SHIVA :: THE YOGI

Shiva as the ultimate Yogi - Yes, Shiva is also the most revered Yogi who controls all aspects of Yoga. I should clarify that this Yoga is not the stretching exercises that have become popular in last few decades, rather Yoga goes far beyond. Stretching exercises are a start but the goal of a real Yogi is to gain true control of all aspects of reality (body, mind, soul and beyond).




 Shiva masters all aspects of Yoga and thereby He masters the reality itself.
Shiva as bholenath - Another interesting aspect of Shiva is his role of Bholenath! Bholenath literally means a god who is simple minded. This is exactly opposite of Shiva as the most powerful deity to be feared. But inspite of all the power and rage, all Shiva "asks for" is true devotion and if the devotee has a pure heart then even the most insignificant offerings will please Shiva. At the same time, Shiva is very easy to displease as well (as I mention in the next section) and both gods and demons alike have suffered through his anger at one point in the mythology or other! The most notable instance being when the demon Ravana, blinded by his powers, angered Shiva and Shiva but after realizing that he is in no way comparable to Shiva (remember that Ravana had conquered death herself), Ravana came up with Shiva Tandav Strota (Strotam) that is still an unmatched masterpiece in Sanskrit literature.