Very Large carved and painted Nandi
Rajastan, India.
circa 1900
Nandikeshwara , Nandideva
20”tall x 20” long x 9.5 deep
25lbs
Carved Wood , Earth Paint.
Nandi, which means “giving delight” or “giving joy,” is the sacred bull of the Hindu god Shiva.
Sacred animals serve as vahanas, or mounts for Hindu deities to travel on. Vahanas symbolize or complement the energy or character of their deity.
Nandi is believed to promote fertility; passing temple visitors may touch the image’s genitals for a blessing. Nandi sculptures are often decorated with fresh flowers and given other offerings.
" Nandi is a symbolism of eternal waiting, because waiting is considered the greatest virtue in Indian culture. One who knows how to simply sit and wait is naturally meditative. He is not expecting Shiva to come out tomorrow. He will wait forever. That quality is the essence of receptivity...
Nandi is Shiva’s closest accomplice because he is the essence of receptivity. Before you go into a temple, you must have the quality of Nandi – to simply sit. You are not trying to go to heaven, you are not trying to get this or that – you go inside and simply sit. So, just by sitting here, he is telling you, “When you go in, don’t do your fanciful things. Don’t ask for this or that. Just go and sit like me... That’s meditation – just sitting. That’s his message for you. Simply go inside and sit. Alert, not sleepy...
People have always misunderstood meditation as some kind of activity. No, it is a quality. That is a fundamental difference. Prayer means you are trying to talk to God. You are trying to tell him your vows, your expectations, or whatever else. Meditation means you are willing to just listen to existence, to the ultimate nature of creation. You have nothing to say, you simply listen. That is the quality of Nandi – he just sits, alert. This is very important: he is alert. He is not sleepy or sitting in a passive way. He is sitting very active, full of alertness and life, but no expectation or anticipation. That is meditation. Just waiting, not for anything in particular.
If you just wait without doing your own thing, the existence will do its thing. Meditation essentially means the individual person is not doing his own thing. He is just there. Once you are simply there, you become aware of the larger dimension of the existence, which is always in action. You become aware that you are a part of it. Even now, you are a part of it. But becoming aware that “I am a part of it” is meditativeness. Nandi is the symbolism of that. He reminds everyone, “You must sit like me.”
~Sadhguru
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