Once Shiva was engrossed in deep meditation in the Himalayas. His consort, Parvati was in a playful mood in company of her friends and maidens. In the course of her playfulness she happened to put her hands on Shiva’s eyes.
As a result of this act, darkness filled the entire Universe. A sudden chaos took over the cosmos. The Gods of the universe found themselves helpless and unable to restore the balance back in the world. Then a burning light sprang from the centre of Shiva’s eyebrows. The darkness vanished and the cosmic balance was restored. However, in the heat of the light everything within it’s range was burnt. Even the Himalayas burnt down. Parvati, Lord Shiva’s wife was the daughter of Himavat – King of the Himalayas. She was full of sorrow and distress at the outcome of her playfulness.
Parvati said, ‘O Lord Shiva! I am truly sorry for what I have done. My actions have led to a lot of damage. I beg you for your forgiveness. Please could you restore everything back to the way it was?’ Realizing Parvati’s pain, Shiva restored Himalaya’s greenery.
Shiva then said, ‘Parvati! I can never shut my eyes completely. It will destroy the balance in the cosmos and the universe too. Because you playfully closed my two eyes, I had to open my third eye just to maintain the balance in the Universe. This is why my eyes are always partly open.’
The third eye symbolizes that which is not physical. It means the ‘Eye of Knowledge’ or ‘Gyaan’. The power of reason is the Third Eye. The Third Eye, is to look inward – your intrinsic nature or your existence or something which is not materialistic.
