By Śrīla Bhakti Vilāsa Bhāratī Gosvāmī Mahārāja
“nimnaganāṁ yathā gaṅgā devānāmacyuto yathā।
vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ purāṇānāmidaṁ tathā॥” (Bhāg. 12.13.16)
“Just as among all rivers, the Gaṅgā is the holiest, just as among all gods, Acyuta (Śrī Viṣṇu) is the Supreme, just as among all Vaiṣṇavas, Śambhu (Śiva) is the greatest, so too, among all Purāṇas, this (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam) is the greatest.”
“nāsti gaṅgāsamaṁ tīrthaṁ na ca kṛṣṇāt paraḥ smṛtaḥ।
na śaṅkarādvaiṣṇavaśca sahiṣṇurdharāparā॥” (Brahmavaivarta, Brahma, 11.16)
“There is no holy place equal to the Gaṅgā; there is none superior to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. There is no greater Vaiṣṇava than Śaṅkara (Śiva), and none more tolerant than Mother Earth.”
Śiva, Sadāśiva, Śambhu, Śaṅkara, Rudra, Mahādeva, Bhuvaneśvara, Trilocana, Pañcānana, Pinākī, Himāṁśuśekhara, Tripurāri, Paśupati, Rāmeśvara, Īśāna, Virūpākṣa, Kīrtivāsa—these are but a few of His many exalted names. The very word Śiva signifies maṅgala, auspiciousness—He who embodies all that is auspicious, in whom inauspiciousness can find no shelter. Though He is renowned by countless names, among all manifestations of Śiva, it is Sadāśiva who is the original source. Śrī Śambhu is the crown-jewel of all Vaiṣṇavas, being counted among the guṇāvatāras of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself.
In one kalpa, He manifests from the forehead of Brahmā; in another, from the forehead of Śrī Viṣṇu. At the kalpānta (end of a cosmic cycle), He emerges from Saṅkarṣaṇa in the terrifying form of Kālāgni-Rudra.
His divine play unfolds in two distinct manifestations:
Svāṁśa-rūpa—His personal plenary expansions, belonging to the category of Īśvara (Supreme Controllers).
Vibhinnāṁśa-rūpa —His secondary expansions, belonging to the category of jīva .
In His Svāṁśa aspect, He eternally resides in Vaikuṇṭha and Śivaloka as the devoted servitor of Bhagavān. In this divine and eternal form, He is known as Sadāśiva.
In His Vibhinnāṁśa aspect, He appears within the brahmāṇḍa (material universe), dwelling in Kailāsa and Kāśīdhāma until the time of cosmic dissolution. In this aspect, He is renowned as Śiva, the tamo-guṇa-empowered annihilator.Thus, in this latter form, He is counted among the jīvas. Yet, at the time of the Mahāpralaya (great cosmic dissolution), this jīva-rūpa of His unmanifest back into transcendence.
When the great sage Durvāsā, scorched by the fiery brilliance of the Sudarśana Cakra, stood trembling, it was none other than Bhagavān Śiva who revealed this profound truth to him—
“This universe, and countless crores of such universes, emerge in the course of time from the Supreme Cause, Śrī Viṣṇu, and in the end, they all dissolve back into Him.”
Even Brahmā himself has proclaimed—
“I, Bhava (Śiva), Dakṣa, Bhṛgu, and all the Prajāpatis, as well as the lords of beings and the rulers of the celestials—we are all governed by Him alone. Accepting His divine command upon our heads, we carry out His will for the span of two parārdhas (the lifespan of Brahmā). And when the appointed time is fulfilled, with but a mere flick of His brow, this entire cosmos, along with ourselves, shall be no more, absorbed into His infinite being.”* (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)
Shiva-Worship devoid of devotion to the Supreme Lord
Within the cosmos governed by Māyā, the bewildered souls ensnared by the illusory snare of deceit (kaitava-kuhaka) sometimes pursue dharma, artha, and kāma, while at other times, they entangle themselves in the self-destructive desire for mokṣa, proclaiming themselves to be śiva-upāsakas (worshipers of Śiva). Yet, Śiva himself, as the just dispenser of karmic consequences, bestows upon them these inauspicious destinies as the penalty for their bhagavad-vimukhatā—their turning away from the Supreme Lord.
Only those rare souls who, with unfeigned sincerity, seek divine grace regrading their intrinsic, eternal nature (nitya-svarūpa), are granted by Śiva the supreme purpose of existence—śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhakti, the devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. It is unto them alone that he unveils the path to parama-gati, the ultimate transcendence—just as, in times of yore, he showered his boundless grace upon the Pracetas.
Those materialistic souls, devoid of any affinity for Lord Viṣṇu, who worship Śiva merely for worldly desires, may at times attain their coveted rewards. Yet, they never become recipients of his true grace, nor do they escape the devouring jaws of Kāla (Time personified, or Death itself). Figures such as Kālayavana, Rāvaṇa, Bāṇa, Pauṇḍraka, Vṛka, Krauñca, and Andhaka stand as glaring examples of this truth.
Furthermore, those souls who approach the Rudra-manifestation that deludes the demons, the promulgator of the asat-sāstra (false concocted scripture) of Māyāvāda, in pursuit of their own self-annihilation, are met with an inexorable fate—they descend into achid-gati, the dull and lifeless existence akin to that of inert matter, such as immovable stones and trees.
Thus, all of these outcomes are but the inevitable retribution for bhagavad-vimukhatā—the grave transgression of turning away from the Supreme Lord.
Kṛṣṇa-Bhaktas alone are most dear to Śiva
In the sāttvika purāṇas such as the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the nectarous stream of divine kṛṣṇa-kathā flows profusely through the very words of Śiva himself. However, in certain other purāṇas where passages appear to oppose or obstruct devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, such texts have been composed by the will of the Supreme Lord solely to bewilder the demons—serving as but an insurmountable snare of illusion.
In the Padma Purāṇa, the parama-vaiṣṇava Śiva himself declares:
“vedārtha-vad mahā-śāstraṁ māyāvādam avaidikam।
mayāiva vakṣyate devi jagatāṁ nāśa-kāraṇāt॥”
“O Devī! That which is known as Māyāvāda—unauthorized, opposed to the Vedas—shall be propagated by me in the guise of a great śāstra, solely for the purpose of bringing destruction upon the impious.”
Such scriptures nourish tamo-guṇa (the mode of darkness) and are thus categorized as tāmasic-śāstra. Those ignorant souls who, being deluded by such doctrines, deny the *Vaiṣṇavism of Śrī Śaṅkara , the foremost among Vaiṣṇavas, and instead imagine him to be an independent Supreme God, can never receive the true grace of Śiva, nor can they attain the path of auspiciousness (sad-gati). Rather, by committing the grave offense at the lotus feet of Lord Śiva, they are cast into the most terrible misfortune.
The crest jewel of Vaiṣṇavas, Mahādeva (Śiva), derives supreme satisfaction in the service of Śrī Viṣṇu—a joy that he does not experience even to a fraction of a hundredth part in service to himself. He is utterly intoxicated with Hari-prema (divine love for Śrī Hari) and remains perpetually absorbed in the glorification of Hari’s names and attributes. His five mouths are ceaselessly engaged in proclaiming the glories of Śrī Hari. His eternal dwelling is always near the devotees of Hari, and they alone are his dearest companions. Indeed, there is no one more beloved to him than Hari-bhaktas.
Śrī Śiva’s Divine Pronouncement on the Supreme Devotion to Vāsudeva
Śrī Śiva, the crest-jewel of Vaiṣṇavas, himself declared unto the exalted devotees, the Pracetās:
“yaḥ paraṁ rahasaḥ sākṣāt
triguṇāj-jīva-saṁjñitāt।
Bhagavantaṁ Vāsudevaṁ
prapanna sa priyo hi me॥”
“He who surrenders unto the supremely esoteric reality— Bhagavān Vāsudeva, the transcendental master of both Prakṛti and Puruṣa— such a soul alone is truly dear to me.”
Further glorifying the Supreme, Śrī Rudra extols:
“kriyākalāpair idam eva yoginaḥ śraddhānvitāḥ sādhu yajanti siddhayaḥ। bhūtendriyāntaḥkaraṇopalakṣitaṁ vede ca tantre ca ta eva kovidāḥ॥”
“Only those who, with unwavering faith, worship the self-manifest form of Śyāmasundara, the Madana-mohana Deity of Śrī Bhagavān— they alone are recognized as truly enlightened in both the Vedas and the Tantras.” –(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.24.62)
This eternal truth was proclaimed to the world by Śrī Rudra himself, and the same was affirmed by Śrī Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gītā (12.2). The Padma Purāṇa** overflows with the boundless nectar of Śrī Kṛṣṇa-kathā as revealed by Śrī Śiva. Śiva(Hara) is dear to Hari, and Hari is dear to Śiva(Hara), so much so that they are described as one in essence(ekatma). “Mayi te teṣu cāpy aham” (Gītā 9.29) – “Those who reside in Me, I also reside in them.”One who harbors enmity toward Śiva is in opposition to Śrī Hari Himself, and one who opposes Śrī Hari is deprived of Śiva’s grace as well. The Supreme Lord, who is ever affectionate toward His devotees, delights in elevating His devotee above even Himself, regardless of the devotee’s own desires. It is due to this immeasurable love for His devotees that the phrase “Śiva, the Guru of Rāma” became well known. In the highest expressions of divine love, the lover exalts the beloved with the dignity of a Guru, feeling perfect fulfillment therein. Out of pure-hearted devotion, the Lord has honored many by calling them “My Guru.” However, should one become deluded by this and lose sight of the original truth, their destruction is inevitable.
Exalted among the Bhāgavatas, Śiva himself is the very embodiment of absolute detachment from worldly indulgences. In him, there exists not even the slightest trace of tamas (the mode of ignorance), nor any association with it. He merely governs and regulates tamas, yet remains eternally untouched by its influence.
The ignorant, however, in their deluded perceptions, attempt to mold Śiva according to their own mental constructs, adorning him with attributes that are alien to his true essence. Blinded by their outward-facing intellect, they ascribe contradictory, irrelevant, and even grotesque elements to his divine persona—thus exposing their own perverse inclinations and incurring grave offenses in the process.
Hari alone is the supreme beloved of Hare (Śiva)—and thus, whatever is dear to Hari is dear to Śiva as well. His worship and his pleasure can be attained only through offerings that are sanctified in the service of Śrī Hari. Anything apart from this can never bring him joy.Śrī Hari is his very life-breath. Śrī Hari is his wisdom. Śrī Hari is his eternal meditation.Upon his divine lips, adorning his transcendental form, and eternally gracing his sacred being, exists but one supreme ornament—the Holy Names: “Hare Kṛṣṇa Rāma”!