Shiva: From ‘I' to ‘We' – The Journey Beyond Self

Time of India

2 hours ago

Shiva, beyond deity, embodies the universe's rhythm, residing within us as witness and breath. He dissolves ego, transforming 'I' into 'We,' fostering compassion and unity. As the destroyer of illusion, Shiva halts desires, initiating renewal from endings, urging inward exploration to break inner barriers and realize our interconnectedness with the cosmos.
In the silence between two heartbeats, in the stillness behind a thought, in the breath that forgets itself—He resides. He is the most disorganised chaos and the most organised order. He is the one who dances wildly in cremation grounds and yet meditates in serene stillness atop Mount Kailash. He is Shiva—formless yet the source of all forms, finite in appearance but infinite in essence.
To speak of
Shiva
is not to describe a deity in stone or myth, but to touch that which pulses through the fabric of all creation. In the Upanishadic silence, in the
Vedic chants
, in the meditations of sages, Shiva emerges not just as a god, but as a state of being. He is the dissolution of boundaries, the collapse of duality.
The 'I' That Becomes 'We'
In the realm of ego, the world is divided—mine and yours, self and other. The small, isolated 'I' stands fearful, defensive, proud. But Shiva, in his divine grace, does not eliminate the 'I'—He enters it. He resides within it, transforms it, and gradually erodes its walls until 'I' expands into 'We.'
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This is not just wordplay but profound transformation. When we say 'Aham Brahmasmi'—I am That—we do not negate the self but awaken to its larger truth. Shiva teaches us that we are not isolated drops but part of the eternal ocean. It is His presence that softens our boundaries and makes compassion possible. It is He who dwells within the caregiver who says, 'We are in this together,' turning illness into wellness. That single addition of 'We' is the divine medicine—Shiva's touch in human suffering.
The STOP That STARTs It All
Shiva is the great destroyer—not of life, but of illusion. He halts us in our relentless race of desires, in our cycles of greed, anger, and confusion. When we confront loss, pain, or death, we stand at the great 'STOP' of life. But Shiva does not leave us there. From that void, He whispers a new song—the silence that follows the end is not emptiness but the beginning of a new awareness.
In every ending, He lays the seed of a beginning. The ashes from which He smears His body are not signs of despair but of transformation. From the ash of burning expectations, ego, and attachments, He creates a space for the new. In that way, Shiva is not a god of fear, but of freedom. Not a god of destruction, but of deep renewal.
Dancing in the Cosmos, Dwelling in the Heart
His cosmic dance—the Tandava—is not a violent storm, but the rhythm of the universe itself. Birth, life, death, and rebirth are but steps in His eternal choreography. The galaxies swirl with His energy, yet He remains still within.
But Shiva is not distant. He is the closest truth within us. He is the witness behind our thoughts, the listener of our silence, the breath that breathes us. He is the one who helps us disidentify from our masks, our roles, and our pains. He does not ask us to become someone else—but to become no one. And in becoming no one, we become everything.
Aum Namah Shivaya: The Five Sacred Fires
The sacred chant Aum Namah Shivaya is not just a mantra but a
spiritual journey
. Each syllable resonates with the five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and space—reminding us that the divine is not separate but embedded in every atom of our being.
This mantra burns ignorance, purifies the mind, awakens the heart, and grounds the spirit. It is an invitation to dissolve into Him, not as a surrender in defeat, but as a union in love.
From Self to Shiva
To walk the path of Shiva is to dare to look within. To shed false certainties. To meet our own inner wilderness. To recognize that the one sitting quietly inside us is the same one dancing in the stars. The ultimate journey is not upward or outward—it is inward.
Shiva does not ask for temples of stone; He asks us to break the walls of our inner prison. And when that happens, the 'I' that once trembled in fear dissolves into the 'We' that flows with grace.
He is not just the end. He is the beginning that begins after every end.
Aum Namah Shivaya
Authors: Shambo Samrat Samajdar and Shashank R Joshi
Mahashivarathri Songs: Kannada Bhakti Song 'Shiva Shiva Om' Jukebox
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