WHY DO WE CELEBRATE MAHASHIVRATRI?

[prasad1]

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In the daily hustle and bustle of life, we forget our source of energy - that which is running us. Mahashivratri is a festival to remember and to take our awareness to the basis of our existence: Shiva.

But, why is Shivratri celebrated? There is more than one Mahashivaratri story surrounding this occasion. Here are a few:

• One is that Lord Shiva married Parvati on this day. So, it is a celebration of this sacred union.
• Another is that when the Gods and demons churned the ocean together to obtain ambrosia that lay in its depths, a pot of poison emerged. Lord Shiva consumed this poison, saving both the Gods and mankind. The poison lodged in the Lord’s throat, turning him blue. To honor the savior of the world, Shivratri is celebrated.
• One more legend is that as Goddess Ganga descended from heaven in full force, Lord Shiva caught her in his matted locks, and released her on to Earth as several streams. This prevented destruction on Earth. As a tribute to Him, the Shivalinga is bathed on this auspicious night.
• Also, it is believed that the formless God Sadashiv appeared in the form of a Lingodhbhav Moorthi at midnight. Hence, people stay awake all night, offering prayers to the God.

These are some of the stories that can possibly answer why we celebrate Shivratri. But, what do we do during Shivratri?

What to do on MahaShivratri | Why do we celebrate Maha Shivratri

What to do on MahaShivratri: Mahashivratri is a festival to remember, and to take our awareness, to the basis of our existence—to Shiva. Read more to know what to do and why do we celebrate Mahashivratri.

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[ekaputra]

Paatti sonna kathai...

I remember hearing this from my grandma.

A hunter had passed the whole day without luck and he was very hungry and also needed to feed his family. It was late in the night and and he sat on the branch of a tree hoping to use the darkness to his advantage. A deer came close to the tree and he was about to kill it when the deer also spotted him. He was a very skilled hunter who had even learnt the language of animals. The deer pleaded that it was in the last stage of pregnancy and that it would deliver the fawn in a few hours and return to him by morning. He spared the animal's life but did not expect it to return. He spent the rest of the night chewing some leaves from the tree and throwing some below. The hunter had been sitting on a Bilva tree and he was not aware that there was a Shivalinga below the branch. The leaves that he threw during the night landed on the Shivalinga.

In the morning, the deer returned and thanked the hunter for the mercy shown and was ready to offer itself. The hunter was overcome with emotion and said that he did not wish to kill such a noble animal. The deer immediately transformed into Lord Shiva.

Lord Shiva told the hunter that his act of mercy would be remembered forever. The night would be observed as the most auspicious one for Him as Maha Shivaratri and the proper way to worship him would be to stay awake through the night and eat only Bilva leaves and do archana to a Shivalinga with Bilva leaves.

 

[renuka]

Mahashivaratri is the darkest night of the year.
The moon has an effect on waves of the sea and also on thought waves.

Try going to a psychiatric ward on a full moon night..thats how the word lunatic came about becos the full moon's effect on worsening thoughts.

So logically on the darkest night of the year..the moon isnt exerting a strong effect on the mind hence sadhana can be best practiced sans disturbance BUT now WiFi signals has started to replace the moon! So everyday our brain undergoes tremendous agitation without even we realizing it and Shivaratri itself has become an Online ratri!