As it is clear from the word that shivratri means the night of shiv(शिव की रात). As we all know that the marriage of shiv is considered as the first love marriage in the world.
Mahashivratri is a Hindu festival celebrated in honor of Lord Shiva. It is observed on the 14th day of the dark fortnight in the month of Phalgun according to the Hindu calendar. This auspicious day holds great significance for devotees of Lord Shiva.
On Mahashivratri, devotees fast and offer prayers to Lord Shiva. They visit temples and perform rituals like pouring milk and water on Shiva Linga, which is believed to represent Lord Shiva. Many people also stay awake all night, engaging in bhajans (devotional songs) and chanting prayers.
This festival is not just about fasting and rituals, but also about seeking blessings from Lord Shiva for a prosperous and peaceful life. It is believed that observing Mahashivratri with devotion and sincerity can help in attaining spiritual growth and inner peace.
Mahashivratri is not only celebrated in India but also in other parts of the world where there is a significant Hindu population. It is a time for people to come together, express their devotion, and celebrate the divine presence of Lord Shiva.
HISTORY OF SHIVRATRI;
Maha Shivaratri is a festival celebrating Lord Shiva and literally translates as “The Great Night of Shiva.” Worship services occur all day however the main pujas occur either once in the evening or four times that span the entire night. The festival signifies several events important to devotees. Shivaratri commemorates the wedding night of Lord Shiva to his consort Parvati. Thus it is a festival particularly marked by married couples. During this night Lord Shiva as Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance, first performed the Dance of Bliss – the “Anandatandava”. This dance portrays the cyclical nature of the universe reflected by the cyclical nature of daily life as experienced by individual souls. The Linga Purana also indicates that on this day Shiva took the form of the Lingam, a column of light with no beginning and no end to signify His infinite existence. Likely referring to the Shivalingam, Swami Chinmayananda connected Shivaratri to “moments of pure infinite subjective experience” and the worship of Shiva on this day as a means towards achieving a state of transcended perception.
As an ode to the joy of dancing, here is a video on Indian dance forms by the editors of Hinduism Today featuring “Bho Shambho Shiva Shambho”
Importance of Mahashivratri:
Mahashivratri is very significant for people who are on the spiritual path. It is also very significant for people who are in family situations, and also for the ambitious in the world. People who live in family situations observe Mahashivratri as Shiva’s wedding anniversary. Those with worldly ambitions see that day as the day Shiva conquered all his enemies.But, for the ascetics, it is the day he became one with Mount Kailash. He became like a mountain – absolutely still. In the yogic tradition, Shiva is not worshipped as a God, but considered as the Adi Guru, the first Guru from whom the science of Yoga originated. After many millennia in meditation, one day he became absolutely still. That day is Mahashivratri. All movement in him stopped and he became utterly still, so ascetics see Mahashivratri as the night of stillness.
Spiritual Significance of Mahashivratri;
Legends apart, why this day and night are held with such importance in the yogic traditions is because of the possibilities it presents to a spiritual seeker. Modern science has gone through many phases and arrived at a point today where they are out to prove to you that everything that you know as life, everything that you know as matter and existence, everything that you know as the cosmos and galaxies, is just one energy which manifests itself in millions of ways.
This scientific fact is an experiential reality in every yogi. The word “yogi” means one who has realized the oneness of the existence. When I say “yoga,” I am not referring to any one particular practice or system. All longing to know the unbounded, all longing to know the oneness in the existence is yoga. The night of Mahashivratri offers a person an opportunity to experience this.
Shivratri – The Darkest Night of the Month;
Shivratri, is the darkest day of the month. Celebrating Shivratri on a monthly basis, and the particular day, Mahashivratri, almost seems like celebration of darkness. Any logical mind would resist darkness and naturally opt for light. But the word “Shiva” literally means “that which is not.” “That which is,” is existence and creation. “That which is not” is Shiva. “That which is not” means, if you open your eyes and look around, if your vision is for small things, you will see lots of creation. If your vision is really looking for big things, you will see the biggest presence in the existence is a vast emptiness.A few spots which we call galaxies are generally much noticed, but the vast emptiness that holds them does not come into everybody’s notice. This vastness, this unbounded emptiness, is what is referred to as Shiva. Today, modern science also proves that everything comes from nothing and goes back to nothing. It is in this context that Shiva, the vast emptiness or nothingness, is referred to as the great lord, or Mahadeva.
Every religion, every culture on this planet has always been talking about the omnipresent, all-pervading nature of the divine. If we look at it, the only thing that can be truly all-pervading, the only thing that can be everywhere is darkness, nothingness, or emptiness.
Generally, when people are seeking well-being, we talk of the divine as light. When people are no longer seeking well-being, when they are looking beyond their life in terms of dissolving, if the object of their worship and their sadhana is dissolution, then we always refer to the divine as darkness.
Significance of Shivratri;
Light is a brief happening in your mind. Light is not eternal, it is always a limited possibility because it happens and it ends. The greatest source of light that we know on this planet is the sun. Even the sun’s light, you could stop it with your hand and leave a shadow of darkness behind. But darkness is all-enveloping, everywhere. The immature minds in the world have always described darkness as the devil. But when you describe the divine as all-pervading, you are obviously referring to the divine as darkness, because only darkness is all-pervading. It is everywhere. It does not need any support from anything.
Light always comes from a source that is burning itself out. It has a beginning and an end. It is always from a limited source. Darkness has no source. It is a source unto itself. It is all-pervading, everywhere, omnipresent. So when we say Shiva, it is this vast emptiness of existence. It is in the lap of this vast emptiness that all creation has happened. It is that lap of emptiness that we refer to as the Shiva.In Indian culture, all the ancient prayers were not about saving yourself, protecting yourself or doing better in life. All the ancient prayers have always been “Oh lord, destroy me so that I can become like yourself.” So when we say Shivratri, which is the darkest night of the month, it is an opportunity for one to dissolve their limitedness, to experience the unboundedness of the source of creation which is the seed in every human being.
