Mahashivaratri Festival or the ‘The Night of Shiva’ is celebrated with devotion and religious fervor in honor of Lord Shiva, one of the deities of Hindu Trinity. Shivaratri falls on the moonless 14th night of the new moon in the Hindu month of Phalgun, which corresponds to the month of February - March in English Calendar. Celebrating the festival of Shivaratri devotees observe day and night fast and perform ritual worship of Shiva Lingam to appease Lord Shiva.
Legends of Mahashivratri
There are various interesting legends related to the festival of Maha Shivaratri. According to one of the most popular legends, Shivaratri marks the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Some believe that it was on the auspicious night of Shivaratri that Lord Shiva performed the ‘Tandava’, the dance of the primal creation, preservation and destruction. Another popular Shivratri legend stated in Linga Purana states that it was on Shivaratri that Lord Shiva manifested himself in the form of a Linga. Hence the day is considered to be extremely auspicious by Shiva devotees and they celebrate it as Mahashivaratri - the grand night of Shiva.
Traditions and Customs of Shivaratri
Various traditions and customs related to Shivaratri Festival are dutifully followed by the worshippers of Lord Shiva. Devotees observe strict fast in honor of Shiva, though many go on a diet of fruits and milk some do not consume even a drop of water. Devotees strongly believe that sincere worship of Lord Shiva on the auspicious day of Shivaratri, absolves a person of sins and liberates him from the cycle of birth and death. Shivaratri is considered especially auspicious for women. While married women pray for the well being of their husbands unmarried women pray for a husband like Lord Shiva, who is regarded as the ideal husband.
To mark the Shivratri festival, devotees wake up early and take a ritual bath, preferably in river Ganga. After wearing fresh new clothes devotees visit the nearest Shiva temple to give ritual bath to the Shiva Lingum with milk, honey, water etc.
On Shivaratri, worship of Lord Shiva continues all through the day and night. Every three hours priests perform ritual pooja of Shivalingam by bathing it with milk, yoghurt, honey, ghee, sugar and water amidst the chanting of “Om Namah Shivaya’ and ringing of temple bells. Nightlong vigil or jaagran is also observed in Shiva temples where large number of devotees spend the night singing hymns and devotional songs in praise of Lord Shiva. It is only on the following morning that devotee break their fast by partaking prasad offered to the deity.
Vaikunta Ekadasi is one the important and auspicious days to the Hindus. It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It occurs in the Hindu calander, between 1st and 2nd week of January
Also called the 'Mukkoti Ekadasi', when observed, it bestows liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
The Legend
The significance of Vaikunta Ekadasi is mentioned in the 'Padma Purana'. As per the legend, the Devas unable to bear the tyranny of 'Muran', a demon, approached Lord Shiva, who directed them to Lord Vishnu. A battle ensued between Lord Vishnu and the demon and the Lord realised that a new weapon was needed to slay Muran.
In order to take rest and create a new weapon, the Lord retired to a cave called 'Himavati' in Badrikashrama. When Muran tried to slay the Lord, who was sleeping, the female energy that emerged from the Lord burnt him to ashes in one look.
Lord Vishnu who was pleased, named the female energy 'Ekadasi' and asked her to claim a boon. Ekadasi, instead beseeched the Lord that people who observed a fast on that day should be redeemed of their sins. The Lord thus declared that people who observed a fast on that day and worshiped Ekadasi, would attain Vaikunta. Thus came into being the first Ekadasi, which was a Dhanurmasa sukla paksha ekadasi.
Vaikunta Ekadasi Fasting
Vaikunta Ekadasi Fasting is an important aspect of the dos associated with it. People fast the whole day and keep vigil.
Special prayers are offered to Lord Vishnu and devotees engage in Japa (Chanting of the Lord's name) and Dhyana (Meditation).
On 'Dasami', the previous day of the observance, devotees who take up Vaikunta Ekadasi fasting are to take only lunch. On Ekadasi, the next day, they have to maintain a complete fast and engage in prayers and meditation of the Lord. They are strictly prohibited from taking rice. That night, people keep vigil the whole night and visit the temple of Lord Vishnu, mostly in the wee hours of the morning.
On this day, the Vaikunta Dwaram or the Swarga Vaasal, 'The Gates of Heaven' are believed to be kept open. The area encircling the sanctum is referred to Swarga Vaasal and devotees throng to gain entry into the temple, to seek the Lord.
Vaikunta Ekadasi Significance
It is important to look at the significance of this auspicious day from the spiritual angle.
The demon Muran stands for the rajasic and tamasic qualities in people, which attributes to lust, passion, inertia, arrogance etc. When one conquers these tendencies, one attains the purity of mind, Sattva, indispensable for attaining moksha, liberation or realisation of the self.
For realising the self as pure awareness, purity of mind is required. Fasting helps to keep tendencies at bay, which could be triggered by intake of certain food. Keeping vigil in the night is symbolic of awareness, or being watchful of the contents of the mind. When the mind is looked at, it becomes still. To abide in the stillness is to attain freedom or peace, acquired through merging of the mind with the self. This is symbolic of the mind automatically being absorbed at the sight of the Lord after the arduous fast and vigil.
The belief that rice is prohibited, owing to the fact that Muran dwells in it, symbolically signifies the fact that eating of rice could get one feel heavy and hamper the vigil to be kept up. This signifies that entertaining negative tendencies could hamper one's progress towards awareness or consciousness.
Observance of the rituals on this auspicious day even without understanding its importance is beneficial. Hence he merits accrued through observing it with piety is believed to be immeasurable.
So let us understand the significance and attain the Grace of the Lord.
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Inner Engineering with Shambhavi is a four day course combining the aspects of the Inner Engineering course with learning Shambhavi Kriya. There is no prerequisite or prior experience with yoga/meditation required to enroll in this course. It is offered in local city centers.
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Isha Foundation is a non-profit, spiritual organization founded in 1992 by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.It is based at the Isha Yoga Center near Coimbatore, India and at the Isha Institute of Inner Sciences at McMinnville, Tennessee in the United States. The foundation offers yoga programs under the name Isha Yoga. It has over 5 million volunteers and works in tandem with international bodies like the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
Isha Yoga is the masthead under which the Isha Foundation offers yoga programs. The word isha means "the formless divine". Isha Yoga's introductory flagship program is 'Inner Engineering'. It includes initiation into meditation and pranayama and the Shambhavi Mahamudra. Yoga classes are also conducted for corporate leaders to introduce them to what Sadhguru calls "inclusive economics," to introduce a sense of compassion and inclusiveness into today's economic scenario. A yoga course for the Indian national hockey team was conducted in 1996. Isha Foundation began conducting yoga programs in the United States in 1997and, in 1998, yoga classes for life-term prisoners in Tamil Nadu prisons were initiated.
Isha Foundation regularly organises Mahasathsangs with Sadhguru in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka where he gives discourses, conducts meditations and answers the audience's questions. Isha Foundation organises annual yatras to Mount Kailash and the Himalayas under the banners Kailash Manasarovar Sojourn and Himalayan Dhyan Yatra. The Kailash Sojourn led by Sadhguru is among the largest groups to make the trip to Kailash with 514 pilgrims making the journey in 2010.
Jaggi Vasudev, commonly known as Sadhguru, is an Enlightened. Indian Yogi and Guru, mystic, and New York Times bestselling author who has touched scores of lives through his Spiritual Yoga Programs. He founded the Isha Foundation, a non-profit organization which offers yoga programs around the world, including India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Lebanon, Singapore, Canada, Malaysia, Uganda, China, Nepal, and Australia. The Foundation is also involved in various social and community development activities, which have resulted in the Foundation being granted special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
At the age of 25 on 23 September 1982, Sadhguru rode up Chamundi Hill and sat on a rock, where he had a spiritual experience. Sadhguru describes his experience as follows: "Till that moment in my life I always thought this is me and that's somebody else and something else. But for the first time I did not know which is me and which is not me. Suddenly, what was me was just all over the place. The very rock on which I was sitting, the air that I breathe, the very atmosphere around me, I had just exploded into everything. That sounds like utter insanity. This, I thought it lasted for ten to fifteen minutes but when I came back to my normal consciousness, it was about four-and-a-half-hours I was sitting there, fully conscious, eyes open, but time had just flipped.":04:04 Six weeks after this experience, he left his business to his friend and traveled extensively in an effort to gain insight into his mystical experience. After a year of meditation and travel, Sadhguru decided to teach yoga to share his inner experience.
In 1983, he conducted his first yoga class with seven participants in Mysore. Over time, he began conducting yoga classes across Karnataka and Hyderabad traveling from class to class on his motorcycle. He lived off the proceeds of his poultry farm rental and refused payment for the classes. A usual practice of his was to donate the collections received from participants to a local charity on the last day of the class. These initial programs were the basic format on which the Isha yoga classes were later built.
