Maha Shivaratri – The Night of Divine Awakening

Among the 365 nights of the year, one night stands apart in supreme auspiciousness-Maha Shivaratri, the sacred night offered to Lord Shiva. On this night, devotees remain awake with the spine erect, not resting in sleep, symbolizing alertness of consciousness and inner awakening. Among the sixty-four lakh species in creation, only human birth is blessed with the ability to seek and realize the Divine and Shivaratri reminds us of this rare privilege. While the world sleeps in the stillness of a cold February night, only the chosen few blessed souls stay awake in bliss, turning inward toward spiritual upliftment rather than material desires. Shivaratri is that sacred night when the mind, deeply influenced by the moon, is guided toward higher awareness. Shiva, the embodiment of auspiciousness, removes ignorance and bestows divine grace hence the name Shivaratri, the night of auspiciousness. Let us not merely observe this night, but experience Shiva within and awaken the divinity that resides in us. Lord Shankara, the giver of bliss, compassionately held poison in His throat to protect creation, earning the name Neelakanta. Hence, we cool Him by performing Abhisheka. He is Abhisheka Priya, who loves ritual offerings. Even a single drop of water offered to the Shiva Linga on Shivaratri carries immense merit. Everyone is eligible for His grace on this divine night. Community prayers or chants make a huge impact to earn divine grace. Shivaratri is one of those rare occasions to earn immense grace just by participating in divine rituals, meditation, and prayers. We are truly blessed that our HTCI Temple is helping the devotees celebrate this sacred night with opportunities to participate and sponsor various offerings like abhishekams across all four Yamas, including Mahanyaasa Purvaka Ekadasa Rudrabhiṣekam, Ashtottara Shankha Abhishekam, Moola Murthi and Mandapa Murthi Abhishekams. Above all, every devotee will receive the rare opportunity to personally perform Shiva Linga Milk Abhishekam. Let us joyfully make use of these divine opportunities sponsoring Yamas, participating in Shankha Abhishekam, Rudra Homam, Parvati Kalyanam, and more. How blessed we are to spend this sacred night offering abhishekam to our beloved Shiva, singing bhajans, chanting Namakam, Chamakam, stotras, performing archana and arathi filling our hearts with peace, purity, devotion, and auspiciousness. Let us chant the powerful panchakshari mantra 'NAMAH SHIVAYA' and may this sacred Shivaratri awaken the auspicious Shiva within us all. Refer HTCI's dedicated webpage for Maha Shivaratri https://htci.org/events/maha-shivaratri Author - Sharmila Sanka