Mahashivratri: A Night of Awakening

AGRITA CHHIBBER

Maha Shivaratri, which can be translated as “The Great Night of Shiva,” is a celebration honoring Lord Shiva.

It is a night of transcendental divine consciousness that gives relief from all sorts of self-doubts and awakens the self towards love, beauty and purity. All of us are propelled by an energy that is strange and unknowable. It still hasn’t been given a name by scientists. But this unidentified energy has been dubbed Shiva by ancient saints.

Shiva is the spirit said to give life to all living things. Shiva makes it possible for us to breathe, eat, walk, and go about our daily lives. This energy not only powers living things but also exists as the energy of inanimate objects. Shiva is the force behind existence.

All-day worship rituals are held on this great night although the main pujas occur four times a night or once in the evening. For devotees, the festival represents several significant occasions.

Shivaratri honors the night that Lord Shiva wed his spouse, Parvati. It is therefore an event that married couples especially celebrate. This evening marked the debut of the “Anandatandava,” the Dance of Bliss, performed by Lord Shiva in the guise of Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance. This dance illustrates how each soul’s experience of daily existence is cyclical, reflecting the cyclical nature of the cosmos.

In accordance with the Linga Purana, Shiva manifested Himself on this day as the Lingam, an endless column of light that symbolises His boundless existence. Swami Chinmayananda associated Shivaratri with “moments of pure infinite subjective experience,” most likely alluding to the Shivalingam. He also suggested that worshipping Shiva on this day could help one reach a level of transcended perception.

Shivratri is a festival observed on the fourteenth day of each lunar month or the day preceding the new moon. Mahashivratri, the twelve Shivratris that fall inside a calendar year, is most significant spiritually when it falls in February or March.

The planet’s northern hemisphere is positioned on this particular night so that people naturally experience an increase in energy. Nature is urging people to reach their spiritual zenith on this particular day.

We created a particular celebration that lasts all night in order to take advantage of this tradition. In order for this organic surge of energy to find its path, one of the essential elements of this 24-hour celebration is making sure that you stay awake with your spine vertical throughout the night.

Mahashivratri is the day to honor and celebrate the divine energy of Lord Shiva, make sure youhonor life and celebrate existence. Most people spend the day of Mahashivratri in prayer, meditation and dancing.

Here is a list of practices that you must do on Mahashivratri:

Fasting
Meditate
Chant Om Namah Shivaya
Attend Mahashivratri Puja or Rudra Puja
Worship the Shivalinga

Mahashivratri’s Relevance:
Mahashivratri is a very important occasion for spiritual seekers. It is also very important for those who are ambitious in the world and for those who are in family issues. Family-oriented people celebrate Mahashivratri as the anniversary of Shiva’s marriage. For those with materialistic goals, that day marks the victory of Shiva over all his adversaries.

For the ascetics, however, it marks the day he merged with Mount Kailash. He became motionless, just like a mountain. Shiva is regarded as the Adi Guru, the first Guru from whom the science of Yoga arose, rather than as a god in the yoga tradition.

One day, after meditating for many millennia, he fell motionless. Mahashivratri falls on that day. Ascetics refer to Mahashivratri as the night of stillness because all movement within him ceased and he remained completely motionless.

Spiritual Importance of Mahashivratri

Aside from the legends, the reason this day and night are so significant in the yogic traditions is because of the opportunities it offers those who are seeking spiritual guidance. After countless stages of development, modern science is now trying to convince you that everything you know about life, matter, and existence—including the universe and galaxies—is actually just one energy that takes on countless forms.

Every yogi experiences this scientific fact on an experienced level. A person who has come to see the unity of existence is referred to as a “yogi.” Yoga is the practice of satisfying every desire to realise the limitless and the unity of all things. One has a chance to experience this on the night of Mahashivratri.

‘Om Namah Shivaya’ is the perfect mantra to chant on Mahashivratri!

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