Maha Shiva Ratri

[Guest guest]

Shiva Ratri

 

Sunday March 2, 5 PM

Shiva Ratri will be celebrated in the Krishna temple at Spanish Fork with

storytelling, a sacred bathing ceremony of Lord Shiva, the chanting of Lord

Shiva¹s 108 names, music, dance, and feasting. Additionally, devotee actors

have prepared a comedy entitled ³The Cobbler & the Brahmin.²

Shiva Ratri is one of the most auspicious of days in the Hindu calendar.

It means literally ³the night of Lord Shiva.² In the Hindu pantheon, Lord

Shiva is the ³Destroyer of Evil². He keeps the forces of darkness and

destruction in check until it¹s time for the annihilation of the universe.

The Puranas (ancient scriptures in story form) explain the significance of

this festival.

Once when everything in all the worlds was reduced to darkness, the

goddess Parvati worshipped Lord Shiva with great devotion. The Lord was

pleased by Her prayers and granted her a boon. She asked that in future

whoever worships the Lord on the Shiva Ratri day with devotion, they should

be blessed and given ultimate salvation.

The Puranas also narrate another incident. The gods argued between

themselves as to "who is the greatest". Lord Shiva appeared before them as

an unlimited pillar of fire, of which no one could find the beginning or the

end. They realized the greatness of Shiva and worshipped the Shiva lingam

which is the form of the flame.

There are many incidents told about the greatness of this day. Once a

hunter in a jungle was chased up a tree by a tiger. The tree was a bilva

tree, special to Lord Shiva. The tiger sat under the tree waiting for him to

come down. The hunter to stay awake was plucking the leaves and dropping

them on the ground, where there happened to be a mound of earth in the crude

form of Lord Shiva. The whole night (which happened to be Shiva Ratri

night) went on like this. Lord Shiva was pleased by the fasting and

worshipping of the hunter even though it was unconscious. Both the hunter

and the tiger were awarded ³moksha², liberation.

Guests are invited, if possible, to bring some vegetarian preparation to

augment the feast, or fruits or a flower. Admission is free, and to help the

temple construction, there will be a modest ³suggested donation² for the

feast. Krishna Temple/ 8628 S Main St./ Spanish Fork, Utah /

798-3559/787-1510/ www.iskcon.net/utah

Next event: Festival of Colors (Holi) Saturday March 15th, 4 pm