Shiva Virabadhra
    
by Gregorian Bivolaru

It is said that in an era from the past, Shiva often took the kind form, most loved by his worshippers, and thus he appeared unexpectedly in front of those who loved him and who worshipped him constantly and frantically. At that time, the great God Daksha, the first son of Brahma, the Creator of the Universe, was very perseverant in performing the worshipping rituals consecrated to Shiva, as he had learned them from his Father Brahma, the Creator of the Universe.

Following her father’s example, his daughter Daksha Yani, also prayed to Shiva many times, full of love and fervour, having a very pure soul and a heart full of love for Shiva. She wanted very much to become Shiva’s divine lover

and in this way to never be separated from the mysterious and gigantic being of Shiva. Being enchanted by the purity and the love of Daksha’s daughter, Shiva accepted her as His lover. He appeared suddenly in front of her, when she was together with her worldly father, Daksha, telling him that soon He will take his daughter with Him, in the holy place in the Kailasa mountain. Full of happiness, Daksha Yani was immediately ready to go together with Shiva. But her father, Daksha, did not realize that his daughter’s heart, which was full of love, was already immersed into Shiva’s divine heart. He believed that first it was necessary to perform a certain ritual, according to the tradition. Shiva did not say anything, but he disappeared suddenly. Understanding wrongly the instant disappearance of Shiva, as a confirmation of the necessity to start the preparations for the ritual, Daksha immediately started to prepare it.

But Daksha Yani, whose being was already full of Shiva’s divine spirit, due to the endless love she felt for him, understood immediately Shiva’s secret message. Thus, she realized that in fact Shiva does not want people offering Him formal sacrifices, but first of all He wants their genuine love for Him, which they have to awaken in their heart. Being already in unison with Shiva, due to the state of spiritual fusion established before, Daksha Yani was inspired by Shiva to give him an appropriate spiritual lesson. Then, she deliberately ignored Daksha’s preparations, whose state of spiritual vigilance had weakened considerably. This is why he ended up being extremely concerned with the external aspect of the spiritual practices, instead of the genuine sublime experience, which should have come first. Without realising at all the poor state he was in, due to his persistence in this mistake, Daksha revolted inside of him because Shiva decided to marry his daughter without taking part in all external ceremonies, which he considered to be indispensable.

He continued the preparations for performing the ritual, inviting all the celestial beings, without considering the fact that Shiva was not present. All the beings that were invited received all the gifts offered by Daksha. But as Shiva’s mysterious presence did not support this ceremony, the general feeling of it became more and more heavy and dull. A great wise man, Dadiki, who had a certain spiritual common sense, noticed Daksha’s mistake and advised him to stop acting in this way, because if he continues to act in this stupid way, he will hurt himself, first of all. Daksha ignored the old man’s wise advice and he continued to perform the sacrificial ritual, being convinced that only by respecting rigorously the ritualistic ceremony he will convince Shiva to manifest again. Thus, Daksha was convinced within himself about the superiority of the ritualistic actions and in the same time he was intrigued that Shiva did not respect it and He did not take part in it. He noticed that also his daughter, Daksha Yani, did not respect what had already been established. Having more common sense then her worldly father, his daughter Daksha Yani asked Shiva in her heart to help Daksha to correct himself, as it was clear that he was making mistakes, being stuck in the rigorousness of the ritualistic procedures.

Having a sudden inspiration from Shiva, she threw herself into the ritualistic fire lit by Daksha and, by the secret power of Shiva, her body turned into a mysterious all encompassing brilliant presence. She instantly became Shiva’s cosmic bride. Through this sacrificial action, she completely eliminated her connection with Daksha; this connection motivated him to stubbornly perform an action that was completely against Shiva’s Will. With his heart blinded by ignorance, Daksha saw only the disappearance of his daughter’s body and did not understood much. Moreover, a great revolt against Shiva was built inside of him. Full of love for Daksha, Shiva considered it necessary to offer him a more severe lesson, in order to pull him out of the state of deep darkness in which he was. Through the mysterious power residing in his third eye, Ajna chakra, Shiva manifested as a devouring flame, which soon took the shape of a frightful being – Shiva Virabdhra. Together with His secret terrible energy, manifested as Badra Kali, Shiva Virabhadra instantly stopped the ritualistic ceremony that Daksha had started. He stormed on the body of each participant, making them feel a devouring fire in their entire being, which was causing them intense suffering.

Nobody could stop Shiva from His terrible manifestation. The devouring fever that appeared instantly made most of them understand that they were wrong accepting the formal offerings, and forgetting about Shiva, the one who is eternal, alive and real. Out of all present there, Daksha alone was not touched in any way by the intense suffering that Shiva Virabhadra caused in their bodies by his devouring flames. He fooled himself to such an extent, that he did not even recognize Shiva in this terrible aspect. Noticing how great was the darkness in the mind of this beloved worshipper Daksha, Shiva Virabhadra instantly cut off his head, in order to allow him to renew his faith, which was just a formality.

Finally, all the beings present at the ceremony gave obeisance to Shiva and they all understood their mistake. They humbly asked Shiva for forgiveness. Shiva, full of compassion, forgave all of them. To Daksha he gave back his life, offering him, instead of the chopped head, the head of a ram – the mysterious symbol of the pure energy of the beginning and of the rebirth within his being of a new, more pure faith. With the new head he had received from Shiva, Daksha regretted his mistake and ever since he became the most fervent worshipper of Shiva

Published by Natha.net

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