Shiva and his holy men

Shiva is the god of Destruction as well as Creation,




which in a perpetual cyclical movement follow one another.





His body is covered with ashes, symbolic of death and regeneration.





Shiva is always naked, which symbolizes his primal condition, his non-attachment to the world.



His body shows feminine characteristics, like soft rounded contours and no beard, which is symbolic of his transcendence of opposites, the primal unity of polarities.

The Ganges springs from his long hair, his jata, as a fountain, splashing in the Himalayan mountains in the distance.




The crescent -- the new moon,



'Shiva's moon' -- on his forehead,



the cobra around his neck,



the white bull Nandi,




the river Ganges, and the full moon form a symbolic cluster which indicates Shiva's function as a fertility deity, a moon god.



On his forehead are three horizontal lines, painted with ashes, representing the three main gods, the three 'worlds', etc.


Around his neck is a garland of 108 beads, the 108 elements of material creation, and in his hand a rosary of 50 beads, the 50 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet.





The two large rings through his ears


are indicative of his extra-sensory perception.





He is seated on a tiger skin, a symbol of power,


showing his mastery over the animal world.


Shiva is often shown sitting in the cremation ground (shmashana), which symbolizes the correct attitude of a yogi to life.


Shamshana is the end of the pysical phase of life.

This is a prerequisite for every new creation.




The Holy Men


In appearance sadhus try to resemble the gods as they are known through ancient myths and popular legends, especially Shiva;


for sadhus he is the Master of Yogis.



Following his example, quite a few sadhus walk about naked,

symbolising their renunciation of the world of mortals,

and rub their body with ashes of their holy fires,

symbolic of death and rebirth.

Many sadhus wear extremely long hair [jata] again in emulation of Lord Shiva,

whose long strands of hair are regarded as the 'seat' of his supernatural powers.

One large and prominent Shaiva sect consists of the 'warrior ascetics',
or Nagas (the 'naked'),
who have existed since the prehistoric past.


Though sadhus in general can de characterized as peace-loving,

the Nagas used to be extremely militant,

fighting with rivalling sects,

the Muslims and later even the British.

They were excellent fighters for they had no fear of death.

Traces of this 'macho' attitude are still discernible today.





The photo [courtesy Adolphus]


High up in the icy Himalayas, but naked all the same,


Bhola Giri Naga baba blows the serpentine horn,


called nagphani, that is, 'cobra-hood',


producing one piercing note.


This instrument is related to the cobra (naga),


the intimate companion of Lord Shiva,


always coiled around his neck





The Naga sect is subdivided into Akharas, i.e. 'regiments', like an army.

[tomorrow: Akharas]