Welham Girls' School

Social psychology states that human behaviour is an outcome of the influence exerted by the characters that surround us. People are not only inspired by real characters, but by fictional ones too. As a fictional character is one whose existence is imaginary, people choose to describe a protagonist from a book as their most inspirational one. But I would like to describe Lord Shiva who is known as “The Destroyer” within the trinity, as per the Hindu belief system.

I am aware that my description of Lord Shiva as a fictional character may arouse a controversy.  But I am of the view that there is no such thing as the absolute truth. I cannot believe in someone’s existence based on a thinking that has been passed on to me by my parents, I need proof. The first mention of Shiva has been in the hymns of the Rigveda however, with time Shiva started being idolized as the most powerful God. His believers mold their entire routine to appease him; it is a ritual amongst the Shaivites to wake up early, perform their morning ablutions, and visit the Shiva temples to pay obeisance. Monday is considered as an auspicious day for Shiva worship hence, it’s a common sight to see devotees (attired in white, his favorite color) who set aside every other priority and queue up outside the temples.

The influence he exerts is such that it has engendered a whole sect of people called the Aghoris, who live in cremation grounds and are entirely devoted to Bhairava, a ferocious manifestation of Lord Shiva. They believe that Shiva is associated with perfection. They aspire to look like him and strictly adhere to his preaching. Shiva worshippers also chant Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, as it is supposed to be the most potent means of appeasing Shiva, the supreme celestial power.

Just like the Harry Potter fans who visit the Harry Potter world, and the Sherlock Holmes lovers who visit his home in London, Shiva devotees go to temples to seek his blessings; to be precise there are 108 temples all over the world to worship him. The theory of Karma as defined by Lord Shiva, has impacted people so strongly that they believe that everything happens for the good therefore, they stop exerting efforts to solve their problems. Thus, the blind faith in Shiva has stunted his devotee’s ambitions.

People of every religion have their own fictional character, some formless and some with form, on whom they pin their faith. I picked one such character, Shiva, as I have seen his influence in my surroundings. All these characters together hold a great deal of power over their believers. There is no precedent of any functional character who has exerted so much authority over the world, as their ‘word’ is believed to be the law and their ‘judgement’ the only right one.

Nandini Jalan

Illustrator- Aatmika Jain

Note: The opinion offered in the article is the writer’s and does not reflect the views of the organistion