Shiva

Is Lord Shiva seen more as a benevolent character, like Krishna, or as one that is overall positive but containing both right hand path and left hand path elements?

Depends on who you ask. The Shiva you are describing is the Puranic Shiva, the anthropomorphised Shiva of the Puranic lore. So for me, that would either be 'all of the above' or 'none of the above'.

KAT-KAT said:

Is Lord Shiva seen more as a benevolent character, like Krishna, or as one that is overall positive but containing both right hand path and left hand path elements?

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I come from a Shaiva background where Shiva is everything. Just like Krishna is everything to a Vaishnava.

KAT-KAT said:

Is Lord Shiva seen more as a benevolent character, like Krishna, or as one that is overall positive but containing both right hand path and left hand path elements?

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He is known for Granting boons indiscriminately; meaning good guys get their boons just as easy as the bad guys
I remember the story that someone tried to disturb His meditation. One glance at them and they became vibuthi

Plenty of stories, so I think you can go wherever you want with Shiva. Just don't disturb His meditation

From my viewpoint, Shiva is the destroyer part of the trinity of Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. He is also Nataraj, the Lord of the Dance (of Creation) thus echoing the views that the answer depends on point-of-view.

Shiva is the beloved of Shakti. I have not interacted with him all that much, but he seems like a compassionate God. He would have to be, to be the beloved of my beloved Shakti.

But ultimately, Shiva and Shakti are one.

stvdv said:

He is known for Granting boons indiscriminately; meaning good guys get their boons just as easy as the bad guys
I remember the story that someone tried to disturb His meditation. One glance at them and they became vibuthi

Plenty of stories, so I think you can go wherever you want with Shiva. Just don't disturb His meditation

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Lol reminds me of the story behind Ganesh’s elephant head.

SomeRandom said:

Lol reminds me of the story behind Ganesh’s elephant head.

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Yes, great story. Shiva seems to have quite some temper. Shiva is almost looking human. Who wrote down the Shiva stories?

KAT-KAT said:

Is Lord Shiva seen more as a benevolent character, like Krishna, or as one that is overall positive but containing both right hand path and left hand path elements?

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I don't think of Shiva as benevolent or malevolent, perhaps 'mostly harmless'; nor do I think of him as embracing a left or right path. I'm not even sure what a left-hand or right-hand path is.

Shiva is the divine dancer, representing the interplay of cosmic forces, matter and energy, the creation and death of stars, galaxies, &c.
His power is the dissolution of Maya, destroying the illusion of the material world, revealing the underlying Unity.

sun rise said:

From my viewpoint, Shiva is the destroyer part of the trinity of Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. He is also Nataraj, the Lord of the Dance (of Creation) thus echoing the views that the answer depends on point-of-view.

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In the icon of Nataraja, only the drum is creation. Sustaining is His upheld forward right hand. Dissolution is the ring of fire, from his left hand. He also has concealing and revealing garces within the icon.

I also see Shiva, in the Lingam, as the Absolute, beyond all time and form, the Causeless cause. He is also the constant manifest-unmanifest shifting, represented in Aardhinarisvara. He is also the first Yogi, the great teacher, in Dakshinamurthi.

Vinidra said:

But ultimately, Shiva and Shakti are one.

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As seen in Aardhanarisvara .

stvdv said:

Yes, great story. Shiva seems to have quite some temper. Shiva is almost looking human. Who wrote down the Shiva stories?

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Which is kind of interesting to me since he’s always meditating. You’d think that would manage his anger problems. But nope, zero chill. Lol

SomeRandom said:

Which is kind of interesting to me since he’s always meditating. You’d think that would manage his anger problems. But nope, zero chill. Lol

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Shiva is not an individual such that He/It will meditate to maintain chill. It goes deeper than that. To simplify, even as an ocean never ceases to be a mass of water, Shiva never ceases to be Sat-Chit-Ananda (Truth-Consciousness-Bliss) -- it never ceases to be Brahman-Atman.

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stvdv said:

Yes, great story. Shiva seems to have quite some temper. Shiva is almost looking human. Who wrote down the Shiva stories?

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SomeRandom said:

Which is kind of interesting to me since he’s always meditating. You’d think that would manage his anger problems. But nope, zero chill. Lol

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Hence my reply:
1) Shiva is almost looking human
2) Who wrote down the Shiva stories

I think you missed my point. I implied these were human temperaments, experienced by humans, written down by humans.

(A bit risky to write this down though, as my Master is an incarnation of Shiva/Shakti (female part, softening Shiva's temper), and He loves to correct my mistakes, so He might come as Shiva if I am wrong here. Let's see, worst case scenario "stvdv ends up as vibuthi". But I think I'm correct here)

stvdv said:

Hence my reply:
1) Shiva is almost looking human
2) Who wrote down the Shiva stories

I think you missed my point. I implied these were human temperaments, experienced by humans, written down by humans.

(A bit risky to write this down though, as my Master is an incarnation of Shiva/Shakti (female part, softening Shiva's temper), and He loves to correct my mistakes, so He might come as Shiva if I am wrong here. Let's see, worst case scenario "stvdv ends up as vibuthi". But I think I'm correct here)

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All stories staring the gods will be human. It’s easier for us to understand.

SomeRandom said:

All stories staring the gods will be human. It’s easier for us to understand.

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Many if not most are teaching stories for us to see ourselves by holding up as it were a mirror. Or they're teaching stories to show us how to move forward.

KAT-KAT said:

Is Lord Shiva seen more as a benevolent character, like Krishna, or as one that is overall positive but containing both right hand path and left hand path elements?

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In shatarudriya (100 names of Rudra-Shiva) of Yajurveda, Rudra-Shiva is perceived as the most fierce, the most auspicious and in all shades in between. All forms of gods - all-conquering Indra, all-pervading cipivista Visnu, leader of hosts Ganesha, fierce and benevolent Goddesses, and all other deities are nothing but Rudra. He is called the leader of thieves and leader of all religious paths. There is nothing that is not Shiva and no time that is not Shiva.

Whether we get to see the auspicious side or the malevolent destructive side of Rudra-Shiva is up to an individual. Shiva is the sat-chit-ananda (Existence/Truth-Consciousness-Bliss) (as we all are in essence). Existence could be feral or could be most auspicious depending on karma. Vedas are full of prayers/hymns by Rishis that propitiate and invite Shiva as the auspicious. They pray to Rudra to leave its armaments and anger and approach the Rishis as the Auspicious, as medicine, as succour, as food, ..... and ultimately as Liberation (moksha). These prayers are interspersed throughout the four Vedas but appear in an integrated form in a section in Yajur Veda, called Rudriya or Rudra Dhyana or 'Namakam-Chamakan' in popular parlance.

The above descriptions depict Shiva as the creation itself and as the saguna Brahman, Lord, Ishwara. Saguna means with attributes.

In Vedanta (Upanishads which form the last knowledge part of the Vedas), the description goes a level up. Shiva is no more the manifest Deity but it is the Atman-Brahman. In Mandukya Upanishad (and other Upanishads), the consciousness that links and knows the states of waking, dreaming, and sleeping is called Shivam-advaitam-atman. It is the self of all and it is Brahman. (It is interesting that Nagarjuna used the term 'Shivam advayam' to denote the Truth of shunyata). The depth and significance of the meaning of the term 'advaitam-atman' can easily be glossed over.

Advaitam means 'no second' and 'atman' means the self. So, when you come to know the Shivam-Advaitam-Atman, you can only know it as your own self and since it is called advaitam, there cannot be a second self different from you.

So, the SvetaAsatvara Upanishad says:

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sun rise said:

Many if not most are teaching stories for us to see ourselves by holding up as it were a mirror. Or they're teaching stories to show us how to move forward.

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Many are. That said there are myths that are just straight up entertaining. The Greco-Roman myths come to mind lol. Although maybe they’re trying to be a how to not be a giant douche guide