Feb 13: Maha Shivaratri

A holy night of worship and prayers honouring Lord Shiva

On Tuesday, February 13, 2017, at 7:00 PM, devotees gathered in Toronto to celebrate Maha Shivaratri, the Great Night of Lord Shiva. On this night, the moon wanes to a thin crescent and gradually disappears. The moon represents the mind, filled with worldly desires and restless emotions. Lord Shiva, the Destroyer of Desires, wears the crescent moon as an ornament in His hair, showing that he has conquered the ever-changing mind. As the moon wanes to nothing on Maha Shivaratri, our mind similarly thins out and settles into Silence. As Amma says: "When the mind is completely dissolved, Self-knowledge dawns and the realization 'Shivoham' – 'I am Shiva' – 'Shivoham' transforms our life into Shiva." On Maha Shivaratri, devotees fast, meditate, pray and perform pujas all night long, longing for a glimpse of the Supreme, Lord Shiva.

The evening began with opening prayers and the chanting of Amma's Ashtottaram (108 names). The devotees then chanted the Shiva Panchakshara Stotram which glorifies each syllable of the mantra Om Namah Shivaya. This was followed by abishekam, the ceremonial bathing of the Shiva Lingam. With fervent devotion, the devotees chanted Om Namah Shivaya as they each bathed the Lingam with milk, yogurt, honey, ghee, rose water and sacred water from the river Ganga. The Shiva Lingam was then adorned with sandalwood paste, kumkum (vermillion powder) and vibhuti (sacred ash) and garlanded with fresh jasmine flowers. Together with their prayers, the devotees offered white flower petals and bilva leaves to the Shiva Lingam.

After the puja, the devotees contemplated upon Amma's Shivaratri message for this year. Amma notes how Lord Shiva encompasses so many contradictory elements: 'Shiva' means auspicious yet He lives in the cremation ground, smeared with ashes, and adorned with poisonous snakes. He is a householder yet He is Guru to all ascetics and renunciates. He does the Tandava dance of destruction, yet He is forever immersed in samadhi. He appears fearsome, yet is Bholenath, the Gentle Lord who is Easily Pleased. In the Supreme, all these contradictions can be contained without conflict. Lord Shiva thus shows that we too can unify the seemingly contradictory elements of our own lives, such as action and meditation. The Maha Shivaratri celebration ended with bhajans in praise of Lord Shiva, and Arati. In the words of our beloved Amma: "May the festival of Shivaratri inspire us to rise from wrong to right, from unrighteousness to righteousness, and from ignorance to knowledge."

Om Namah Shivaya

Click here to view a slideshow of photos from Maha Shivaratri.