Live in Harmony

The Divine Principles

Inner meaning of Bhavani Shankara (For Group I Bhajan Hey Shiva Shankara)

Bhagawan says, “‘Bhavani Sankara’ stands for the embodiment of Siva and Sakthi. ‘Bhavani’ symbolizes Sraddha (sincerity of purpose) and ‘Sankara’ symbolizes Viswasa (faith). When Goddess Bhavani symbolising Sraddha is present, there dances Siva who stands for faith. Life becomes useless without sincerity of purpose and faith. But today man lacks faith though both ‘Bhavani’ and ‘Sankara’ reside in him. The entire creation is the principle of Ardhanareeswara the embodiment of both masculine and feminine principles. Every person should try to recognise the divinity within. There is no spirituality higher than this. Adoring this ‘Bhavani Sankara’ principle is the primary duty of every man.

Perfect example of living in Harmony – Lord Shiva’s family

A good example from our epics maybe cited. You analyse ‘the family our Lord Siva’. Siva has Ganga water over his head, and fire on his forehead between the two eyes. He is, therefore, Trinetra or ‘the three-eyed’ God’. ‘Water’ and ‘Fire’ are also opposed to each other in their nature and don’t coexist. Siva is pannagadhara, nagabhusana for He has venomous serpents around His neck.

The vehicle of his elder son, Lord Subrahmanya, is a peacock. Snakes and peacocks are enemies. The vehicle of Goddess Parvati, consort of Siva, is a lion; she is simhavahini. The very face of Siva’s second son is that of an elephant. Ganesh is called Gajanana for this reason. An elephant can’t even dream of the sight of a lion. Parvati has all the jewels, but Her Lord, Siva is digambara, with minimum attire, andbhasma bhusitanga that is, vibhuti smeared all over His body. Though Siva’s family is full of opposites and contradictions, there is integration, coordination, harmony and unity.

Similarly, in your families, the members may differ from each other, yet you should be able to live in perfect harmony like Siva’s family. This is the lesson that over the ages Lord Siva has been teaching the world.

[Source: Conversations with Sai, Sathyapanishad part 4]