THE
SHIVARATRI FESTIVAL
One
festival that all worshipers of Shiva take part in is Shivaratri.
The night of Shiva is a festival that is held in the typical pattern of
preparation, purification, realization, and then celebration. On the day of the
festival, people will fast and spend the day focused on Shiva, meditating and
chanting “Om Namaha Shivaya.” Thus, offering their obeisances to Lord Shiva,
the mind is held in such single-pointed concentration throughout the day. Then
at the stroke of midnight Shiva is said to manifest as the inner light of
purified consciousness. This climax at night represents our overcoming the dark
ignorance and reaching the state of purified spiritual knowledge. Therein we
conquer the influence of the mind and senses, exhibited by staying awake all
night, and enter the state of steady awareness wherein there is spiritual
awakening. If one can follow this process, then he or she can experience the
real meaning of Shivaratri.
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