We all celebrated Mahasivaratri last week, observing it as the night of SIVA, the third aspect of the Hindu Trinity of Godhead. Traditionally, Brahma (as different from BRAHMAN that is the
Absolute Non-dual, Undifferentiated Consciousness) is the Creator,
Vishnu/Narayana is the Sustainer and Siva/Easwara is the Destroyer, in the functioning of the Universe/Creation.
But this functional division of the Godhead is not some rigid or unbreakable code: these are designed to make God more approachable in keeping with the mind-set and temperament of the devotee. Also the three aspects of Divinity, especially Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, often interchange roles. To sustain the Universe, there have been the incarnations of Mahavishnu when He destroyed evil ones to protect the good. So we see Lord Vishnu annihilating evil. Similarly, there are instances when Easwara/Siva has protected His devotees and saved them from destruction.
Lord Siva got the name Neelakantha (the blue-throated One) when He saved the world in pre-historic times. In an episode when Lord Vishnu incarnated as KURMA, the Great Tortoise, Lord Siva stepped in to safeguard the earth from extinction. During the churning of the Ocean by the Demi-gods and Demons to acquire nectar, what came out of the ocean first was Halahala, fumes of poison that spread and threatened to destroy all life on earth. That is when Lord Shiva intervened and drank the poison absorbing it within Him. Before the poison could go below the throat, Goddess Parvati (the Shakti aspect of Siva) put her hand on His throat and stilled the poison there. His throat (kantha) then turned blue (neela), and henceforth He was called Neelakantha.
(For an integrated account of this spiritual legend see the link below:
But Lord Siva has also saved individual devotees, being
the Master of Kama (desire) and Yama (death), and continues to do so. He saved Markendaya, the sixteen year old devotee from the jaws of death and gave him the boon of eternal youth. Overcoming karma/fate is possible with the GRACE of God. View what Bhagawan said about this during a discourse on GURUPOORNIMA day in 2005. Here is the link :
http://vimeo.com/44507714
For a text version of this fascinating Discourse, (if your video does not load, that is) here is the link from Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust:
http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume38/sss38-14.pdf
But this functional division of the Godhead is not some rigid or unbreakable code: these are designed to make God more approachable in keeping with the mind-set and temperament of the devotee. Also the three aspects of Divinity, especially Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva, often interchange roles. To sustain the Universe, there have been the incarnations of Mahavishnu when He destroyed evil ones to protect the good. So we see Lord Vishnu annihilating evil. Similarly, there are instances when Easwara/Siva has protected His devotees and saved them from destruction.
Lord Siva got the name Neelakantha (the blue-throated One) when He saved the world in pre-historic times. In an episode when Lord Vishnu incarnated as KURMA, the Great Tortoise, Lord Siva stepped in to safeguard the earth from extinction. During the churning of the Ocean by the Demi-gods and Demons to acquire nectar, what came out of the ocean first was Halahala, fumes of poison that spread and threatened to destroy all life on earth. That is when Lord Shiva intervened and drank the poison absorbing it within Him. Before the poison could go below the throat, Goddess Parvati (the Shakti aspect of Siva) put her hand on His throat and stilled the poison there. His throat (kantha) then turned blue (neela), and henceforth He was called Neelakantha.
(For an integrated account of this spiritual legend see the link below:
http://www.indianetzone.com/35/samudra_manthan_churning_ocean.htm
http://vimeo.com/44507714
For a text version of this fascinating Discourse, (if your video does not load, that is) here is the link from Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust:
http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume38/sss38-14.pdf
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