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The Significance of Mahashivratri
By Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
In the Indian culture, at one time, there used to be 365 festivals in a
year. In other words, they just needed an excuse to celebrate every day
of the year. And these 365 days, or these 365 festivals, were ascribed
to different reasons, and for different purposes of life. There are various
festivals to celebrate various historical events, victories over foes and
there are various other celebrations or festivals which are of life
relevance. For every situation in life, like harvesting, planting, reaping
– from the day you bring the seed into the house, to the day you sell
your produce in the market – there were festivals. But Mahashivarathri
is of a different significance. Mahashivarathri is very significant for
people who are on the spiritual process; it is also very significant for
people who are in family situations, and it is also very significant for the
ambitious in the world.
When we say Shiva, most people are looking at him as some kind of a God who is beyond everything.
But if you look at the Shiva Purana and his life process, you will find that he went through everything that
any human being would go through. He is the most beautiful, he is the ugliest, he is a great ascetic, and
he is a family person. He is the most disciplined, he is a drunkard, a drug addict, he is a dancer, he is
absolutely still; he is many things at the same time. Gods worship him, demons worship him, and all
kinds of creatures in the world worship him.
This clearly conveys a key message- if you can accept this man who is a complex formation of every
quality you can find on this planet, you can accept every quality you can find in the universe, whether it’s
beautiful or ugly. Whether it is great or low, whether it is heaven or hell, everything is in him. If you can
accept him, you have crossed life itself. If you can accept this man who is the most beautiful and the
most horrible at the same time, then you have passed life very easily.
The whole struggle with this life is, we are always trying to pick out what is beautiful and what is not,
what is good and what is bad. Shiva is a terrible combination of everything put together.
For people who live in family situations, Mahashivarathri is worshipped as Shiva’s wedding anniversary.
For the ascetics, that is the day that he became one with Kailash that is he became like a mountain, still;
absolutely still. After millenniums of meditation, one day he became absolutely still, that day is
Mahashivarathri. All movement in him stopped and he became utterly still. So ascetics see
Mahashivarathri as the day of stillness. For the ambitious, the volatile in the world see that day as the
day Shiva conquered all his enemies.
So whatever the legends, the significance of the Mahashivarathri day is, we know that every 14 th day of
the month is the Shivarathri. People who are on the spiritual path, have special sadhanas on those days,
because on that day in the month, there is a natural upsurge of energies in the human body. The
Puranas say, “Blessed are those whose spines are erect”. If you were still a creature whose spine was
horizontal, you could not make use of it. But blessed are those who have an erect spine, so that on the
Mahashivarathri day, effortlessly they can move heavenward. Naturally there is an upsurge of energies,
there’s an upward movement of energy in the human body on that day.
Mahashivarathri, happens once in a year. It is all the more significant for the same reason. So spiritual
sadhakas want to keep their spines erect for the whole day. This night we are supposed to spend awake,
aware, with our spines erect so that whatever sadhana we are doing, there is a great assistance from
nature on this day, so that the natural upward movement happens. All evolution in a human being is
fundamentally an upward movement in energy. Every practice, every sadhana that a spiritual sadhaka
does is only to move his energies upward. From being just a biological entity to become a spiritual
process, what is needed is an upward movement of energy.
When we exist here catering to the physical aspect of nature, which is our body, it will be just survival
and pro-creation. The physical dimension of the existence really has no other purpose. If you look at
every creation on this planet, you will see everything is constantly aspiring to survive and pro-create so
that life just goes on. But once you have become human, you know that life just going on is not sufficient
for you anymore. If you are any other creature, life just going on is sufficient, but once you have your
spine erect, life just going on is not sufficient for you.
Today modern science is proving that everything you know as life, everything that you know as existence,
as cosmos, as galaxies, it is all just one energy manifesting itself in millions and millions of ways. This is
an experiential reality in every yogi. The word yoga means union, and the word yogi means one who has
known the oneness of the existence. The whole process of yoga is about bringing this experiential reality
into every human being.
When I say yoga, I’m not referring to any one particular practice or system, all longing to know the
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Kavita Chhibber
unbounded, all longing to know the oneness in the existence is yoga. Either you can simply go at it with
the strength of your emotion, or you can approach it systematically so that you find fruit as quickly as
possible. Or in other words, if everything is one energy the difference between the rock and what you call
as human, is just a question of subtleness of energy. Though it is the same, it is in different levels of
subtleness. When it’s very gross we call it a rock, when it’s in its utmost subtleness, we call it the Divine.
So to know and experience this divinity means evolving our energies to higher possibilities, evolving our
energies to subtler dimensions within ourselves. During Mahashivarathri, in the northern hemisphere of
this planet, a very special process happens naturally where one can see that there is a natural upsurge of
energies in every human body. To make use of this natural upsurge of energy, one has to remain vertical
in spine. As your biologists have always pointed out, one of the biggest step in the evolutionary process
for the animal is to move from horizontal to vertical spine. It’s only after that your intelligence flowered.
So, on this night if one is willing to keep their spine erect during the night, we will do everything possible
to keep you awake. By making use of this natural upsurge of energies, with the right kind of mantras,
meditation and the whole situation, one could step closer to the divine.
People who are of very logical in their minds naturally will wonder what is going to happen by just uttering
a mantra. There is a wonderful story in the yogic lore. One day a kriya yogi who had great
accomplishments behind him went to Shiva and asked Shiva "What is all this, your bhaktas are making all
noise in the world, all the time they are shouting ’Shiva Shambho’, what is this going to do? What is the
use of going on yelling these mantras like this?"
Then Shiva said, "let’s experiment, here there is a worm crawling, go close to him and say ’Shiva
Shambho’, let’s see what happens." The yogi went to the worm and uttered "Shiva Shambho", the worm
fell dead. The yogi was aghast, "I just uttered this mantra, your name, and the worm is dead! What is
this?" Shiva completely oblivious of the worm, pointed at the butterfly and said "See how wonderful this
butterfly is". The yogi also got involved with the butterfly; Shiva said, "Attempt the mantra with the
butterfly". The yogi looked in the direction of the butterfly and uttered "Shiva Shambho", the butterfly fell
dead. The yogi was totally in turmoil and said, "What is this? If I just utter your name, one after another
is falling dead. I don’t want to say it anymore." Shiva completely ignored this and looked at a wonderful
deer that was romping around. He said, "look at the deer, it so wonderful. Why don’t you utter the mantra
to the deer and see?" The yogi uttered "Shiva Shambho" and the deer fell dead. He said, "No! No more
can I say this!"
Then somebody brought their newborn child to Shiva for his blessings, and then Shiva said, "Why don’t
you utter the mantra to this child?" The yogi said, "No, I cannot do this. Already the worm, the butterfly
and the deer I have behind me, I don’t want to see this." Shiva said "It doesn’t matter, say it." So the
yogi with great hesitation went to the child and uttered "Shiva Shambho". This newborn child just sat up
and said, "Oh yogi, don’t you know the power of the mantra? Don’t you know the power of the name of
lord Shiva?" The yogi said "No, can you tell me?" He said, "Yes. I was a worm and you uttered the
mantra I became a butterfly, you uttered the mantra I became a deer, you uttered the mantra I became
human. If you utter the mantra once more I will become divine."
For more information about Sadhguru, please visit www.ishafoundation.org
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev is an international speaker, author and peace advocate with profound spiritual and cultural
insights on health and human potential. He addresses over 500,000 people annually at his public forums. Sadhguru is a
realized master and yogi who has practiced yoga since age 13 and authored four books on the essential nature of yoga.
Sadhguru has synthesized the science of yoga into a dynamic program that allows people to restore and maintain
optimum health and inner balance.
Through his books, columns, articles and interviews aired and published in a host of international media, Sadhguru is
considered an authority on yogic science whose teachings help people gain an inner understanding of the issues and
events that happen to themselves and the world around them.
Sadhguru is founder of the Isha Foundation, a non-profit organization advancing physical, mental and spiritual health
through yoga and self-transformation. The Foundation administers over 100 yoga centers, an ashram, residential complex
and medical center in India, and conducts public programs around the world. His humanitarian initiatives for world peace
and his outreach programs for Tsunami relief, prisoners, children and Action for Rural Rejuvenation in India are examples
of his determination to improve the human condition for all people.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these columns are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily represent those of the
editor/publisher.
Archives:
Sadhguru Speaks February 2008: "Healiing through Sadhana"; Q & A with Sadhguru
Sadhguru Speaks January 2008: "When you rear hungry hounds in your backyard, one day
they will bite you as well." Sadhguru in conversation with Kavita Chhibber; Q & A with
Sadhguru
Sadhguru Speaks December 2007: "It is Important to Take care of the Planet"; Q & A with
Sadhguru
Sadhguru Speaks November 2007: Q & A with Sadhguru, Missing out on Things.
Sadhguru Speaks October 2007: From Stagnation to Stillness
Sadhguru Speaks September 2007: Spirituality and Economics, Q & A with Sadhguru;
Transformation through Isha - A Man’s Journey
Sadhguru Speaks August 2007: Terrorism is the result of a non-inclusive society; Q & A
with Sadhguru
Sadhguru Speaks July 2007: What Role Does Spirituality play in World Economics?; Q & A
http://www.kavitachhibber.com/main/main.jsp?id=sadhguru-Mar2008
Kavita Chhibber
with Sadhguru
Sadhguru Speaks June 2007: Sadhguru Speaks at TieCon 2007; Q & A with Sadhguru.
A DIRECT LINK TO SADHGURU’S KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT TIECON 2007.
Sadhguru Speaks May 2007: Inner Engineering; How Do we Deal with Growing Violence?
and a Q & A with Sadhguru
Sadhguru Speaks April 2007
Other Articles featuring Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev:
An Interview with Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev by Kavita Chhibber
February 2007 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev on Science and Technology
March 2007 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Q & A
January 2007 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Q & A
December 2006 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev: "Good and Bad Divide the
World"
August 2006 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev’s "Allergic to Spirituality"
February 2006 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev: "Conflict Between Religions"
October 2005 Words of Wisdom - Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev: "True Happiness"
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