SHIVA - The Ascetic

न मृत्युर् न शंका न मे जातिभेद: 
पिता नैव मे नैव माता न जन्म
न बन्धुर् न मित्रं गुरुर्नैव शिष्य: 
चिदानन्द रूप: शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ||

I have no fear of death, no caste or creed,
I have no father, no mother, for I was never born,
I am not a relative, nor a friend, nor a teacher nor a student,
I am the form of consciousness and bliss,
I am the eternal Shiva...

SHIVA the destroyer appears in two opposite forms- Shiva  TheAscetic ( Omniscient Yogi) and Shiva The Shankara ( the householder). How can a God associated with destruction appear as two extreme ends of existence?

For this it is important for us to realise that the three  God theory where Brahma the creator ; Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer together forms Brahman makes Hinduism a monotheistic religion.

Out of the three only Shiva is the one who is a mystic and mysterious .He is seen as an Ascetic who resides in Kailasha with ash smeared on his body; Ganga flowing through his jata ; Vasuki snake around the neck; clad scantily in an animal skin loincloth; trident in one hand and damroo in another. The common manifestation of Shiva as comprehended by man.The Ascetic in deep meditative state inspires human kind to undertake a deep spiritual journey with minimum baggage, fearless heart and immersed in spiritual trance.

Is it possible to give form to a limitless divine not bounded by time and space. The one who is transcendental and very much worshipped as Linga.?

To worship a God , man needed to give form to the formless because human mind finds it difficult to comprehend formless.

To give meaning to this limitless source we gave  symbolic form so that we can pray to this supreme source without fear and within our capacity.

Shiva the Ascetic is always in deep meditation looking inwards, not moved by external stimulus. His eyes half closed and a third eye representing a spiritual significance as it is the eye of wisdom and can see beyond this physical world.

He is offered flowers of dhatura tree which are not popular and drinks and smokes cannabis which is illegal . He enjoys the company of ghosts and satans. This symbolically means he defies social order. 

Nothing attracts him; nothing repels him yet he is the destroyer. How?

He is the destroyer of our ego and leads humankind from mortality to immortality overcoming the source of our fear - Maya.

नागेन्द्रहाराय त्रिलोचनाय भस्माङ्गरागाय महेश्वराय। नित्याय शुद्धाय दिगम्बराय तस्मै नकाराय नम: शिवाय ॥