A Research of Shiva: The Enigma

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all those ancient intellectuals who had the acumen to see far and beyond and created works of literature such as the Vedas.

Further, this book is dedicated to all those ancient thinkers who could take those in-depth works of literature and reduce them to understandable, simpler Upanishads, that have stood the test of time.

It is also dedicated to all those thinkers across time who were able to understand and translate these works of literature into Sthotrams, Mantras and Ashtakams which contain condensed version of the core information and have retained their grain of truth from the original works, however much they have been distorted over time.

Without these works of literature, this book would not have been possible.

I salute all the thinkers across time who have perceived the information in these works of literature.

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

CONTENTS

Introduction

The science of truth

Mismatch in the understanding of God

Why Shiva?

Why Sthotrams, Mantras, Upanishads?

Setting the context

The problem of the observer

Limitations of study with the manas

Tatvamasi

Para Brahma Tattva

Deciphering the environment

Awareness of the environment

Timeless environment

Limiting awareness of the environment

Peeling the layers of the awareness

Untangling Awareness

Layers of awareness

Manifestation of the environment

Formation of the environment

Connection of the entanglement to the environment

Relating modern science to reality as defined

Summarizing the concepts of the environment

Defining space

Definitions of direction

Forces and Inertia

Gravity and centre of gravity

Disclaimer

A path into the unmanifested

Searching for clues

From the unmanifested to the manifested

The science of yielding

Distinguishing between isha, Rudra and Shiva

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Vande Deva Umaa Pathim Suragurum, Vande Jagat Kaaranam

Vande Pannaga Bhooshanam Mrugadharam, Vande Pashoonam Pathim

Vande Soorya Shashanka Vahni Nayanam, Vande Mukunda Priyam

Vande Bhakta Jana Ashrayamcha Varadam, Vande Shiva Shankaram

Translation:

Regard the energy that is knowledgeable to be the master of tranquillity and the reason for the existence of the universe

Regard the enhanced pulsation that supports beings, the master of the living beings

Regard the direct and reflected light with guiding fire, that is near equilibrium

Regard the distributed protected living space, the uncertainty of Shiva

Introduction

The science of truth

All known translations and understanding of the Vedas, Upanishads, Sthotrams, Ashtakams, or Mantras, consider these works of literatures to be the philosophical concepts and ideas of Hinduism. Hinduism by itself is considered to be a religion. The sorry state of affairs is that these works of literatures are considered to be a spiritual and ideological belief system. But, I beg to differ here. Yes, I agree, that over a period of time Hinduism has taken the form of fanatical religion (more so now), and transformed itself into a belief system. In-fact I need to say, I cannot find Hinduism as a word, in these pieces of literature. It is definitely a word that has been coined over a period of time, in the very recent past, within the previous century, to attribute these works to some group or race of people. Hindus also is a coined word to represent a set of people from a certain region more specifically in India. Sure, there are references to Bharat or Bharatvarsh. Those are references to the land and the people of a land, nothing more. But, none of these works talk about God, people or religion. In-fact they don’t even talk about beliefs. The problem is, no one anymore understands or knows the core principles and concepts that were originally propounded by these works of literature. Hence they have been classified and cast into superstitious works of philosophy.

To take a simple example: Not all people, in fact it would be correct to say that only a handful of people in the current world, truly understand quantum physics and its concepts. If, over thousands of years the number of people studying quantum physics declines to zero, what remains after that are only the words with their meanings open to misinterpretation. Photons, bosons, neutrinos, electrons etc., become just a belief system since we cannot sense any of these. Having lost the knowledge of proving the existence and studying them, what they mean, can only be transferred by word of mouth. These words themselves invoke no inherent, meaning within us. Any description written of these words is bound to be open to interpretation as seen feasible. These are just acquired knowledge and unless transferred correctly can get lost in the sands of time.

Similarly, I believe, the concepts in the Vedas, Upanishads and other literature have been reduced to nothing or nonsensical in the sands of time. I agree, they do not talk about the same science as physics, quantum physics, chemistry and so on, but, science, indeed they are. Science need not always be the creation of what we call technology and scientific knowledge. Technology need not always be that which enhances the luxury in human life. Technology is the practical use of scientific knowledge to enhance life. Life can be enhanced in many forms, not just with respect to comfort of matter. Scientific knowledge also need not always be that which understands the science of matter. In-fact matter is merely incidental in the whole scheme of things. Studying matter only helps us scratch the surface of the whole. Studying matter is like taking an equation for a simple harmonic motion, substituting specific values to ‘x’ and ‘t’ and always staring at that one generated point and forming ideas around that point, instead of seeing the equation itself and seeing the variance based on the change in values of ‘x’ and ‘t’.

Veda or Vedantam means knowledge. Knowledge cannot be obtained from philosophical beliefs. The question we need to ask ourselves is what is the knowledge they are talking about? There is infinite knowledge. Knowledge is that which is known inherently. Knowledge is not that which we call intelligence of this human form! Philosophical beliefs, logical deductions by the brain and such can only lead to intelligence or concluded knowledge. This happens only because, we as humans have limited access to that infinite knowledge. Hence we are always seeking for proof for this concluded intelligence. This makes us intelligent beings as opposed to knowledgeable beings .

I think the primary prerequisite to even start appreciating the science these works are talking about is the comprehension that reality and truth are not the same . Reality is what we sense, recognize and logically conclude with the brain, from the truth around us. The search for the truth is not philosophy or belief. It is a gradual diminishing of this staunch belief or conviction that there is nothing else other than this reality around us and to become aware of the unvarnished truth as opposed to a glazed version of the truth we call reality. This is the science and knowledge that these works are talking about. The science of the truth.

It is very difficult to appreciate the nuances of such a science. The first and primary major setback with such a science is that we understand and accept ideas as facts through our brains. This means the brain itself is just a part of the reality and not the naked truth. Given that, what we want to study is why these thoughts are formed and how these thoughts are formed, we inherently need to form the correct thoughts to understand them. How can we do this? It is as if one part of the brain is observing the other to understand! The Kena Upanishad brings this out succinctly when it says:

yanmanasā na manute yenāhurmano matam |

tadeva brahma tvaṃ viddhi nedaṃ yadidamupāsate || 6 ||

Translation:

That which the mind cannot think, but that which is the mind, know that to be the ultimate truth and not that which you have imagined.

Yes, the science of truth is pretty difficult to comprehend. Even defining what it is really studying is a huge challenge. Yet, while the path is indistinct and unclear, the end goal is well defined viz-a-viz find the truth. The point to be appreciated here is, Can we even feign to know when we have reached the end goal? The words find the truth seems to have a meaning, yet, the knowledge itself is elusive without any means of knowing how to validate when we get there. It only has to be assumed that it is a knowledge that will be self-proven. It is for this reason that when describing any of these, the path taken is a path of negation rather than a description. For e.g., the Nirvana Shatakam by Shankaracharya says:

Na Me Mrtyur-Shangkaa Na Me Jaati-Bhedah

Pitaa Naiva Me