Category:Worshiping Siva
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Lord Śiva is worshiped by a wide variety of living entities for very different purposes. Because Lord Śiva is known as Āśutoṣa—one who is very easily pleased—gross materialists, persons in the mode of ignorance, and even demons frequently worship him to rapidly attain immense material opulence, benedictions, or mystic powers. In traditional Vedic culture, unmarried girls worship Lord Śiva because he represents the ideal, peaceful, and chaste husband. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that one cannot attain actual salvation or liberation merely by worshiping Lord Śiva; that is the exclusive domain of Lord Viṣṇu. Pure devotees (Vaiṣṇavas), including the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, do not worship Lord Śiva for material benefits or as an independent Supreme God. Instead, they offer him profound respect and worship him as the greatest of all Vaiṣṇavas, praying for his mercy to help them advance in unalloyed Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- The Materialistic Approach to Lord Śiva: Individuals driven by the modes of passion and ignorance approach Lord Śiva solely for material benefits, whether it be immense wealth, mystic powers, or a good husband.
- The Benedictions of Āśutoṣa: Because Lord Śiva is very easily pleased, he rapidly satisfies the material desires of common men and demons. However, he cannot grant ultimate spiritual salvation; that power belongs only to Lord Viṣṇu.
- The Impersonalist Misunderstanding: Māyāvādīs mistakenly equate the worship of Lord Śiva with the worship of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa, erroneously believing that all paths yield the same spiritual result.
- The Supreme Vaiṣṇava: A true devotee of Kṛṣṇa never disrespects Lord Śiva. Instead, they offer him the highest reverence, worshiping him not as the independent God, but as the greatest and most dear Vaiṣṇava.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Worshiping Śiva as the Greatest Vaiṣṇava.
Pages in category "Worshiping Siva"
The following 92 pages are in this category, out of 92 total.
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- A class of common men claim that one can accept many different paths & still reach the same place, & they maintain that the Supreme Absolute Truth may be worshiped either as the Goddess Kali, or Goddess Durga, or Lord Siva, Ganesa, Rama, Hari, or Brahma
- A devotee of Lord Krsna does not disrespect Lord Siva, but worships Lord Siva as the most exalted devotee of Lord Krsna
- Accompanied by a learned priest qualified to help him, Sudaksina began to worship Mahadeva, Lord Siva
- According to the Vedic system, when small girls ten or twelve years old would go to the bank of the Ganges to take their bath, they would especially worship Lord Siva with prayers to get good husbands in the future
- According to Vedic civilization, unmarried girls from ten to fourteen years of age are supposed to worship either Lord Siva or Goddess Durga in order to get a nice husband
- After visiting this place (Kerala), He (Balarama) came to Gokarna-tirtha, where Siva is constantly worshiped. He then visited the temple of Aryadevi, which is completely surrounded by water. From that island He went on to a place known as Surparaka
- Akrura continued, "There are others also, known as Saivites, followers of different acaryas, who worship You in the form of Lord Siva"
- Although materialistic persons know that material happiness is nothing but another side of suffering, they want it, and to get it very quickly they worship Lord Siva
- Although the impersonalists are always engaged in the worship of Lord Siva, they are unable to understand the prayers offered by Lord Siva to the bodily features of Lord Visnu
E
- Every virgin girl is supposed to be a devotee of Lord Siva. Diti remembered her childhood worship of Lord Siva and begged his mercy
- Every woman is expected to be as good and chaste as Devahuti or Bhavani. Today in Hindu society, unmarried girls are still taught to worship Lord Siva with the idea that they may get husbands like him
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- Gandhari was the daughter of Maharaja Subala, the King of Gandhara, and in her maiden state she worshiped Lord Siva
- Gandhari: The ideal chaste lady in the history of the world. She was the daughter of Maharaja Subala, the King of Gandhara (now Kandahar in Kabul), and in her maiden state she worshiped Lord Siva
- Generally people are interested in worshiping the demigods, especially Lord Siva, in order to obtain material benefit
- Generally people worship Lord Siva for some material benefit, and although they cannot see him personally, they derive great material profit by worshiping him
- Generally, such nondevotees do not come to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but worship Lord Siva or other demigods for immediate material profit
I
- If one desires to be a greatly learned man he should worship Lord Siva
- In Hindu society, unmarried girls are still taught to worship Lord Siva with the idea that they may get husbands like him. Lord Siva is the ideal husband, not in the sense of riches or sense gratification, but because he is the greatest of all devotees
- In that process of worship, wine is needed, or sometimes, in place of wine, palm tree juice which is converted into an intoxicant. This is also offered according to Siva-agama, a scripture on the method of worshiping Lord Siva
- In the many Puranas it is said that Lord Siva was born from the highest, the Supreme Lord Krsna, and the Vedas say that it is the Supreme Lord, the creator of Brahma and Siva, who is to be worshiped. BG 1972 purports
- In Vedic literature there are so many recommendations: if one wants to cure his disease, he worships the sun, or if a girl wants a good husband, she worships Lord Siva, or if one wants to become beautiful, he worships such and such god
- It is generally found that those who engage in the worship of Siva, whether in human, demoniac or demigod society, become materially very opulent, although Lord Siva himself lives just like a poverty-stricken person
- It is said that Sankaracarya is incarnation of Lord Siva. Sankara, sankara svayam. Sankara is known as Lord Siva. This Sankaracarya was also a great devotee of Lord Siva. This Mayavadi, they worship especially Lord Siva
- It may be assumed that if one does not worship the demigods, even up to Lord Siva and Brahma, one can nevertheless satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita - BG 7.20
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- Lord Caitanya’s adopting the mood of Lord Siva is not extraordinary, but one should not therefore think that by worshiping Lord Siva one is worshiping Lord Caitanya. That would be a mistake
- Lord Rama, the Personality of Godhead Himself, sometimes worshiped Lord Siva. If a devotee is worshiped by the Lord, why should a devotee not be worshiped by other devotees on the same level with the Lord? This is the conclusion
- Lord Siva and Goddess Durga were worshiped even by the royal families; other, minor demigods were worshiped by silly, lower-class people
- Lord Siva is always accompanied by the denizens of the higher planets known as Gandharvas and Kinnaras. They are very expert in musical science, and Lord Siva is worshiped by them constantly
- Lord Siva's lotus feet were worshiped by both the demigods and demons, but still, in spite of his exalted position, as soon as he saw that Lord Brahma was there among all the other demigods, he immediately stood up and offered him respect by bowing down
- Lord Siva's name is Asutosa, which indicates that he is very easily satisfied when one worships him, regardless of the purpose, and he gives his devotee whatever benediction the devotee wants. Therefore, people are generally very fond of worshiping Siva
- Lord Siva, being very quickly satisfied, satisfies the material desires of the common man very quickly; therefore it is seen that ordinary men are very much apt to worship him
- Lord Siva, or Rudra, is the king of the ghosts. Ghostly characters worship Lord Siva to be gradually guided toward a path of self-realization
- Lord Visnu is always unattached to material activities, and when material activities are to be performed, Lord Visnu performs them through Lord Siva. Lord Siva is therefore worshiped on the level of Lord Visnu
- Love for Krsna cannot be compared to material love for different demigods. Because Mayavadis are on the material platform, they recommend the worship of Siva or Durga and say that worship of Kali and Krsna are the same
M
- Materialistic persons who are very fond of money and great families worship different demigods to attain their desires, especially goddess Durga, Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. Such materialistic persons are called sriyaisvarya-prajepsavah
- Materialistic persons, however, get immense opportunity for economic development by worshiping Lord Siva, for Lord Siva is the husband of the goddess Durga, the proprietor of this universe
- Mayavadi sannyasis do not worship the Deity, or if they do so they generally worship the deity of Lord Siva or the pancopasana - Lord Visnu, Lord Siva, Durga-devi, Ganesa and Surya
- Mayavadis, who prefer to merge into this Brahman effulgence, worship Lord Siva. The mantras referred to in text 29 of (SB 8th canto) are called mukhani pancopanisadas tavesa. Mayavadis take all these mantras seriously in worshiping Lord Siva
N
- Not only are the devotees dear to Lord Siva, but he respects them as much as he respects God. Similarly, devotees of the Supreme Lord also worship Lord Siva as the most dear devotee of Krsna. They do not worship him as a separate Personality of Godhead
- Not understanding the process of disciplic succession, so-called logicians put forward the theory of pancopasana, in which a person worships one of five deities - namely Visnu, Siva, Durga, the sun-god or Ganesa
O
- One cannot approach the transcendental region, or paravyoma, the spiritual sky, by worshiping Lord Siva or Brahma or any other demigod
- One cannot get the benefit of milk by drinking yogurt. Similarly, one cannot get salvation by worshiping Lord Siva. If one wants salvation, one must worship Lord Visnu. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita - BG 9.4
- One of the plenary portions of Lord Siva is called Kalabhairava. This form of Lord Siva is worshiped by demons who offer animals killed before him
- One should worship the Rudra incarnations of Lord Siva if he wants to be a great hero
- Only surrender to Me. - So this is the verdict of all Vedic literatures. But if somebody thinks that "I can worship Brahma, I can worship Kali, I can worship Siva, or many other demigods, and still the same thing," this is impersonalist view
- Ordinarily there are two classes of men. One class, who are grossly materialistic, want material prosperity, and their desires are fulfilled if they worship Lord Siva
- Other demigods, like Brahma, Siva, Surya, Ganesa and many similar deities, are worshiped by men in the mode of passion, urged on by the desire for material enjoyment
P
- People are embarrassed by many material desires, they worship Siva, Brahma, the Kali, Durga, Ganesa and Surya to achieve different results. However, one can achieve all these results simultaneously just by worshiping Lord Visnu
- Persons in the mode of goodness worship Lord Visnu, those in the mode of passion worship Lord Brahma, and those in the mode of ignorance worship Lord Siva
- Persons who are attached to worshiping demigods like Lord Brahma, Siva, Indra and Candra for some personal benefit are less intelligent and have forgotten the real purpose of life
- Prahlada Maharaja then worshiped and offered prayers to all the demigods, such as Brahma, Siva and the Prajapatis, who are all parts of the Lord
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- Ravana was made a very powerful man by worshiping Lord Siva, and he used to offer severed heads to please Lord Siva
- Rise (the lower-grade persons) to the platform of worshiping Siva in search for the ever-existing soul, and then to the stage of worshiping Lord Visnu, the Supersoul, etc., without any information of Govinda, Lord Krsna, who is the original Lord Visnu
- Rukmini further thought that demigods such as Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and goddess Durga might have been displeased. It is generally said that the demigods become angry when not properly worshiped
S
- Since Lord Siva controls the great material energy (goddess Durga), worshipers of Lord Siva attain very opulent positions within this material world. Under Lord Siva's direction, a worshiper of Lord Siva gets all kinds of material facilities
- Siva-agama a scripture on the method of worshiping Lord Siva
- Sometimes, of course, it so happens that Lord Siva becomes the best benedictor in spiritual life. It is said that once a poor brahmana worshiped Lord Siva for a benediction, and Lord Siva advised the devotee to go to see Sanatana Gosvami
- Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura comments that those who seek gold and silver can worship Lord Siva for material opulences
- Such materialistic persons get immense opportunity for economic development by worshiping Lord Siva, for Lord Siva is the husband of the goddess Durga, the proprietor of this universe
- Such people (who are interested in material promotion engage in ritualistic religious ceremonies) generally become impersonalists. They are interested in worshiping Lord Siva or goddess Durga, but their return is one hundred percent materialistic
- Such persons (in mode of passion or ignorance) are not always very much religious and pious in their activities, but since they worship Lord Siva for some material profit, they sometimes obey the religious principles
- Sukadeva Gosvami clearly states that by worshiping Lord Siva one achieves one reward whereas by worshiping Lord Visnu one achieves a different reward
T
- The asura worships Lord Siva, takes some benediction from him, misuses the benediction and ultimately is killed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who awards him liberation
- The brahmanas do not worship demigods like Lord Brahma, Indra or Lord Siva for any material comfort. They do not even ask the Supreme Lord for material profit; therefore it is concluded that the brahmanas are the supreme living entities of this world
- The cowherd men, who had come to execute the ritualistic function of worshiping Lord Siva and Ambika, finished their business and prepared to return to Vrndavana. While returning, they recalled the wonderful activities of Krsna
- The curse is that if someone follows such principles (of worshipping Lord Siva) he must become an infidel and turn against the principles of Vedic regulation
- The gopis also worshiped Lord Siva in Vrndavana, and the lord is still staying there as Gopisvara. The gopis, however, prayed that Lord Siva bless them by giving them Lord Krsna as their husband
- The gopis used to worship not only Lord Siva but Katyayani, or Durga, as well, but their aim was to attain the favor of Lord Krsna
- The great sage Maitreya continued speaking to Vidura: My dear Vidura, in this way Lord Siva instructed the sons of King Barhisat. The sons of the King also worshiped Lord Siva with great devotion and respect. Finally, Siva became invisible to the princes
- The impersonalists, who generally worship Lord Siva, should learn of the transcendental sac-cid-ananda-vigraha (BS 5.1) of the Lord
- The system of demigod worship was directed mainly to Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Lord Ganesa, the sun-god and goddess Durga
- They (small girls) especially wanted to get a husband like Lord Siva because Lord Siva is very peaceful and at the same time most powerful. Formerly, therefore, small girls in Hindu families would worship Lord Siva, in the month of Vaisakha - April-May
- They (those who are attached to material enjoyment) are especially attached to worship of the goddess Durga and Lord Siva because this transcendental couple can offer their devotees all material opulence
- This (Vrddhacalam) place is also known as Kalahastipura. Lord Siva’s temple there was worshiped for many years by Govinda, the cousin of Ramanujacarya
- This date (Caturdasi) falls three days after Ekadasi, and it is set aside for the worship of Lord Siva. One of the plenary portions of Lord Siva is called Kalabhairava. This form of Lord Siva is worshiped by demons who offer animals killed before him
- This prayer (You are the cause) is offered to the impersonal Brahman, that consists effulgent rays of Parabrahman. Parabrahman is Supreme Personality of God (param brahma BG 10.12). When Siva is worshiped as Parabrahman, the worship is meant for Visnu
- This system of worshiping many gods, such as Durga, Siva, Ganesa, Surya and the impersonal Visnu form, is accepted by persons who have been blinded by an intense desire for sense gratification
- Those who are disgusted or frustrated with the materialistic way of life worship Lord Siva to attain salvation, which entails freedom from material identification
- Those who are materially passionate or those who want to exhibit their intelligence for material advancement in life are generally worshipers of Lord Brahma, and persons who are in the gross ignorance of identifying with the body worship Lord Siva
- Those who are situated in goodness generally worship the demigods. The demigods include Brahma, Siva and others such as Indra, Candra and the sun-god. There are various demigods. BG 1972 pur
- Those who vow to worship Lord Siva are so foolish that they imitate him by keeping long hair on their heads. When initiated into worship of Lord Siva, they prefer to live on wine, flesh and other such things
- Thousands of wives of respectable brahmanas were present, all dressed very nicely with suitable ornaments. They presented Rukmini with flower garlands, sandalwood pulp & a variety of colorful garments to assist her in worshiping Siva & goddess Durga
- Thus, in order to give up her body, which had been so respectfully and affectionately seated on the lap of Lord Siva, who is worshiped by great sages and saints, Sati, due to anger towards her father, began to meditate on the fiery air within the body
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W
- We may note the mantras for worshiping Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, goddess Durga, the sun-god and Ganesa, as described in the Brahma-samhita
- We worship Lord Siva as Vaisnava. We give respect to Vaisnavas. So why not Lord Siva? Lord Siva is a big Vaisnava
- With all respect, Daksa worshiped Lord Siva with his share of the remnants of the yajna. After finishing the ritualistic sacrificial activities, he satisfied all the other demigods and the other people assembled there