Monday, February 23, 2009
Wish you a very Happy Maha Siva Ratri wishes....
Hello All,
I wish you and your family, friends, near and dear........
A very happy and serene, fruitful and divine "Maha Siva Ratri" wishes (23/02/09).
Maha Sivaratri or Sivaratri (Night of Shiva or "Great Night of Shiva") is a festival celebrated every year on the 13th night/14th day in the Krishna Paksha (waning moon) of the month of Maagha (as per Shalivahana) or Phalguna (as per Vikrama) in the Hindu Calendar (the night before and day of the new moon). The festival is principally celebrated by offerings of Bael (Bilva) leaves to the Lord Shiva, all day fasting and an all night long vigil.
During the samudra manthan (the churning of the ocean) by the Gods and Demons, "haalaa-hala", a poison, came out of the ocean. It was so toxic, it could have wiped out the entire creation. At this juncture, on the advice of Lord Vishnu , the gods approached Lord Shiva and prayed to him to protect their lives by consuming this poison. Pleased with their prayers, and out of compassion for living beings, Lord Shiva drank the poison but it was so intense that something was required to cool its effects as his throat became blue. Help was taken from Chandra (Moon God) and a snake was placed around his neck which cooled the effect of the poison and the throat became blue. Thus Lord Shiva is also known as ‘Neelakantha’. During that long period of pralaya (deluge/flood) night, Lord Shiva saved the creation and in remembrance of this saga, and to have his blessings people worship him just as the Gods did, fasting all day and waking all night.
On this day, people worship Lord Shiva wearing 'Rudraksha' and having 'Tripundra' on their body. Tripundra (in Sanskrit, "Three marks") is the Saivite sectarian mark, consisting of three horizontal lines of vibhuti (holy ash) on the brow, often with a dot (bindu) as the third eye. The three lines represent the soul's three bonds: anava, karma and maya. It refers to the three horizontal stripes of holy ash applied to the forehead by worshippers of Lord Shiva. These stripes symbolise spiritual knowledge, purity and penance (spiritual practice of Yoga), so also they represent the three eyes of Lord Shiva. Wearing a rudraksha seed of the rudraksha tree, said to have sprung from the tears of Lord Shiva, when worshipping Lord Shiva is ideal. A rudraksha is reddish in colour with yellow stripes.
On Shivaratri, only cold water and bael leaves are offered to the Linga (sacred shrine of Lord Shiva - There are twelve Jyotirlingas (lingas of light) / sacred shrines of Lord Shiva, and centres for his worship. They are known as "Swayambhus", meaning the lingams sprung up by themselves at these places and temples were built there afterwards). Other traditional offerings, such as bathing it in milk and Panchaamruta (a mixture of milk, curds, ghee, sugar and honey - symbols of sustenance), or annointing it with vermilion (kumkum), turmeric (bright yellow powder) or white consecrated rice (Akshata) (symbols of fertility, or creation), are less done on this day, when Lord Shiva is worshipped as the deity of dissolution.
Om Namah Sivaaya...............
Many many happy returns of the day.
All the best and take care….
With thanks, regards and best wishes,
G.Srikanth.
I wish you and your family, friends, near and dear........
A very happy and serene, fruitful and divine "Maha Siva Ratri" wishes (23/02/09).
Maha Sivaratri or Sivaratri (Night of Shiva or "Great Night of Shiva") is a festival celebrated every year on the 13th night/14th day in the Krishna Paksha (waning moon) of the month of Maagha (as per Shalivahana) or Phalguna (as per Vikrama) in the Hindu Calendar (the night before and day of the new moon). The festival is principally celebrated by offerings of Bael (Bilva) leaves to the Lord Shiva, all day fasting and an all night long vigil.
During the samudra manthan (the churning of the ocean) by the Gods and Demons, "haalaa-hala", a poison, came out of the ocean. It was so toxic, it could have wiped out the entire creation. At this juncture, on the advice of Lord Vishnu , the gods approached Lord Shiva and prayed to him to protect their lives by consuming this poison. Pleased with their prayers, and out of compassion for living beings, Lord Shiva drank the poison but it was so intense that something was required to cool its effects as his throat became blue. Help was taken from Chandra (Moon God) and a snake was placed around his neck which cooled the effect of the poison and the throat became blue. Thus Lord Shiva is also known as ‘Neelakantha’. During that long period of pralaya (deluge/flood) night, Lord Shiva saved the creation and in remembrance of this saga, and to have his blessings people worship him just as the Gods did, fasting all day and waking all night.
On this day, people worship Lord Shiva wearing 'Rudraksha' and having 'Tripundra' on their body. Tripundra (in Sanskrit, "Three marks") is the Saivite sectarian mark, consisting of three horizontal lines of vibhuti (holy ash) on the brow, often with a dot (bindu) as the third eye. The three lines represent the soul's three bonds: anava, karma and maya. It refers to the three horizontal stripes of holy ash applied to the forehead by worshippers of Lord Shiva. These stripes symbolise spiritual knowledge, purity and penance (spiritual practice of Yoga), so also they represent the three eyes of Lord Shiva. Wearing a rudraksha seed of the rudraksha tree, said to have sprung from the tears of Lord Shiva, when worshipping Lord Shiva is ideal. A rudraksha is reddish in colour with yellow stripes.
On Shivaratri, only cold water and bael leaves are offered to the Linga (sacred shrine of Lord Shiva - There are twelve Jyotirlingas (lingas of light) / sacred shrines of Lord Shiva, and centres for his worship. They are known as "Swayambhus", meaning the lingams sprung up by themselves at these places and temples were built there afterwards). Other traditional offerings, such as bathing it in milk and Panchaamruta (a mixture of milk, curds, ghee, sugar and honey - symbols of sustenance), or annointing it with vermilion (kumkum), turmeric (bright yellow powder) or white consecrated rice (Akshata) (symbols of fertility, or creation), are less done on this day, when Lord Shiva is worshipped as the deity of dissolution.
Om Namah Sivaaya...............
Many many happy returns of the day.
All the best and take care….
With thanks, regards and best wishes,
G.Srikanth.
# posted by Srikanth @ 2:19 PM 
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