Shiva is formless and infinite.

[Guest guest]

Then why is He often depicted with a body and personality?

[Tomasso 0]

His body and form help point to his formlessness and infinity.

 

For instance, the body of Siva is often a blue hue. "Blue" symbolizes infinity -- think of the blue sky.

[Guest guest]

 

Shiva is formless and infinite. Then why is He often depicted with a body and personality?

 

How does one depict formless? Like Islam? Technically, that is the correct way. However traditional Indian religions have chosen to go with finite human forms to symbolize the formless and the infinite. It has some general appeal, at least among Indians, although it creates the risk of causing ire to iconoclasts.

 

Just like zero – Brahmagupta an Indian mathematician is credited with the creation of zero. This is not fully true as the concept of zero was known much earlier inside and outside India. But people were not sure how to deal with the concept. It was nothing – how to put something in the place of nothing? This mode of thinking generally placed a restriction on the development of Zero until Brahmagupta boldly placed a zero and created negative numbers and initiated further development in the area.