“EKTA UNITY SENDS IT’S BEST WISHES TO EVERYONE CELEBRATING THE AUSPICIOUS FESTIVAL OF MAHA SHIVRATRI”
‘Maha Shivaratri’ - (the great night of Shiva), falls on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of Phalguna (February-March), and is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, one of the principal Hindu deities. Maha Shivaratri is the night when Lord Shiva performed the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction.
Ritual worship of Lord Shiva on Shivratri, pleases Lord Shiva the most. This fact is said to have been declared by Lord Shiva himself, when his consort Parvati asked him as to which ritual performed by his devotees pleases him the most. Devotees of Lord Shiva perform the ritual worship of Shivratri with care and devotion. They observe day and night fast and give sacred bath to Shiva Linga with honey, milk, water etc. As part of the worship some people also recite the story of 'the lost huntsman' or the Amar katha.
Hindus consider it extremely auspicious to worship Lord Shiva on Shivratri as it is believed that worship of Lord Shiva with devotion and sincerity absolves a devotee of past sins. The devotee reaches the abode of Lord Shiva and lives there happily. They are also liberated from the cycle of birth and death and attains moksha or salvation.
There is a reason Lord Shiva is called 'The Devo ke Dev-Mahadev'. The tranquil-looking Lord can turn into a destroyer, and can also be a Bholenath. He has multiple shades to his personality, and is one God who can truly teach us the wisdom to live life.....
LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM LORD SHIVA:
1. "Come what may, you must never tolerate evil": Lord Shiva was known as the destroyer of evil. He couldn't tolerate injustice and destroyed the evil in a fair manner. Similarly, even we should try to keep zero tolerance for the evil happening around us and take a stand against injustice.
2. "Self-control is the key to living life to the fullest": An uncontrolled mind can lead you to live a disastrous life. You cannot win battles when you lose focus and fall prey to your desires and addictions. Therefore, it’s necessary to keep your mind aligned to your goals and heart.
3. "Keep calm and carry on": Lord Shiva was called a ‘Maha Yogi’ because he meditated for hours for the well-being of the universe. His calm state of mind was disturbed only due to extreme reasons, but otherwise he would always be in a meditative state of mind. Thus highlighting the fact that you can win half the battle just by being calm in a stressful situation. It's really the best strategy to sorting out a problem.
4. "Materialistic happiness never stays for long": Take a look at Lord Shiva’s attire for a second. Only armed with a trishul and damru, Lord Shiva always stayed away from wealth. You’re missing out on nothing in life if you’re not attached to wealth and materialistic things. Because materialistic happiness is temporary. You need to find your happiness in events and experiences, and not materialistic things.
5. "You must learn how to suppress negativity gracefully": Lord Shiva was a ‘neelkanth’ because he swallowed poison named ‘halahala’, that emerged from the ocean. Only Lord Shiva could have consumed this poison and suppressed it in his throat. The important lesson to take back from this incident is to take negativity in our stride, and turn it into positivity.
6. "Desires lead to obsessions and obsessions lead to destruction": Since he was free from desires, Lord Shiva never obsessed over things. It is a fact that desires always lead to obsessions, and these in turn make us self-destructive.
7. "Respect your other half": Lord Shiva was ‘Ardhanarishwar’, where half of him was Goddess Parvati. He treated Goddess Parvati with utmost respect and care. She was his ‘shakti’ and he gave her the importance she deserved. A lesson for us all to respect women.
8. "You must control your ego and let go off pride": Your ego is the only thing that prevents you from attaining greatness. It is your ego that comes between your goals and your dreams, and makes you a less loving person. It is said that Lord Shiva carried his trishul to keep his ego in check. He never let his ego get the better of himself. On the other hand, nor did he tolerate anyone else’s ego.
9. "Do thorough research on something you're likely to get into": The Ganga in Lord Shiva’s hair symbolises the end of ignorance. This implies that you should know what you are getting into. Being in denial about facts is not going to help.
10. "Understand that everything is temporary"
Yogis don’t fall for ‘moh maya’, as they know that life will last only a short time and what happens today is not going to exist forever. Time changes and so do we.
~ Muna Chauhan
Vice Chair
Ekta Unity
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