Spirituality for me has always felt like a cooling balm for my ever-chaotic mind. Something that slows it down and calms it. Be Shiva has acted similarly, a book that grounded me whenever life started feeling a little too turbulent. The book is authored by Swami Swatmananda, a dynamic spiritual teacher from Chinmaya Mission who is known for his seamless blending of spirituality with contemporary relevance.
This book does not call one to learn more about Shiva but to become like Him—hence the name ‘Be Shiva.’ Once you start to become like Him, you will ultimately come to know Him. But how does one become like Shiva?
That too has been taken care of by the sadhanas provided with each name of Shiva. These sadhanas teach us how to instill aspects of Shiva in ourselves and come a step closer to becoming like Him.
I found the sadhanas to be practical steps that I could take to inculcate the values of various forms and names of Shiva. One sadhana that I truly liked and try to practice continuously is the one given with the name Shashishekhar. It tells us to observe our mind throughout the day and notice the moments when it loses calm, balance, or clarity; note down those moments and try to reduce their frequency. This, for me, was a method to also learn how to stay in the present moment and notice when my thoughts wandered to the past or future. Staying in the present was something that I had been trying to do for a while, but could never figure out how to. This sadhana provided me with a practical technique to do so.
‘Be Shiva’ also acts as a mythbuster. In an age where people argue about Shiva vs. Shakti, it teaches us that Shiva and Shakti are inherently one. It is only Bhagwan Shiva who has split into two forms—Shiva and Shakti. Another myth buster is that of 'colour.' People argue all the time about whether Bhagwan should be painted blue as His skin colour or not. ‘Be Shiva’ lets us know that, though He is called Karpurgauram, He is beyond colour, as the true formless nature of Bhagwan does not possess a colour.
Out of the 108 names, two names deeply resonated with me: Shambhu and Shashishekar.
Shambhu—the giver of bliss. Shambhu teaches us detachment and that all attachment is just thought bondage. This unlocked a few things for me, like how the turbulent emotions, like anxiety, anger, etc., which stem from thoughts, are a type of thought bondage, and hence we shouldn't be rattled by them.
Shashishekar teaches us mental stillness. The concept of mental stillness was a bit challenging for me to grasp, but it has been wonderfully explained by citing Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda’s explanation of it.
‘Be Shiva’ draws from a multitude of sources to give the reader a holistic approach, combining stories, texts from Shiv Purana, agamas, other scriptures and also explanations by Gurudev, to ensure that the reader truly understands the essence of it.
‘Be Shiva’ is a true guide to reconnecting with one's true self, loosening the sole identification with Prakriti and realising one's nature as Purusha.
Get your copy here: https://www.chinmayamissionmumbai.com/chinmaya/be-shiva
