THE GREAT NIGHT OF SHIVA

Mahashivaratri is a significant sacred Festival in India. It celebrates the grace of Shiva, who is considered the Adi Guru - the First Guru from whom the Yogic tradition originates. This day falls in the month of Phalguna as per the North Indian Hindu calendar and in Magha according to the South Indian Hindu calendar. Unlike most Hindu festivals which are celebrated during the day, the Mahashivaratri is a ‘Celebration of the Night’. Instead of the usual cultural revelry, this is a solemn occasion for awakening and self-realisation. It is notable for its introspective focus, fasting, meditation, self-analysis, social harmony and an allnight vigil at Shiva temples. The planetary position on this night, which is also the darkest night of the year, since it’s the night before the new moon, is such that there is a powerful natural upsurge of energy in the human system. It is auspicious and enormously beneficial for one’s physical and spiritual well-being to stay awake and aware in a vertical posture throughout the night.

This year, 2023, Mahashivaratri is being celebrated today, February 18. It’s a festival of “overcoming darkness and ignorance” in self and beyond. This night, dedicated to Lord Shiva, brings peace, positivity and serenity into the lives of devotees. Different legends describe the significance of this Ratri. For some, it is the night when Shiva performed the Tandav Nritya, the heavenly dance of creation, preservation and destruction. Others believe it to be the night of the Union of Shiva and Shakti. The tantrics believe it to be the day of ‘Jwala-Linga’- the appearance of cosmic energy through a Linga of Flame. Another legend believes that on this day, in order to save mankind, Shiva gulped the Halahala produced during the Samundra Manthan and held it in his neck, giving him the name ‘Neelkanth’. It’s the day HE merged with Kailash Parvat. He stood perfectly still like a mountain. Hence, Mahashivratri is also called the ‘Night of Stillness’. Shiva is the universal consciousness that permeates everything. He exists in the three states of Nirgun-formless; Sagunpresent everywhere; and Nirgun-Sagun as the Shivlinga.

Shiva is all-encompassing in nature. He embodies contradictory qualities that defy explanation. If we can embrace Shiva, we open ourselves to the potential of embracing life itself in all its dimensions. In the vast scape of existence, the majority of creation lies beyond our limited perception and knowledge. This limitless expanse of ignorance “No-thing”- is referred to as Shiva. Only by exploring our ignorance, we open ourselves to the birth of knowledge. Each individual has to seek the truth within his own self. Our five senses give a limited perception of our experience. Only when we strive beyond, do we see “that which is not”? That nothingness is Shiva.

Shiva resides in the Sahasrara Chakra and Shakti in the Muladhara Chakra. Shivathe paternal force, symbolises consciousness, clarity & knowledgethe masculine principle. Shakti symbolises Nature, the feminine principle- the activating power and energysurrounding us with motherly love, warmth, care & protection. When Prakriti and Purush unite in the Sahasrara Chakra, Knowledge, Know’er & The Object of Knowledge become one. We are protected from the turbulent Daihik, Daivik and Bhautik disturbances. It is ‘Shiv Shakti Mahadhyan’.

Adiyogi gives us the possibility to evolve beyond our physical and mental limitations, “Whatever dimension of existence you are in right now, you can go beyond that, there is another way to live. You can evolve if you do the necessary work upon yourself.”

Sadhguru hopes for this Mahashivaratri to “not just be a night of wakefulness, but to also become a night of intense aliveness and awareness”. I hope all of you ride this upsurge and know the beauty and ecstasy of what it means when we say SHIVA.