Becoming Auspiciousness Himself!

Shivarathri is indeed a very auspicious day. It is the fourteenth day of the lunar fortnight, when the Moon is waning and the Sun is in the sign of Aquaries. The festival is, however, related to the Moon rather than the Sun. That is the reason why it is called Shivarathri (the night of Shiva). Unlike other nights, this particular night is the night of consecration, dedication and illumination.

The mind is intimately associated with the Moon. Chandhra (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 when he is left with just one sixteenth of his power. The waned Moon maybe taken to stand for the mind with all its vagaries and waywardness reduced after it has been conquered by sadhana (spiritual discipline).

Have high ideals. Strive to elevate yourselves; endeavour for the Highest Goal – God. Whatever the obstacle or opposition, do not be disheartened. Give up the animal in you, stablise yourselves in human virtues and proceed boldly towards the achievement of Divinity.

On this night there is just a minute part of the mind left to be conquered and that can be done by keeping vigil and dwelling on the Glow 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 they crave for.

The night-long bhajan (congregational singing of devotional songs) is significant of the life-long consciousness of the Divine Presence that every one should cultivate. The rites and vows laid down for Shivaraathri being absent on other nights of the year, their observance on this day comes as a reminder that they are useful.

There are three types of men – the multi-centred, the uni-centred and the non-centred. The first group, who allow their senses, mind and intelligence, to wander where they will, is a very populous group. So also is the third group, which comprises people who flit from one object to another, hop around from one thing to another in listless flippancy.

For earning the concentration and single-centredness which is characteristic of the second group, the festival of Shivarathri is very propitious. The bhajans and the ceaseless flow of keerthans (songs) and namasmarana (remembering God’s name) on this occasion help in the attainment of single-centredness.

But God does not shower Grace on people because they sing His praises. Nor does He come down upon them because they do not deify Him. Recitation of the Divine attributes only enables us to dwell on elevating ideals and approximate ourselves more and more to the Divinity that is our true nature.