Sadhguru: Shiva is generally referred to as the ultimate man. He is the symbolism of ultimate masculinity. But you will see in the Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva, one half of him is a fully developed woman.
Let me tell you the story of what happened. Parvati once asked Shiva, “This state that you are in within yourself, I want to experience it too. What should I do? Tell me. I am willing to do any kind of austerity.” Shiva smiled and said, “There is no need for you to do any great austerity. Just come and sit on my lap.”
Parvati came and with absolutely no resistance towards him, sat on his left lap. Since she was so willing, since she had placed herself totally in his hands, he just pulled her in and she became half of him. You need to understand, if he has to accommodate her, he has to shed half of himself. So he shed half of himself and included her. This is the story of Ardhanarishvara.
This is a dialectical way of saying that the masculine and feminine are equally divided within yourself. And when he included her, he became ecstatic. What is being said is that if the inner masculine and feminine meet, you are in a perpetual state of ecstasy. If you try to do it on the outside, it never lasts, and all the troubles that come with that are an ongoing drama.
Essentially, it is not two people longing to meet, it is two dimensions of life longing to meet – outside as well as inside. If you achieve it inside, the outside will happen one hundred percent by choice. If you do not achieve it inside, the outside will be a terrible compulsion. This is the way of life. This is the reality which is being expressed in a beautiful dialectal form.
Clipped from Adiyogi Divya Darshanam
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