Lord Siva, values simple worship, and He shows this in many ways. He wears laburnum flowers on His head, and also a garland of laburnum flowers. Usually, women do not use the flowers of the laburnum to adorn their hair. And yet it is laburnum flowers that the Lord chooses to wear. The flower, by being associated with the Lord, is thus sought for worship. He does not expect that we shower him with expensive and difficult to obtain flowers, or offer exotic fruits to him. A simple offering of a bunch of laburnum flowers would be most welcome to Him, said Malayaman, in a discourse.
Bulls were used to plough soil for cultivation, and Lord Siva treats the bull with respect, by giving it the honour of being His mount. His mount-the bull Nandi, is also present in idol form in all Siva temples, facing the sanctum sanctorum, proclaiming to the world the honour shown to him by the Lord. Those who worship in Siva temples, must first pay their respects to Nandi, and then proceed towards the sanctum sanctorum.
When the milky ocean was churned, the Halahala poison came out of the ocean. Lord Siva consumed the poison, in order to save the people of the world. Goddess Parvati stopped the poison from going beyond his throat. As a result Lord Siva’s neck acquired a bluish tint. We, who have bodies that will perish, attach so much importance to our appearance. We fuss over even a small blemish. But the Lord did not care about His neck turning blue.
The Lord also showed the importance that we should give to women. There is no question of superiority of husband or wife in a marriage, and Lord Siva demonstrated this by offering half His body to Goddess, and thereby got the name of Ardhanariswara.
