Who Is Shiva?

[egoless]

I am trying to research all the information about different religions and try to find the core root of similarities between them. Some source says Shiva is god, consciosness - nothing and everything. Others mention him as adiyogi shiva - the first yogic master who's knowledge became the foundation of other religions. Can someone who is very familiar with this topic elaborate?

 

[Leo Gura]

Shiva is simply Nothingness. The Absolute. Truth. Absolute Infinity, without form, outside time, eternal.

Shiva is the thing that's aware of this very sentence.

[Guest username]

@egoless It's worth researching; there's a lot about Shiva. Shiva as adiyogi, Shiva as the absolute, Shiva and Shakti, etc.

Shivoham. 

[egoless]

1 minute ago, Leo Gura said:

Shiva is simply Nothingness. The Absolute. Truth. Absolute Infinity, without form, outside time, eternal.

Shiva is the thing that's aware of this very sentence.

So basically you are saying it is just another word for Truth? But what about Adiyogi - the first yogi. Some people also call him shiva? Where does name Shiva come from then?

[Guest username]

@egoless There are better places than this forum for research if you're really curious.

Be careful to not use that to distract you from your sadhana,though.

Edited November 14, 2017 by username

[egoless]

2 minutes ago, username said:

@egoless It's worth researching; there's a lot about Shiva. Shiva as adiyogi, Shiva as the absolute, Shiva and Shakti, etc.

Shivoham. 

Are they interconnected or why does name Shiva appears in every of those? Which is the first source of this word?

[Guest username]

@egoless https://www.google.com/search?q=shiva&oq=shiva&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l3j0l2.1190j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[egoless]

Just now, username said:

@egoless https://www.google.com/search?q=shiva&oq=shiva&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l3j0l2.1190j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Too much information contradicting each other. 

[Guest username]

@egoless That's part of research

[Leo Gura]

11 minutes ago, egoless said:

But what about Adiyogi - the first yogi. Some people also call him shiva?

There's a lot of myth and religious mumbo-jumbo around.

"The first Yogi" might just be a metaphor for the ONE. In the same way that people say that the ultimate guru is Truth itself. I wouldn't take "first yogi" literally. Whoever the literal first yogi was, has been long forgotten. It was thousands of years before recorded history, long before the Buddha. Maybe as far back as 100,000 years. It's sorta like asking, "Who was the first hunter?"

[egoless]

2 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

There's a lot of myth and religious mumbo-jumbo around.

"The first Yogi" might just a metaphor for the ONE. In the same way that people say that the ultimate guru is Truth itself.

But sadhguru mentions him as a human - first yogic teacher -  from whom comes yogic teachings. Do you also consider that a part of religion? Sadhguru does not belong to any religion as far as I know.

Edited November 14, 2017 by egoless

[Leo Gura]

@egoless Sadhguru belongs to a rich Hindu cultural tradition, as all human beings do.

You have to learn how to interpret symbolism if you're gonna study religion/mysticism. You can't take it all literally.

Of course some human first invented the yogic system. But so what? Some first human also invented the toilet. Good luck getting to the bottom of who that guy was, lol.

[egoless]

2 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

@egoless Sadhguru belongs to a rich Hindu cultural tradition, as all human beings do.

So your point on that is - Shiva did not exist as a human ever? Do you have any information where does yogic teaching come from then? (what, who, where is the source)

[Leo Gura]

@egoless Shiva exists as all humans, including you and me. Shiva is the only thing that exists. Shiva also exists as your toilet.

[egoless]

1 minute ago, Leo Gura said:

@egoless Shiva exists as all humans, including you and me. Shiva is the only thing that exists. Shiva also exists as your toilet.

So for you that name only implies metaphor. But what about the second part of the question? 

Do you have any information where does yogic teaching come from then? (what, who, where is the source)

[Leo Gura]

9 hours ago, egoless said:

So for you that name only implies metaphor. But what about the second part of the question? 

Do you have any information where does yogic teaching come from then? (what, who, where is the source)

It's not a metaphor. It's a synonym for The Absolute. If you experience the Absolute, you will know exactly what the word "shiva" refers to. It's just like any other word, like "apple" or "dog". The only difference is, you've never experienced "shiva" so you don't know what it's pointing to.

Yogic teachings go back further than recorded history. Just like toilets.

[egoless]

@Leo Gura You mean it is just a Hindi word? What is the origin of word shiva I wonder then? Why couldn't people just call it Absolute or Truth?

Edited November 14, 2017 by egoless

[Leo Gura]

@egoless Because they are Hindus!

You want Hindus from 5000 years ago to speak English? Think about what you're asking.

All words are arbitrary sounds pointing to direct experiences other than themselves.

We say God, they say Shiva. Same exact thing.

[egoless]

Just now, Leo Gura said:

@egoless Because they are Hindus!

You want Hindus from 5000 years ago to speak English? Think about what you're asking.

Maybe I misunderstood it as I don't know Hindi. Shiva is translated as Absolute or Truth in Enlish? Does Shiva has direct translation in English? Is not there a separate word for that in Hindi?

[Leo Gura]

@egoless Every language has dozens of synonyms and titles for God, each with their own nuances.

Almighty, for example.