Mahashivrathri is Coming Up!

This Tuesday (17/2/2015) is “Shiva’s Great Night.” This is one of the most important holidays of the year for me. Tomorrow I’ll explain my relationship with Lord Shiva. Until then here’s some information for you to help you celebrate the occasion!

About Mahashivratri: my post from 2013

More about Mahashivratri plus My Celebrations from 2014

Again this year I will be fasting and attempting to keep a vigil. Again I will be joining my Sathya Sai Baba friends for bhajan singing. At home I’ll be performing a Shiva puja with the world’s smallest Shiva Lingam (no, that’s not a euphemism!) I got my little glass lingam from the shop at Sringeri Math on my first visit there.

After that I will be playing Shiva music to keep myself awake for as long as I can. I really want to be able to complete this challenge because it shows the Lord my commitment to my spiritual path and my commitment to Him.

The scriptures are full of stories of people who gain favor with the Gods by performing feats of discipline.

Here is a four hour video of the 2014 Maha Shivratri celebrations with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, which may be helpful for following along:

Here is an hour of Shiva music:

And here is one young woman’s story of what MahaShivrathri means to her (that part starts at 9:33)

“We drown ourselves in the bliss of Shiva’s blessing”

I’ll also be attempting to make traditional Thandai drink as an offering to Lord Shiva. Here is a recipe: http://www.tarladalal.com/Thandai-3635r