Join Clara for a lecture on Shiva, the God of Destruction and Transformation. In this class, you’ll chant a mantra for Shiva, sit in meditation, and learn about Shiva and his relationship to Parvati, the themes associated with Shiva and how to incorporate them into your life.

To grow, we need to connect to the darkness and to the destructive aspects of ourselves. We must create the ashes first for the phoenix to rise from the ash. This is where Shiva comes in with the dance of the Tandava, the dance of destruction.

Style: Mythology Lecture

Duration: 42-minutes

Level: open

Focus: Shiva, God of Destruction and Transformation

Location: Vancouver, BC

Mantra

Om Namah Shivaya – I Bow to Shiva, the Auspicious One

Questions for Consideration:

1. When was the last time you participated in a change that occurred- inner or outer?
2. What precipitated that need for change?
3. Was the outcome what you expected? Why or why not?
4. When was the last time you had to swallow the poison- something you couldn’t say?
5. When was the last time you felt the union of Shiva and Shakti inside of you?

Resources to refer back to:

• About Shiva
• Who Is Shiva?
• Shiva Yoga Playlist and Peak Poses.

About Shiva:

Shiva is the Hindu God known as the Destroyer. The God of Transformation, Shiva, is celebrated as the patron god of yoga, meditation, and arts.

He is part of the Hindu Trimurti, also known as the Supreme Trinity of the Universe. The male and female gods of the universe are Brahma/Saraswati the creators, Vishnu/Lakshmi the sustainers, and Shiva/Durga the destroyers.

Shiva calls us to confront our shadow, wake up to what is, and refine our awareness of what is real versus unreal.

Shiva Mythology and Meaning

“Shiva expresses himself as desire, awareness, and action. We must see ourselves as Shiva sees himself- our actions are manifest of intentions and awareness and forms of the divine expressing itself.” —Excerpt from the Siva Sutras by Douglas Brooks.

Shiva is the Mahadeva, the great god, or the auspicious one.

He’s seen dancing the Tandava, the great dance of destruction to ignite change, or seated in meditation where he transforms his internal landscape.

The Tandava is the cosmic dance of death; Shiva is the Lord of the Dance and dances the Tandava to end an era.

The Ananda Tandava is the other dance Shiva performs; it’s the Tandava danced with bliss or joy.

Themes for Shiva 

• Colors: white, blue and black.
• Animals: the bull, Nandi.
• Objects: serpent, trident, club.

Shiva is often depicted with the sacred bull, Nandi, which means ‘giving joy.’

Shiva carries a trident, a club, a deerskin, and a drum in his hands. A snake and sometimes a garland of skulls (akin to Kali) wrap around his neck.

He wears a garland of skulls and a serpent around his neck and carries in his two (sometimes four) hands a deerskin, a trident, a small hand drum, or a club with a skull at the end.

The Shaivites celebrated Shiva as one of the supreme gods of the Hindu Pantheon. Shiva completes the cycle of existence after Vishnu, the Sustainer, and Brahma, the Creator.

Also known as the Adiyogi, Shiva is the Patron Saint of Yoga, Meditation, and Art. He is the all-knowing- all-seeing- with the power of ultimate consciousness.

Shiva is like Shakti in that all the Gods and Goddesses of the Hindu Pantheon spring out of their nature- they appear as incarnations of Shiva and Shakti. Shiva takes many forms and is the agent of freedom and plurality.