Shiva, the Pioneer of Yoga

(pic courtesy: Thinking in Vedas)

Shiva, is one of the most widely revered & worshipped deity in the Hindu tradition. Shiva is considered as the “destroyer” or the ‘transformer” of the “Trimuti”; the three aspects of the supreme soul along with Brahma (the creator) and Vishnu (the preserver). Shiva along with his consort Parvati is considered as the balancing component of the universe as Shiva is considered as the Purush (male) and Parvati, the Goddess of power; Shakti as the Prakriti (female/nature). Shiva is considered as the lord of cosmic sound or the cosmic music, particularly the great mantra OUM. According to the Vedic tradition, the holy Vedas and all mantras are derived from OUM and the entire universe was generated. The Sanskrit alphabet is said to arise from the beating of Shiva’s drum, whose resonance pervades all space.

Also known as the ‘Mahadev’ (The Great God); Shiva according to the Vedic texts is considered as the patron God of Yoga & Arts. Shiva is depicted as an omniscient Yogi living an ascetic life on Mount Kailash in the Himalayas as well as a householder living with wife Goddess Parvati and two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya. Also sometimes he is depicted in fierce aspects, slaying demons.

Origin of Yoga:

According to the Yogic tradition, Shiva is the originator of Yoga; Adiyogi (the first Yogi). He is believed to have inserted the seed of Yoga in the human mind. It is said that the knowledge of Yoga was first of all imparted by him to his wife Devi Parvati. But the mankind got the spiritual heritage of the science of Yoga through the seven sages known as the Saptarishis; who are still worshipped and admired in the Indian culture.

It is said that Shiva attained to his full enlightenment and abandoned himself in an intense ecstatic dance upon the Himalayas. He danced wildly when his ecstasy allowed him some movement and when it became beyond movement, he became utterly still. Shiva was experiencing something that nobody had known before, something that they were unable to fathom. Interest developed and people started arriving wanting to know what this was. They came, they waited and they left because Shiva was oblivious to other people’s presence. He was either in intense dance or absolute stillness, completely uncaring of what was happening around him.

Soon everyone left, but seven men still remained there who were insistent that they must learn what this man had in him. But they were ignored by Shiva. They pleaded and begged Shiva that they want to know what he knew. Shiva dismissed them by saying that the way you are, you are not going to know in a million years. There is a tremendous amount of preparation needed for this as this is not entertainment.

Thus, they started preparing. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, they prepared, but were ignored by. After 84 years of their sadhana on a full moon day; these seven men were looked upon by the Adiyogi who saw that they had become shining receptacles of knowing and were absolutely ripe to receive. It was the day of Dakshinayana (summer solstice) and was now not easy to ignore them and thus they grabbed their attention. [This is the reason why 21 June, the day of summer solstice was chosen for celebrating the International Yoga Day].

Adiyogi watched them closely for the next few days. On the next full moon days, he decided to become a Guru and transformed himself into the Adi Guru. Thus, the world received its first Guru and as a result the day is considered as the Guru Purnima in Hinduism. Adiyogi on the banks of the lake Kanti Sarovar located in the Himalayas few kilometers above Kedarnath in the present day northern Uttarakhand province of India; turned south to shed his grace upon the human race. And in this way; began the transmission of the Yogic science to these seven people. It can be considered as the first Yoga programme of the world. After the transmission of the Yogic science got over after several years, the world received seven enlightened Rishi (ascetics), who were later known as the Saptarishis (the seven sages).

Different aspects of Yoga were taught to each of these seven individuals which became the seven basic forms of Yoga. Even today, Yoga has maintained these seven distinct forms. The Saptarishis were then sent in the seven different directions to different parts of the world in order to transmit this dimension with which a human being can evolve beyond his present limitations and compulsions. Saptarishis became the limbs of Adiyogi Shiva, taking the knowing & technology of how a human being can exist here as the Creator himself, to the world.

Though now time has ravaged many things, but when the cultures of those lands are carefully studied, small strands of these people’s work can be seen which is still alive. It has taken on various colors and forms, and has changed its complexion in a million different ways, but these strands can still be seen.

Shiva; the source of cosmic energy & Yoga

The possibility that a human being does not need to be contained in the defined limitations of our species as there is a way to be contained in physicality but not to belong to it was made possible by Adiyogi Shiva. There is a way to inhabit the body but never become the body and to use the mind in the highest possible way but still never know the miseries of the mind. A person can go beyond the dimension of his/her existence you are in which he/she is right now and there is another way to live by working upon the self.

Shiva is thus considered as Yogeshvara (Lord of Yoga); an ideal ascetic, monk, swami and sadhu. By worshipping Shiva we can master all aspects and practices of Yoga and meditation. Also considered as the great lord of Prana (cosmic life energy); the chants of the mantras Ham Sa and So Ham, the natural sounds of the breath, reflect the pranic dance of Shiva within us. The voice of Shiva reverberating at the core of our being is represented by them. Through Yogic Pranayama a person cultivates the power of Shiva (the Cosmic Prana) in one aspect or another.

Shiva can be considered as the greatest guide to meditation as the teaching of Shiva guides the mankind to observe, contemplate and not react, providing with a cosmic view of the events in the lives and the emotions in the minds, so these can never overwhelm a person. Shiva is the deity of merging the mind back into its source in the infinite, giving up the personal mind for the universal consciousness. Shiva takes us beyond the preconceptions of the mind to the consciousness that pervades all space and is not bound to any memory patterns, fears or desires. Thus Shiva can also be said as the supreme healer who brings rest, peace and rejuvenation to body, mind and heart when an individual surrender to his /her power as holding a deeper love and bliss. So, one of the names of Lord Shiva is Vaidhyanath; Lord of the Ayurvedic physicians.

The teachings on the detailed aspects on Yoga by Shiva were received by the mankind Agama Sastras, from which various traditions came into existence which are still prevalent today. One of them is the Nava-Nath Tradition founded by Matsyendranath, Gorakhnath and the seven other Gurus of the Nath Tradition. The Nath Yogis are credited for giving the Tantric Yoga, Hatha Yoga and Siddha Yoga. They were the followers of Lord Shiva who is considered as the Adi Nath or the original Nath guru. This Nath Tradition is still prevalent mostly in North India. Gorakhnath is considered as an incarnation of Lord Shiva by his followers. In the southern India, the great sage Agastya Muni is considered to be the one who disseminated the knowledge of Yoga and created a lineage of Siddhas who specialized in Yoga, Tantra, medicine, astrology and other sciences. The tradition of 18 Siddhars is well known in South India even today.

Thus worship of Shiva as the Yogeshvara, pervades the Yoga tradition from the most ancient to modern times. The festival of the Mahashivaratri is celebrated in the honour of the Adiyogi as well as the Adiguru Shiva. The planetary positions in the northern hemisphere on the night of Mahashivaratri are such that there is a natural upsurge of energies. It is believed that if one just stays awake and keeps one's spine erect throughout the night, it naturally pushes a person towards his spiritual peak. 

(pic courtesy: Wikipedia)

Even today, Shiva is mostly depicted as sitting in the pose of Padmasana (Yoga Asana performed in lotus pose) in Samadhi (deep meditation).