此篇文章節錄自 Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik "7 Secrets of Shiva". 文章有一滴滴長. 只能分作上中下 三章來完成. 還請耐心讀完. 請不要急著讀完它, 你必須要好好咀嚼, 才能嚼出箇中滋味 希望你讀後能夠留言也告訴我和大家"你的感想".
故事人物:
Brahma : 這里代表的是人類, 每一個人, 人類的慣性. 也就是指的是你. 我.
Shiva 神: 代表的是一位終結者. 來終結人類如猴子轉個不停的頭腦.
Prakriti: 大自然, 代表的是客觀.
Purusha: 主觀.
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Only humans can conceptualise the idea of infinity. Only humans can communicate such an abstract idea using various forms such as words and symbols. this is because humans are blessed with imagination. It is the one thing that separates us humans from animals.
Only humans can imagine a world where all these rules are subverted: a world without forms, a world without limitations, a world without the need for action, or the obligation to experience a reaction, a transcendental world beyond feeding and procreating, creating and destroying, a still world, with no restlesness, only serenity, only bliss. In other words, humans can imagine a world beyond nature. This idea is contained in the linga.
From imagination comes our vision of the world, our vision of our future, and most importantly our vision of ourselves, who we are and what we want to be. These visions may have nothing to do with the reality of the natural world around us. They may be improvements on what we remember or have been told. It is imagination that makes us realise that we are distinct from nature. In other words, imagination make us self-aware. It is also imagination that makes us feel unique because no two humans can imagine the same thing. Imagination therefore makes us wonder about who we are, compelling us to analyse, synthesise, create and communicate. It is our imagination that will not allow us to stagnate. It propels us to imrpove. It propels us to grow.
In Sanskrit, the sound "Brh"means to grow, to swell, to expand and enlarge. From this sound come two very critical ideas: brahman and Brahma. In Vedas, Brahman is a neuter noun, which means the vast, the boundless, and the infinite. In Purannas, Brahma is a proper noun referring to a form of God that is, very peculiarly and significantly, not worshipped. When the perception is incomplete and inaccurate. God is not worshipped, as in the case of Brahma. Brahma is God yearning for perfection that is the brahman. Hense the Vedic masim, Aham Brahmasmi" which means both I am Brahma- meaning I am finite, as well as I am brahman - meaning I am infinite. Every human being is the process of moving from the finite to the infinite, from Brahma to brahman, on the path forged by the imagination. Brahma is God who creates all froms, hence is called the creator; but he has not yet found the perfect form and is still yearning and searching, making him unworthy of worship. Vishnu is God who has realised that no form is perfect and so works with the limited forms. This is why he is called the preserver and is worshipped in various froms. Shiva is God who breaks free from all forms, having found all of them limited, hence he is the destroyer who is worshipped as the linga.
Shivas holy city, Kashi, is located at a bend in the river Ganga where is turns and moves northwards instead of southwards. This reverse flow of the river is a reminder of what the human mind can do. Only the human mind, blessed with imagination, can challege the laws of nature, withdraw from it and even break free from it. This is liberation.