::::::::
Shivaratri came on Monday, and I spent the day fasting and praying to the god of destruction, Shiva. Many have asked me what the point is of praying of all things to a god of destruction. What’s wrong with you? Don’t you like creation?
Yes. I like creation very much, maybe too much. Gods and goddesses of destruction have been worshiped for the longest time, and one may pause to wonder why in the world one would be. It is a given that in the natural universe there is a cycle of creation, and then a cycle of destruction. In the spring, the flowers come back. The fields bloom, and butterflies fill the air. The trees become green, and birds lay their eggs. Creation is building to a crescendo only to begin dying away in the fall. Nature is full of such lessons. Forests become too dense, and then fires engulf them in flames. Bunny rabbits produce too many bunnies, and foxes have lots of nice bunny dinners. Through the eons ice ages have come and gone bringing destruction of whole species with it. After the retreat of the ice age, new species come into existence. Scientists tell us that suns build up and then they too eventually die away. Some become black holes. Our universe started with a big blast, and will someday fall back in on itself.
As the Lord Buddha said, “The only thing that stays the same is that fact that all things change.”
He also realized that as in Nature our lives have an ebb and flow. In life there will be a springtime and a fall. It is better to accept the changes that will occur than fight against them. Do not become too attached to the springtime, and do not become too aggrieved in the fall time. The cycles have their purpose, and they don’t care too much for our petty desires. Sometimes the weeds need to be burned to clear the farm, and sometimes, tired old ideas need to be dropped.
While participating in this cycle of clearing, we need to look within to find what attachments we have that needs clearing as well. Sometimes we hold on to things, ideas, ways of doing things that are really not beneficial. We hold onto these things even though the hanging on is destroying us. It is like clinging to a boiling pot of water even though our hands are being burned. The cycle of destruction (Shiva) reminds us to let go of such things. The old crops have been harvested and let’s make way for the new one.
In these dark times, it is easy to become so transfixed by the headlights that we forget to move out of the way before being run over. This too is a time of destruction. It is a time when old ways of doing things become outmoded. We need to look within as we go through these dark times to see what it is that we too need to let go of. What have we been clinging to needs to be released. It is a time of great change, and people mostly do not like change. It can be painful, but it is an opportunity to cut deeply into the rot to clean it out. It is a time to fully purge the stench. Yes. We cling to the old, the worn-out, and it is painful to let go.
The Chandi Path and the Book of Job tell us that it is during these dark times that we look within so deeply that the attachments are completely cleared. If we finished the book of Job, he would have sat down and prayed or meditated. He would have seen that god did not hate him, but it was simply a cycle of destruction. He would have realized that he is, as much a part of nature as flowers are, and he would have realized that god did not mean any personal harm to him, just like the winter has nothing against the daisies that bloom in summer. He is hurting, because he can’t let go. Shiva clears these attachments that we have and helps us let go for a higher purpose. We stop holding onto the boiling pot. We let go of things we had no control over. Instead of hating god and hating other people, we just let go, and see the cycle for what it is. We can keep rotating on that big wheel being hurt every time the destructive cycle comes into play or we can step off the wheel and calmly see it for what it is.
Shiva is also seen as the god who leads us to enlightenment; the old ascetic who must lead us up the most difficult piece of the mountain. Jai Shiva!
