• Explores the shamanic roots of world spirituality as exemplified by this Hindu god who shares many of the attributes of the Norse Odin and the Celtic Cernunnos

• Looks at Shiva's relation to contemporary culture, Tantra, and the dualistic religions of the West

To his devotees Shiva is the entire universe and the core of all beings. Hindu myth shows him appearing at the beginning of creation as a giant pillar of fire from which this world sprang forth. Yet he is also the most approachable of gods, for he is the lover of lovers and the devotee of his devotees. Of the 1,008 names of Shiva, Pashupati, Lord of Animals, is one of the most common. His special relation to animals along with his trickster nature reveal the deep connection of Shiva to shamanism and other gods such as the Norse Odin and the Celtic Cernunnos that came out of the Paleolithic traditions.

Ethnologist Wolf-Dieter Storl was first captivated by Shiva when he was in India as a visiting scholar at Benares Hindu University. In this book he invites readers to join in the lively and mythical world of Shiva, or Mahadev, God of All Gods. Shiva is a study in contrasts: As the lord of dance he loses himself in ecstatic abandon; with his consort Parvati he can make love for 10,000 years. Both men and women worship him for his ability to unite and balance masculine and feminine energies. But as the ascetic Shankar he sits in deep meditation, shunning women, and none dare disturb him lest he open his third eye and immolate the entire universe. Lord of intoxicants and poisons, he is the keeper of secret occult knowledge and powers, for which he is worshipped by yogis and demons alike. Shiva dances both the joy of being and the dance of doom--but in every aspect he breaks through the false ego to reveal the true self lying within. This is his true power.

Autorentext

Wolf D. Storl, Ph.D., is a cultural anthropologist and ethnobotanist who has taught at Kent State University as well as in Vienna, Berne, and Benares. He is coauthor of Witchcraft Medicine and author of more than 30 books on indigenous culture and ethnobotany in German and several in English. He lives in Germany.

Inhalt

Introduction

Chapter 1--Journey to the Source of Time

Chapter 2--Fire and Ice
The Rock
Water
Kashi
Karttikeya's Strange Birth

Chapter 3--The Shaman and His Black Dog
The Old Huntsman
Pashupati, Lord of the Animals
The Noose
The Black Dog
The God of the Shades
Bhairava
Rudra and Odin-
The Treacherous God

Chapter 4--God's Virile Member
Lingam Yoni
The Lingam Is Everywhere
How Arjuna Won His Magic Arrows
How Markandeya Became an Immortal
The Phallic Symbol
The Pillar of Fire

Chapter 5--Shankar, The Yogi on the Mountain
Shankara
The Tears of Rudra
The God Clothed in Air
The Third Eye
Three Lines of Ash
The Blue Neck
Shiva and Buddha
The Trident and the"Bâton-de-Commandement"

Chapter 6--The Goddess
Devi
Durga
Kali
Annapurna
Ganga

Chapter 7--The Dancer in the Flames
Shiva's Dances
The Drum

Chapter 8--The Ideal Family
Karttikeya
Ganesha
Nandi the Bull

Chapter 9--The Destruction of the Sacrifice
The Aryan Background
Daksha's Great Sacrifice
Shiva the Sinner

Chapter 10--Shiva as the Devil
Zarathustra
The Earth Runs Well
The Righteous Battle

Chapter 11--Tantra: The Serpent's Path
The Heresy of the Agamas
Overcoming the Ego
Shakti
The Pathway of the Kundalini Serpent
Returning to Oneness

Chapter 12--The Saint, the Hero, and the Beast
The Rituals
Tantric Influence

Chapter 13--Pollen Dust and Ashes
Lingam Puja
Shiva's Flower Garden
Bel: Shiva's Triune Leaf
Bangeri Baba
Shiva's Garden of Madness
Sacred Ashes
The Shadow of the Night

Chapter 14--Shiva's Festivals and Holidays
The Descent of the Goddess
Festivals of the Hot Season and the Rainy Season
Festivals of the Fall Season
Festivals of Spring
Kumbha Mela

Notes
Bibliography
Index