Hari OM

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Shivaratri

 

Hindu Fasts & Festivals By Sri Swami Sivananda

http://www.thedivinelifesociety.org/download/hindufest.htm

 

THIS FALLS on the 13th (or 14th) day of the dark half of Phalgun

(February-March). The name means "the night of Shiva". The

ceremonies take place chiefly at night. This is a festival observed

in honour of Lord Shiva. Shiva was married to Parvati on this day.

 

People observe a strict fast on this day. Some devotees do not even

take a drop of water. They keep vigil all night. The Shiva Lingam is

worshipped throughout the night by washing it every three hours with

milk, curd, honey, rose water, etc., whilst the chanting of the

Mantra Om Namah Shivaya continues. Offerings of bael leaves are made

to the Lingam. Bael leaves are very sacred as, it is said, Lakshmi

resides in them.

 

Hymns in praise of Lord Shiva, such as the Shiva Mahimna Stotra of

Pushpadanta or Ravana's Shiva Tandava Stotra are sung with great

fervour and devotion. People repeat the Panchakshara Mantra, Om Namah

Shivaya. He who utters the Names of Shiva during Shivaratri, with

perfect devotion and concentration, is freed from all sins. He

reaches the abode of Shiva and lives there happily. He is liberated

from the wheel of births and deaths. Many pilgrims flock to the

places where there are Shiva temples.

 

The Story Of King Chitrabhanu

In the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, Bhishma, whilst resting on

the bed of arrows and discoursing on Dharma, refers to the observance

of Maha Shivaratri by King Chitrabhanu. The story goes as follows.

 

Once upon a time King Chitrabhanu of the Ikshvaku dynasty, who ruled

over the whole of Jambudvipa, was observing a fast with his wife, it

being the day of Maha Shivaratri. The sage Ashtavakra came on a visit

to the court of the king.

 

The sage asked, "O king! why are you observing a fast today?"

 

King Chitrabhanu explained why. He had the gift of remembering the

incidents of his previous birth.

 

The king said to the sage: "In my past birth I was a hunter in

Varanasi. My name was Suswara. My livelihood was to kill and sell

birds and animals. One day I was roaming the forests in search of

animals. I was overtaken by the darkness of night. Unable to return

home, I climbed a tree for shelter. It happened to be a bael tree. I

had shot a deer that day but I had no time to take it home. I bundled

it up and tied it to a branch on the tree. As I was tormented by

hunger and thirst, I kept awake throughout the night. I shed profuse

tears when I thought of my poor wife and children who were starving

and anxiously awaiting my return. To pass away the time that night I

engaged myself in plucking the bael leaves and dropping them down

onto the ground.

 

"The day dawned. I returned home and sold the deer. I bought some

food for myself and for my family. I was about to break my fast when

a stranger came to me, begging for food. I served him first and then

took my food.

 

"At the time of death, I saw two messengers of Lord Shiva. They

were sent down to conduct my soul to the abode of Lord Shiva. I

learnt then for the first time of the great merit I had earned by the

unconscious worship of Lord Shiva during the night of Shivaratri.

They told me that there was a Lingam at the bottom of the tree. The

leaves I dropped fell on the Lingam. My tears which I had shed out of

pure sorrow for my family fell onto the Lingam and washed it. And I

had fasted all day and all night. Thus did I unconsciously worship

the Lord.

 

"I lived in the abode of the Lord and enjoyed divine bliss for

long ages. I am now reborn as Chitrabhanu."

 

 

 

Spiritual Significance of the Ritual

The Scriptures record the following dialogue between Sastri and

Atmanathan, giving the inner meaning of the above story.

 

Sastri: It is an allegory. The wild animals that the hunter fought

with are lust, anger, greed, infatuation, jealousy and hatred. The

jungle is the fourfold mind, consisting of the subconscious mind, the

intellect, the ego and the conscious mind. It is in the mind that

these "wild animals" roam about freely. They must be killed.

Our hunter was pursuing them because he was a Yogi. If you want to be

a real Yogi you have to conquer these evil tendencies. Do you

remember the name of the hunter in the story?

 

Atmanathan: Yes, he was called Suswara.

 

Sastri: That's right. It means "melodious". The hunter

had a pleasant melodious voice. If a person practices Yama and Niyama

and is ever conquering his evil tendencies, he will develop certain

external marks of a Yogi. The first marks are lightness of the body,

health, steadiness, clearness of countenance and a pleasant voice.

This stage has been spoken of in detail in the Swetaswatara

Upanishad. The hunter or the Yogi had for many years practised Yoga

and had reached the first stage. So he is given the name Suswara. Do

you remember where he was born?

 

Atmanathan: Yes, his birthplace is Varanasi.

 

Sastri: Now, the Yogis call the Ajna Chakra by the name Varanasi.

This is the point midway between the eyebrows. It is regarded as the

meeting place of the three nerve currents (Nadis), namely, the Ida,

Pingala and the Sushumna. An aspirant is instructed to concentrate on

that point. That helps him to conquer his desires and evil qualities

like anger and so on. It is there that he gets a vision of the Divine

Light within.

 

Atmanathan: Very interesting! But how do you explain his climbing up

the bael tree and all the other details of the worship?

 

Sastri: Have you ever seen a bael leaf?

 

Atmanathan: It has three leaves on one stalk.

 

Sastri: True. The tree represents the spinal column. The leaves are

threefold. They represent the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna Nadis, which

are the regions for the activity of the moon, the sun and fire

respectively, or which may be thought of as the three eyes of Shiva.

The climbing of the tree is meant to represent the ascension of the

Kundalini Shakti, the serpentine power, from the lowest nerve centre

called the Muladhara to the Ajna Chakra. That is the work of the

Yogi.

 

Atmanathan: Yes, I have heard of the Kundalini and the various

psychic centres in the body. Please go on further; I am very

interested to know more.

 

Sastri: Good. The Yogi was in the waking state when he began his

meditation. He bundled up the birds and the animals he had slain and,

tying them on a branch of the tree, he rested there. That means he

had fully conquered his thoughts and rendered them inactive. He had

gone through the steps of Yama, Niyama, Pratyahara, etc. On the tree

he was practising concentration and meditation. When he felt sleepy,

it means that he was about to lose consciousness and go into deep

sleep. So he determined to keep awake.

 

Atmanathan: That is now clear to me; you certainly do explain it very

well. But why did he weep for his wife and children?

 

Sastri: His wife and children are none other than the world. One who

seeks the Grace of God must become an embodiment of love. He must

have an all-embracing sympathy. His shedding of tears is symbolical

of his universal love. In Yoga also, one cannot have illumination

without Divine Grace. Without practising universal love, one cannot

win that Grace. One must perceive one's own Self everywhere. The

preliminary stage is to identify one's own mind with the minds of

all created beings. That is fellow-feeling or sympathy. Then one must

rise above the limitations of the mind and merge it in the Self. That

happens only in the stage of Samadhi, not earlier.

 

Atmanathan: Why did he pluck and drop the bael leaves?

 

Sastri: That is mentioned in the story only to show that he had no

extraneous thoughts. He was not even conscious of what he was doing.

All his activity was confined to the three Nadis. The leaves, I have

said before, represent the three Nadis. He was in fact in the second

state, namely, the dream state, before he passed into the deep sleep

state.

 

Atmanathan: He kept vigil the whole night, it is said.

 

Sastri: Yes, that means that he passed through the deep sleep state

successfully. The dawning of day symbolises the entrance into the

Fourth state called Turiya or superconsciousness.

 

Atmanathan: It is said that he came down and saw the Lingam. What

does that mean?

 

Sastri: That means that in the Turiya state he saw the Shiva Lingam

or the mark of Shiva in the form of the inner lights. In other words,

he had the vision of the Lord. That was an indication to him that he

would realise the supreme, eternal abode of Lord Shiva in course of

time.

 

Atmanathan: So it appears from what you say that the sight of the

lights is not the final stage?

 

Sastri: Oh no! That is only one step, albeit a difficult one. Now

think of how the story continues. He goes home and feeds a stranger.

A stranger is one whom you have not seen before. The stranger is no

other than the hunter himself, transformed into a new person. The

food was the likes and dislikes which he had killed the previous

night. But he did not consume the whole of it. A little still

remained. That was why he had to be reborn as King Chitrabhanu. Going

to the world of Shiva (Salokya) is not enough to prevent this. There

are other stages besides Salokya. These are Samipya, Sarupya and

finally Sayujya. Have you not heard of Jaya and Vijaya returning from

Vaikunta?

 

Atmanathan: Yes, I have understood now.