If Lord Shiva is in the temple, how can one meet Him and talk to Him? Have you ever wondered how we can communicate with Him? Does the search for Lord Shiva end in holy places such as Rameshwaram, Haridwar, Kedarnath, Amarnath, and Badrinath? While this question may well be addressed by a staunch believer of Lord Shiva, if one stops for a moment and actually goes deeper to seek the truth and try to connect with God, then the question actually gets answered.
Basically, there are two kinds of devotees – the staunch believer, who goes to the temple to pray and believes that Lord Shiva’s presence is in the statue in the temple. He prays and is satisfied with worshipping the idol of Lord Shiva. He bows down to Lord Shiva saying ‘Om Namah Shivaya’. Then, there is the Seeker who asks questions, investigates his findings and goes on to realize the truth . He questions – this is Lord Shiva of course, but actually where is Lord Shiva? On Kailasa? How did Lord Shiva come about? How did Lord Shiva appear on Earth? If Lord Shiva is God, what about other Gods? How many Gods are there?
Generally, most people visit places of worship with a desire to find Lord Shiva, to feel His presence. They feel that the power of Lord Shiva can be felt at such places and He would be easily accessible to them there. Many people believe that they will attain Moksha or will be liberated from the sins of their lifetimes by visiting certain holy places, by undertaking pilgrimages. What is the truth? In fact, who exactly is Lord Shiva? Lord Shiva, according to Hinduism, is the Destroyer and one of the main deities of the Hindu holy trinity, the other two being Brahma (the Creator) and Vishnu (the Preserver). But this is where we must stop and contemplate. We must go beyond religion to spirituality to realize the truth.
The truth is that Lord Shiva is actually a form created by religion for us to begin our journey of faith, so that we can pray, communicate, and connect with God. God, in reality, is beyond religion. Religion begins our journey to God, but spirituality finishes it. It is spirituality that can truly take us towards God. We must go beyond praying to Lord Shiva to praying through Lord Shiva, whom we call God. God is not who we think God is. God is not really Shiva or Krishna or Ganesha. Yes, these ‘forms’ of God help us connect with God, love God, build faith and trust. But in reality, God is SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power. A power that is omnipotent, all powerful; omniscient, all knowing; omnipresent, present everywhere. A power that is beginningless and endless; birthless and deathless. God is not he or she. God is formless, nameless.
There is no doubt that places of worship have certain vibrations to set one’s mind to communicate with God. But remember that this Divine Power is everywhere and not just in places of worship. The Divine Power is in the mountains, in the seas, in the sky, in the clouds, in the bees, in the butterflies, in you and me. Everything is a manifestation of SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power. We are a part of this power, just as a wave is part of the ocean. We are not different from God.
Unfortunately, we grow up believing in God as a separate entity. We are used to rituals and forms of prayer, which make us communicate with God, with a dualistic approach that God is separate from us. Furthermore, mythology also leads us into believing that God is someone in heaven with a set of characteristics. We hear of people renouncing the world and going in solitude, searching for God. The reality is that God cannot be found, God has to be realized. We have to go on an inward journey to realize God. As scriptures say, the kingdom of God is within; God lives in the temple of our heart. We have to evolve from chanting Om Namah Shivay to chanting Shivoham Shivoham— I am Shiva, realizing that we are the very God we seek, that God lives within.
Great Masters at all ages have realized and propounded the same realization that God is only found within. There is no duality, no separateness. We are all a part of the same consciousness!
The Mahavakyas in the Upanishads state: Tat Twam Asi – ‘You are That’ and Prajnanam Brahma – ‘Everything is Brahman’. We are one with Lord Shiva! We are one with all. The challenge is to realize the oneness. The challenge is to go within and realize the truth, realize that the Divine Power we call God, resides within us.
-Air Atman In Ravi