Who is Lord Shiva?

Who is Lord Shiva?

Shri Paroksh Yogi ji:

I can share my personal experience with Lord Shiva (Nothingness), I had witnessed during a meditation camp in Uttarakhand Himalayan region.

Since my childhood, Lord Shiva attracted me the most, probably because of the mysterious stories I had heard about him.

I had an impression in my mind, that Lord Shiva lives in Himalayas in a human form (as we see in TV serials), but all my preconceived notions were about to get shattered.

During a trekking expedition in Himalayas, I met an unknown “Realised Guru” in an unexpected situation and he changed my life.

Initially, he appeared to me like any other man, because he is not a sanyasi, lives with family, uses mobile phones, drives a car, he is young and wears urban clothes etc.

But when we started to talk I realised he knows some deep secrets and he is a Himalayan Mystic.

He never claimed that he was a realised being and till today he prefers to stay unknown.

After the trek was over, I came down to the base camp, I met him again and we started the conversation in front of a bonfire.

He systematically destroyed my belief system of Gods, Goddesses, heaven, traditional mode of prayers and borrowed knowledge from books.

He encouraged me to be a 'seeker', rather than a 'believer', which simply means -

“Never believe in 'anything', until you experience it yourself”

After that night long conversation, it was clear to me that Shiva is “formless and everywhere”, but I was yet to experience or feel his presence.

Although I was feeling a strong attraction towards Guruji but I was still skeptical, whether I should trust him because it felt like probably he knows hypnotism or something which was making my mind calm.

Later on, I started to visit him often and he used to teach me certain meditation techniques.

I realised that in his presence when I used to meditate, I used to feel an intense feeling in my spine and sometimes I used to feel mild oscillation in my body.

One day, I was meditating and as soon as he arrived my upper body started rotating mildly on its own, as if there is some mild earthquake.

After meditation I asked him why is it happening?

He said:

“your energies are moving upward and when you progress from one stage to another it happens. Don't bother about it and focus on the kriya.”

No one is a resident meditator in his campsite because he doesn't have those facilities, but we go there often for meditation camps.

After many months, one day after meditation session I went to him to take his blessings because I was about to leave.

He was on 'silence' (Maun vrat) that day and was sitting on his chair.

I touched his feet to take his blessings and sat in front of him near his feet.

He looked straight in my eyes and I felt something is about to happen.

It felt like his eyes were saying something that my conscious mind was not able to interpret, however probably my sub conscious or unconscious mind was listening.

For the first time he applied his thumb in my forehead in the Aagya chakra.

I felt an electric current in my whole body and I started crying out of joy for no reason.

It felt as if something was transmitted from his body to my body and that was the ‘moment’ when I came to know who he is.

For that moment ‘I’ vanished and only Shiva was everywhere…literally everywhere!

That was the “miracle of Shiva”, when he made me realise that I was a fool to believe that I and Shiva are two separate entities.

There were never two entities, only he is there, everywhere, there is nothing except him…

Later on I experienced many things which I will not reveal because certain experiences are personal and not meant to be shared.

It sounds so simple, but why for ‘most people' it is very difficult to realise?

Because of your identities or ego - I am this, I am that, I like this, I do not like this etc.

The worst kind of identity is “I am spiritual”

The whole process of yoga is to shatter your identities.

Be a seeker, please do not believe anything, until you experience it yourself

In Advait Vedanta, Shiva is described as the infinitely vast dark empty space / void / nothingness, which is holding the entire universe.

Some call that God, some say that is Allah, some say Krishna, we call that Shiva and scientists are studying it as unknown Dark energy and Dark matter.

If you want to give him a new name, (example: XYZ) give him any name, he won't mind!

If you don't believe in him, even then he won't mind.

It's like one of your tiny body cells say : I don't believe that you exist, I have a separate identity and I am not a part of you…would you mind it?

Shiva is also described as niraakar roopam (without any shape or size) vast nothingness or emptiness (Shoonyata).

Only ‘Shoonyata’ (which was there before creation started & which will remain after destruction of universe) qualifies for ‘niraakar’ (formless), because creation would always have a particular size and shape.

This has been proven that the whole universe is in vibrational form which was described in our ancient texts as “Nada Bramha” ( Universe is just sound or vibration)

Scientists say that at sub-atomic level there is no mass but only energy (which we call as Shakti) and subatomic particles constantly disappear in to nothingness (destruction) and re-appear out of nothing (creation).

As per experiences of spiritual masters, all the things in this universe are different manifestations of same energy (Shakti).

Before creation of universe there was only vast nothingness (shoonya, shiva or emptiness), then energy (shakti) appeared out of nothingness and whole universe was created as a manifestation of energy (with help of nothingness) and this process is happening every moment.

These two fundamental forces are known as yin & yang, shiv & shakti etc.

‘Nothing’ & ‘something’ combined to make ‘everything’…

Have you noticed ? All computer programs are also made of only 2 fundamental binary digits '0′ (nothing) and ‘1’ (something), isn't it?

If you observe everything around with a keen interest, you will be able to see how these 2 fundamental forces are working every moment for the process of 'creation' and 'destruction'.

If you will do research about dark matter, dark energy, higgs boson and god particle, you will realise that the whole universe is a manifestation of energy

Now coming back to Bholenath Baba or bhagwan Shankar (or many other names), he was described as “Yaksha swaroop” which means he was not in human form because he was a extra terrestrial being.

Bholenath Shankar ji is considered a form of Shiva because he reached a “meditative state” wherein spiritually, there was no difference left between him and Shiva.

He was the first Guru, who showed the path of Yog (the ultimate union) with the Shiv inside us.

Many people may call Bholenath's story as a mythology and may dis-believe it and you have every right to say that, because no one knows what exactly happened.

However, Shiva is not a story figure, he is the one and only ‘formless’ cosmic consciousness which is present everywhere.

There is a misconception that Hindus believe in 33 crore Gods and Goddesses.

There are many deities or demigods, considered as different manifestations of same God. (For example : Indra, Surya etc. cannot be compared with ultimate God because they are ‘devtas’ not ‘Paramaatma’)

Even Bramha, Vishnu & Mahesh are described as 3 different aspects (creation, operation & destruction) of the same 'one' God.

Some ignorant people get into debates like who is greater, Krishna or Shankar?

Such people do not even know the essence of Hinduism or Sanatan dharma.

When someone says Krishna is inside us or Krishna is everywhere, is he talking about the physical body which participated in Mahabharata war and in the end died because of an arrow of a hunter?

Krishna or Rama were names given to respective physical bodies and when we say Krishna is everywhere, of course no one is talking about that physical body.

We are talking about the universal conciousness or cosmic soul which is common for Krishna, Rama, Shankar, Jesus, Buddha etc., hence that conciousness is literally everywhere. (Within us also).

The only difference is you have not realised it yet.

We all are different forms of same God.

Hindus believe in only 'one' God, but call him by different names.

Would you like to experience Shiv?

Just look around because he is everywhere, even better would be, to try looking ‘inside.’

Ask yourself who is reading this answer through your eyes?

Understanding all this intellectually is of no use, experience the Shiv within you directly, make it the goal of your life and make sure you do not stop until you are blessed with Self realization.

Once you are self realized, no outside situation can bother you because you will be in ultimate bliss.

Awake!

Aum Namah Shivay