Mahasivarathri Day

Just a few days back, I watched the TV news & there was some coverage about the Oscar Winners of "The Slumdog" the movie that bagged 8 oscars. There was this Indian man (I can't remember his name) told that "...this is the best Sivarathri present for me...". MAHA SIVARATHIRI is celebrated once every year & this year it fell on Monday, 23rd February.

Sivarathiri
Sivarathri is the night on which Lord Siva's consort, Umamaheswari was said to have worshipped Lord Siva in accordance with the Vedic tradition. There are 5 kinds of Sivarathiris. These are 1. Niththya Sivarathiri (daily); 2. Patcha Sivarathiri(during the various phases of the moon); 3. Maatha Sivarathiri (Monthly); 4. Yoga Sivarathiri (Spiritual perception) & 5. Maha(the great) Sivarathiri (Annual). Among these 5, Maha Sivarathiri is celebrated with grandeur.















Above: Picture of Lord Siva

In the Indian calendar month of "Maasi" (February/March), during the descending moon at midnight on "Sathurththasi day" (the 14th day of the moon)Lord Siva has been said as have appeared in the symbolic form of a "Lingam". He is therefore refered to as "Lingothpayar". On this occasion, at every 3 hour interval from sunset to sunrise the next morning, special prayers are performed to Lord Siva. This means keeping awake the whole night through. On the following morning, after a bath, one can break their fast.

Some people resort to watching movies to keep awake. This practise defeats the purpose. Instead, it is beneficial to indulge in singing religious songs,hymns or chant the Sri Panchachaara Mantra - "Om Namasivaya" and listen to Siva Puranas (mythological anecdotes relating to Lord Siva). For fasting, drinking milk or water alone is considered satisfactory.

HH Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda & Maha Sivarathiri
The following video footage took place during a Mahasivarathri celebration. In this video, you will see HH Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji of India, performing a ritual in his own unique and inimitable fashion in a fire pit (Homakunda) & where he usually materialises objects from the fire pit & translates it as a prediction for the year to come.

HH Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji - 1 An introduction.

An introduction of HH Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji.
HH Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji was born at Mekedatu in southern India on May 26, 1942. A Moslem saint predicted to His parents that their child would have supreme wisdom and knowledge and was destined to uplift mankind.

The holy Mother of Sri Swamiji
In the pious confluence of the rivers Kaveri, Arkavati and Gupta Gamini is situated the village of Mekadatu in Karnataka State, India. This sacred place is famous as "Agastya Kshetra" i.e. the pilgrim center sanctified by Sage Agastya. A pious Brahmin by the name of Linganne Sarma lived in the village. His wife was Savitri. The couple were ritualistic, kind and noble. In the pleasant season of spring, in the month of Fisakha, on the fifth day of the brilliant fortnight (the day on which Adi Sankaracharya was born in 7th century) the divine child Jayalakshmi was born.

She was beautiful and had a divine, noble power of attraction. She radiated mercy, peace and piety as she grew up. She was a source of endless joy to her parents. She worshipped Lord Shiva (Sangameswara) daily and served the saints and sages. She was initiated by a Muslim Fakir. As a result of severe penance she attained God realization and divine powers. She used to enlighten people regarding righteous living and helped them progress in the service of God. With her spiritual powers, she cured the sick and suffering. She relieved many people of their problems with her divine help. Eventually she married Sri Narasimha Sastry. She was a dutiful wife and gave birth to the incarnation of Lord Dattatreya.

Her child is a perfect Yogi, the embodiment of Truth - Knowledge - Bliss (Sat - Chit - Ananda). The child named Satyanarayana is none else than our beloved Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji who feeds us throughout the world with a diet of Divine Knowledge.

The Actual Birth
- occurred on a rock in the Kaveri river. His mother Jayalakshmi was in deep meditation and the child was born covered with holy ash. The child was named Satyanarayana. His mother, whom the Swami calls His first Guru, initiated Him into spiritual life before her passing in 1951. Satyanarayana completed His education like other children, but found school had nothing to offer Him. He was endowed at birth with great knowledge and power.

Even as a child, he organized satsangs and taught bhajans to His friends, and performed "siddhis" to entertain them, such as turning tree leaves into sweets. For some time He performed various mundane jobs to earn a living, such as school teacher and postal worker. All along, however, he had been serving his fellow humans, helping them with their problems. Through his miraculous powers He was able to understand their situations, knowing their past, present , and future and helped them to overcome difficulties. Some of them became his first disciples who were soon to be followed by more. He sang bhajans and kirtans for them and started giving yoga classes in small village huts or on river banks, while he was wandering the countryside as a monk. He acquired a following which demanded all of His time an attention. In 1966 He moved to the present site of the Mysore Ashram, which in the early days was only a straw hut in a field. It was there at Mysore that He became Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji . Since then Sri Swamiji has been helping people in His unique way. People come to Him for help with their worldly affairs, or to become healed of physical afflictions, or for guidance in their spiritual practice. Many come to hear His beautiful and powerful songs, which draw the heart and mind to God or to celebrate the special Hindu holidays in the old vedic traditions.