ShivRatri

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20th February, 2003Phalguna 1, 1924

 

  Mahashivaratri is observed on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of Phalgun

month in the Hindu calendar.This year it is on the first march of 2003. This

holy event is dedicated to pray Lord Shiva. A Hindu devotee ascribes every

deity some special day in the year to be treated as holy and to be celebrated

with offering favourite things for that god or goddess.

Being engaged in Lord Shiva's prayers, fasting the whole day and waking up

throughout the night constitutes the services. Shiva, as the god of destroying

evil, is the third among the divine trinity of Hindu mythology. The

five-syllables' holy mantra "Namah Shivaya" in praise of Lord Shiva is chanted

incessantly on special occasions like Shivaratri. His thousands of names, each

of which describe His greatness, may also be cited. Shiva means auspicious.

As Shankara, He is the giver of happiness to all. Nataraja (the king of dancers)

is His favourite idol adored by dancers and musicians. There is a special mantra

in the Veda (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 holy bath to Lord Shiva by way of washing a

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 pebble that often conceals ammonite fossils

within. Such precious stones are brought from the river Gandaki at the frozen

summits of the Himalayas. Washing the Shaligrama as a part of Shiva-puja

symbolises 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 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 doctrines), this accumulation of

false-self upon our real Self is often the root cause of our bondage and

sufferings in life. This notion of purification (of Shaligram stone by holy

waters) also symbolises at the philosophical level, the eradication of the

accumulated material interests (of us) which often blur the inherent spiritual

hard core or Reality.

Kailasa peak on the Himalayas is the abode of Shiva and He bears Ganges on His

head. As the Lord of creatures, He is metaphorically called as Pashupathi (with

Nandi, the bull, His favourite animal) and His fearful nature is euphemised as

Sarpabhushana. Shiva's pasture in the meditation is ascribed to Him as the head

of Yogis who practise 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.

The above-said Rudra mantra is a very powerful mystic chant often used by the

spiritual healers to eradicate the fear of diseases, pain, sufferings and

death. The concluding part of Rudra mantra is also popular as the

Mrtyunjaya-maha-mantra.

 

Mahaa Mrityunjaya Mantra

Om Trayambakam Yajaamahe Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam Urvaaru Kamiva Bandhanaan

Mrityor Muksheeya Maamritaat

Usually mrityunjaya Homam is conducted on the birthday of a devotee for a

healthy and peaceful long life.

The philosophy of Tantra is based on the concept of dual nature of everything.

Nothing is single, but everything is bi-polar. Human’s, are a result of the

coming together of two forces, Shiva and Shakti, and also can be said as the

positive and the negative poles.

 

In the beginning of time there was a universal Uni-Cell, as it were, known as

the Brahmanda, which split into two, one the Cosmic Woman and the other the

Cosmic Man. The behaviour of the two parts of any single organism seems to be a

double attitude of the consciousness of duality and unity at the same time.

 

While the concept of Shiva (Man) and Shakti (Female), in its highest essence,

represents the Supreme Cosmic Duality, one can imagine only attraction and love

operating there, so that Shiva and Shakti are considered as inseparable facets

of a unitary reality some time known as Ardhanareesvara, the Cosmic Androgyny.

The same is with human, who are both male and female, the left being the female

and the male being the right side of the being. Humans are the only species who

find it hard to live in harmony within the unitary reality, and are caught up

with the principle of repulsion, Viz., dislike going with like, hatred going

with love, which is the lower level where the bi-polar unit cannot tolerate the

interference or sometimes even the presence of another such bi-polar unity. This

subtle operation can be seen manifest in its grosser forms when one family group

finds it difficult to appreciate another family group and bestow equal love upon

it, one organization, one social group, and even one bi-polar individual, cannot

look upon another such without some suspicion and reservation. All this is so

because humans of modern time are living a life of duality, and not one of

unity from within.

 

 

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