Maha Shivratri
In my childhood days, if I will be asked to fast whole day, go to temple, chant Rudram and keep awake, that day was Shivratri to me. None of them was easy, especially keeping awake the whole night. No questions were asked nor any reasons explained. Over time, it became more a habit without fully knowing the true significance.
As I grew up, there were more questions and my curiosity helped me to look around for answers and my knowledge improved. As years pass, I discover newer spiritual meanings and as a seeker, the quest for greater understanding continues…
What is Shivaratri? According to the Hindu calendar, the fourteenth day of every lunar month (Chaturdashi) or the day before the new moon is known as Shivratri. Among all the twelve Shivratri that occur in a calendar year, the one that occurs in February-March (Phalguna or Magha) is called Maha Shivaratri.
Astronomically, it is the darkest night of the year. On this night, the northern hemisphere of the planet and the constellations positioning creates natural upsurge of energy. The night of Maha Shivratri offers a person an opportunity to experience this cosmic energy and it pushes one on the spiritual path.
What is the significance as per Puranas? It commemorates the wedding of Shiva and?Parvati, and it’s also the occasion when Shiva performs His divine dance, called the Tandava. One represents the union leading to creation and the other is about dissolution and destruction. How both happens?
The celestial wedding symbolizes the union of Energy with Consciousness, and Prakriti (Nature or the objective world) with the Absolute. Shiva giving half of his self to Parvati as Ardhanarishvara signifies this oneness, where there is no two. We need to understand that Duality is just an illusion (Maya) and the ultimate reality is a seamless blend of opposites.
领英推荐
What is then Tandava? It often symbolizes the destruction of the cosmos. It has other meanings too. Shiva dances through the entire cycle of the lifespan of the universe. From its creation to its preservation and, finally, to its end, the tandava accompanies and makes possible all three phases.
Aldous Huxley comments that there is no spiritual tradition on earth that has comparable complexity in the way the Tandava maps out the actions of divinity. This intricate dance provides profound wisdom of how the universe works.
Tandava is also the divine plan to annihilate the evil, make us worthy of attaining salvation, and relieve us from the cycle of birth and death.
Adi Sankara explains in the Nirvana shatakam that he is neither this nor that and he is the “ever pure blissful consciousness and the Shiva - Shivoham, Shivoham”. It is Shivam that is latent in each and every of us and in all beings. Maha Shivaratri is the night to meditate on this divine principle to dissolve the limitedness, to experience the unboundedness of the source of creation which is the seed in every human being.
"May this Maha Shivratri be not the night of wakefulness for you, but a night of awakening” - Sadguru
Obstetrician gynecologist , published author, publishing director (professional publishing), mentor and course director for MRCOG online course. Founder of the initiative, Lets talk Woman's health
11 个月This is truly enlightening. Never imagined that Shivratri held such a deep and powerful meaning, ie blend of union and destruction. Thanks for imparting such profound knowledge.
Sr. Publishing Manager at Wolters Kluwer India (P) Ltd (till Apr 2024)
11 个月Thank you for explaining the various significances of Mahashivratri. It is indeed a celebration of many spiritual things. In Tamilnadu Shiva temples, dance performances (like Bharatnatyam) happen throughout the night till early morning to exhibit our devotion. It is also one of the ways of keeping the bhakts awake and think, reflect on the Supreme.