11th March: Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri (Maha Shivratri, Maha Sivaratri, Shivaratri, Sivaratri) is a festival that is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva on the 13th or 14th day of the Hindu month of Maagha or Phalguna. The festival usually occurs in the month of February or March and is observed for one day and night only.
Shivaratri 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.
On this night, there is just a minute part more to be conquered, and that can be done by keeping vigil and dwelling on the glory of God The vigil that is prescribed is symbolic of the eternal vigil one has to observe, while the rite of fasting is symbolic of divesting the senses of the pleasures for which they crave. The night-long devotional singing is significant of the lifelong consciousness of the Divine Presence that everyone should cultivate.
Significance
Shiva means auspicious. This is an auspicious night. Every month has a Shivaratri – the fourteenth day of Krishnapaksha, the waning part of the lunar cycle, is called Masa Shivaratri. Once a year, we observe Maha Shivaratri on the 14th day of the waning moon, in the month of Magha (February–March), which is the most auspicious of all Shivaratri nights. Maha means great and Maha Shivaratri is the great Shivaratri night.
The moon is the presiding deity of the mind. It represents the mind, which is least effective during the time of Maha Shivaratri. This is regarded as the most auspicious time for spiritual seekers. The mind is considered to be the cause for both bondage and liberation of man (“Manayeva manushyanam karanam bandha mukshayoh”). Once the mind is controlled and turned towards God, one is free and liberated. But if the mind is turned towards the world, one remains in bondage.
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