MahashivratriA Spiritual Perspective

Agenda

• Aim of the organization• Significance and unique facts behind Mahashivratri• Some unique attributes of Lord Shiva• Lord Shiva's Mission• Spiritual science behind worship of Lord Shiva on Mahashivratri • Subtle experiment of chanting Lord Shiva’s Name• Correct way of worshipping Lord Shiva• Subtle Experiment of pictures of Lord Shiva• Some denigrations of Lord Shiva by various artists and authors

About Forum for Hindu Awakening

• FHA is a charitable organization devoted to awaken society to the unique spiritual science behind Hindu Dharma

Aims:

• Primary Aim: To facilitate the spiritual progress of humanity on the path to God realization (Moksha)

• To educate in the spiritual science underlying Hinduism

• To preserve the practice of Hinduism by dispelling misconceptions about the concepts and practices held holy/sacred in Hinduism

• To expound upon problems faced by the world and promote remedies from the viewpoint of Hinduism

• To unite all persons and organizations interested in the practice of Hinduism

Our website: http://forumforhinduawakening.org/

His Holiness Dr. Jayant Balaji Athavale

Founder of FHA

Who is a Hindu?

Hinani gunani dushayati iti HinduMeaning:

To be a Hindu is to follow a way of life that enhances the spiritually pure sattva component and sattva predominant qualities like love, humility, courage, expansiveness, etc. and overcomes the spiritually impure raja-tama predominant attitudes like anger, attachment, jealousy, greed, lust, pride etc.

- Holy text Meru Tantra

• Mahashivratri falls on the 14th day of the Hindu calendar month of Magh (12th Feb this year).

• On this day the Shiva principle is active a thousand times more than usual.

• The observance of Mahashivaratri aims to gain control over one’s spiritual components of raja (action & passion) and tama (ignorance & darkness)

• To obtain the full benefit of Lord Shiva’s principle, one should chant ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ as much as possible on this day.

Significance of Mahashivratri

• Mahashivaratri implies the spiritual union of the seeker or the embodied soul doing spiritual practice (Jivatma) with the God principle (Shiva or Paramatma)

• It is a reminder to every seeker to attain the high state of God- realization or lasting Bliss

• The observance of Mahashivaratri should be performed with the understanding that though symbolic or ritualistic, it is an endeavor to progress to The Real or The Truth (God)

Significance of Mahashivratri (contd.)

Subtle vision of Shiva in Meditative state on the day of Mahashivratri

What does the word “Shiva” mean?

a. The word Shiva has been derived by reversing the letters of the word vash. Vash means to enlighten; thus the one who enlightens is Shiva. He remains radiant and also illuminates the universe.

b. He is the auspicious and prosperity-bestowing principle.

c. Lord Shiva is also called Mahadev or Supreme God, since He possesses all the three principles – Absolute Purity, Absolute Knowledge and Absolute Spiritual Practice (sadhana) – underlying the Creation of the universe.

Some unique attributes of Lord ShivaPhysical attributesa. Ganga

• Descent of the Ganga from Shiva's head

b. Moon• Shiva adorns the chandra (moon) on His forehead• The point where the three frequencies - affection (mamata),

mercifulness (kshamashilata) and motherly love (vatsalya) originate is referred to as the chandra (moon).

c. Third eye• He can perceive events of the past, present and future

d. Serpent• One of the Names of Lord Shankar is Bhujanga-patihari (i.e. the One

who nurtures pure particles and wears them like a garland)• Lord Shankar adorns serpents at nine points on His body

Science in the idol1. Damaru• This represents the Brahman in the form of the word (shabda Brahman).• Alphabets consisting of the sounds of 52 basic letters and the forms of 14 Maheshvar

verses (sutras) have generated from it.

2. TridentRepresents the following:

• The three components - sattva, raja and tama • The root of creation, sustenance and dissolution • Volition, knowledge and action

3. Noose (pash):

The noose represents the noose of time (kalpash) (The rope in Lord Ganapati's hand too is the same).

Lord Shiva’s Mission1. Jagadguru (Master of the Universe)

Meaning : One should worship Shiva for spiritual knowledge and Janardan (Vishnu) for the Final Liberation (Moksha)

2. One leading to a state beyond the three components

Shankar destroys all the three components of Prakruti - sattva, raja and tama, in a Jiva (Embodied soul) simultaneously.

Science in the worship of Lord Shiva on Mahashivratri Function of the “Shivpindi”

1. Emitting waves of knowledge, devotion and renunciation:• During Mahashivratri, the emission

increases by 30%

2. Emission of subtle vibrations of chaitanya, bliss and peace: • During Mahashivratri, the emission

increases by 25%

3. Receiving the “tarak or marak tatva” as required: • Tarak = Saviour aspect of God• Marak = Destroyer aspect of God

Science in the worship of Lord Shiva on Mahashivratri (contd.)

Bilvapatra (Bel leaves)

• Bilvapatra contains 2% Shiva tatva

• Bilvapatra attracts 20% of the Shiva tatva present in the Shivpindi towards itself

Bilvarchan

• Offering bilvapatra to the Shivpindi and chanting the mantra 'Om Namah Shivaya' with each offering is known as bilvarchan.

• Offer the bilvapatra from the lower part of the pindi

Chant this Name to get maximum benefit of Lord Shiva principle

Subtle experiment of chanting Lord Shiva’s NameSubtle experiment:

• Subtle dimension or subtle world is the world which is beyond the understanding of the five senses, mind and intellect.

• Our sixth sense is our ability to perceive the subtle dimension or subtle world.

• A subtle experiment is a means of testing and training ourselves to use our sixth sense.

Steps to perform subtle experiment:• Assume comfortable posture

• Close your eyes

• Chant “Om Namaha Shivaya” for 5 minutes

• What did you feel after chanting?

Worship of Lord Shiva a. Application of holy ash (Bhasma)

• Tripundra refers to the three horizontal stripes of holy ash applied to the forehead

• These stripes symbolise spiritual knowledge, purity and penance (spiritual practice of Yoga)

b. Wearing a rudraksha

• The rudraksha converts light frequencies of deities from the universe into sound frequencies in the body of humans and vice versa

• A real rudraksha can be recognised by the vibrations felt by holding it in the hand

Worship of Lord Shiva (contd.)c. Ritualistic worship of the pindi

• Only cold water and bel is offered to Lord Shankar's pindi• Since Lord Shiva is the deity of dissolution, substances such as milk, vermilion and

turmeric are not used in His worship.

d. Circumambulation (pradakshina)

• When circum-ambulating, one should begin from the left side and continue till the channel of the shalunka from where the water offered during the ritualistic bathing (abhishek) flows

• The flow of a shalunka is not crossed

e. Chanting the Name of Lord Shiva

• Obeisance (namaskar) to the five syllables “Namaha Shivaya”• Each of the five syllables has a spiritual meaning

Worship of Lord Shiva (contd.)f. Worship of the shalunka

• Shalunka is the extension of the Shivalinga or pindi at its base• Three horizontal stripes of holy ash are drawn on the Shalunka and a circle is

drawn on them• White rice and white flowers are offered• Bel leaves are offered by keeping the stalk pointing towards oneself

g. Abhishek

• Abhishek is sprinkling of holy water and keeps the Shivalinga wet continuously

• Abhishek is offered to Lord Shiva while chanting the rudra (sacred hymns).

Where to sit while worshipping Shivalinga?

• One can sit at any of the points from 1 to 7.

• One should not sit at point 8 shown in the figure

• From this point, the frequencies of divine energy are emitted and the Jiva performing the ritual may not be able to bear the frequencies of energy

• Also, the frequencies can have adverse effect on the jiva.

Subtle Experiment of Sattvik picture of Lord Shiva

Steps to perform subtle experiment:

• Close you eyes, pray and chant for 2 minutes

• Open your eyes and see the first picture

• Note down your reading; whether you are feeling pleasant, unpleasant or neutral

• Repeat the above steps for the second picture

• Now compare your reading

Picture 1 – Lord Shiva

Picture 2 – Lord Shiva

Which picture did you feel better looking at?

Blatant Denigration of Lord Shiva

• Sara MacDonald, an Australian author of a book titled ‘Holy Cow – an Indian Adventure’ has made mockery of Hindu deities and hurt religious sentiments of thousands of Hindus.

• The book has been published in the year 2003 by an American Company called ‘Broadway Books’.

• Lord Shiva has been shown on front page of the book wearing sun glasses

• Lord Shiva has been misrepresented in the book

• There is scornful criticism on Indians, Hindu deities and Dharma, Buddhists and Sikh Dharma

• Teresa Bergen, an artist from the United States, has depicted Hindu Gods as animals.

• A series of such paintings are available on her website

• She has painted Lord Shiva, Lord Brahma, Narad Muni and Lord Nataraja either as a cat or a dog.

• She claims that she has visualised them in these forms, during meditation.

Blatant Denigration of Lord Shiva (contd.)

Blatant Denigration of Lord Shiva (contd.)• M.F.Hussain has painted Headless Lord Shiva and depicted Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesh in a scornful manner

• M.F. Hussain has depicted several other Hindu Gods and Goddesses in a contemptuous manner

• He is booked under different Sections of the Indian Penal Code at different police stations all over India and in some cases has obtained bail and in some cases he is declared as absconding

• His paintings related to Muslim and other religions do not depict any nudity in respect of the respective persons, Gods and Goddesses

Some more examples of denigration of Lord Shiva

So how can one take it as ones sadhana (spiritual practice)?

• We err in thinking that we, by ourselves, cannot do anything or cannot change the situation.

What can I do?

• Follow Righteousness• Do daily spiritual practice• Ask others to follow righteousness (This is the need of the current times)

“Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitaha”God protects those who protect Dharma “Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitaha”

God protects those who protect Dharma

Why is it important to stop these denigrations?

Holy Text on Lord Shiva

• Compilers: H.H. Dr. Jayant Balaji Athavale & Dr. [Mrs.] Kunda Jayant Athavale

• Explains in detail about Lord Shiva, His various forms and science behind His worship

Prayer & Gratitude

By performing every activity by understanding the science of Spirituality, one attains God Realisation (Moksha). It is through the blessing and intense desire of H.H. Dr. Athavale that this knowledge is being made available through FHA.

We pray to Lord Shiva and Sree Guru that all should benefit from this imparted knowledge and progress both individually (vyashti) and collectively (samashti) and realize the true glory of Hindu Dharma.

© 2009 Forum for Hindu Awakening Inc.

If you get any spiritual experiences by following the view points mentioned in this Satsang or if you have any queries about the topic presented here, please let us know.

Our email: info@forumforhinduawakening.org