In all Seven Corners of the World
The Saptarishis – Ambassadors of Shiva’s Knowing
When we say ‘Shiva,’ it means many things to many people. It is the most multidimensional description that you can describe one being with.
The Saptarishis – Ambassadors of Shiva’s Knowing
When we say ‘Shiva,’ it means many things to many people. It is the most multidimensional description that you can describe one being with.
Shiva is described as an ascetic of the highest order, and as a debaucher of the highest order too; as a yogi, the very embodiment of awareness, but at the same time as a drunkard.
He is described as the Sundaramurthy, the most beautiful one, and also as a hideous one. So it goes on. He means many things to many people. But for those who are on the spiritual path, the most significant aspect of Shiva is that he is a yogi; not just a yogi – the yogi, the aadhi yogi or the first yogi.
The significance of his life is that he was the first one to bring this dimension to humanity, that a human being need not be contained in the defined limitations of our species, that there is a way to go beyond these limitations.
That there is a way to be contained in physicality but not to belong to it. That there is a way to inhabit the body but never become the body. That there is a way to use your mind in the highest possible way but still never know the miseries of the mind.
The word ‘yoga’ literally means ‘union;’ that is when an individual has the ability to unite himself with the universal, when a limited entity of a human being is able to enjoin with the limitlessness of the cosmos, when a shred of creation can experience being the Creator of the existence.
When we are able to unite an individual entity which is of various types of bondages and boundaries with that which is boundless and know the joy of having both at the same time – this is yoga.
When we are able to unite an individual entity which is of various types of bondages and boundaries with that which is boundless and know the joy of having both at the same time – this is yoga.
This dimension was first brought to humanity by this great being that we refer to as Shiva. The word ‘Shiva’ itself literally means ‘that which is not.’ ‘That which is not’ means ‘that which does not exist’ – emptiness, nothingness.
This idea of emptiness, nothingness, of that which does not exist, should not be perceived as negative. If you look up into the sky on this darkest night[1] of the month, your eyes will tell you it is full of stars because that is how the human vision is attuned towards creation. But if you really look at it, you will see the galaxies are just small specks; the real substance out there is nothingness. This nothingness which is the womb of creation, this nothingness which fills 99% of the cosmos, this we refer to as Shiva – the boundless non-existence.
We also refer to the aadhi yogi as Shiva because he perceived this boundlessness. One who has perceived the limitless nature of the existence is also limitless, in the sense, the only way you could perceive the boundless is to dissolve your own boundaries and become boundless yourself. So we refer to both, the limitless nothingness and the aadhi yogi, as Shiva.
The limited nature of the individual being is only a stepping stone for knowing the unlimited nature of the existence, or the limitlessness of ‘that which is not.’
We also refer to the aadhi yogi as Shiva because he perceived this boundlessness. One who has perceived the limitless nature of the existence is also limitless, in the sense, the only way you could perceive the boundless is to dissolve your own boundaries and become boundless yourself. So we refer to both, the limitless nothingness and the aadhi yogi, as Shiva.
The limited nature of the individual being is only a stepping stone for knowing the unlimited nature of the existence, or the limitlessness of ‘that which is not.’
When the aadhi yogi attained to his ultimate possibility, many were drawn to him. Among these, the most significant ones are those seven sages who became the vessels to receive his knowing and to transmit it to the rest of the world.
These are the celebrated sages who are known as the saptarishis[2]: Agastya Muni, Atri, Angira, Bhrigu, Gautama Maharishi, Kashyapa and Vashishta. They were already well-versed in various arts and sciences, and instrumental in crafting the civilizations, the science and scientific developments, and the healthcare systems of those times.
Three of them have been very significant for southern India. Of course Agastya Muni, who is the father of the siddha vaidya[3] and rasa vaidya[4], which are the greatest contributions that he made. After his realization, he came back to share his realization with this part of the world.
Atri, who was married to Anusuya, played a very important role in bringing peace when the Kurukshetra war happened. When hundreds and thousands of men were being killed ruthlessly without any purpose because people could not quench their anger and hatred, when a matchless warrior called Dronacharya engaged in an indiscriminate slaughter, it was Atri who went and stopped him, who reminded him of his dharma. And it was Atri who made Dronacharya withdraw from the war and sit with his eyes closed till he [Dronacharya] exited his body. So Atri stopped the most brutal war that this land has ever seen.
Gautama… When I say ‘Gautama,’ a lot of people will think we are talking about Gautama the Buddha – no. Gautama the Buddha was named after one of the saptarishis.
Three of them have been very significant for southern India. Of course Agastya Muni, who is the father of the siddha vaidya[3] and rasa vaidya[4], which are the greatest contributions that he made. After his realization, he came back to share his realization with this part of the world.
Atri, who was married to Anusuya, played a very important role in bringing peace when the Kurukshetra war happened. When hundreds and thousands of men were being killed ruthlessly without any purpose because people could not quench their anger and hatred, when a matchless warrior called Dronacharya engaged in an indiscriminate slaughter, it was Atri who went and stopped him, who reminded him of his dharma. And it was Atri who made Dronacharya withdraw from the war and sit with his eyes closed till he [Dronacharya] exited his body. So Atri stopped the most brutal war that this land has ever seen.
Gautama… When I say ‘Gautama,’ a lot of people will think we are talking about Gautama the Buddha – no. Gautama the Buddha was named after one of the saptarishis.
Thousands of years before Gautama the Buddha came, the saptarishi Gautama lived with his wife Ahalya and a few disciples in a small hermitage in Triambakeshwar. One day it so happened, a cow walked into his hut and ate up all the rice that was stored there for the usage of the hermitage. When he saw the cow had eaten up all the rice, he tried to chase her away, being a little anxious as to what to do for his tribe that lived with him. When he was chasing the cow, she fell down and died.
He felt so heartbroken, so pained that he caused the death of this cow as in India, one of the greatest crimes that you can commit is killing a cow. Why this is so is, the cow is the only animal which has human emotions. In this land, people share very intimate relationships with the cow. If you are in distress, if you are pained by something, if you are in grief, you will see, the cow will shed tears for you. It has such a deep sense of empathy for a human being. Because it has human emotions, here in India for a long time, we have considered killing a cow as murder.
So because Gautama felt he had committed a murder and he wanted to absolve himself from that, he called for Shiva and said, “Why has this happened? It was not my intention to kill this cow. I was only chasing her away; but she died.” Shiva saw that this had been an unintentional act and said, “Because of the scarcity of rice that you have, you got so excited about this cow eating up your rice. Let me give you an instrument with which you can grow as much rice as you want,” and he had a river born in Triambakeshwar which came to be called Gautami, and later on Godavari which feeds the rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa today. The river Godavari was born for the purpose of relieving Gautama of the sin of killing a cow; and also to relieve the great sage of the scarcity of rice which caused unnecessary anxiety in him. An immense amount of rice or paddy is grown even today in the Godavari delta.
So these were celebrated sages of their time; but when they heard of Shiva’s ultimate realization, they all beelined to Kailash. These sages who were worshiped in their own times went as disciples to Shiva and sat at his feet, wanting to know the ultimate possibility. And over a period of time, Shiva shared this possibility. He did not allow them to go back to their homes but sent them to different corners of the world.
So because Gautama felt he had committed a murder and he wanted to absolve himself from that, he called for Shiva and said, “Why has this happened? It was not my intention to kill this cow. I was only chasing her away; but she died.” Shiva saw that this had been an unintentional act and said, “Because of the scarcity of rice that you have, you got so excited about this cow eating up your rice. Let me give you an instrument with which you can grow as much rice as you want,” and he had a river born in Triambakeshwar which came to be called Gautami, and later on Godavari which feeds the rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa today. The river Godavari was born for the purpose of relieving Gautama of the sin of killing a cow; and also to relieve the great sage of the scarcity of rice which caused unnecessary anxiety in him. An immense amount of rice or paddy is grown even today in the Godavari delta.
So these were celebrated sages of their time; but when they heard of Shiva’s ultimate realization, they all beelined to Kailash. These sages who were worshiped in their own times went as disciples to Shiva and sat at his feet, wanting to know the ultimate possibility. And over a period of time, Shiva shared this possibility. He did not allow them to go back to their homes but sent them to different corners of the world.
One he sent to Central Asia, another to North Africa which is presently known as Ethiopia or Egypt and Middle East, another he sent to South America, another to South West Asia, another stayed with him, another came down to the lower part of Himalayas, another came down south – that was Agastya Muni. Agastya is very important for us because he walked this land. He has been upon this mountain, and in many ways, we consider him as the father of southern mysticism.
There are various forms of mystical processes on the planet, but South Indian mysticism is very unique and profound in its nature. I am not saying this because I am born in South India. Probably one reason is, this part of the world provided a most conducive atmosphere for spiritual teaching for thousands of years.
There are various forms of mystical processes on the planet, but South Indian mysticism is very unique and profound in its nature. I am not saying this because I am born in South India. Probably one reason is, this part of the world provided a most conducive atmosphere for spiritual teaching for thousands of years.
The mystics who came could explore anything and experiment whichever way that they wanted without being persecuted, a chance which unfortunately most mystics have not had in other parts of the world. This part of the world offered that conducive atmosphere, so mysticism grew in an intricacy and profoundness which is unmatched anywhere else on the planet.
If closely observed, the manifestation and the methods of Shiva’s knowing can be noticed in civilizations as far away as South America. When the Greeks came to India around 300 BC, in the esoteric Shiva, they saw the reflection of their own God Dionysus, a mad rebel who was surrounded by his own set of ganas who were known as Satyrs. Like Shiva, he was also the Lord of mountains, trees, bees, rivers, wine, dance and theater. He too sought salvation through ecstatic rituals. His mystery cults took the shape of Orphism that went on to greatly influence the Christian rites of sacrament and communion.
The presence of the work of these seven sages across the planet is visible even today. It has just taken on many forms. It is amazing that even today, in the temples of Greece, in the Baalbek temples in Lebanon, in certain temples in Egypt, you still see the yogic symbols – Guru Pooja stones of 16 corners which could not have come from anywhere else except from the knowledge that the aadhi yogi himself transmitted.
The ganas were constant company for Shiva. They are described in the scriptures as distorted and demented beings; they did not have a human form; they were in some other form. They spoke in a language which nobody understood – a total cacophony. And they had limbs without bones.
If closely observed, the manifestation and the methods of Shiva’s knowing can be noticed in civilizations as far away as South America. When the Greeks came to India around 300 BC, in the esoteric Shiva, they saw the reflection of their own God Dionysus, a mad rebel who was surrounded by his own set of ganas who were known as Satyrs. Like Shiva, he was also the Lord of mountains, trees, bees, rivers, wine, dance and theater. He too sought salvation through ecstatic rituals. His mystery cults took the shape of Orphism that went on to greatly influence the Christian rites of sacrament and communion.
The presence of the work of these seven sages across the planet is visible even today. It has just taken on many forms. It is amazing that even today, in the temples of Greece, in the Baalbek temples in Lebanon, in certain temples in Egypt, you still see the yogic symbols – Guru Pooja stones of 16 corners which could not have come from anywhere else except from the knowledge that the aadhi yogi himself transmitted.
The ganas were constant company for Shiva. They are described in the scriptures as distorted and demented beings; they did not have a human form; they were in some other form. They spoke in a language which nobody understood – a total cacophony. And they had limbs without bones.
You know the story of Ganapathy, this slight misinterpretation of chopping an elephant’s head and putting it on the body of the young boy. It was not an elephant head – it was a head of a gana who had limbs without bones. Even today, you call him Ganapathy, not Gajapathy. Never ever has he been known as Gajapathy[5]. He has always been known as Ganapathy, that means ‘the leader of the ganas’ because Shiva lopped off the head of the leader of the ganas and put it on the body of this young boy.
These yakshas, ganas, gandharvas[6] rule the legends of the East as beings who came from elsewhere. So Shiva always kept company of these beings who are not of human form. And in their company many things happened – one thing was they did not ascribe to any social norms because they did not even belong to the society through which Shiva walked.
Why I am telling you this is he did everything that would make him unfit to be accepted by the world. But still the world accepted him as Mahadeva[7].
These yakshas, ganas, gandharvas[6] rule the legends of the East as beings who came from elsewhere. So Shiva always kept company of these beings who are not of human form. And in their company many things happened – one thing was they did not ascribe to any social norms because they did not even belong to the society through which Shiva walked.
Why I am telling you this is he did everything that would make him unfit to be accepted by the world. But still the world accepted him as Mahadeva[7].
The iconographic proofs gathered in the British anthropological museum say that Shiva in the form of Rudra is the oldest god on the planet. The iconography says it is over 12,000 years. He was the god of the inhabitants of this Bharatvarsh or the Indian subcontinent as it is known today.
When the Aryan invaders came over 8,000 years ago, they had Indra as their god. They militarily defeated the locals, politically dominated them, enslaved them in many ways, but they took the god of the defeated. Never before or never after in the history of humanity such a thing has happened.
Invaders always impose their gods on the invaded. But here, the invaders took the god of the invaded. The victorious took the god of the defeated because the essence of what he was offering was so valuable; they could not ignore him. The power and the possibility of what was being offered were so potent that the victorious took the god of the defeated. There can be no better testimony to the methods and technologies that he transmitted.
– Excerpted from Sadhguru’s talk on Mahashivrathri 2011
– Excerpted from Sadhguru’s talk on Mahashivrathri 2011
[1] Refers to Shivarathri, the night before new moon
[2] Literally ‘seven seers/sages’
[3] Traditional Tamil medicine
[4] Traditional science of rasa or mercury
[5] Gaja in Sanskrit means ‘elephant’
[6] Different kinds of celestial beings
[7] Literally ‘Great God;’ one of the names of Shiva
[2] Literally ‘seven seers/sages’
[3] Traditional Tamil medicine
[4] Traditional science of rasa or mercury
[5] Gaja in Sanskrit means ‘elephant’
[6] Different kinds of celestial beings
[7] Literally ‘Great God;’ one of the names of Shiva
