Sarvam Sivamayam

"SARVAM SIVAMAYAM
GURUBAKTHAMANI T.H. IYER
Worship of the Lord in one way or the other is an essentialingredient of life. The trimurthis Brahma, Vishnu and Siva are part ofthe Unity-the concept of the united three Gods. No God is superior tothe other one as they represent OM, the Infinity. SIVAM depictspeace, tranquility and joy.
The roopa and aroopa worship are the two concepts of Sanatana Dharma.The ROOPA worship embraces the Karma and Bakthi aspects of human life.The AROOPA worship embraces the Jnana Marga-the path of knowledge.
Karma Marga (the path of Karma) means living the life in a totallysincere and honest manner with full dedication to God. If karma (duty)is performed in the spirit of total surrender to God leaving thefruits of action to HIM, then it leads one to realize the SELF (AtmaAnubhava) which is the same as God realization or self realization.
The body is the vehicle and the Atma is manifestation of God.Divinity shines in everyone of us (men or women or children) and bypractising pure love and seeing God in everyone leads us to peace andtranquility. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
The Bhakthi Marga (path of devotion and worship) is relativelysimpler and by regular practice of unstinted devotion –uttering thepowerful Mantras, Meditation (to observe the inner self)- theoscillation and distortion of the mind which engages itself with theexperiences of the outer world can be stilled and this will in turngive the power to look within. By incessant worship of any form ofGod the balance of mind is achieved which enhances the Atma Sakthiwhich is purely a reflection of Divinity.
For Roopa Worship of the Gods rituals have been prescribed by theRishis. This needs an one pointed approach which will enable one tosee and experience the DIVINE FORCE – examples are BhagawanRamakrishna Paramahamsa, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Bhaktha Meeraetc., for the worship of God. By following the rituals, the easiestGod form to worship is LORD SIVA who demands the least as he can bepleased by pouring plenty of water on the Linga - He is Abhishekapriya(fond of Abhishekam). Lord Siva is personified in his mood of tapasand meditation. This is to highlight the importance of silence andmeditation. By leading a pure satvic life filled with mutual love andrespect for others we can progress step by step in our spiritual path.SIVA and SAKTHI are to be seen in union representing SIVASAKTHI. TheLord will shower His grace on us."