Though Shiva is a late entrant in the Vedic literature, nevertheless he is considered to be the most ancient of the gods of the Hindu pantheon.
The concept of a Shiva-like god was derived from the faith of the indigenous people of the Indian subcontinent. He was worshipped in the pre-Aryan period. The Harappan seal with a buffalo-horned figure seated cross-legged in a yogic posture, surrounded by animals, is the earliest representation of the Lord of the Creatures or Pashupati. This ithyphallic form appears to be an early reference to the phallus or Linga of Shiva.
The Aryan faith imported the worship of elemental gods to the religious system of the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic gods are thirty-three in number. They are Indra, Prajapati, the twelve Adityas, the eight Vasus and the eleven Rudras. Indra is the thunderclap or the thunderbolt. Prajapati is the sacrifice or the sacrificial animals. The twelve Adityas are the twelve months of the year. The eight Vasus are the fire, the earth, the air, the sky, the sun, the heaven, the moon and the stars. As the entire universe is placed in them, they are hence known as Vasu, derived from the root word Vas meaning to dwell. The Rudras are the ten organs of the human body and the mind. When an individual dies, they depart from the physical body, which makes those related to the dead cry; hence, they are known as Rudra, a word derived from the root word Rud, which means to weep.
The early Aryans were aware of the existence of the Shiva-like god. In the Rig Veda he is referred to as Tryambaka, the one with three-eyes, who releases the mortal from death. In another verse, we find a mention of Mahodevoh (the mighty god), which seems to be an early reference to Mahadeva.
It was in the post-Vedic era that the Lord of the Yogis and creatures was recognized in the mainstream religious literature. Nevertheless, one finds allusive references to the source of bliss as Shivam in the latter Sruti texts, in the Upanishads. With the development of the different systems of philosophy, Shiva came to be identified with the Purusha or the Supreme Soul of the Sankhya System and Patanjali's Yoga System and the Brahma or the Absolute of Vedanta.
With only a small number of intellectuals capable of grasping the real significance of Shiva as the super-consciousness, the source of bliss, symbolisms were used intentionally to elucidate the concept to the common man. Unfortunately, the symbols were misinterpreted, often with ulterior motives, and a god of the Purana and Tantra emerged.
Mythologies replaced the reality with an imaginary god, and Shiva became the embodied being involved in mundane activities. At times a subject of ridicule, derided as the Erotic Ascetic.
Soham Gita, a Bengali philosophical poem on Vedanta, written by Paramhangsa Soham Swami in Bengali was published in 1909. This book had a poem on Shiva. It is about a bewildered human perplexed with the contradictory behaviours of Shiva questioning the God of his reality. In his answer, Shiva repudiates the myths and explicates the real meaning, thereby illuminating the eternal truth. This poem provides a concise account of Vedanta, leading the reader from the untruth to truth, from darkness to light.
'The Truth of Shiva' is based on the aforementioned philosophical poem. The original Bengali poem starts with the agitated questioner unleashing a volley of questions.
Vedas (1192)
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Mahabharata (363)
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Goddess (502)
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Shiva (377)
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