He is the One who existed even before the world began.
He is the One who has been prayed to, even when He was unseen.
And ever since the very first time He chose to make His presence known, Shiva
has been loved by millions.
Records about Him from ancient folklore are very interesting;
He is the perfection of opposites:
Supreme spiritual Guru, but warrior Chieftain,
Ascetic, but perfect husband,
Mendicant, but householder,
Meditative, but intoxicated,
Master of yogic stillness, but King of dance;
Shiva is the fountainhead where paradox reconciles.
In the Hindu pantheon of Gods, He is called the destroyer,
And yet, known by the beautiful symbol of creation, the Shivlinga.
Shiva is a storyteller’s delight.
But because Shiva is hugely paradoxical, it comes as no surprise that, much as
He is loved by the masses, there have been times when He has actually been
maligned in some circles.This may have been by the design of a select few, as
had happened at the instance of His own father-in-law, Daksha. Or then, it may
simply be because of ignorance—a lack of knowing Shiva’s esoterics. Ignorance
is not always bliss; ignorance mostly leads to a fear, which then makes up its
own stories.
I believed it was important that Shiva’s endearing mythology, as well as His
scintillating spirituality, both needed to be known.
The twin wings that make the truly ethereal flight He eternally embarks upon. It
became my call to write a book that gives equal emphasis to Shiva’s story and
reveals the fabulous mystic that He is, and indeed, has always been