God created the universe from the five deities (principles) – Prajapati, Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and Minakshi. These deities possess all the characteristics of God besides their own special features. According to the Shaiva sect Lord Shiva in the nirbij superconscious state (samadhi) is Shiva’s unmanifest form, that is in other words The Supreme God. According to them Shiva in meditation is God and the one dancing or playing a game of dice with Parvati is the Great Illusion (Maya). [Among the VaishnavitesSheshashayi (Vishnu resting on the serpent Shesh as His couch) or Anantashayani Vishnu is Vishnu’s unmanifest form, that is The Supreme God. Their devotee loving Vishnu is God and the one with Lakshmi is the Great Illusion.] The characteristics vary with the form. The features of God are given in ‘Science of Spirituality : Vol. 7 – Supreme God, God, Incarnations and Deities’. The other special features of Shiva are enlisted below.

3.1 Physical features

A. Ganga

Just as the sun is the focal point of the solar system and the soul that of the body, the focal point of divine consciousness (chaitanya) in every object and pure particles (pavitrakas) is ga-aun. The flow from which ga-aun originates is gan (गं) gaha (ग:) – GangaGa-aun flows from Shiva’s head. This itself is called the descent of the Ganga from Shiva’s head.

The cohesion of ga-aun constitutes gans (attendants). According to the science of Yoga, gan represents the eight demigods (ashtavasu) or the eight guardian deities (dikpal) of the eight directions (dishas). The origin of the guardian deities is also ga-aun. The guardian deities comprise of the angles of the directions from which ga-aun flows. One goes towards God and grows through the medium of directions alone. Ganapati is the presiding deity of various ga-aun; hence He is called ‘Ganapati’, the master of pure particles.

Since the river Ganga has a fraction of the principle of the spiritual Ganga no matter however much polluted it becomes, its purity is perpetually retained. Hence if compared to any other water in the world the water from the Ganga is the most pure. This is realised not only by those who can perceive from the subtle dimension but also by scientific researchers. More information on the Ganga is given in ‘Science of Spirituality : Vol. 9B – Shakti (Divine Energy)’.

B. Moon

Shiva adorns the chandra (moon) on His forehead. The words chandramas (चंद्रमस्) – chandrama (चंद्रमा) – chandra have been derived from the three words cha (च), Indra (इंद्र) and [muhu (मु:)] mas (मस्) which mean the state of cohesion. This means blending with something along with Indra. (Indra’s frequencies are superior to those of other deities.) The chandrama has absorbed frequencies from Prajapati, Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and Minakshi and imparts them to others along with Indra. The frequencies arising from Prajapati, Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and Minakshi blend with each other and produce a number of groups of frequencies. Prajapati, Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu and Minakshi are unmanifest (nirgun); but Their frequencies contain the three components (gunas). The point where the three frequencies that is affection (mamata), mercifulness (kshamashilata) and motherly love (vatsalya) originate is referred to as the chandra (moon). Thus one can conclude that chandrama (the moon principle) is that state in which the three attributes of affection, mercifulness and motherly love are present. This is not the moon that we see in the sky. The moon in the sky contains a component of this chandra (moon).