Shiva, the Creative Energy of Transformation

Om, namah Shivaya! In this course we will try to understand the inner meanings behind the functioning and manifestations of the creative energies of transformation in the images and descriptions of Shiva over the centuries. There is a somewhat cliché association of Shiva with destruction and He is often labeled the Destroyer. To be sure, the destruction of an attachment to a given level is necessary for any serious transformation to a new level, but Shiva is constantly engaged in regeneration and transformation. He is the Lord of Theatre, of Dance, of Music, Grammar and of Yoga, the Lingam indicating the intersection of Time and Eternity. We will pay particular attention to the manifestation of Shiva as Ardhanaranarishvara, Half-Man-Half-Woman, calling for a recon­ciliation of the masculine and feminine energies in each searcher, a reconciliation necessary for healing the soul and for right action on the planet.

Faculty

Prof. Ravi Ravindra, is retired Professor of Comparative Religion and Physics from Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, and the author of many papers in Physics, Philosophy and Religion and of several books, including Whispers from the Other Shore, The Yoga of the Christ and Science and the Sacred. He has conducted a number of sessions at the School of the Wisdom in the past.