Lord Shiva's Family

[K.N.RAMESH]

Courtesy: Sri.PK.Ramakrishnan & R.Kesavan

 

अत्तुंवांछतिशांभवोगणपतेराखुंक्षुधार्त:फणीतंवाहोपिषडाननस्यगिरिजावाहोपिनागाननम्/

गौरीजह्नुसुतामसूयतिकलानाथंललाटानल:सर्वंचिन्त्यपपौकुटुंबकलहंईशॊपिहालाहलम्//

 

                         Lord Shiva and his
parivar (family) is the best example of unity in diversity. It shows us a way as
to how people from different background can stay at one place with peace and
harmony. Lord Shiva Himself is the head of the family, while other members are
his consort Parvati, two sons Ganesha
and Kartikeya. Apart from this they have different vahans (Vehicels) like a Bull, a Mouse ,a Lion ,a Peacock as well as
a Snake .
Shiva has Crescent
moon on the head from where nectar flows incessantly. This is Amrutam. And
Shiva has Kaalakuuta Visham (poison) in the neck - two opposites.....but
they are there with peace.

On the Head
of Shiva there is Ganga (WATER) and the
same Shiva has third eye ( Fire ) which can burn any thing ....two opposites ..Still they exist there
eternally.

Shiva has a
cobra in the neck ( Nagaabharan),The vehicle of Kartikeya is Peacock which is
called bhujanga bhuk (eater of snakes)...still they both happily live together.

Shiva`s Vaahana is
Nandi and Parvati’s Vaahana is Simha (Lion).....two enemies....but still
in very good harmony.

Similarly
Ganesha is elephant headed and Parvati’s Vahana Lion is the Enemy of Elephant.

These animals have different
tendencies. A Bull is very calm by nature whereas a snake is very aggressive.
The mouse who is the vahan of Lord Ganesha bears the mountain- like weight
of Ganesh.and looks ugly but the vahan
of Kartikeya is peacock which looks astonishingly beautiful. ...what a vareity
. In any one’s life all of these or some of these are common .
Lord Shiva himself is
very versatile in nature. He is known as the God of Destruction for his Tandav (
cosmic dance ) and his anger, while on other hand he is considered as the most
soft-hearted Lord who gets pleased by his devotees very soon ( Aashutoshi )
and thus he is also called as Bhole
Baba. On the other hand Mata Parvati is extremly calm.

Thus in the Shiva
Parivar there is nectar and poison as well, there is water and fire as well,.
There is cobra and cobra- eater as well, there is a bull and bull- eater as
well, there are a tamable Nandi (bull) and a wild animal lion, a tiny creature
like mouse and a beautiful bird peacock .Yet all live in harmony without any
enmity at all.
Similarly in a family of human beings also there will be
so many opposites ,likes and dislikes, attractions and distractions as well as ups and downs. We have to learn from the parivar of Lord Shiva to coexist without
interference, interact for mutual benefits, maintain mental balance, and
live harmoniously in peace, happiness
and prosperity
. Lord Shiva's family is the
perfect example which shows how people having different mindset and different
thinking stay together as one family. Today the whole world is fighting over
various issues. People should take inspiration from Shiva Parivar and believe
in the philosophy of Vasudhaiva
Kutumbakam -- वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्--(The
whole world is my home). If everyone starts thinking like this world will be a different
place altogether.
ॐ नमः शिवाय|