Within Śaivism, Śiva is revered as the Supreme Being, the ultimate reality that underlies and pervades all existence. He is not merely one deity among others, but the all-encompassing divine consciousness that is both transcendent and immanent. As transcendent, he is beyond all attributes, the formless Absolute, pure being-consciousness-bliss. As immanent, he is present as the inner Self of all beings and as the very energy through which the universe manifests and functions. Thus, Śiva is simultaneously the personal Lord who can be worshipped and the impersonal Absolute that is realized inwardly.

Śaiva traditions understand Śiva as the single source of the cosmic processes of creation, preservation, and dissolution, often extending this to a more subtle vision of his activity as the veiling and revealing of true knowledge. In this sense, he is the liberating force that destroys ignorance and illusion, not as a mere act of annihilation but as a transformative power that opens the way to spiritual freedom. The imagery of Śiva as the ascetic yogi on Mount Kailāsa and as the master of yoga and mantra symbolizes this inner role as the supreme teacher and guide. He is frequently portrayed as the ideal yogin, absorbed in meditation, yet also as the cosmic dancer whose dance expresses the rhythm of the universe’s arising and passing away.

In non-dual Śaiva perspectives, the highest insight is that the deepest Self of the devotee is none other than Śiva himself. Liberation is described as a recognition in which the seeker awakens to the identity with this supreme consciousness, discovering that the divine once sought outwardly is the very core of one’s own being. Thus, Śiva is at once the supreme Lord, the ground of the cosmos, and the innermost reality of the seeker, uniting devotion, metaphysics, and spiritual practice in a single, all-embracing vision.