'The Immortals of Meluha', a novel written by Amish is quite interesting. Its an attempt at portraying Lord Shiva as a warrior who saved a country of righeous people called Meluha from its enemies. What is prompting me to write is a pep talk that Lord Shiva gives the army of Meluha just before they launch an attack on the Chandravanshis, their enemies. Before this pep talk, Shiva had proved his valour and expertise in fighting in many instances and is called 'Mahadev', the lord of the lords, by the kingdom of Meluha. Shiva, during this pep talk is invoking the spirit of all the Meluhan soldiers by giving a new interpretation to the chant 'Har Har Mahadev', which Meluhans say in praise of Lord Shiva. Shiva interprets this as 'HAR HAR Mahadev', meaning every soldier is a 'Mahadev'. This interpretation brings out the valour in every soldier of the Meluhan Army and they eventually win the war, though they were outnumbered by the Chandravanshi army.
This reminds me of the essence of Advaita Vedanta that runs through all the scriptures. Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada said
"Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya
Jeevo Brahmai Na Parah".
The chaitanya that is there in every human is no different from the eternal Brahman.
Shiva's interpretation, though with the intention of arousing the passion of every soldier before the war, is soaked in this very philosophy.
This reminds me of the essence of Advaita Vedanta that runs through all the scriptures. Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada said
"Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya
Jeevo Brahmai Na Parah".
The chaitanya that is there in every human is no different from the eternal Brahman.
Shiva's interpretation, though with the intention of arousing the passion of every soldier before the war, is soaked in this very philosophy.
