Maha Shivaratri - the great night of Shiva

Gopeshwara Mahadev - Vrindavan

Shiva Linga at Rajapur Jagannath Temple, Bamapampukur West Bengal

Today is Maha Shivaratri, a festival celebrated by Hindus and worshipers of Lord Shiva in India and all over the world.In Srimad Bhagavatham, there is a description of an incident which was churning of the Milk ocean called Samudra Madhana, where the ocean was churned using a huge Mountain called Mandara by demigods and demons.The same incident is mentioned in Mahabharata and Vishnu Purana.The churning of ocean was undertaken to unearth the Amruta or the Nectar of immortality.The great snake Vasuki was used as a rope to coil around Mandhara mountain, which was being used as a churning rod.As a result of the churning the ocean initially, a deadly poison called Halahala was released which looked as if it is going to destroy the whole world.During that time, to save the world and the living entities, Lord Shiva drank the whole poison and kept it in his throat. Due to which, his throat had became blue and hence, he became known as Neelakantha or the Blue throated one.Maha Shivaratri is considered to be the night on which Lord Shiva drank the poison and to glorify Shiva, people celebrate this night by offering prayers to Lord Shiva, reciting Rudram, performing abhishek to the Shiva Linga with sacred water, flowers, coconut water etc. One more austerity people would take up is, staying awake all night, reading or praying to Lord Shiva.

  

Shivji at Dhruv Tila, Madhuvan, Vrindavan

It is said that out of the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, Shiva is in charge of mode of Ignorance or ahankara or the false ego that binds one to the bodily concept of life which in turn binds to the cycle of Birth and death.

Aseshwar Mahadev near Nandagaon, Vrindavan

Aseshwar Mahadev near Nandagaon, Vrindavan

Srimad Bhagavatham mentions that, Lord Shiva is the greatest of all Vaishnavas (Vaishnavanam Yatha Shambu), one of the 12 Mahajanas and the position of him unique in the sense that Lord Shiva does not belong to the Category of living entities, Jivas including Lord Brahma and his creation and is the most powerful, second only to Lord Vishnu. Lord Shiva is neither an avatara nor avesha and is also not in between them. Lord Shiva is the greatest demigod, even greater than Lord Brahma. He is also a spiritual master having his own spiritual line called Rudra Sampradaya.Lord Shiva has connection with the material nature but Lord Vishnu (or Lord Krishna) is transcendental to material nature. The position of Lord Shiva is very beautiful explained in Brahma Samhita (Verse 45),”Just as milk is transformed into curd by the action of acids, but yet the effect curd is neither same as, nor different from, its cause, viz., milk, so I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whom the state of Shambhu is a transformation for the performance of the work of destruction”. Thus, Lord Shiva who is in charge of mode of ignorance has connection with the material energy. Parvathi or Durga who is in charge of material energy is his wife. Lord Shiva along with Ramadevi carries the glance of Maha Vishu to the Mahat Tattva for it, to be agitated. Mahat Tattva is the or shadow of pure consciousness, is the germinating place of all creation or prakriti, material world, including all the living entities in it.

One day a friend of mine came to me and said the smoking grass should be made legal because, that is what some followers of Shiva in north India do. Then, I told him that the reason that Lord Siva drank an ocean of poison was for others' benefit.Some foolish people try to imitate this pastime but, instead of drinking poison, they take ganza and opium, which certainly ruins their physical and spiritual life. Why only smoking grass, I suggested him to try drinking few drops of poison because, that what Lord Shiva did. And, he hastily left the place without saying anything.

During my travels to Vrindavan and Mayapur, I visited many temples of Lord Shiva and thought, I will post some of the pictures here today.