While a garland of flowers or precious pearls and stones adorn the neck of every other deity, it is intriguing to see Lord Shiv wearing the garland of human skulls. The choice of such a garland is not a random one but is significant in many ways. Sadhvi Garima Bharti Ji under the grace of His Holiness Ashutosh Maharaj Ji, founder and head of Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (DJJS), along with a team of preacher disciples of DJJS conveyed the significance of the garland of skulls to a lively audience of Chandigarh, Punjab through the narration of Shiv Katha from 15th to 19th July 2017.
Sadhvi Ji said that once Devi Parvati upon Rishi Narad’s insistence asked Lord Shiv to explain the reason behind him wearing the garland of skulls. Lord Shiv said to Parvati that the skulls were of none other than her. Before being born as Parvati she had taken birth as a human 108 times and the skulls numbering the same were representative of her previous births weaved together in a thread and adorned as such. A bewildered Parvati then questioned that if all the skulls belonged to her, where were his skulls. To this said Shiv, “You are bound in the cycle of birth and death but I am free of such a cycle since I am indestructible.”
Sadhvi Ji then explained that these skulls are not only indicative of the births and deaths of Parvati but of every being knit together with the thread of immortal soul. The skulls are suggestive of those births in which the soul could not achieve its ultimate goal, the goal of attaining the everlasting knowledge. It is THE knowledge that sets the human onto the path of spiritual awakening and at last releases one from the cycle of birth and death. But here one must note that the garland of skulls that Lord Shiv wears remains constant at the count of 108 and never reaches 109. This means that finally Parvati attained her ultimate goal and attained release from the world of mortals.
But how did Devi Parvati attained her ultimate goal? It is mentioned in the Shiv Puran that Parvati attained the knowledge known through the ages as Brahm Gyan from Lord Shiv himself. Once Parvati gained the knowledge through the grace of Lord Shiv, she furthered her journey onto the path of spiritual completion. Parvati being a mortal holds a mirror to all humans showing that we too can attain the final goal of human life, i.e., Brahm Gyan. However, only a truly enlightened spiritual being taken as one’s Master can result in the attainment of Spiritual Goal!
Finally, Sadhvi Ji said that at the present moment DJJS’s revered Master His Holiness Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji is one such spiritual teacher who can awaken the human being and show the path to end the cycle of birth and death. Hence, DJJS welcomes all to take Brahm Gyan from Shri Ashutosh Maharaj Ji and complete their spiritual journey.
