The principle of Śiva – śiva-tattva – is extremely complex. The principle of Brahmā is not as complicated, because Lord Brahmā is always a jīva, a finite spirit soul. Sometimes, when there is no qualified jīva, Lord Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa’s expansion) personally takes the post of Brahmā, but that is rare. Lord Śiva is not like that; he is not a finite soul.
After passing through the eight material coverings, and after crossing the Virajā (the river that divides the material world and the spiritual world) and the planet of Lord Brahmā (the highest material planet), one comes to the planet of Śiva. There he is known as Sadāśiva, a manifestation of Lord Viṣṇu.
Śiva-tattva can be understood by the analogy of yogurt and milk. Yogurt is nothing but a transformation of milk. Milk can become yogurt, but yogurt cannot become milk. This analogy is found in Śrī Brahma-Saṁhitā and elucidated in Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī’s commentary: “Just as milk is transformed into yogurt by contact with a transforming agent, Śrī Govinda, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, similarly accepts the form of Śambhu (Śiva) in order to accomplish a specific purpose. The example of yogurt is actually given in order to convey the idea of cause and effect, not the idea of transformation. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is reality and cannot be transformed, so it is not possible for Him to undergo any kind of distortion. A wish-fulfilling gem manifests many things according to one’s desire, yet its constitutional nature remains untransformed.”
Rāmeśvara Mahādeva
When Śrī Rāmacandra was making the bridge to Laṅkā, He established a Śiva-liṅga (deity form of Śiva) called Rāmeśvara. All the common people began glorifying Lord Śiva, shouting, “Rāmeśvara ki jaya! You are Rāma’s iśvara: you are the lord of Rāma.” The demigods were unsatisfied by this and announced through an arial voice, “Rāmas ca asau īśvaraḥ: Rāma is God, and Śaṅkarā is also God; they are the same.” Hearing this, the Śiva-liṅga broke. Lord Śiva emerged from the liṅga and told them all, “You are all foolish; you do not know my tattva, the established truths regarding my identity. Rāma is my beloved and my God, and that is why I am called Rāmeśvara.”Granting Perfect Love
Lord Śiva eternally resides in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s abode, Vṛndāvana, where he manifests many forms to render devotional services to Him. The form of Gopīśvara Mahādeva was manifested by Lord Kṛṣṇa’s desire. When Kṛṣṇa desired to perform His rāsa dance, Śrīmatī Rādhikā, the embodiment of His pleasure potency, manifested from His left side and Gopīśvara Mahādeva manifested from His right side. The form of Śiva who lives in Kāśī or Kailāsa in the material world is a partial manifestation of the original Sadāśiva in Vṛndāvana. The many other commonly worshiped forms of Lord Śiva are expansions of Sadāśiva. They are not the original. Partial expansions such as Pīppaleśvara Mahādeva, Bhūteśvara Mahādeva, Raṅgeśvara Mahādeva and so on cannot award the benediction that can be attained by the mercy of Gopīśvara – the highest perfection of love, namely vraja-prema. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has composed a prayer in his Vraja-vilāsa-stava:mudā gopendrasyatmaja bhuja parisranga nīdhaye sphurad gopirvrndair yam iha bhāgavatam pranayibhih bhajadbhistair bhaktyās vamabhilasitam prāptam acirād yamitire gopīśvaram anudinam taṁ kila bhaje
[I daily worship Gopīśvara Mahādeva, who is situated on the bank of Yamunā. That very Gopīśvara was worshipped with deep devotion by the gopīs, and he quickly fulfilled their desire to attain a supremely precious jewel in the form of the embrace of the son of Nanda Mahārāja [Kṛṣṇa].] Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, the great Vaiṣṇava saint who resided in Vṛndāvana near the old Śrī Madana-Mohana temple, would go daily to see Śrī Gopīśvara Mahādeva at his temple. Once, in his older years, Sanātana Gosvāmī had a dream wherein Gopīśvara Mahādeva appeared and instructed him: “Now that you are old, please do not go through so much trouble to see me.” Sanātana Gosvāmī replied, “I will continue to come. I cannot change this habit.” Gopīśvara Mahādeva said, “Then I will come and stay very near to your residence, manifesting in Bankhandī.” The very next day, Śrī Gopīśvara Mahādeva appeared in Bankhandī, halfway between his orginal temple and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī’s residence. Seeing this, Sanātana Gosvāmī became overwhelmed with transcendental ecstasy, and from that day on he visited Bankhandī Mahādeva every day. Wherever he was, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī could not live without his beloved Lord Śiva – Gopīśvara Mahādeva and Bankhandī Mahādeva in Vṛndāvana, and Kāmeśvara Mahādeva in Kāmyavana forest. In Govardhana he would stay near his very dear friend, Cakreśvara Mahādeva, who acquired the name when he served Govardhana Hill and the Vrajavāsīs by holding up his trident like a cakra, protecting them from the torrential deluge sent by King Indra. Prior to this, Lord Śiva had asked Śrī Kṛṣṇa for the boon to witness His childhood pastimes. Kṛṣṇa ordered him to situate himself in Nandagaon in the form of a hill. Śiva followed this order and became Nandīśvara Hill, and he thus became known as Nandīśvara. (Lord Brahmā became Brahma-parvata, the mountain in Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s birthplace, Varṣāṇā. Because Brahmā is so near to Rādhikā, he is also our Gurudeva.) We honor Lord Śiva as a great Vaiṣṇava and as Guru. We do not worship him separately. We observe Śiva-ratri, Lord Śiva’s appearance day, and we glorify him in connection to his relationship with Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī has written in his Hari-bhakti-vilāsa that all Vaiṣṇavas should observe Śiva-caturdaśī (Śiva-ratri). Lord Śiva, in whom all good qualities reside, should certainly be honored by the observance of this day. We offer obeisance to Lord Śiva with prayers like this:vṛndāvanāvani-pate! jaya soma soma-maule sanaka-sanandana-sanātana-nāradeḍya gopīśvara! vraja-vilāsi-yugāṅghri-padme prema prayaccha nirupādhi namo namas te
Saṅkalpa-kalpadruma 103
[O Gatekeeper of Vṛndāvana! O Soma, all glories to you! O you whose forehead is decorated with the moon, and who is worshipable by the sages headed by Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanātana and Nārada! O Gopīśvara! Desiring that you bestow upon me prema for the lotus feet of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, who perform joyous pastimes in Vraja-dhāma, I offer obeisances unto you time and again] [Excerpted from the Gaudiya Vedanta Publications “Śiva-tattva“]