STORY HIGHLIGHTS
It is a day when the Shiva Tattva (Shiva as a principle), touches the earth. Shiva doesn’t exist in a body, he was never a person at all. To help realize the unfathomable as fathomable, a form was created. In fact, there is no form to Shiva. Shiva is the consciousness which touches the earth element on the day of Maha Shivratri. It is the merging of the material with the spiritual, and that is the celebration.
Maha Shivaratri or the ‘The Night of Shiva’ is celebrated with devotion and religious fervor in honor of Lord Shiva, one of the deities of the Hindu Trinity; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
It is a Hindu festival, celebrated in India and by Hindus around the world on the 13th night of the waning moon in the month of February or March. This year it falls on Friday, February 24th.
It is a day when the Shiva Tattva (Shiva as a principle), touches the earth. Shiva doesn’t exist in a body, he was never a person at all. To help realize the unfathomable as fathomable, a form was created. In fact, there is no form to Shiva.*
There is a beautiful story related to Shiva. Once Brahma the creator, and Vishnu the preserver of the Universe wanted to find Shiva and understand Him completely. So Brahma decided to look for Shiva’s head and Vishnu, his feet. So for thousands of years Vishnu went down and down to find Shiva’s feet but couldn’t find them. Brahma went up and up to find his head but couldn’t find his head either. The meaning here is, there are no feet and no head to Shiva. There is no beginning and no end to Shiva. Finally they both met at the middle and said that they couldn’t find either.*
Shiva is the consciousness which touches the earth element on the day of Maha Shivratri. It is the merging of the material with the spiritual, and that is the celebration. It is the day that we celebrate the soul or spirit (Shiva Tattva) within ourselves.*
If there is disturbance around you, you cannot be peaceful. You need peace in your environment. You also need peace in the body and mind, and you need peace in the soul.*
For as long as I can remember, we would celebrate Maha Shivaratri at our home with chanting of sacred mantras, starting at night to help create peace in our environment. We would fast all day, eating very light food, to help cleanse the body and help us stay awake at night. In between the chantings, we would meditate to calm the mind.
* Talks given by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar- founder of the Art of Living Foundation; www.artofliving.org
Dr. Aparna Chawla is a licensed dentist practicing in NJ. She has been a member of the Art of Living Foundation for more than 20 years. Founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,The Art of Living Foundation is a not-for-profit, educational and humanitarian NGO engaged in stress-management and service initiatives. The organization operates globally in more than 150 countries. She is one of very few certified instructors teaching the AoL stress management courses to adults, teens and the youth. She is also a certified meditation instructor.
Source: mycentraljersey.com
Maha Shivaratri or the ‘The Night of Shiva’ is celebrated with devotion and religious fervor in honor of Lord Shiva, one of the deities of the Hindu Trinity; Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
