Shiva as Dakshinamurthy, the Guru
In my previous post I wrote about my forthcoming meeting with the Satguru of the Nandinatha Sampradaya, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami. At the time I did not know what to expect. As you can probably tell from my post I was prepared for the meeting be just talking to a wise and holy man. I was not sure that I would feel any connection with him as a Guru. My spiritual path has involved more searching than finding, and I did not want to build up hopes or expectations that might not be met. Continue reading
Probably the most iconic image in Shaivism is the Nataraja, Shiva as Lord of the Dance. This pictures Shiva in the dance of creation, preservation and destruction. In this form Shiva holds a drum in one hand, representing creation, the fire of destruction in another. One of his right arms is in the Abhayaprada Mudra, a gesture meaning “no fear”, signaling preservation. His fourth arm is held in an elephant trunk like posture, alluding to Ganesha, the removal of obstacles, again showing help and preservation to all people. It is clear from this that Shiva holds the properties of Vishnu and Brahma. In other words Vishnu and Brahma are alternative views of Shiva. Whereas a Vishnava or would see things differently I don’t think it is useful to talk about better or correct views; this is out view as Shaivas and we acknowledge that others may see things differently. Shaivas (and Vishnavas) believe in a good and merciful God, and all will be redeemed so this means there is no need for the type of conflict with other beliefs that we see in Islam and Christianity. 
Western Hindu 