Shivaratri: The most significant of all festivals

Shivaratri is celebrated every year with a lot of religious fervor and devotion. Devotees fast, make offerings on Shivling and stay awake all night to get the blessings of God Shiva.Unknown to most of the devotees the festival of Shivaratri holds the mystery to something most

Crucial; namely how God liberates the entire humanity from sorrow and suffering. Till this mystery is solved by God himself, to truly celebrate Shivaratri, it is vital to know as to Who Shivais and what the word ‘Ratri’ which means night has to do with Shiva.

God Shiva is the Creator of all deities even Brahma, Vishnu and Shankar. Devotees worship them as devtayanamaha (salutations to the lords or deities). In comparison, Shiva is always worshipped as Shiva Paramatmay Namaha (Salutations to God Shiva) and Om Namaha Shivay (Isalute Shiva). Lord Rama and Lord Krishna are shown as worshipping God Shiva at Rameshwar and Gopeshwar respectively. The light form of God Shiva has been idolised as jyotirlingam (pillarof light) in 12 famous Jyotirlingam Shiva temples in India viz. in Kedarnath, Somnath andMahakaleswar etc. The light form of God is worshipped in most of the faiths in the world.

Interestingly, Shivaratri does not mean Shiva’s night. The festival commemorates God’s descent on earth to end the unlimited Ratri (night) of ignorance and suffering and to usher in the golden dawn of peace, harmony and happiness. Here Ratri connotes that critical juncture in eternal world drama cycle when unrighteousness reaches its extreme and all human efforts to redeem the situation fails. It’s a period of extreme sorrow and suffering when the vices of ego, lust, anger, greed and attachment rule human thoughts and actions.

In Hindu scriptures there is mention of the night of Brahma (Brahma ki raat) and also the night of the Shaktis or Goddesses (Navratris). The night of Brahma signifies the age of ignorance and unrighteousness in which God’s first and purest creation, Brahma and the Brahmins, are clouded by ignorance and vices. When God Shiva comes and opens their third eye of wisdom by bestowing divine intellect, they are able to forge a mental link with Him and draw His power.

They thus become Shiva Shaktis who destroy ignorance and vices in the world with the help of Shiva. The Navratri (festival of nine nights) is a memorial of the end of the unlimited ratri in which devotees invoke the blessings of Shiva Shaktis and sing praise of their divine actions.

Godly message 
Shiv Ratri is the most auspicious festival of the world which is celebrated to commemorate the reincarnation of incorporeal, point of light, Supreme Father, Supreme Soul Shiva.

Supreme Father of all souls, God Shiva, by giving the true knowledge of Gita at the time of extreme decay of religion, gets re-established the original eternal deity religion and gets destroyed the irreligious, unrighteous and corrupt old – iron aged world. He alone is the
Liberator and Guide of all souls and is the bestower of happiness and fruition.

Now, the auspicious time for the transformation of impure, corrupt and irreligious iron aged world – kaliyuga and the establishment of completely pure, new golden aged world –  satyuga( Paradise) has come, when the Supreme Father, Supreme Soul Shiva is getting His divine task ofpurifying the human world  through the teachingsof easy Raja Yoga.

God Shiva says: ‘O! My most beloved children, obtain your God Fatherly birthright of world- sovereignty for 21 successive generations from your Incorporeal Father in the new
heavenly golden – aged world in the near future by becoming Holy and Rajyogi before the forthcoming world transformation. Very little time left for huge world transformation to take place, all too sudden. Remember, If not now then never’. 
(Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga Centre)