Adbhut Sur

Ricardo Calazans from Brazil wanted me to share his Shiva bhajan with you on my blog.
Wish you all a blessed Shiva Ratri!

Ananda Utsav - How to celebrate Shiva Ratri?

Feb 11 night (Feb 11 around 15:00 hrs CST to Feb 12 18:00 hrs CST) CST is Maha Shiva Ratri.

People in USA should not get confused with Indian time slots of festivals.

Festivals be it anywhere are based on the soli-lunar calender. Mahashivaratri is celebrated on Krishna Chaturdasi night in the month of Magha.

How to celebrate?

Sanatan Dharma has rules of worship. Many stick to rules and I respect their views as well. However, I don't believe in rules which I don't understand. For me what matters is devotion, what matters is doing the right thing, what matters is what makes me feel closer to Him - my Shiva!

Worship is a very personal thing. For me what matters most is devotion. If my intention is clean and my devotion profound I can be closer to God more than one who is ritualistic but doesn't have the intention and devotion as I do. This is my belief.

Shiva is all about Love. There cannot be any Shiva if there is no Shakti and vice versa. Shiva doesn't exist without Shakti. When Sati self-sacrified herself in Daksha's Yajna, Shiva took samadhi. The same samadhi was broken only the reincarnation of Shakti again as Parvati. Thus, if anyone wishes to please Shiva, one should try to please his/her loved ones. Shiva is also the Guru. He is the Adi Guru. Thus, in life, Shiva stands for our teachers and our elders.

Understanding Shiva requires de-understanding one self and re-understanding others who matter in our lives.

I can give you twenty mantras and a manual of rituals to do on Shiva ratri but all that is useless unless you understand the true philosophy of Shiva, the true essence of Shiva Tattwa - which is love.

So, if you want to really please Shiva on Shiva ratri, just show affection to your loved ones, show that you care, give a call to an old teacher, shed a tear drop remembering your grandparents - that will bring you blessings far more than doing a ritualistic puja of 45 minutes in which neither understood the mantras nor understood the whole purpose behind the ritual.

Love your loved ones and share goodness around!

Aum Namah Shivay!

~ Souvik