Mahashivaratri

                         MAHASHIVRATRI

Mahashivratri literally elucidate to -the great night of shiva.

India is the country with a perfect smash-up of different religions & languages where a single festival i.e., Mahashivratri is known by several names in different locations & by different tribes as follows:

1. মহা শিৱৰাত্রি ( Assamese)

2. শিবরাত্রি (Bengali)

3.महा शिबफुजा ( Bodo )

4.મહા શિવરાત્રી (Gujarati)

5.ಮಹಾ ಶಿವರಾತ್ರಿ (Kannada)

6.മഹാ ശിവരാത്രി (Malayalam)

7.महा शिवरात्रि (Marathi)

8.महा शिवरात्रि (Nepali)

9.ମହା ଶିବରାତ୍ରି (Odia)

10.ਮਹਾਂ ਸ਼ਿਵਰਾਤਰੀ (Punjabi)

11.महा शिवरात्रि (Sanskrit)

12.மகா சிவராத்திரி (Tamil)

13.మహా శివరాత్రి (Telugu)

Locales where Mahashivaratri is celebrated-

India, titled as 'Vishva-Guru' by Swami Vivekananda actually holds a picturesque upshot worldwide. Like Yoga which, now has become the well-known Indian brand across the universe, Mahashivratri also bears the importance in the countries:Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad, Tobago other than India.which signifies that, a developing country (on its way of being a superpower) has a rich culture with a vast references worldwide.

a/c to Kashmir Shaivism, Mahashivratri is called as Har-ratri or phonetically  Haerath or Herath by Shiva faithfuls of Kashmiris.

*Hey, do you know the difference b/w Shivratri & Mahashivratri :-

Shivratri is observed on 14th day of each month, a day before the new moon(a/c to Hindu calendar shivratri is observed on chaturdashi of Krishna paksha).  Mahashivratri (among the 12 Shivratri)is the most important one generally celebrated in February/ March depending upon the planetary position.

When is Mahashivratri observed : From the astronomical aspect, transition from 13th-14th(Trayodashi-chaturdashi) lunar dayof month of Phalguna(b/w Feb-March) Mahashivratri is celebrated;On this exceptional day of Mahashivaratri, the Sun will be in Aquarius & Moon in Capricorn.

Different reasons why Hindus celebrate Mahashivratri :-

Mahashivaratri is a crucial festival in Hinduism, and this gala is solemn and streaks a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" (ignorance with respect to the ultimate truth).

Four main events in Shiva's life had happened on this particular day:

Mahashivaratri is the day when the unalterable formless God "Sadashiv" (i.e., implicitly nirguna form of God) appeared in the form of "Lingodbhavamurti" exactly at midnight of Mahashivaratri. Also, God in His manifestation of Vishnu made His appearance as Krishna at midnight, 180 days after Mahashivratri, commonly known as Janmashtami. Thus, the circle of one year is into two by these two Divine Avatara days of the Hindu Calendar. The whole scenario indicates the meticulously planned & accuracy of Hindu calendar.

Coming to the 2nd one -Mahashivaratri is also the ritual wedding anniversary of Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati (Shakti). Remember Shiva minus Parvati is 'Nirguna Brahman'. With Parvati's illusive power, (Shakti) He becomes the "Saguna Brahman" for the purpose of the pious, devout devotion of His devotees.Its exemplary to show the precise equilibrium b/w spirituality (of a monk) & the psychic & emotional values of common people.

          

The 3rd one: on Mahashivaratri (different kalpa), Lord Shiva attained the title of Neelkantham (Having blue throat) by swallowing deadly poison (Halahal) that emerged during the churning of the Kshira Sagar (Milky ocean). Another example where God teaches that if an obstacle (signified by poison) comes in the way you have chosen, come ahead, lead & remove that obstacle.

Now, the poison was so deadly that even a single drop in His stomach, which represents the universe, would have annihilated the entire world. Hence, He held it in His neck, which turned blue due to the effect of the poison. Maha Shivaratri is, therefore, also a day of thanksgiving to the Lord for protecting us from poison [the thing which teaches to be a giver always, the positive power of giving & helping is light years ahead than being a taker or a victim.]

Another story says that Mahashivratri is celebrated as the day when Brahma and Vishnu got into a major tiff about their supremacy over each other and annoyed Lord Shiva punished them by taking the form of a massive fire that spread throughout the universe. Vishnu and Brahma then got into the race to find the end of the fire and prove their prowess--only to be dismayed. Brahma resorted to a lie, and angered Shiva greatly who cursed that no one would ever worship him(the Bramha). Mahashivaratri, here edified about the obvious destruction of nonsense frame of mind by Shiva.

 

Yet another reason of celebration:

The day is having innumerable reasons to celebrate (constituting spiritual, ritual, scientific etc).

 A festival of contemplation :-

During the Vigil Night of Shiva, Mahashivaratri, 

we are brought to the moment of interval 

between destruction and regeneration; it encapsulates the ticker night of Shivratri when we must scrutinize on that which watches the growth out of the decay. 

During Mahashivaratri you need to be alone 

with your sword, the Shiva out of you. 

We have to look behind and before, 

to see what evil needs eradication from our heart, 

which virtue we need to encourage.

Shiva is outside & within us as well. 

To unite ourselves with the One Self 

is to recognize the Shiva in us.

—The Theosophical Movement, Volume 72

Hidden science behind Mahashivratri :-Looking at Shiva's idol, you must have wondered that if the Shiva's principles is so scientific, spiritual & logical then what's the need of carrying those Chandra, Ganga, Rudraksha & all those stuffs, isn't illogical and superstition.

Well, each & every entity that Shiva carries has a special, specific meaning described as follows:

 Lord Shiva’s ash : Waves of Lord Shiva are like ash. Ash represents detachment which is mandatory in order to be high up of all happiness and miseries.

The shivlinga (a symbol of nirguna, niraakaar bramha ) is considered as a energy reservoir as it radiates immense positive energy. It gives the positive, powerful & the needful peaceful waves. On Mahashivaratri, the zest of the shivlinga is at its supreme.

Trishula:-Shiva carries a trident (as his weapon); the first, second and third dents symbolises as the creator, preserver & destroyer or the equilibrium between the three spiritual gunas-sattva, raja, tamas.

Rudraksha (Seeds of Rudraksha tree)  - motive of Shiva behind adorning the rudraksha: Lord Shiva is always in the state of Samadhi, a super-conscious state of meditative unification with the Absolute (God principle). His work is always done through the subtle. For His work to be carried properly, He has adorned garland made out of Rudraksha. 

                   

Bel leaf :-the tender bel leaf can incorporate the gross language of sound (ahat) and the ultra-fine & divine language of light (anahat); hence, it is offered to the pindi (linga). There's a specific way of keeping it on the linga with its back upwards & the stalk pointing towards the worshipper. The aim is to draw the energy from three leaflets towards the worshipper, leading to the reduction of one's trigunas. Such can be the potential of Bel leaf on Mahashivaratri. One of the main components in the Shivalinga’s ritualistic worship is Bel leaf. The Bel leaf emits 2% of shivtattva.

# [From the point of Evolution]

The reason why we do 'jaagaran' on Mahashivratri :- 

"Uh! it's a holiday,I want to sleep" . But there is something more precious than this, which your Shiva has given you to celebrate on Mahashivaratri--the flawless-fine soul hidden within the bodily attire.

Remember, when you were in school, you had studied about Human Evolution. There you observed that organisms with their vertebral column straight were ahead in the race of evolution compared to organisms with horizontal vertebral column ( as scientifically, the quality & quantity of brain development was better in living beings with their vertebral column straight or vertically placed).

On this particular date of Mahashivratri the centrifugal force acts outward from the Earth & that's why it is believed that we shouldn't sleep on this night (as during awake, your vertebral column will be straight, you will get a chance to catch up the energy which is radiating outward.// if you sleep, your vertebral column will become horizontal & not be capable of absorbing the optimum energy.

#[from the point of Ayurveda ]

Mahashivaratri and Vata :-

On Mahashivratri, the Sun and the Moon get aligned in a way that the Vata 

component of body gets activated. The persuit is maximum during this time of the 

year.vata is among the 3 prime constituents (vata, pitta, kapha)of the body.

Any movement within the body is directly connected with Vata. Accordingly, 

Vata directly impacts the following –

1. At the physical level (Sthula), Vata impacts the nervous system, and controls all 

bodily movement. 

2. Talking to the cellular level (Sookshma), Vata “moves” nutrients into the body, and at the 

same time “moves” the wastes out of the cell. 

3. In the natural plan (Karana), Vata helps in retrieving information from the 

memory, and enables cause and effect analysis

Such is the importance of Vata. Even a minor imbalance of Vata drastically affects the 

points mentioned above. If vata gets imbalanced, the person will have issues like lethargy, demotivation, forgetfulness, bad temperament, depressed, aggressive, mood

swings and in extreme cases anti-social and suicidal tendencies.

 

  Abhishekam to the linga, isn't it superstitious ? :-

The Abhishekam that is done on linga can be construed as a superstition & foolishness by you, but is completely scientific & logical with different proofs. Because if you don't do the 'Abhishekam' to the  'linga' with fats (like oil, butter, ghee etc), it'll crack(due to its specific nature). So 'Abhishekam' is needed periodically. From the abstract spirituality, you can say that:if we keep the 'shivlinga' wet, it'll easily 'recieve'(the meaning is actually deep here, take a deep breath and think about it..

 Significance of Mahashivratri vrat :-

It is the aeon of junk food, the world is suffering from the obvious fruit of 'obesity' with a rate of approximately 30%(& in India, the rate is 5%).

Here, fasting, especially on Mahashivratri will purify your physical body and preferably your soul too. This is proved by many researches in nutrition science.

 Fasting on the night of Shivratri and singing hymns and praises in the name of Lord Shiva. ... It is believed that if you fast on this night and offer prayers to Lord Shiva, it'll bring good luck into your life.

And talking to the scientific point of view, fasting in a regular interval of time keeps the body metabolism, psychological conditions well.

#As there is a very shallow line b/w spirituality & science (as spirituality is a kind of science)., especially in case of 'Adiyogi shankara' . Some of the points mentioned above may overlap spirituality & science.