Lord Shiva, who is often called the Lord of Destruction, is significantly known for his mercy and compassion. Lord Shiva has adequate powers to grant wisdom, change destiny, get the better of ignorance and overpower evil.
He is a man of discipline and principles. His entire character has some core principles that would do wonders if we can integrate them into our daily lives.
Here are 11 lessons we can learn from him and apply in our daily lives:
Self-Control
An uncontrolled mind can lead you to live a disastrous life. You cannot be the victor in battles when you are deprived of focus and fall victim to your desires and addictions. Therefore, it is necessary to keep your mind aligned with your goals and heart as well.
Come What May, You Must Never Tolerate Evil
Known as the destroyer of evil, Lord Shiva couldn't tolerate injustice and destroyed the evil rakshasas in a fair manner. Likewise, even we should try to keep zero tolerance for the evil happening around us and take a stand against an unjust act.
Keep Calm and Carry on
Shiva was called a ‘Maha Yogi’ because he meditated for hours for the well-being of the universe. His tranquil state of mind was disturbed only owing to extreme reasons, but otherwise, he would always be in a meditative state of mind. Therefore highlighting the fact that you can win half the battle just by being calm in a stressful situation, which is in truth the best strategy for sorting out a problem.
Materialistic Happiness Never Stays for Long
The attire of Shiva is only armed with a trishul and damru, owing to the fact that he always stayed away from wealth. You’re missing out on nothing in life if you’re not connected to abundance and materialistic things since materialistic happiness is short-lived. You need to find your happiness in events and experiences and not things.
Suppress Negativity Gracefully
Shiva was a ‘neelkanth’ because he swallowed poison named ‘halahala’, that emerged from the ocean. Only Shiva could have consumed this poison and suppressed it in his throat. The important lesson to take back from this incident is to take negativity in our stride and turn it into positivity.
Desires Lead to Obsessions and Obsessions Lead to Destruction
Since he was free from desires, Shiva never obsessed over things. It is a reality that desires always result in obsessions, and these, in turn, make us self-destructive.
Respect Your Better Half
Shiva was ‘Ardhanarishwar’, where half of him was Parvati. He looked on Parvati with extreme respect and care. She was his strength and he gave her the importance she deserved.
Control Your Ego and Let Go off Pride
Your ego is the only thing that intercepts you from attaining prominence. It is your ego that comes amid your dreams and your goals and makes you a less admiring person. It is said that Shiva carried his trishul to keep his ego under control. He never let his ego get the better of himself. Then again, nor did he tolerate anyone else’s ego.
Do Thorough Research on Something You're Likely to Get into
The Ganga in Shiva’s hair symbolizes the end of ignorance. This implies that you should know what you are getting into. Being in denial about facts is not going to help.
Everything Is Temporary
Maha yogis don’t fall for ‘moh maya’. They know that life is short-lived and what happens today is not going to exist everlastingly. Time changes and so do we.
Dance
Lord Shiva is called Nataraja or the King of Dance. Though his ‘tandav’ demolished the world, it was also an art that passed on to us.
By Sowmya Sangam
