Maha Shivaratri

“Fighting for identity is something that is very much in my life” – Ang Lee

On Sunday, Hindus all across Guyana celebrated Maha Shivaratri. Every month there is one day dedicated to worshipping Lord Shiva (“pradosh”) but Maha Shivaratri is the yearly, ritual worship of this one of the three major ‘personalised’ forms of the ultimate reality or ‘Brahman’ that Hindus worship.
We are all projected out of Brahman (making us and the rest of the universe part of God) – and we call that aspect “Lord Brahma”; we are all sustained by and within Brahman and we call this power “Lord Vishnu” and finally, after billions of years, we all return into Brahman as we call this attribute “Lord Shiva”. We are not ‘destroyed’ as some assert, but subsist in Brahman in ‘prayala’ until the next round of ‘projection’. We do not ever die – but are children of ‘immortal bliss’.
Hindus offer special prayers to Lord Shiva on Shivaratri. In Sanskrit, ‘ratri’ means night and thus, Shivaratri literally means ‘The night of Shiva’. There are several traditions associated with the night: Lord Shiva performed the Tandava Nritya (the dance of dissolution); he appeared as the ‘Lingam’; or he married Mother Parvati.
Maha Shivaratri is observed for one night, but the preparations begin the preceding day.
The day before Shivaratri, the house would have been given a thorough cleaning – both inside and out. Hindus literally leave no stone unturned when sprucing up for Shivaratri (and other festivals) because symbolically God is welcomed into our house. Who would want God to enter a grubby house?
Traditionally, this sacred festival is observed by offering ‘Abhishek’ or ‘Dhar’. This is the several types of liquid offerings that we make to the Shiva Lingam (literally the “sign” of Shiva as the formless Brahman) – milk, honey, ghee, dahee (yoghurt), ganga jal, coconut water, and cane juice. Each of these offerings has a symbolic significance but overall they represent a ‘cooling of the linga’, the desire of our souls to merge with God.
So, in observance of Maha Shivaratri, we offer prayers and Abhishek to Lord Shiva.
On Sunday, thousands went to the Cove and John Ashram, their local Mandir or stayed home to offer their Dhar and prayers – and fortunately, this year, none of us had to go to school. My mom is a ‘Shiva bhakta’ and Shivaratri is always a big occasion in our home.
A growing number of Hindus made time for Mandir even though they mightn’t always be regular attendees on Thursday night, or Sunday morning. So many Hindus coming together and praying together, putting aside whatever personal differences they might have, to worship the same deities. They also did not eat meat during the Shivaratri period. Some Hindus, like my mom, even completely give up “salt” food, eating only fruits.
The whole point of Mandir is for everyone, the entire Hindu community, to get involved: everyone has a part to play. Everyone can sing along God’s praises with the ‘bhajans’, everyone prays together with the mantras.
It helps Hindus to solidify their identities as Hindus. It helps us to feel that sense of pride and to share that feeling with fellow Hindus.
So I hope all Hindus proudly celebrated Shivaratri, whether they observed the festival at home or at Mandir. Sunday we also went to the concluding satsangh of the yagna that ‘opened’ a new ‘Shivala’ in our village Mandir.
Hope you had a blessed Maha Shivaratri!