samudra Manthan)
And that is why he is worshipped by both the demons and demi-gods.
Further, to shower His grace among all, Lord Shiva has appeared as a Jyotirlinga (A Blazing column of Light) at some places. There are 12 Jyotirlingas in India
Each Jyotirlinga represents how Lord Shiva protected His devotees and each temple has an interesting story of His compassion. One such story is the fascinating story of the Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga (in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra) also known as the Ghrneshwar or Ghushmeshwar Temple.
Interestingly, the word Ghrneshwara means ‘Lord of Compassion’.
Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga that destroyed the evilness of jealousy
Kusuma was an immensely pious woman and an ardent Lord Shiva devotee. Every day she would offer her worship by immersing a Shivling in a pond.
Her husband’s other wife became jealous of her and she killed her only son out of jealousy. Kusuma was heartbroken after the incident, but continued her daily ritual of worshipping Lord Shiva.
Pleased with her deep devotion, the Lord blessed her by bringing her son back to life and even appearing in His original form before Kusuma and the villagers.
At Kusuma’s request, Lord Shiva manifested himself there as a Jyotirlinga that came to be known as Grishneshwar-thus displaying the quintessence of compassion towards his devotees.
Emulating the compassion of Lord Shiva
As a Lord Shiva Devotee, seekers on the path need to be compassionate towards all forms of life in order to restore peace and happiness all around. They mustn’t allow the evil attributes, like envy, false pride, anger, ego, and greed to flourish within them. Understand that limitless desires lead to problems and boundless expectations lead to dissatisfaction. So uproot these from your inner world.
Always try to do merciful acts to purify your heart and keep it kind. Develop forgiveness and sympathy in yourself because compassion leads to peace and devotion. Little acts of kindness towards the needy go a long way. He who does such acts only can become a true devotee of Lord Shiva and feel oneness with all beings.
Further, only a mind that is stable can emerge victorious in all circumstances. Stability brings in a sense of power. Hence attain stability of the mind through meditation and tread the path of kindness under the guidance of God. This is the right way to worship Shiva & Shakti and lead a peaceful, happy and, prosperous life.
Wishes for grand Maha Shivratri celebrations-Om Namah Shivay!