Quote:
Originally posted by UF_PikePC98
I also have a statue of Shiva for those of you who know a little bit about eastern religions. She has 18 arms, 14 of which are spread out behind her like a peacock's feathers.
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shiva is a hindu diety which represent creation, preservation, and destruction and is actually usually referred to as male, though he looks very feminine, because he's both male and female. shiva is also known as the destroyer, but he not only destroys life, he creates it through is dance of life--he's also known as nataraja - the king of the dancers. he also destroys those material ties which would keep us earthbound, hence one of his other names, the liberator. he doesn't "only" have 18 arms, he actually has as many as he needs, whenever he needs them and you can find statues of him with as few as four arms. the ring surrounding most statues of shiva is a ring of flame, representing 'samsara' (reincarnation), the endless cycle of birth and death. life comes as a result of heat (passion) and ends in the fires of destruction. the flames also reference the cleansing properties of fire elevating one past the need for the material and onto a higher level...
sorry i won't ramble on anymore and be a dork, i just know all this from my art history classes, as well as my own reading just because i think that shiva and his depictions are beautiful. most hindu art is. i really enjoyed studying it. the cleveland museum of art has an amazing collection of art from that area, and some beautiful representations of shiva.
somewhat more on topic, one of my close friends mother's a zen buddist and my friend taught me how to meditate when we were freshmen in college... i really enjoyed learning about it...