Hinduism and the God Shiva

Hinduism is a religious tradition compromising of the beliefs and practices of Hindus. The majority of Hindus choose a personal deity who they feel a personal connection with. One can show devotion of a deity in many ways including prayer, ceremonial worship, chanting and even visiting a site sacred to that deity. For my art project I wanted to choose a deity that I could personally connect with, I chose the Hindu deity Shiva. Some of Shiva's characteristics are devotion, self-confidence as a motivating force, selfless service, and achieving balance on all levels. These are all characteristics and values that I find important. I would especially like to work on the ability to balance the mind, body and spirit, which is where my interest in Shiva began.

This god is very interesting and complicated. I found that within an explanation of Shiva there is story upon story telling of why something came about and who was involved. The Hindu God Shiva has many representations and is depicted in several different forms. Shiva is responsible for change in both the form of death, destruction and the positive sense of shedding old habits, that is just to name a fraction of what he is responsible for. Shiva is one of the three main gods and is one the most worshiped. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the three gods that make up the Hindu Trinity, which corresponds to the three stages of the cycle of the universe. Brahma is the creator of the universe, Vishnu preserves it in its state and Shiva represents the ability to destroy the universe which at this point the universe is then reborn.

There are several rituals that can be practiced to attain certain aspects of the deity Shiva. There are seven charkas in the body which offer a...

... middle of paper ...

... called the damaru which represents symbolic sounds. His second right hand is pointed downward toward the uplifted left foot representing salvation. His divinity is highlighted through his affinity for jewelry and perfume. In his left ear he wears a woman's earring and in the right, a man's earring to show that both sexes are united within him. Shiva also holds a staff of a cobra which does him no harm and represents that he is beyond the power of death and poison.

Through my research of one Hindu deity I learned a lot about many different Hindu gods and goddesses, and how intricate the legends are interwoven. I barely scraped the tip of the iceberg but my interest has been sparked to learn more. I am intrigued by the idea of many different paths that an individual can take and along that journey learning to align the mind, body and spirit into one being.