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| THE TREE VENERATION IN THE CIRCASSIAN CULTURE
Mythology is a reflection of the people’s soul, and unlike common belief that they are fantastical stories, myths carry the core of the ancient world, safeguarding profound information, which relate human and world progression through the ages.
Shiva strings the seeds of rudraksha around his neck, instead of sowing them under the ground. Thus he prevents germination. Humans are the only creatures for whom reproduction is a choice. Chain of rudraksha beads represents celibacy.
Narayana’s slumber represents a state when the consciousness is totally unresponsive to the world around. So deep is the slumber that Narayana is not even aware of himself. Things have no form or name. Space collapses.
The marriage of Shiva and Shakti transforms both God and Goddess. Linga means phallus. Yoni means womb. A Shiva temple, and by extension the whole world, is the yoni of the Goddess. The Goddess thus draws Shiva’s phallus into the world.
Tapa cleanses the mind, so that it experiences sat-chitta-ananda. It makes the body radiant, youthful and prevents it from aging. Tapasya is the process of lightining this fire. Shiva and his followers were Tapasvins, fire-churning ascetics.
Ardhanarishvara symbolizes that the male and female principles are inseparable. The composite form conveys the unity of opposites in the universe. The male half of Ardhanarishvara stands for Purusha and female half is Prakriti.
Hari-Hara is composite form of God Vishnu (Hari) and God Shiva (Hara). Shiva, the ash-smeared ascetic, represents the realized soul who withdraw from the world. Vishnu, the gold-bedecked king, represents the realized soul who participates in the world.
Around us are the goddesses. Within us are the gods. Inside are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - creating, sustaining and destroying. Outside are Saraswati, Lakshmi and Shakti - enlightening, enriching and empowering.
The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver and Shiva the destroyer or transformer.
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| THE TALK WITH PRINCESS GOURI
Lord with the lotus in the naval, our lives have been fulfilled by doing service at your feet. We are fulfilled. Our lives are complete...This has been the motto of the Travancore family for generations and I hope it will continue so as long as family is in the existence.
