OM NAMAH SHIVAYA OM NAMAH SHIVAYA OM NAMAH SHIVAYA OM NAMAH SHIVAYA OM NAMAH SHIVAYA HUMBLE PRANAAMS ATH THE LOTUS FEET OF BHAGAWAN SREE SATHYA SAI BABA Dear All, Sairam & WISH YOU ALL A VERY AUSPECIOUS "MAHA SHIVARATHRI". Om Sri Sai Ram Om Sai Jai Sai Jai Jai Sai Significance Of Shivrathri Maha Shivrathri, the night of the worship of Shiva, occurs on the 14th night of the new moon during the dark half of the month of Phalguna (Feb/Mar) when Hindus offer special prayer to the lord of destruction. Here're three reasons to celebrate Shivrathri:- 1. The absolute formless God, Sadashiv appeared in the form of "Lingodbhav Moorti" exactly at midnight on Maha Shivrathri. That is why all Shiv devotees keep vigil during the night of Shivrathri and do "Shivlingam abhishekham" (coronation of the Phallic idol) at midnight. 2. Lord Shiva was married to Devi Parvati on Shivrathri. Remember Shiva minus Parvathi is pure Nirgun Brahman. With his illusive power, (Maya, Parvati) He becomes the "Sagun Brahman" for the purpose of the pious devotion of his devotees. 3. It is also believed that on Shivratri, Lord Shiva became Neelkantham by swallowing the deadly poison that came up from the ocean during the churning of "Kshir Sagar". The poison was so deadly that even a drop in His stomach, which represents the universe, would have annihilated the entire world. Hence, He held it in His neck, which turned blue due to the effect of poison. Shivratri is therefore also a day of thanksgiving to the Lord for protecting us from annihilation. The 14th shloka of Shivmahimna Stotra says: "O three eyed Lord, when the poison came up through the churning of the Ocean by the gods and demons, they were all aghast with fear as if the untimely end of all creation was imminent. In your kindness, you drank all the poison that still makes your throat blue. O Lord, even this blue mark does increase your glory. What is apparently a blemish becomes an ornament in one intent on ridding the world of fear" Many are the stories narrated in the Puranas about the efficacy of the observance of this festival. The story of the king Chitrabhanu of Ikshvaku dynasty is one. It is stated that during his previous birth the king was a hunter by name Suswara and was eking out his livelihood by hunting birds and animals and selling them. On a Shiva Ratri day, he was roaming about in the forest and then shot a deer, bur couldn't take his spoil home as he was overtaken by the darkness of the night. He got upon a Bilva tree and kept awake the whole night stricken with hunger and thirst. He had starved for the day and so couldn't sleep in the night due to hunger. While keeping himself awake for the whole night, he plucked leaves from the Bilva tree and dropped them one by one to the ground. He never knew that there was a Shiva Linga beneath the tree and the leaves he dropped fell on the Linga. When the day dawned he went home, sold the deer and purchased food for the family. He fed a stranger who begged him for food, because of this virtuous deed that he performed, even if unknowingly, two messengers of Shiva came to him at the hour of his death and conducted his soul to the abode of Shiva. After enjoying divine bliss for long, he was again reborn as king Chitrabhanu of Jambudwipa i.e. India According to another legend that finds mention in the Puranas, Brahma and Vishnu, the two supreme Gods had a difference as regards their supremacy. The matter was referred to Shiva for a verdict. Shiva, then asked both the Gods to gauge the depth and measure the height of his Linga. Vishu took the form of a boar and dived below to ascertain the depth and Brahma on his swan vehicle scaled high to ascertain the height. High above in the void Brahma came across a petal of Ketaki flower drifting downwards. As it was falling from the top of the Linga, He asked the petal about the further distance upward. The petal couldn't answer since how many ages that it was drifting downwards. Brahma refrained from going up and went to the nether world to meet Vishnu. Showing the petal He claimed to have ascertained the height of the Linga. At this false pretext, the petal objected. As Brahma was exposed because of the disclosure of the petal, He, in wrath, cursed – "From this day you would be unworthy for the worship of Shiv". Vishnu, being pleased with her truthfulness blessed saying, `On Shiva chaturdaphi you will be worthy for Shiva's worship. Therefore only on this day Ketaki flower has the right to be offered to the deity. On no other occasion the flower is ever used for worship. Almost all the important shrines for Shiva bear festive look during the festival- :" Bhagawan Shri Sathya Sai Baba in one of his Shivrathri Discourse says "You will be immensely benefited if you keep awake and sing the glory of god at least on this night. The moon is the presiding deity of the mind. The moon has 16 Kaalas (Phases). On this Shivrathri, 15 Kaalas have already merged in God and only one remains. By constant remembrance of god, even the 16th Phase merges in god. So sanctify this precious night by participating in Bhajans. The bliss that you get from bhajans, the sweetness in the divine name, the happiness derived from visualizing the divine form cannot be obtained elsewhere. Everything is possible only through love, so cultivate love and sanctify your life……." Jai Sairam. ========================================================================================= Duty without love is deplorable; Duty with love is desirable; Love without duty is Divine. ========================================================================================== -- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "saimsg" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
