Mahashivratri

Mahashivratri

Mahashivratri is a festival celebrated annually all over India, mostly in the month of February. The fourteenth day of every lunar month or the day before the new moon is known as Shivratri. Among all the twelve Shivratris that occur in a calendar year, Mahashivratri, or the “great night of Shiva” is the one that has the most spiritual significance. It is observed a full day, remembering the Lord, chanting mantras, fasting and visiting Shiva temples; complete with a jaagran.

Different legends describe the significance of Mahashivaratri with different stories. According to one legend, this is the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance of creation, preservation and destruction. According to another legend, this is the night when Shiva and Parvati got married. A different legend states that the offering to Shiva icons such as the linga is an annual occasion to get over past sins if any, to restart on a virtuous path and thereby reach Mount Kailasha and liberation. Another popular belief associates Maha Shivaratri with the legend of Lord Shiva drinking poison to save the universe.

It is Mahashivratri today and as on every year, I and all the members of my family observed a fast. I am a staunch devotee of Shiva and hence every year now, I have been observing a strict fast on this day, having nothing but water. After starting the day with a Puja and offering Lord Shiva with his favorite white flowers and bel, I decided to visit a Shiv temple nearby.

After standing in the queue for almost 20 minutes, I reached the Shiva Linga, which was surrounded by a lot of devotees, chanting “om namah shivay”, offering fruits, flowers and incense sticks. Not to mention, pouring milk all over the lingam.

Now this is a course that happens every single year, & I observe this on every holy occasion that has a Shiva significance; be it Shravan or Shivratri. Devotees offer milk to the Lord, by pouring it all over the Shiv Linga, which then flows down a small formation made & into a pit.

Even though I have been seeing this every year since I was a kid, it still saddens me every single time. The amount of milk that is poured in one single temple is probably liters and liters. & we have at least 5 temples in each city, and India has roughly around 500 cities. That makes it gallons & gallons of milk, literally going waste in just one day.

Though many people would argue here that it is all about faith or belief or what we call, “shraddha”; I really feel this is taking it a bit too far. I agree to the fact (or fiction) that Lord Shiva is always offered milk, and for that reason devotees most definitely wish to offer him his favorite, especially on the most holy days. But is it really right to do so?

Liters of milk go waste every year, when there are so many people starving out there. I fully agree with the fact that we cannot feed every soul every day, and this gross wastage of milk happens once a while, but it still is horrible. We really need to re-think our customs & beliefs- keep the ones that really hold some significance, and abandon the rest. If you really want to offer something to the Lord, offer him your faith, your mind and your soul. Chant his name, think good thoughts, do good unto others. Maybe that is the way the Lord will actually smile upon you. He is Shiva- the one Lord who is considered to be over every illusion, every materialism; the Lord who is considered the most innocent of all, one who is a giver.

& as far as offering milk to the deity is concerned, you can always take some milk, offer it to him, (& pour a spoonful if you really cannot do away with it), and then share the same with a person in need.

Wouldn’t that give you more peace; rather, won’t the Lord feel happier if you help another child of his?

He is Shiva- the Lord who fears no one, who is the start and the end, who is the conqueror; Shiva, who is the creator and the destroyer; whose mantra, Om Namah Shivay itself means “I honor the divinity that resides within me”.

Worth a thought, isn’t it?

Happy Mahashivratri!

(The views expressed above are solely of the writer and are not intended to hurt anybody's religious faith or sentiments.)