Maha Shivaratri
In the trinity of the
divine manifestation - Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva - Lord Shiva is the one who
destroys or dissolves that which is old and impure, in order to make room for a
new creation of that which is pure and divine. Lord Shiva annihilates our egos,
our attachments, and our ignorance. Many fear Lord Shiva's destructive capacity,
and yet it is destruction for the purpose of regeneration. Without death, life
cannot begin anew. Without the annihilation of old habits, attachments and ego,
we cannot progress toward the goal of God-realization.
According to the Puraanaas,
the Kailasa peak of the Himalayas is the residence (ABODE) of Shiva and the
Ganges on His head. He also known as Pashupathi (with Nandi, the bull, His favorite
animal) and on his neck he wear snake and it shows his fearless nature. Shiva's posture in the meditation is ascribed
to Him as the head of Yogis (Yogiraja) who practices various spiritual feats to
attain salvation. Lord Shiva's divine consort, Goddess Parvati (who is also the
daughter of Himalaya), is the deity of strength. Numerous stories in mythology
describe the births of their two sons - Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya (or
Guha or Shanmukha or Skanda or Murugha) and their various significances.
According to a legend,Parvati
performed tapas, prayed, and meditated on this day to ward off any evil that
might befall her husband on a moonless night. Since then, Mahashivaratri is
believed to be an auspicious occasion for women to pray for the well-being of
their husbands and sons. An unmarried woman prays for a husband like Shiva, who
is considered to be the ideal husband. Another legend of the day is that Shiva
and Shakti married each other.
Shiva,
as the god of destroying evil, is the third among the divine trinity of Hindu
mythology. The holy mantra consisting of five-syllables: "Na"
"Ma" "Shi" "Vaa" "Ya" (Om NamaH
Shivaaya) in praise of Lord Shiva is chanted incessantly on special occasions
like Shivaratri. His thousands of names, each of which describes His greatness,
may also be chanted. Shiva means "auspicious". As Shankara, He is the
giver of happiness to all. Nataraja (the king of dancers) is a favorite form
adored by dancers and musicians.
On this night of Shivratri, as we worship Bhagwan Shiva,
it is also the night that we must pray for the strength to take His message to
heart! Let us not only worship Him, but let us emulate Him. He who is willing
to peacefully swallow the poison, he who is willing to sacrifice for the
family, for the community, and for humanity is the true Mahadev.
'Rudrabhisheka''
There is a special mantra in the Vedas (the most ancient scripture in
the history of human race and which forms the fountain-head of the Hindu
culture) - Rudra Sukta - which is recited by pundits while they offer a holy
bath to Lord Shiva in form of Shiva-linga or a Shaligrama which are the symbols
of god with the waters of sacred rivers like the Ganges. This ritual is known
as "Rudrabhisheka". A Shaligrama constitutes a sacred stone. Such
precious stones are brought from the river Gandaki or Narmada at the frozen
summits of the Himalaya Giving a bath to the Shaligrama as a
part of Shiva-puja symbolizes the removal of impurities from our mind. It also
means washing off false ego. Unless we attain self-realization, we all become
the victims of a false self or an ego. False-self (False personalities) is due
to an illusion (or ignorance), a covering upon our real soul, of our mind,
which then acts from mistaken identity. According to Vedanta (philosophical strategy),
this accumulation of false-self upon our real Self is the root cause of our
bondage and sufferings in life. This notion of purification (of Shaligram stone
by holy waters) also symbolizes at the philosophical level, the total
destruction of the accumulated material interests (of us) which often gloomy the
real spiritual Reality.
Mahashivaratri
in Southern India
Maha Shivaratri is celebrated
widely in temples all over Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil
Nadu. Shiva is considered the Adi (first) Guru from whom the yogic tradition
originates. According to tradition, the planetary positions on this night are
such that there is a powerful natural upsurge of energy in the human system. It
is said to be beneficial for one's physical and spiritual well-being to stay
awake and aware throughout the night. On this day, artists from various fields
such as music and dance perform the whole night
