If someone worships Lord Shiva wholeheartedly, how can I tell him/ her to chant the Holy names of Lord Krishna to get out of the entangled maya to actually go back to GOD

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Shubham July 15, 2013 at 1:01pm

Hari Bol Prabhu ji!

Jai Acharyas

Jai Vaishnavas

Jai Nitai Gauarhari

Hari Bol

If that person is worshipping Lord Siva as devotee of lord, let him/her do that. But if he/she is worshipping independently, it depends on his/her humility and acceptance of truth. If they are very tamasic, leave them. But if they believe in sciptures, slowly tell them the truth of Lord Krsna's supremacy. But don't expect that they may convert or hearts may purify.

What is the nature of the worshipers of different devas (gods)?

When the mode of goodness is mixed with the mode of passion, one worships the sun-god, Vivasvan. When the mode of goodness is mixed with the mode of ignorance, one worships Ganapati, or Ganesa. When the mode of passion is mixed with the mode of ignorance, one worships Durga, or Kali, the external potency. When one is simply in the mode of ignorance, one becomes a devotee of Lord Siva because Lord Siva is the predominating deity of the mode of ignorance within this material world. However, when one is completely free from the influence of all the modes of material nature, one becomes a pure Vaisnava on the devotional platform. (CC Madhya 24.330 p.)

Chapter 7. Knowledge of the Absolute
TEXT 21

yo yo yam yam tanum bhaktah
sraddhayarcitum icchati
tasya tasyacalam sraddham
tam eva vidadhamy aham

SYNONYMS

yah--that; yah--that; yam--which; yam--which; tanum--form of the demigods; bhaktah--devotee; sraddhaya--with faith; arcitum--to worship; icchati--desires; tasya--of that; tasya--of that; acalam--steady; sraddham--faith; tam--him; eva--surely; vidadhami--give; aham--I.

TRANSLATION

I am in everyone's heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship the demigods, I make his faith steady so that he can devote himself to some particular deity.

PURPORT

God has given independence to everyone; therefore, if a person desires to have material enjoyment and wants very sincerely to have such facilities from the material demigods, the Supreme Lord, as Supersoul in everyone's heart, understands and gives facilities to such persons. As the supreme father of all living entities, He does not interfere with their independence, but gives all facilities so that they can fulfill their material desires. Some may ask why the all-powerful God gives facilities to the living entities for enjoying this material world and so lets them fall into the trap of the illusory energy. The answer is that if the Supreme Lord as Supersoul does not give such facilities, then there is no meaning to independence. Therefore He gives everyone full independence--whatever one likes--but His ultimate instruction we find in the Bhagavad-gita: man should give up all other engagements and fully surrender unto Him. That will make man happy.
Both the living entity and the demigods are subordinate to the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore the living entity cannot worship the demigod by his own desire, nor can the demigod bestow any benediction without the supreme will. As it is said, not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Generally, persons who are distressed in the material world go to the demigods, as they are advised in the Vedic literature. A person wanting some particular thing may worship such and such a demigod. For example, a diseased person is recommended to worship the sun-god; a person wanting education may worship the goddess of learning, Sarasvati; and a person wanting a beautiful wife may worship the goddess Uma, the wife of Lord Siva. In this way there are recommendations in the sastras (Vedic scriptures) for different modes of worship of different demigods. And because a particular living entity wants to enjoy a particular material facility, the Lord inspires him with a strong desire to achieve that benediction from that particular demigod, and so he successfully receives the benediction. The particular mode of the devotional attitude of the living entity toward a particular type of demigod is also arranged by the Supreme Lord. The demigods cannot infuse the living entities with such an affinity, but because He is the Supreme Lord or the Supersoul who is present in the heart of all living entities, Krsna gives impetus to man to worship certain demigods. The demigods are actually different parts of the universal body of the Supreme Lord; therefore they have no independence. In the Vedic literature (Taittiriya Upanisad, First Anuvaka) it is stated: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead as Supersoul is also present within the heart of the demigod; therefore He arranges through the demigod to fulfill the desire of the living entity. But both the demigod and the living entity are dependent on the supreme will. They are not independent."

Chapter 15. The Yoga of the Supreme Person
TEXT 15

sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto
mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham

SYNONYMS

sarvasya--of all living beings; ca--and; aham--I; hrdi--in the heart; sannivistah--being situated; mattah--from Me; smrtih--remembrance; jnanam--knowledge; apohanam ca--and forgetfulness; vedaih--by the Vedas; ca--also; sarvaih--all; aham--I am; eva--certainly; vedyah--knowable; vedanta-krt--the compiler of the Vedanta; veda-vit--the knower of the Vedas; eva--certainly; ca--and; aham--I.

TRANSLATION

I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas I am to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.

So, We can't force them. Lord is in everyone's heart and as long as conditioned souls desire something else, it is fulfilled.

HARI BOL
Shubham July 15, 2013 at 12:53pm

Lord Siva in Vraja, Mathura and Navadvipa (Mayapura)

Four ancient murtis of Lord Siva residing at Mathura are known as dik-palas, protectors of directions. They stay in Mathura to protect the dhama. Bhutesvar Mahadev is the protector of western side of Mathura. Pippalesvar Mahadev resides near Vishram ghat on the bank of Yamuna. He guards the eastern side of Mathura. Rangesvar Mahadev is the protector of the southern side, and Gokarnesvar Mahadev is he guardian of the northern side of the city.

Vrindavan

Gopesvar (Gopisvar) Mahadev is one of the most prominent deities in the Gaudiya-sampradaya and is mentioned in many Gaudiya writings. He is the very ancient protector of Sri Vrindavan Dham. It is said one cannot enter Vrindavan dham without his permission.

Nandisvar Mahadev

Nanda Maharaja's palace at Nandagaon is resting on top of the hill called Nandisvar Parvat. This hill is the incarnation of Lord Siva.

Bankhandi Mahadev

Bankhandi Mahadev is situated in the old part of Vrindavan at the junction of Banke Bihari Bazaar Road and Bankhandi Mahadeva Bazaar Road. Ban-khandi means "forest dweller".

Mayapura

Antardvip

The central zone of Navadvip dham is Antardvip, the island where Sri Caitanaya Mahaprabhu appeared. The center of Antardvip is Yoga pitha, the actual place of Mahaprabhu's appearance. Lord Siva resides eternally at this place as the Siva linga known as Ksetrapal Mahadev, and renders his eternal service of protecting the dhama. Ksetrapal Mahadev has been in Mayapur since the time of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Rudradvip

Rudradvip is just west of Antardvip. Thakur Bhaktivinod writes in Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya that as Nila Lohita, Lord Siva, constantly relishes Gaura kirtana in Rudradvip along with his associates, the eleven Rudras. As they are all intoxicated from chanting the different names of Lord Gauranga, they dance in great jubilation.

Simantadvip

Srila Narahari Cakravarti Thakur has described Simantadvip in his Bhakti Ratnakara as the place where Parvati devi performed austerities and received darshan and blessing of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. She put Mahaprabhu's red foot-dust on her simanta, the parting in her hair. Since then the island has been named as Simantadvip and it became the residence of Lord Siva and Parvati.

Godrumadvip

Thakur Bhaktivinod describes the island of Godrumadvip and deity of Hari-Hara. The Hari-Hara deity is a combined form of Lord Visnu and Lord Siva. Lord Visnu created this half black (Lord Visnu) and half white (Lord Siva) deity to show how dear and inseparable Lord Siva is to him.

Madhyadvip

When Lord Siva heard that Suta Gosvami was about to speak on the pastimes of Lord Caitanya here, he could not tolerate missing even one word. His anxiety to reach here in time was so intense that he even abandoned his normal carrier, the bull Nandi, and took up Lord Brahma's much faster hamsa (swan) carrier. The Hamsa Vahan temple houses the deity of Hamsa Vahan Siva but only three days a year. The rest of the year the murti is submerged in the nearby lake to cool him down.

These pastimes reveal how Lord Siva is absorded in relishing the nectar of Gaura-prema.

srimad gopisvaram vande sankaram karuna mayam
sarva klesa haram devam vrindaranya rati pradam

"I offer my respectful obeisances to Gopisvara, who is Lord Siva himself. He is very merciful, removes all troubles, and grants spiritual love in Vrindavan." (Bhakti Ratnakara 5.3741)
Shubham July 15, 2013 at 12:52pm

Should devotees of Krishna discourage others from worshiping Lord Siva?

Devotee: Srila Prabhupada, in Winnipeg there is one very pious east Indian man who for many years has been worshiping somewhat, worshiping Lord Siva. And his wife is also a very quite chaste woman and sincere follower — and so were her parents — of Lord Siva. And he is reading your Bhagavad-gita. He visits our temple. And I have given him the first volume of Canto Four which discusses Lord Siva a great deal. And he has read in one of your purports that Krsna is more pleased when you worship His devotee than when you worship Him directly. And Lord Siva is a very great devotee of Krsna. So he has now interpreted that to mean that if he worships Lord Siva so nicely, then actually he is pleasing Krsna more. So he is experiencing some difficulty because of this and I'm not quite sure how to instruct him that actually... Prabhupada: Difficulty? Brahmananda: That... Our Godbrother has difficulty in replying to this interpretation that Krsna says, "You can please Me by worshiping My devotee," and Lord Siva is the devotee of Krsna. So therefore this man says, "Then I shall worship Lord Siva. In that way I shall please Krsna." Prabhupada: But if he accepts Lord Siva is devotee of Krsna, then by worshiping Lord Siva he will be benefited. If he thinks Lord Siva is independent, then he will not be benefited. Devotee (3): I've got him to accept that Lord Siva is devotee of Krsna, but there's no practical instruction in his worldly activities coming. Prabhupada: No, vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh: "Amongst the Vaisnavas, Sambhu, Lord Siva, is the greatest Vaisnava." So we worship Lord Siva as Vaisnava. He gives respect to Vaisnavas. So why not Lord Siva? Lord Siva is a big Vaisnava. But generally, the devotees of Lord Siva, they take Lord Siva is independent God. That is offensive. If you know that Lord Siva is also a devotee, you can give more respect to Lord Siva. Krsna will be pleased. Devotee (3): Srila Prabhupada, he does not chant Hare Krsna, he chants om sivaya namah. Prabhupada: That's all right. Devotee (3): It's all right? Prabhupada: He will gradually become devotee. When God, Lord Siva, will be pleased upon him, he will advise to worship. Devotee (3): He is already trying to tell him to follow in your footsteps surely, so just before I left he said he will try once again to chant sixteen rounds of japa, Hare Krsna. He has tried already. He has a taste for... Prabhupada: If he simply understands that Lord Siva is a Vaisnava and if he worships Lord Siva, then he will get the benefit. (room conversation, Chicago, July 9, 1975)

What is the relationship between Lord Siva and ghosts?

"Lord Siva, the king of the ghosts, sitting on the back of his bull carrier, travels at this time, accompanied by ghosts who follow him for their welfare."

Purport:
Lord Siva, or Rudra, is the king of the ghosts. Ghostly characters worship Lord Siva to be gradually guided toward a path of self-realization. Mayavadi philosophers are mostly worshipers of Lord Siva, and Sripada sankaracarya is considered to be the incarnation of Lord Siva for preaching godlessness to the Mayavadi philosophers. Ghosts are bereft of a physical body because of their grievously sinful acts, such as suicide. The last resort of the ghostly characters in human society is to take shelter of suicide, either material or spiritual. Material suicide causes loss of the physical body, and spiritual suicide causes loss of the individual identity. Mayavadi philosophers desire to lose their individuality and merge into the impersonal spiritual brahmajyoti existence. Lord Siva, being very kind to the ghosts, sees that although they are condemned, they get physical bodies. He places them into the wombs of women who indulge in sexual intercourse regardless of the restrictions on time and circumstance. (SB 3.14.24, p.)