Shiva, Sanskrit The Auspicious One, or Siva, is one of the main Deities of Hinduism, worshipped as the paramount lord by the Saivite sects of India. Shiva is one of the most complex Gods of India, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities. He is the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger. Shiva was originally known as Rudra, a minor deity addressed only three times in the Rig Veda. He gained importance after absorbing some of the characteristics of an earlier fertility god and became Shiva, part of the trinity, or Trimurti, with Vishnu and Brahma. Why do cataclysmic earth changes happen? Why does God allow suffering to occur? Tidal waves, wars and destruction are part of the purifying process. The same phenomena can be seen as transformation. Lord Shiva, the transformational aspect of the Vedic Trinity, brings rebirth, new beginnings and evolution. God did not create pain. We see the world according to our own tradition and background. What if holocausts happen in order to shatter our limitations? If we change our viewpoint, our attitude will change. Seeing the perfection of God behind all appearances. He is benevolent, not destructive. When we do not use our freedom properly, the process of transformation comes to purify us.