[VIDEO] The Meaning of Shivaratri

“Statue of Shiva at Murudeshwar” by Thejas Panarkandy (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Shivaratri is  the night of the UNION between Consciousness and Energy

Shivaratri or Maha Shivratri is known as the "Great night of Shiva." which happens on the 13th night of the month of "Phalguna" - February/March. 

On this night, consciousness is said to peak. Our experiences drop as our attention goes inwards towards rising inner energies.

The dark night of Shivaratri symbolises the meditative state of Shoonya or Nirvana, the stage just before enlightenment. Shivaratri is the dark night of the soul, when we become the void and only darkness surrounds us. Time, space, energy and thought are all transcended. Everything becomes void, empty. Only then can it be filled with light. This is the path towards enlightenment.

It is said on this night Shiva, the primal consciousness united with Shakti, the primal energy. On Shivaratri if we're open to it, our inner Shiva can unite with our inner Shakti, to bring forth the Higher Self.  

Shivaratri is the most auspicious night of the year for expanding our consciousness and reaching the state of shoonya.

WHAT THE MASTERS SAY ABOUT SHIVARATRI: 

SWAMI SATYANANDA SARASWATI

“What are the night and day of consciousness? When the individual experiences existence, the objective reality all around him, that is the day of consciousness. The night of consciousness is when the consciousness is all alone and no objective experience takes place. You don’t hear, see, feel or know anything. Time, space and objectivity – three qualities of mind – fall flat. Consciousness alone remains. That is the dark night of the soul, the stage just before illumination. So Shivaratri is a symbol of the spiritual state of samadhi. But for us, Sivaratri means the state preceding samadhi, illumination.”

SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR

Mahashivratri is the day of Shiva. Wherever there is beauty, truth, and benevolence, there is Shiva. And, there is no place where the Shivaprinciple is absent. But, Shiva is not a person. It is that principle which is the summum bonum of the whole creation and pervades the entire universe. This principle, called the Shiva Tattva, is the quintessence of life and is present deep within every living being.

NITHYANANDA

“Maha Sadashivaratri is the most auspicious night to realize “Paramashivoham,” to BE Paramashiva! On this night, an explosion of super-conscious energy happens on our planet. Hindu cosmology traces this explosion back to the Big Bang, the moment of the creation of our universe.

In the sacred Hindu text Arunachala Purana, this momentous happening is depicted as the Lord Paramashiva (symbol of cosmic energy) taking the form of an endless shaft of light spanning earth and sky. Every year, by a fortunate alignment of cosmic forces, a tiny reflection of the same explosion happens on our planet on this night.”

SATYA SAI BABA

“Sivarathri is a very auspicious day for all. It is the fourteenth day of the lunar fortnight, when the moon is waning and the sun is in the sign of Aquarius. However, the festival is related to the moon rather than the sun. Unlike other nights, this particular night is the night of consecration, of dedication, of illumination.

The mind is intimately associated with the moon. Chandra, the deity of the moon, is the presiding deity of the mind. He loses one sixteenth of his brilliance every day after the full moon day and continues waning until, on this night, he is left with just one sixteenth of his power. The waned moon may be taken to stand for the mind with all its wild fancies and waywardness reduced after it has been conquered by spiritual discipline.”

SADHGURU

“Mahashivratri is one of the largest and most significant among the sacred festival nights of India. This – the darkest night of the year – celebrates the Grace of Shiva, who is considered the Adi Guru or the First Guru, from whom the yogic tradition originates. The planetary positions on this night are such that there is a powerful natural upsurge of energy in the human system. It is enormously beneficial for one’s physical and spiritual wellbeing to stay awake and aware in a vertical position throughout the night.”