Sivaratri Mahima 3 : Spiritual Significance

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Verdana"> Hymns in praise of Lord Shiva, such as the Shiva Mahimna Stotra of

Pushpadanta or Ravana’s Shiva Tandava Stotra are sung with great fervour and

devotion. People repeat the Panchakshara Mantra, Om Namah Shivaya. He who

utters the Names of Shiva during Shivaratri, with perfect devotion and

concentration, is freed from all sins. He reaches the abode of Shiva and lives

there happily. He is liberated from the wheel of births and deaths. Many

pilgrims flock to the places where there are Shiva temples. The Story Of King

Chitrabhanu In the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, Bhishma, whilst resting on

the bed of arrows and discoursing on Dharma, refers to the observance of Maha

Shivaratri by King Chitrabhanu. The story goes as follows. LORD SHIVAOm Namah

Shivaya Once upon a time King Chitrabhanu of the Ikshvaku dynasty, who ruled

over the whole of Jambudvipa, was observing a fast with his wife, it being the

day of Maha Shivaratri. The sage Ashtavakra came on a visit to the court of the

king. The sage asked, “O king! why are you observing a fast today?” King

Chitrabhanu explained why. He had the gift of remembering the incidents of his

previous birth. The king said to the sage: “In my past birth I was a hunter

in Varanasi. My name was Suswara. My livelihood was to kill and sell birds and

animals. One day I was roaming the forests in search of animals. I was

overtaken by the darkness of night. Unable to return home, I climbed a tree for

shelter. It happened to be a bael tree. I had shot a deer that day but I had no

time to take it home. I

bundled it up and tied it to a branch on the tree. As I was tormented by hunger

and thirst, I kept awake throughout the night. I shed profuse tears when I

thought of my poor wife and children who were starving and anxiously awaiting

my return. To pass away the time that night I engaged myself in plucking the

bael leaves and dropping them down onto the ground. “The day dawned. I

returned home and sold the deer. I bought some food for myself and for my

family. I was about to break my fast when a stranger came to me, begging for

food. I served him first and then took my food. “At the time of death, I saw

two messengers of Lord Shiva. They were sent down to conduct my soul to the

abode of Lord Shiva. I learnt then for the first time of the great merit I had

earned by the unconscious worship of Lord Shiva during the night of Shivaratri.

They told me that there was a Lingam at the bottom of the tree. The leaves I

dropped fell on the

Lingam. My tears which I had shed out of pure sorrow for my family fell onto the

Lingam and washed it. And I had fasted all day and all night. Thus did I

unconsciously worship the Lord. “I lived in the abode of the Lord and

enjoyed divine bliss for long ages. I am now reborn as Chitrabhanu.”

Spiritual Significance of the Ritual The Scriptures record the following

dialogue between Sastri and Atmanathan, giving the inner meaning of the above

story. Sastri: It is an allegory. The wild animals that the hunter fought

with are lust, anger, greed, infatuation, jealousy and hatred. The jungle is

the fourfold mind, consisting of the subconscious mind, the intellect, the ego

and the conscious mind. It is in the mind that these “wild animals” roam about

freely. They must be killed. Our hunter was

pursuing them because he was a Yogi. If you want to be a real Yogi you have to

conquer these evil tendencies. Do you remember the name of the hunter in the

story? Atmanathan: Yes, he was called Suswara. Sastri: That’s right. It

means “melodious”. The hunter had a pleasant melodious voice. If a person

practices Yama and Niyama and is ever conquering his evil tendencies, he will

develop certain external marks of a Yogi. The first marks are lightness of the

body, health, steadiness, clearness of countenance and a pleasant voice. This

stage has been spoken of in detail in the Swetaswatara Upanishad. The hunter or

the Yogi had for many years practised Yoga and had reached the first stage. So

he is given the name Suswara. Do you remember where he was born? Atmanathan:

Yes, his birthplace is Varanasi.

Sastri: Now, the Yogis call the Ajna Chakra by the name Varanasi. This is the

point midway between the eyebrows. It is regarded as the meeting place of the

three nerve currents (Nadis), namely, the Ida, Pingala and the Sushumna. An

aspirant is instructed to concentrate on that point. That helps him to conquer

his desires and evil qualities like anger and so on. It is there that he gets a

vision of the Divine Light within. Atmanathan: Very interesting! But how do

you explain his climbing up the bael tree and all the other details of the

worship? Sastri: Have you ever seen a bael leaf? Atmanathan: It has three

leaves on one stalk. Sastri: True. The tree represents the spinal column. The

leaves are threefold. They represent the Ida, Pingala and Sushumna Nadis, which

are the regions for the

activity of the moon, the sun and fire respectively, or which may be thought of

as the three eyes of Shiva. The climbing of the tree is meant to represent the

ascension of the Kundalini Shakti, the serpentine power, from the lowest nerve

centre called the Muladhara to the Ajna Chakra. That is the work of the Yogi.

Atmanathan: Yes, I have heard of the Kundalini and the various psychic centres

in the body. Please go on further; I am very interested to know more.

Sastri: Good. The Yogi was in the waking state when he began his meditation. He

bundled up the birds and the animals he had slain and, tying them on a branch of

the tree, he rested there. That means he had fully conquered his thoughts and

rendered them inactive. He had gone through the steps of Yama, Niyama,

Pratyahara, etc. On the tree he was practising

concentration and meditation. When he felt sleepy, it means that he was about to

lose consciousness and go into deep sleep. So he determined to keep awake.

Atmanathan: That is now clear to me; you certainly do explain it very well. But

why did he weep for his wife and children? Sastri: His wife and children are

none other than the world. One who seeks the Grace of God must become an

embodiment of love. He must have an all-embracing sympathy. His shedding of

tears is symbolical of his universal love. In Yoga also, one cannot have

illumination without Divine Grace. Without practising universal love, one

cannot win that Grace. One must perceive one’s own Self everywhere. The

preliminary stage is to identify one’s own mind with the minds of all created

beings. That is fellow-feeling or sympathy. Then one must rise above the

limitations of the mind and merge it in the Self. That happens only in the

stage of Samadhi, not earlier. Atmanathan: Why did he pluck and drop the bael

leaves? Sastri: That is mentioned in the story only to show that he had no

extraneous thoughts. He was not even conscious of what he was doing. All his

activity was confined to the three Nadis. The leaves, I have said before,

represent the three Nadis. He was in fact in the second state, namely, the

dream state, before he passed into the deep sleep state. Atmanathan: He kept

vigil the whole night, it is said. Sastri: Yes, that means that he passed

through the deep sleep state successfully. The dawning of day symbolises the

entrance into the Fourth state called Turiya or superconsciousness.

Atmanathan: It is said that he came down and saw the Lingam. What does that

mean? Sastri: That means that in the Turiya state he saw the Shiva Lingam or

the mark of Shiva in the form of the inner lights. In other words, he had the

vision of the Lord. That was an indication to him that he would realise the

supreme, eternal abode of Lord Shiva in course of time. Atmanathan: So it

appears from what you say that the sight of the lights is not the final stage?

Sastri: Oh no! That is only one step, albeit a difficult one. Now think of how

the story continues. He goes home and feeds a stranger. A stranger is one whom

you have not seen before. The stranger is no other

than the hunter himself, transformed into a new person. The food was the likes

and dislikes which he had killed the previous night. But he did not consume the

whole of it. A little still remained. That was why he had to be reborn as King

Chitrabhanu. Going to the world of Shiva (Salokya) is not enough to prevent

this. There are other stages besides Salokya. These are Samipya, Sarupya and

finally Sayujya. Have you not heard of Jaya and Vijaya returning from Vaikunta?

Atmanathan: Yes, I have understood now.

-----------Sri Swami Sivananda Sivaya Namah

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