I read this story first in Devdutt Pattanaik's 7 secrets of Shiva(Published by Westland) .It is a story of how Rishi Bhringi (he is the shrivelled man, all bones, standing on Shiva's right, his hands folded in respect) would not worship Parvati though Shiva himself made it clear he was incomplete without his wife. Parvati sits on Shiva's lap to show her proximity, but Bhringi turns himself into a bee to try to move between the close-knit couple. Then Shiva shows his Ardhanareshwar form, where he is both man and woman, and as incomplete without Shakti. But the rishi is still adamant. An annoyed Parvati then curses Bhringi so that he loses all that comes from a mother's body (as the belief goes) -- which includes tissues and blood (the father is said to be responsible for bones and nerves). So Bhringi is reduced to bones and nerves and cannot even stand. A compassionate Shiva then gives the now-remorseful rishi a third leg on which to stand... Hence Bhringi is shown as the tripod in Shiva's depictions...
For me, this story is very expressive of the idea of yoga as something that will not be complete without accepting the human angle to the divine. Or the physical aspect of the mind. Or vice versa. Or the philosophical and theological in relation to the mundane living... That both are tied... to run after one, without understanding that it is tied to the other... then, u may trip, either way.. arrogant philosophers who are delusional; or bhogis for whom the idea of the spiritual seems cheesy or too mystical...
No comments:
Post a Comment