Importance of Shivratri

A person should only have one goal in life and that is God realization. Every action, thought, words, all our sense organs with gyan indriyas, karma indriyas should only be engrossed in God realization. Time and again, our Rishis have emphasized the importance of important Muhurat,yog,nakshatras and we should take the benefit of such profound knowledge passed on to us by our great seers.

Lord Shiva is not only the Destroyer but also the power behind creation, causing a constant cycle of destruction and creation in order to bring about necessary good. The Shakti who works in conjunction with Lord Shiva is called Adhya Shakti or Maa Parvati. Together, Parvati, who is a manifestation of the feminine aspect of the Divine known as Shakti (the creative and energetic potency), and Shiva, who is a manifestation of the masculine aspect, represent the dynamic union that sparks creation. Shivratri is the night of Union of the two.

Shiva who is very powerful cannot be understood even by Devtas let alone mere mortals like us.He is the founder of Tantra Sadhna and it is a fact that whatever sadhnas has been passed on by Him during certain auspicious period, they have the potential to generate tremendous impact in the universe and one should make an effort to practice those sadhnas. Shivratri is the most auspicious period to please Shiv and Parvati as it the period of divine love and convergence of Shiv and Shakti. Many sadhnas are recommended under Tantra Sadhna which should be performed on this night. It is better if one could perform these sadhnas in sacred places such as Kashi, Ujjain,Kamakhya Peeth. I have always spent Shivratri with my Guruji whether it was at Kashi, Ujjain, Delhi and during every Shivratri, I have received new direction,new energy,sadhnas,prayogs and new powers. I still reminisce those moments and keep them alive in my heart.

In Tantra, we say “ Yah Shiva,Sah Guru” or “Yah Guru sah Shiva”, meaning both Guru and Shiva are one and the same Tattva in essence but in physical form, even though they appear to be different, it is through a Guru that Shiva’s grace works.Hence, it is very important to be with your Guru at least  on the night of Shivratri and receive His blessings. It is more conducive to do sadhnas at night during Shivratri. Each prahar at night (division/intervals of nights) have different types of sadhnas that could be done to please Shiva. In Kashi, you will see that the priests will perform different types of Shringar with different flowers and items in each prahar at night. In Ujjain, rudra abhishek and puja is performed with different mantras during each of these prahars. I have spent several such Shivratri at Ujjain with my Guruji. My disciples too have done several such sadhnas with me at Ujjain such as laghu rudra,ati rudra, maha rudra abhishek during Shivratri. Ujjain is my favorite sadhna destination and I have performed several austere tantric sadhnas there. It is at Ujjain that I have received the blessings of Trijata Aghori Babaji along with Sandeepani Rishi.

Siddha places, tithis,siddha yogi and gurus, they are all inter-connected. Hence, one can use Shivratri to do sadhnas of siddha yogis and gurus and try to connect with them. Make an effort to receive their blessings, ask for directions in life or just protection for yourself.

Shiv signifies Lok Kalyan (welfare of all beings) and the marriage of Shiv and Parvati was only for Lok Kalyan. A sadhak can only be successful in his spiritual life when he is whole heartedly committed to Lok Kalyan and doing good to others.

It is very hard to become Shiv, very hard to attain success in Tantra sadhnas. The Path of Tantra is not for the faint hearted. It is for the brave souls, those who are willing to sacrifice everything, including themselves. By sacrifice, it doesn’t mean to kill oneself. That’s for the cowards. One should be finely in tune with Shiv Bhavna, the essence of Shiv, which is Lok Kalyan and only then will your life be successful, divine and you will achieve perfection.

What is it that we can’t achieve if there is Shiv,Parvati, Guru, an auspicious period such as Shivratri. The only reason we don’t see success in our life is because we have drifted away from this path and we fail to realize the importance of these important events such as Shivratri. We are so distracted with everything else that lose such opportunities and while away our time.

It takes little by little drops of water for a pitcher, river or an ocean to fill. It takes drops of divine nectar to fill so our life can be sweet and immortal and we can experience the awakening of Kundalini and finally the awakening of Sahasraar Chakra. We cannot expect to attain our goals or see success in spiritual life without this nectar in our life. I hope you all make full use of this auspicious period of Shivrati. My blessings to you all.