And Shiva said nothing… as he usually did. She attempted to engage him in conversation, as she usually did. One day, Parvati went to visit Shiva, as she usually did. All Parvati knew was that she would go to the ends of the earth to make him smile. She talked about the weather, her family, what it was like growing up in the mountains… Everyday Shiva said nothing, but everyday Parvati went to the mountain. One day, Parvati tried to engage Shiva in conversation. He didn’t notice, but she brought the offerings anyways. She began bringing small offerings of food to the god. Surely, he must be hungry, Parvati thought. In fact, Shiva never even looked her way. She noticed the sad deity go to Mount Kailash day in and day out and sit in silence for hours. Parvati was a princess who lived in the hills where Shiva liked to meditate. After the tragic loss of his beloved Sati, Shiva was deeply, profoundly depressed. All he wanted to do was sit in his cave and meditate. He wouldn’t see anyone, go anywhere, or do anything. Shiva was devasted after her death and went into a very long mourning period. He is the reality that something must end in order for anything new to begin. Shiva is the god of universal destructive force.
Perhaps Parvati is best known as Shiva’s second wife. Indeed, Parvati teaches us the true meaning of yogic living! She teaches us how to live in the physical world while identifying the truth of who we are with the spiritual realm.
