Fasting for Maha Shivratree

[Guest guest]

AUM SAI RAM

 

‘Water is a good cleansing medicine for the body; keep your tongue still and concentrate on ‘seva’; you won’t feel the pangs of hunger.’ Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Fasting (vrata) by all devout worshippers of Lord Shiva is a precursor to the celebrations of Maha Shivratree (The Night of Shiva) which will be celebrated all around the world on Friday 12 February, this year. In Sanskrit, fasting is called Upavaasa ; upa means ‘near’ and ‘vasaa’ ,’stay’. Hence for Shivratree the devotee takes his mind off the desire to consume food and drinks. Instead, he dwells his mind on pure and noble thoughts to ‘stay’ close to the Lord.

For most devotees, fasting starts one week before the Festival. Some do not consume solid food at all, while others partake only in fruits and sweet dishes from 6am to 6 pm. Moreover, some others observe more vigorous fast. They do neither eat any food nor drink any beverage during the day. They observe silence and they keep their mind fixed on God. Since fasting is not obligatory but self-imposed, it is adhered to with a lot of joy and enthusiasm.

Why do we fast for Shivratree?- The main reason is obviously to please the Lord Bholenath ( another name for Lord Shiva), to show Him that we care and are grateful to Him, the Compassionate One, who swallowed the deadly poison ‘halahala’  to save the world from annihilation. He takes all our sins away, purifies us and pampers us with loads of goodies.

It is told, by munis and sages, that when creation was complete, Lord Shiva and His Consort, Goddess Parvati went to live on the top of the Kailash Mountain in the Himalayas.  Parvati Devi, one day, asked Lord Shiva-

“O Lord! Which of the many rituals observed by Your devotees please You most?”

Lord Shiva replied-

“The fourteenth night of the new moon in the dark fortnight, during the month of Phalgun, is My Favorite Day. It is called Shivratree. My devotees give Me greater happiness by fasting rather than ceremonial baths and offerings of flowers, sweets and incense. They observe strict spiritual discipline in the day and worship 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 most fragrant flower and the most expensive jewel. My devotee bathes Me in milk in the first period, in curd in the second, in clarified butter in the third and in honey, in the fourth and last period. In the morning, after the prescribed ceremonies, he breaks his fast. No ritual can compare with this simple routine in sanctity”.

On a personal note, I was blessed by Swami to be in the Divine Darshan for Shivratree in February, 2002. On the eve of the festival, an Italian devotee who was volunteering in the Western Canteen had an interview with Swami (the Living Lord Shiva). The next day, when I joined the volunteers in the kitchen to prepare the meals for the devotees, the Italian devotee earnestly reported that Swami had told her that all the volunteers in the canteen should observe a day of fasting by drinking water only. Those who have food by plenty, Lord Sai Shiva had ordained, should sacrifice their share of food for the less fortunate. The Italian devotee was in those days in charge of the kitchen. She was also the owner of several restaurants in Italy and other parts of the world.

Hence, all the volunteers, restaurant owners or not, decided to follow Swami’s advice, though exceptionally He offered three free meals for the Festival! Was it a test meant more specially for me, I wondered?!

Cupping our hands in Sai Seva and to make Our Sweet Lord very happy, we observed a fast on food, drinks and words.  To soak our throat, we piously sipped drops of pure water from the Fountain of Love for 24 hours! We broke our fast the next day, at dawn. Everybody, without a single exception, was full of Bliss!

 

At the Lotus Feet of Sai

Anita Bacha