The Rationale Behind MAHASHIVRATRI

Those who believe in the occult science and those who don’t, always question the accuracy & certainty of this science and somehow, the blame is descended upon those who practice it. Have you ever wondered despite so much commotion & uproar around the leading occultists & their predictive abilities, why the accuracy of their predictions still is precarious?

Well, it is believed that when Lord Shiva came to know about Dev Rishi Narad’s mastery over the subject of Astrology which he was about to apportion with the Maharishis (which was bestowed to him by Lord Brahma – his father), with the purpose to succour people of their sufferings by informing them about their life occurrences in advance, being censorious of this inventiveness, Lord Shiva thought of assessing the accuracy of the same. He asked Dev Rishi: Can you tell me with the help of astrology what my wife is doing at this moment? Dev Rishi casted Devi Parvati’s horoscope & appraised Lord Shiva that Devi Parvati is bathing & the exact position in which she is sitting. When Lord Shiva closed his eyes to substantiate Dev Rishi’s prediction, he became disconsolate & cursed Astrology by imprecating that by the time this science would reach humans, it’s accuracy would plummet & no human will ever be able to predict anyone’s future with 100%  accuracy. 

Dev Rishi with an amazement asked Lord Shiva about the reason for his resentment to which Lord Shiva replied: ‘Every creature of flesh and blood is born because of the Karmic Cycle and the only way for Humans to surmount their suffering is to pay for their Karma and move on. Humans are gifted with innate sense of discrimination which they must wield to decide what is correct and what is incorrect & settle their Karmic score.’ Lord Shiva said that if any human is able to master the ability to predict the future with accuracy, people will start worshiping him and will forget the real creator. Man will become God.

• Lord Shiva is also referred to as Ardhanarishvara – meaning half man & half woman. The literal meaning of Lord Shiva’s this form is to elucidate humans that the world sustains by blending & balancing feminine & masculine energies equitably.
• Lord Shiva was the first to explicate gender equality.
• From the Saptarishis (Agastaya, Atri, Bhardwaja, Gautam, Jamadagni, Vashishtha), to Ravana, Shani Dev & Lord Vishnu, the diciples & devotees of Lord Shiva are endless.
• Lord Shiva is also referred to as Mritunjay – meaning deathless.
• Lord Shiva is the inventor, protector & cultivator of the existence. Being the Salvator, he is also referred to as the destroyer – The One who unbinds. 
• Shiva itself means boundless / limitless and that’s why he is worshipped by both – The Devatas & The Demons.
• Astrological reason for Mahashivratari to fall in the month of February is because this is the time when Sun is placed in one of the most mysterious signs which is Aquarius – whose ruler is Saturn – The planet of justice, masses, sacrifice, surrender & mysticism. Lord Shiva is also referred to as ‘Bhole’ meaning the one who can be pleased with innocence & uprightness.
• Lord Hanuman – The destroyer of Lanka is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva conferred Ravana with Chandrahasa – The Indestructible Sword. So, he is the giver as well as the taker.
• The third deity of the Trimurti is Shiva, the destroyer and transformer. He is the slayer of demons and has authority over death, rebirth and immortality, all revered concepts in Hindu mythology.

Mahashivratri means ‘The Great Night of Shiva.’ Its purpose is to overcome the darkness & ignorance or to invoke wisdom & become enlightened. It means imbibing the virtues of honesty, selflessness, charity, forgiveness, exoneration, righteousness, decency & integrity. These are the only means by which Lord Shiva can be pleased.

There is a Shiva residing in each and every human and Mahashivratri grants an impetus to obliterate our obscurity towards the inner Shiva. Shiva means beyond the physical realm – The impediment to becoming boundless & limitless.

“Fire is His head, the sun and moon His eyes, space His ears, the Vedas His speech, the wind His breath, the universe His heart. From His feet the Earth has originated. Verily, He is the inner self of all beings.” HE IS THE SHIVA…..

‘A Man becomes a Mahadev only when he fights for good. A Mahadev is not born from his mother’s womb. He respires in the dwelling of our hearts with a purpose to defeat and destroy our ego. Har Har Mahadev’ – Prince Dhawan

Happy Mahashivratri!