Shiva in Meditation - The Stillness at the Center of All Motion (Dhyana Yoga)

Dadi: "Guddu, what do you think is more powerful - doing something or doing nothing?"

Guddu: "Doing something, obviously! You can't achieve anything by doing nothing!"

Dadi: "*smiling mysteriously* Then let me tell you about Lord Shiva, who does nothing at all - and from that nothing, everything emerges."

Guddu: "How can nothing create everything?"

Dadi: "Picture this: Lord Shiva sits on Mount Kailash, eyes closed, body still as a mountain. He's not thinking, not praying, not visualizing anything. He simply... is. He rests in pure awareness, like a mirror that reflects everything but holds nothing."

Guddu: "That sounds boring, Dadi."

Dadi: "*chuckling* The gods thought the same! Once, the universe needed Shiva's help. Demons were attacking, wars were being lost. But Shiva sat in meditation, unreachable. So they sent Kamadeva, the god of love and desire, to wake him up."

Guddu: "What did Kamadeva do?"

Dadi: "He had a bow made of sugarcane and arrows tipped with flowers. Very gently, very carefully, he approached Shiva and shot an arrow meant to awaken longing, passion, desire."

Guddu: "Did it work?"

Dadi: "The arrow flew toward Shiva's heart. And without even opening his regular eyes, Shiva's third eye - the eye of wisdom on his forehead - blazed open. FIRE shot out."

Guddu: "*gasping* What happened to Kamadeva?"

Dadi: "He was burned to ash instantly. The god of desire was destroyed by the power of non-attachment."

Guddu: "That's terrifying!"

Dadi: "But here's the beautiful part. Kamadeva's wife, Rati, begged for her husband back. And Shiva, in his compassion, restored him - but in a formless way. Kamadeva would exist as a force, not a visible god."

Guddu: "So desire still exists, just... invisibly?"

Dadi: "Exactly, beta. Meditation doesn't permanently destroy the world's temptations. It sees them clearly, removes their power to control you, but lets them continue in their proper place. Shiva still loves Parvati, still engages with the universe. But he is never caught by it."

Guddu: "What does Shiva actually DO in meditation?"

Dadi: "*leaning in* Absolutely nothing."

Guddu: "Nothing? No mantras? No techniques?"

Dadi: "He simply rests as what he is: pure consciousness. He's the witness of everything, untouched by what he witnesses. Like how the sky is full of clouds - moving, changing, sometimes stormy - but the sky itself remains always still."

Guddu: "So he watches his thoughts but doesn't follow them?"

Dadi: "You understand! When people try to meditate, they often get frustrated. 'I can't stop thinking! My meditation is failing!' But Shiva's teaching would be: 'Who notices the thoughts? Who knows that thinking is happening? That noticing, that knowing - THAT is already the stillness you seek.'"

Guddu: "You mean... the part of me that watches my thoughts IS the meditation?"

Dadi: "Yes, beta! You're not the thoughts. You're the awareness in which thoughts appear and disappear. Like waves on the ocean - they rise and fall, but the deep ocean remains calm."

Guddu: "But if Shiva does nothing, how does everything come from him?"

Dadi: "Have you seen a still pond? When it's perfectly calm, everything reflects clearly in it. Mountains, trees, sky. But if the pond is disturbed, the reflections break and blur. Shiva's stillness is like that perfect pond - creation reflects in him because he doesn't disturb the reflection."

Guddu: "So activity comes from stillness?"

Dadi: "The sages say that all activity arises from stillness and returns to it. Think about it - before every action, there's a moment of stillness. Before you throw a ball, your hand is still. Before you speak, there's silence. The deepest doing is actually non-doing."

Guddu: "Dadi, can I try to meditate like Shiva?"

Dadi: "You can touch that same stillness right now. Close your eyes. Notice your thoughts floating by. Don't try to stop them - just watch them. Now ask: who is watching?"

Guddu: "*closing eyes for a moment* It feels like... nothing. But a nice nothing."

Dadi: "*smiling* That 'nice nothing' is what Shiva sits in for eternity. You just visited Mount Kailash, beta."

Guddu: "*opening eyes* Really?!"

Dadi: "Every meditator who closes their eyes touches that same stillness. It's not somewhere far away. It's the stillness at the center of your own being, always present, always peaceful."

Guddu: "Even when I'm busy and stressed?"

Dadi: "Even then. The stillness doesn't go away - you just forget it's there. Like how the sky doesn't disappear when clouds cover it. The clouds pass, and there it is again. Your thoughts and feelings are clouds. You are the sky."

Guddu: "I want to remember that when I'm stressed at school."

Dadi: "Close your eyes for even a few breaths. Find the watcher. That's where peace lives - not in solving all problems, but in knowing you are bigger than all problems. Now sleep, and let your mind grow still like Shiva's."

Guddu: "*yawning* Goodnight, Dadi. I'm going to practice watching my thoughts."

Dadi: "And they will thank you for watching instead of chasing. Sweet dreams, my little yogi."