shivaratri

Shivaratri is the day on which Maheswara takes up the Linga form for the benefit of spiritual seekers. What they have to seek from Maheswar is Jnana! ‘Janam Maheswaraardichched’. It is Jnana that makes manifest the divinity latent in man. It is the final achievement of all tapas, all Yajna and Yoga ” It is the name of a Hindu Festival observed in honour of Shiva, one of the gods of the Hindu Trinity. This falls generally in the month of Magha and the festival is called the Mahashivaratri as it is observed on the night preceding the new moon. Not only the night but also the day preceding the new moon in that month is devoted by the Smarta sect of the Hindus to Shiva's worship. On this day the orthodox Hindu rises early in the morning, bathes and attends most devoutly to his prayers. He attends a temple if there is one nearby. Fasting, as a general rule, is observed throughout the day and the night. Sitting up in wakefulness throughout the night entirely absorbed in worshi…