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Shiva meditation focuses on the Hindu deity Shiva, using a physical object or mantra to invoke the deity’s power. It aims to remove negative thoughts and transform the meditator into the destroyer deity, freeing them from fear and negative qualities. The meditation is performed in a comfortable yoga pose, often with the use of malas.
Shiva meditation is a meditation typically focused on the Hindu deity Shiva. It can be focused on a physical object depicting Shiva, such as a statue or painting. It may involve a series of chants, or a mantra, invoking the deity. Shiva is known as the destroyer deity and through meditation of Shiva is believed to remove or destroy the negative thoughts of evil, ignorance and selfishness from the meditator.
One way to engage in Shiva meditation is through deep focus on a physical object. Often a statue or painting of the deity is used as the object of focus. These depictions of Shiva generally show him as a handsome young man, often one who meditates. Some people meditate by staring at the object while repeating Shiva’s name. Those who believe in the deity’s powers say that his name must be repeated with intentional understanding, rather than mindlessly, if one is to receive the full power of meditation.
Another way to participate in Shiva mediation is to chant a phrase or mantra. The most common uses the Sanskrit wording, Om Namah Shivaya. This mantra can be translated into English as “I bow to Shiva”. It can also be translated as “Om and greetings to what I am becoming”. Most scholars and meditation leaders believe that these translations are only loosely based on Sanskrit, because there is no direct translation.
The translation is based on the idea that Shiva will transform the meditating person into the destroyer deity. Through Shiva’s meditation, he or she will be free from the fear of destruction. This may mean that the person will be free from evil and free from other negative human qualities, such as ignorance and selfishness. In some cases, the person will even be free from the fear of death, the ultimate form of destruction.
To perform a full Shiva meditation, the practitioner will sit in a comfortable yoga pose. These poses can include a cross-legged position called a lotus or rock, a position where you sit on bent legs. From there, the practitioner will gently close his eyes. Many people then begin to bring their thoughts inward, into an area of the mind known as the third eye. Then the chanting of the mantra to Shiva begins.
Many people engaged in Shiva meditation will hold a string of beads, called malas, in their hand. A complete mala contains 108 beads. A person who completes a full meditation will repeat the mantra at least 108 times. In some cases, a person can repeat the mantra up to 1,080 times.
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