Maha Sivaratri / mar 8-9

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Shivaratri

 

- Introduction

- The Story of King Chitrabhanu

- Spiritual Significance of the Ritual

- Lord Shiva's Assuarance

 

Introduction

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.

 

Lord Shiva's Assuarance

When creation had been completed, Shiva and Parvati went out to live

on the top of Mount Kailas. Parvati asked, " O venerable Lord! which

of the many rituals observed in Thy honour doth please Thee most? "

The Lord replied, " The 14th night of the new moon, in the dark

fortnight during the month of Phalgun, is my most favourite day. It

is known as Shivaratri. My devotees give me greater happiness by

mere fasting than by ceremonial baths and offerings of flowers,

sweets and incense.

 

" The devotee observes strict spiritual discipline in the day and

worships Me in four different forms during each of the four

successive three-hour periods of the night. The offering of a few

bael leaves is more precious to Me than the precious jewels and

flowers. My devotee should bathe Me in milk at the first period, in

curd at the second, in clarified butter at the third, and in honey

at the fourth and last. Next morning, he should feed the

 

Brahmins first and, after performing the prescribed ceremonies, he

can break his fast.

 

O Parvati! there is no ritual which can compare with this simple

routine in sanctity. "

 

Parvati was deeply impressed by the speech of Loid Shiva. She

repeated it to Her friends who in their turn passed it on to the

ruling princes on earth. Thus was the sanctity of Shivaratri

broadcast all over the world.

 

The two great natural forces that afflict man are Rajas (the quality

of passionate activity) and Tamas (that of inertia). The Shivaratri

Vrata aims at the perfect control of these two. The entire day is

spent at the Feet of the Lord. Continuous worship of the Lord

necessitates the devotee's constant presence in the place of

worship. Motion is controlled. Evils like lust, anger, and jealousy,

born of Rajas are ignored and subdued. The devotee observes vigil

throughout the night and thus conquers Tamas also. Constant

vigilance is imposed on the mind. Every three hours a round of

worship of the Shiva Lingam is conducted. Shivaratri is a perfect

Vrata.

 

The formal worship consists of bathing the Lord. Lord Shiva is

considered to be the Form of Light (which the Shiva Lingam

represents). He is burning with the fire of austerity. He is

therefore best propitiated with cool bathing.

 

While bathing the Lingam the devotee prays: " O Lord! I will bathe

Thee with water, milk, etc. Do Thou kindly bathe me with the milk of

wisdom. Do Thou kindly wash me of all my sins, so that the fire of

worldliness which is scorching me may be put out once for all, so

that I may be one with Thee-the One alone without a second. "

 

At the Sivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, the Shivaratri festival is

celebrated in the following manner.

 

1. All spiritual aspirants fast the whole day, many of them without

taking even a single drop of water.

 

2. A grand havan is performed for the peace and welfare of all.

 

3. The whole day is spent in doing the Japa of Om Namah Shivaya and

in meditation upon the Lord.

 

4. At night all assemble in the temple and chant Om Namah Shivaya

the whole night.

 

5. During the four quarters of the night the Shiva Lingam is

worshipped with intense devotion.

 

6. Sannyas Diksha is also given on this day to sincere seekers on

the path.

 

Offer this inner worship to Lord Shiva daily: " I worship the jewel

of my Self, the Shiva residing in the Lotus of my heart. I bathe Him

with the water of my pure mind brought from the river of faith and

devotion. I worship Him with the fragrant flowers of Samadhi-all

this so that I may not be born again in this world. "

 

Here is another formula for the supreme worship of the Lord: " O

Shiva! You are my Self. My mind is Parvati. My Pranas are your

servants. My body is your house. My actions in this world are your

worship. My sleep is Samadhi. My walk is circumambulation of you. My

speech is your prayer. Thus do I offer all that I am to you.

 

By Sri Swami Sivananda

___

 

om peace!..

rudrani