Yoga

This Mahashivarathri, this is a day of many possibilities; rather this is a night of many possibilities. This day, the 14th day of every month, which is known as a Shivarathri, is the darkest day of the month. Celebrating Shivarathri on a monthly basis, or this particular day, which is noted as the Mahashivarathri, almost seems like celebration of darkness. Any logical mind would resist darkness; any thinking mind would naturally opt for light, not darkness. But the word literally means that which is not. That which is, is existence; that which is, is creation. That which is not is Shiva.

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That which is not means, if you open your eyes and look around, if your vision is for small things, you will see lots of creation. If your vision is really looking for big things, you will see the biggest presence in the existence is a vast emptiness. Just a few spots which we call as galaxies are generally so much noticed, but the vast emptiness that holds it doesn’t come into everybody’s notice. This vastness, this unbounded emptiness, is what is referred to as Shiva. As today modern science also proves that everything comes from nothing and also goes back to nothing, it is in this context that Shiva, the vast emptiness or nothingness, is referred to as the great lord, or Mahadeva.

Every religion, every culture on this planet has always been talking about the omnipresent, all pervading nature of the Divine. If we look at it, the only thing that can be truly all pervading, the only thing that can be everywhere is darkness, or nothingness, or emptiness. Generally, when people are seeking well-being, we talk of the divine as the light. When people are no more seeking well-being, they are looking beyond their life in terms of dissolving. If the object of their worship and their sadhana is dissolution, then we always refer to the divine as darkness. Light, however great the source of light may be, the greatest source of light that we know on this planet is the sun. Even the sun’s light, with your hand you could stop it and leave darkness behind, a shadow of darkness behind. But darkness is all-enveloping, everywhere.

The immature minds in the world have always described darkness as the devil. But, when you describe the divine as all-pervading, you’re obviously referring to the divine as darkness, because only darkness is all-pervading. It is everywhere; it doesn’t need any support from anything. Light always comes from a source that is burning itself out, it has a beginning and an end. It is always from a limited source. Darkness has no source; it is a source unto itself. It is all-pervading, everywhere, omnipresent. So when we say Shiva, it is this vast emptiness of existence. It is in the lap of this vast emptiness, that all creation has happened. It is that lap of emptiness that we refer to as the Shiva. All the ancient prayers in this culture have always been not about saving yourself, not about protecting yourself, not about doing better in life.

All the ancient prayers have always been about ‘Oh lord, destroy me, so that I can become like yourself’. So when we say Shivarathri, which is the darkest night of the month, it is an opportunity for one to dissolve their limitedness, to experience the unboundedness of the source of creation, which is the seed in every human being. Today is an opportunity and a possibility to bring yourself to that experience of the vast emptiness within every human being, which is the source of all creation.

On the one hand, Shiva is known as the destroyer, on the other, he is known as the most compassionate. He is also known to be the greatest of the givers. The yogic lore is rife with many stories about Shiva’s compassion. The commonplace ways of expression of his compassion have been incredible and astonishing at the same time. He is a great giver; at the same time he does not like those who ask for anything. The asking people never got along with Shiva. So Mahashivarathri is a special night for receiving too.

The devotees and the spiritual sadhakas in the world live a life of exuberance and intensity. But for most of the common folk have many things to fulfil. It is a true joy to see people who have entangled themselves in various commitments and duties, pursue the spiritual path with great vigour. It’s our wish and blessing that today you must not pass this night without knowing at least a moment of the vastness of this emptiness that we call as Shiva. Let this night not just be a night of wakefulness, but let this night be a night of awakening for every one of you.

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
Isha Yoga Centre
New No.55, Moosa Street
T Nagar
Chennai - 600 017
Ph: 91-44- 24333185, 24348732

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Published on Sept 12^th, 2006