MAHA SHIVARATHRI - Swami's messages

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Om Sai Ram

MAHA SHIVARATHRI

The Center picture shows Swami materializing a lingam during His Discourse on

Shivarathri, 14 February 1999

Today we are celebrating Shivarathri. "Shivarathri" means "Auspicious darkness".

At least on this day, one should chant Shiva's name all through the night. At

least on one day in a year, chant the Lord's name. This night, devotees are

expected to stay awake by chanting the sacred name of Shiva. Keeping awake in

any other way is purposeless. Spending the night reciting the Lord's name

sanctifies one's life.

Divine Discourse: Feb 25, 1998

The lesson of Shivarathri is that devotees should foster good and sacred

thoughts. They should be filled with godly thoughts. They should seek to become

one with the Divine by reflecting on their inherent divinity. If you constantly

chant the name of God, God realization will come in due course.

Whatever other things they may possess, men suffer from lack of peace and bliss.

These two can be obtained only from God. It is for these two that men should

pray to God and not for anything else, because God alone can give them. When

these are secured, all other things will come of their own accord by the grace

of God. People should yearn for God. All other desires are worthless.

Divine Discourse: Feb 26, 1998

Shivarathri has a variety of meanings. "Rathri" implies the darkness of night.

But "Shivarathri" connotes not darkness but the special sacredness of this

night. There is darkness in this night also, but this darkness is invested with

auspiciousness. The reason is that on this l4th day after the Full Moon

(Chathurdasi day), the moon, who is the presiding deity for the mind, has shed

fifteen of his sixteen digits. This is an auspicious time for having proximity

to God.

The Upanishaths refer to the attributes of the Divine as Truth, Goodness, and

Beauty (Sathyam, Shivam, Sundaram). Plato regarded Truth, Goodness, and Beauty

as the attributes of the Divine Goodness (Shivam) represents the principle of

auspiciousness. It is associated with Truth on one side and beauty on the

other.

This is the primary message of Shivarathri. I am giving you three maxims that

you have to bear in mind: Service, service, service (Seva, seva, seva). Never

forget the duty to serve. For this you have to develop love. To develop love,

you have to promote the spirit of sacrifice. Service will become meaningful

when it manifests the love that issues from sacrifice. Consider service as

conducive to your own spiritual development. Be good, do good.

Divine Discourse: Mar 7, 1997

The terms Shiva and Sankara mean Auspicious. Sam means blissful awareness

(chitaanandha). Kara means the one who causes it. Thus, Sankara means the One

who causes blissful awareness. Sankara is the One who confers blissful

awareness on those who take refuge in Him or adore Him.

The secret of creation is evident from the description of the form of Shiva. The

crescent moon on Shiva's head symbolizes the consciousness in human beings, the

Ganges river (Gangaa) symbolizes the life force, and the snakes on Shiva's body

represent the myriad of living beings. He resides on a silver mountain. His

dearest friend is Kubera, the Lord of Wealth. Despite being endowed with all

these, why was He obliged to carry the begging bowl? To demonstrate to the

world that every kind of wealth is a hindrance to spiritual advancement, Shiva

renounced everything. It is through renunciation that Shiva became the eternal

embodiment of supreme bliss.

The three eyes of Shiva represent the three worlds (lokas). Shiva's trident is

symbolic of the past, present, and future, the three aspects of time. The three

qualities (gunas) --serenity, passion, sloth (satva, rajas, thamas)-- are images

of the Trinity: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The three worlds, the triune aspect

of time, and the three qualities are the manifestations of the God Principle

(Easvara Principle). When the Divine is installed in the heart in this manner,

man can raise himself to the level of the Divine.

Divine Discourse: Feb 23, 1990

The day when man is able to experience the divine state of being-awareness-bliss

(sath-chith-aanandha) is really the holy day of Shivarathri. Till then, man is

in perpetual darkness. Until a fruit ripens on a tree, its juice is not sweet.

When the fruit is fully ripe, it drops from the tree. Attachment to the tree is

gone. Likewise, when a man achieves spiritual maturity, he acquires detachment

(vairagya) automatically. Man has to endeavour to reach this level of maturity

by spiritual practices that transform his consciousness.

Turn your minds toward the Divine. Repetition of the Lord's names has been

prescribed as a spiritual discipline to turn your mind away from the things of

the world. If you devote the whole of this night to thoughts about the Lord,

your minds will be transformed, even if you are not able to reach the highest

state of "Over-Mind". Ever bearing in mind the triple characteristics of the

Divine --Truth, Wisdom, Eternal Brahman (Sathyam, Jnaanam, Anantham Brahman)--

strive to achieve the supreme goal of Man.

Divine Discourse: Feb 16, 1988

Shivarathri 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 life long consciousness of the Divine Presence that everyone

should cultivate. The rites and vows laid down for Shivarathri being absent on

other nights of the year, their observance on this day comes as a reminder that

they are useful.

Divine Discourse: Mar 7, 1978

 

Source: http://www.sathyasai.org/calendar/shivaratri.html

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