9 Important Lessons To Learn From Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva is one of the three most powerful Hindu deities alongside Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu, who are together known as the Great Trinity or Trimurti in Hindi. He is known as the destroyer of evil forces and is known by various names such as Mahadeva, Pashupati, Mahakaleshwar, Natraja, Bhole Nath, etc. In most spiritual aspects, Lord Shiva is depicted as a yogi who resides on Mount Kailash and is a family person. He lives with his wife Goddess Parvati and has two divine sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya. He commutes on a divine bull named Nandi.

Lord Shiva has many iconic features on his looks such as a third eye on his forehead, a snake named Vasuki around his neck, his throat is blue, a beautiful crescent moon on his head, the holy river Ganga flowing down from his matted hair, a trishul in his hand along with his musical instrument, Damroo. As per the Hindu beliefs, Lord Shiva sits on a tiger skin and he has a water pot or Kamandalam beside him. He wears rudraksha beads on this body and he has ash smeared over his complete body.

In today’s life, where we all are getting devoid of our culture and values, we must try to incorporate some of the lessons taught by our rich Hindu culture. Lord Shiva is a true example of a true teacher who signifies that with love and compassion we can win the world and to eliminate social evils, we must take a staunch stand. To know how you can develop your inner strength and emerge as a person with fierce ideologies, then read these 9 important lessons to learn from Lord Shiva:

1. Nothing Is Impossible If You Have A Peaceful Mind

Lord Shiva’s matter hair is a symbol of unison of mind, body and soul that enables him to focus better on his duties and gives peace to his mind. Similarly, in our lives, whether we want to study harder, attain more productivity at workplace, concentrate better or aim at achieving better health condition, then we must try to unite our body, mind and soul. If we are able to focus on our mind, boy and soul, then we can peacefully carry on our tasks and a peaceful mind helps in releasing the happy hormones that keeps us protected from stress and tensions. When we work peacefully, we save our energies in doing constructive things and we are able to face difficulties with a smile on our face.

Read: 16 Effective Ways To Obtain Peace Of Mind

2. Perceiving Things By Giving It A Thought

The third eye of Lord Shiva symbolises that we must not always believe what we see until we are able to see it from the mind’s eye. This means whenever we face an adverse circumstance, then we must not keep on thinking about what we see in front of us. Rather than focusing on the problem by its visual appeal, we must focus on the topics that are beyond the problems. We must give our mind enough time to think about the solution to the problem and must perceive the situation from all the aspects.

3. Control Your Ego

Lord Shiva’s weapon Trishul is the indicator of controlling your ego, mind and intellectual self. If you are challenged to do something which your mind does not permit and out of ego, you do it to show off yourself, then you have no control over your mind, intellect and ego. Uncontrolled ego can be your biggest enemy and may destroy your individualistic charm. It may make you angry, irritated and frustrated and such people are mostly disliked by everyone. You need to think logically from your mind and keep aside your ego and stay grounded. If you have complete control on your mind, then you will able to take better decisions and you will feel great when you express your true self. Instead of letting your ego kill your beautiful persona, kill it and see how much people will start adoring you.

4. Practice Meditation For A Focused Mind

Lord Shiva is believed to be seated in a meditative pose and he is symbolised to have an undeterred level of concentration. He is known for his calm attitude due to his prowess in practising meditation. In today’s busy life, people are constantly in stress regardless of their age and they find it difficult to keep themselves focused. To keep stress at bay and improve concentration, you must practise various meditation techniques. If you have a meditative approach while dealing with versatile situations, then you will be able to handle them with a calm mind and you will have better clarity about the subject while keeping you in best health at all times.

Read: Why Should We Meditate Daily?

5. Life Is Ephemeral

The ash smeared on Lord Shiva’s body signifies that everything is temporary in this Universe. Life is ephemeral and we all are mortal beings. People are becoming selfish, self obsessed with their beauty and intellect. But all these things and your materialistic outlook too will be converted to ash one day. You did not bring anything with you when you were born and you will take nothing when you go from here. Only your soul is immortal. Keep your soul clean by living life with content and happiness while keeping others happy too.

Recommended: 11 Important Life Lessons To Learn From Mahabharata

6. Manage Your Anger In A Constructive Manner

Blue throat of Lord Shiva indicates control on anger and channelling it into a constructive cause. Do you often feel rush of blood and you fill with fury to take revenge on someone? Then you need to control your emotions as later, you may regret taking actions in such state of mind. Whenever, you feel angry and you feel that your emotions will burst out, just go for a work out or jogging or start meditating in a calm place. Put your energies in constructive manner that would otherwise get wasted in taking actions that you don’t intend to take in logical state of mind.

7. Develop Will Power With Exercise

Lord Shiva’s musical instrument, Damroo is a significance of getting rid of evil and unnecessary desires from the body. Eliminating evil from the body means cleansing your body and making it free from diseases through proper exercise and healthy diet. You must bring some activeness into your life in the form of exercise and yoga and must have control on your untimely food cravings. You must take utmost care of your health and develop high will power through exercising.

Read: 7 Easy Steps To Develop The Habit of Exercising

8. Don’t Ignore Even Minute Details While Taking Decisions

Holy Ganga river flowing down from the matted hair of Lord Shiva signifies clarity and understanding of everything. Many times, we take decisions on the basis of handful of knowledge that we have with us. We tend to ignore having complete details about the matter before pronouncing our decision. Be it at workplace, relationships, fitness routine, studies, etc, we jump into conclusions by getting influenced from other people without proper understanding of the matter. But this can lead us in taking wrong decisions which may give rise to many other problems in future. So the next time you confront a situation where you have incomplete details, don’t embark upon a decision on basis of other’s advices. Trust your knowledge and then take decisions.

9. Remove Negative Thoughts

Kamandalam or water pot of Lord Shiva symbolises purification of mind. You have lived your life worthlessly if you have not eliminated negativity from your mind and focused on positivity. Pessimistic approach drains your knowledge, talent and skills and kills your soul’s beauty. Negativity attracts stress, tensions, poor health and you are least likely to cherish the life given to you. You need to opt positive approach in your life to help your mind think productively and to enjoy life with a cheerful attitude.

Recommended: Essential Lessons of Life to Learn from Bhagavad Gita

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