Celebrating the Hindu holiday, Mahashivratri, Dr. Svoboda shares stories of Lord Shiva, illuminating light's ability to breakthrough even the darkest times.
In celebration of this year's Mahashivratri, the Hindu holiday celebrating Lord Shiva, Paula Crossfield presents Dr. Svoboda's wisdom-filled livestream from that morning, sharing stories depicting the auspicious blessings, lessons, and lilas of Lord Shiva. Mahashivratri is marked by the new moon during the final recession of winter, showcasing the ability for light to naturally overcome, even during the darkest of times. Om Namah Shivaya.
The Auspiciousness of Lord Shiva
In this Shiva-focused episode, Dr. Svoboda begins by introducing us to Lord Shiva through sharing devotions, describing his many names, and elucidating his place in Hinduism's Trimurti as the destroyer-balancing the creator, Brahma, and Vishnu, the preserver. Depicting both Shiva's terrifying and auspicious qualities, Dr. Svoboda shares how we can forge a relationship with this powerful, omnipotent, and eternal force.
"O destroyer of lust, the world considers you inauspicious. You who play in the smashan (cremation grounds) smeared with ash from funeral pyres, wearing a necklace of human skulls, with ghosts and vampires for comrades. But for those who remember you with devotion, O you who bestow boons, you are supremely auspicious." - Shiva Mahimna Stotra verse 24
(14:20) - Stories of Lord Shiva
To further illuminate the auspicious qualities of Lord Shiva, Dr. Svoboda tells vivid and enriching stories from ancient Indian mythology outlining the lilas (divine plays) within Shiva's relationships and exchanges throughout the four yugas. Telling tales elucidating Shiva's connection with the the moon, his relationship with the Divine Mother, and his first meeting with his son, Ganesha; Dr. Svoboda helps interpret these holographic myths into tangible, practical, inner-realities for the devotee.
"All of these myths can be read on many different levels. It's good to remember, as Vimalananda said, that one way of reading this myth [of Sati and Himavan] is that Himalaya-that chain of mountains-is that chain of mountains that is the vertebrae that make up the spine. Parvati is the daughter of the spine-not just the spinal cord, but the spinal energy, kundalini energy." - Dr. Robert Svoboda
(58:26) - Shiva, Ganga, & Lingam
Keeping the ancient stories flowing like a sweet and powerful river, Dr. Svoboda reveals some of the mythology behind Shiva and his connection with the Ganga River in India, before wrapping together the Mahashivratri talk with a stories involving Brahma, the creator, and Yama, the God of Death, to explain how the lingam came to be worshipped as the symbol for Shiva.
"You may not be immortal. Or you might! But in any event, grab hold of the Shiva Lingam; don't let go; always have faith: Om Namah Shivaya. During this Mahashivratri, may Lord Shiva bless us all and cause us always to be focused on that Supreme Reality. Om Namah Shivaya."- Dr. Robert Svoboda
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