Shiva and the meaning of life

I am an illusion
I am an enigma
I am that which I myself don’t know
I am not the person you see
I am just a drop
In the ocean of life
I am the soul
Another form like you

I am Shiva, I am He
I am constant, endless
I am a phenomenon unknown
I am the truth
I am what is before birth
I am what is after death
The illusion you see in between
Is not really me

I am that mystery
I am what I search for
I do not even know
Who or what am made of
I am not ego, nor the self
I am no daughter or mother
I am life, I am breath
i am that bliss, that ecstasy
I am divinity that even I don’t know

Asato maa, Sadgamayaa
Tamaso maa, Jyotirgamayaa
Mrityor maa, Amritam Gamayaa
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

The Shanti Mantra beautifully renders this truth, that what we call the self is really non existent and we live in an illusory world where we are defined by the roles we play rather than who we really are. This deep inherent search for the self, mingled with life's experiences that makes our search far more complex is all in the state of the mind.

Asato maa, Sadgamayaa
This is the definition of our journey through life, life being a medium but not the end. Through this path laden with events and experiences shaping up our personality, clouded by circumstances and emerging with a brutally beaten ego we are like travelers who stray away not knowing where they lost touch of their chosen destination. This journey is from ignorance to bliss, this journey is in the mind as we sieve through various facets of our external life. This is not a journey from birth to death, but a constant attempt to give up the illusory self- The "I" in me, the ego - to calm a jumping mind.

Tamasoma, Jyotir Gamaya
This is worship to be delivered from ignorance to eternal bliss. With every passing event, leaving us undeterred and detached is when the mind begins to settle. The mind begins to reach a state of equilibrium, where there is silence, where there is nothing, no thought, no fear but pure consciousness. This is the state of bliss, where the only sounds are that of OM, the fundamental sound that shapes this universe. Externally, this is a state when we cease to ask for external approval, we cease to seek attention, we live without ego massage. Now we are ready to be alone in a room faced with our self and the feeling is of complete bliss, and time ceases to exist. This is the moment to feel the inner light of spiritual ecstasy.

Mrityor maa, Amritam Gamayaa
This is worship for salvation. Arriving at the state of bliss is a constant, where the world ceases to exist and the mind continues to rest within that silent room of the self. The world is visibly external, its sounds can’t be heard, its presence can’t be felt, its noise cannot be experienced. It’s the death of the ego, its the death of "I", I don’t exist any more. I am bliss, I am Amrit, I am the constant, I am potency, I am present as I should be, I am beyond life and death, I am real, I am divine.

Moolatho Brahma Roopaya, Madhyato Vishnu Roopini
Agratas Shiv Roopaya, Vriksha Rajayte Namaha

Another depiction of this bliss is in the worship of the banyan tree or the Ashwatha Vriksha. The banyan tree is the emblem of life, symbolizing the constant. The banyan tree is also considered to be the symbol of the trimurthy, with Brahma at the root of creation, Vishnu representing the shaft is a symbol of sustenance and Shiva resides at the top bring out in full bloom and life, therefore describing its form as the Shiva linga itself. Such is the beauty of this tree that it describes the constant of life, the eternal bliss that we search for, within ourselves.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Photo courtesy: Pal V, Photographer, Mumbai.
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