Maha Shivaratri 2023 & Its Importance
Mark your calendar for February 18 to seek the blessings of Shiva, the Ultimate Guru, Lord Shiva
We are just a few days away from one of the most auspicious nights for spiritual progress – Maha Shivaratri 2023. Nature, the cosmos, and Creation all come together to make this night a gateway to the realm of inner transformation and bliss.
Let us understand why Maha Shivaratri 2023 is the key to unlocking the door to our true Self. Steeped in the nitty-gritty of mundane materialism, we perhaps lose sight of the essential truth that we are not separate from Shiva. We are not our names, bodies, dreams, desires, and illusions; we are the Absolute and indivisible oneness of Creation. Maha Shivaratri 2023 is the most beautiful moment to remind ourselves of this truth.
MAHA SHIVARATRI 2023: THE EXACT TIMING
February 18, 2023, is Maha Shivaratri 2023 per the Hindu panchang. But we need to understand the fine print. As you can see in the above chart, the exact time of Maha Shivratri starts at 23.55.00, just shy of midnight on the night of the 18th, which is the Chaturdashi or 14th day of the waning moon phase. This phase is called Krishna paksha, so the 14th day of this lunar phase is called Krishna Chaturdashi.
Maha Shivaratri 2023 always falls on Krishna Chaturdashi of the Magha month in the Hindu year.
The Chaturdashi Tithi runs from February 18, 2023, at 20:02, until February 19, 2023, at 16:18. This period is the essence of Maha Shivaratri 2023.
It’s the night of Krishna Chaturdashi tithi that is the MOST IMPORTANT.
SHIV RATRI AND MAHA SHIVRATRI: KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
Are you aware that Shiv Ratri occurs every month? Every month, the night of Krishna Chaturdashi is Shiv Ratri or the Night of Shiva. Maha Shivaratri 2023, or the Great Night of Shiva, comes annually on Krishna Chaturdashi in the Magha month. It is a divine night of Shiva and Parvati’s union; hence, it is transcendental in its impact. If you meditate during this night, Shiva will take care of your insecurities, anxieties and worries and help you get closer to your true Self.
WHY IS KRISHNA CHATURDASHI SIGNIFICANT?
There are three tithis or days in the Hindu lunar month that are cursed: Krishna Chaturdashi, Amavasya (moonless night) and Pratipada (the first day after Amavasya). Among the central principles of Vedic Astrology is the Curse of Krishna Chaturdashi. It is a highly unfavorable tithi, and people born on this day have a blighted life path.
A brief explanation for those unaware of the curse of Krishna Chaturdashi.
According to legend, the Moon kidnapped his Guru Brihaspati’s (Jupiter
) wife, Maa Tara, on Krishna Chaturdashi. This despicable act incensed Lord Shiva, the lineage protector, upholder of Knowledge and the Parameshti Guru or the Ultimate Guru. On Amavasya, the Moon forced himself on Maa Tara, and Mahadev (Lord Shiva) cursed the Moon and lost its light. Condemned to darkness, the Moon repented for its sins on Pratipadā (the first day after Amavasya) and returned Maa Tara to Brihaspati.
Maa Kali, the Protector, also cursed the Moon
for its heinous acts; thus, people born on this Tithi have a difficult life.
(Please watch my video on Amavasya below).
Venus rules the Krishna Chaturdashi tithi and hence is complicit in the crime. Venus is severely afflicted for people born on Krishna Chaturdashi, and their relationships are always challenging.
Shiv Ratri is an opportunity to remedy any relationship: not necessarily with your spouse but with your friends, employees, acquaintances, people in power, and anyone who is a source of friction. Who can understand the pain of separation pain more than Shiva and Rama? Shiva lost his consort Sati, and Rama, whose Sita
was abducted, had to wage war to get her back.
MAHA SHIVRATRI: UNDERSTAND THE SHIVA IN YOU
We agree that there is Infinity. On a clear night, if you lie down on the grass and watch the stars, you will realize how unbounded the cosmos is. Our mind can only try to imagine its expanse. What is out there? It’s an extension of the space surrounding you on the patch of grass. Trace that space beyond you, into the sky and beyond, and you will realize the Infinity and nothingness. Shiva is that Infinity, and we are Shiva because we are also a part of that endless nothingness.
When you meditate on Maha Shivaratri 2023, you merge into that Infinity and experience the Shiva in you. The iconography of Lord Shiva we are familiar with, his glorious beauty, matted locks with the crescent Moon and the serpent coiled around his throat, is a symbol of his omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. His form and features are a symbolic manifestation of Infinity, just like our physical body is an aspect of Infinity’s Creation.
Shiva is also material and transient because Creation must precede Dissolution, and Shiva is Dissolution. Once you grasp the essence of Shiva, you can experience it.
THE POWER OF MEDITATION DURING MAHA SHIVARATRI
Maha Shivaratri 2023 is the coming together of the finite and the infinite, and it is the gateway to your spiritual awakening to realize that darkness and light are perceptions. In reality, neither is separate. Your essential Self is neither light nor dark; it is beyond them, just like Shiva. Meditating on this truth helps you shed the layers of ignorance and illusion you are shrouded in due to many lifetimes. It enables you to get closer to the reality that you are unbounded and limitless.
The energies during Maha Shivaratri 2023 are more conducive to promoting inner awakening than other moments.
If you go deep into meditation, your physical Self becomes unimportant; you will be drawn into an inner effulgence with peace and freedom from thought at its core. The ardent meditator does not think of Shiva; they become the Shiva tattva (element), formless and timeless.
MAHA SHIVARATRI 2023: HOW TO LET GO AND LET GOD
Shiva is the highest form of a guru, the guru of gurus. He is the Parameshti guru, and there is no better occasion than Maha Shivaratri 2023 to pray and follow spiritual practices such as the Rudra Abhishek. Recite the Panchakshari mantra, Om Namah Shivay. Make a sankalpa or resolution and follow it through.
You can also recite the AUM, which, with its crescent and bindu (dot), is also a Panchakshari mantra or AUM Namah Shivaya, a Shadakshari mantra.
Shiva is the giver of Knowledge, and reciting any of these mantras while meditating on him will be of enormous help:
- Om Gurave Namah.
- Om Param Gurave Namah.
- Om Parapar Gurave Namah.
- Om Parameshti Gurave Namah.
THE KRISHNA CHATURDASHI CURSE AND MAHA SHIVRATRI
The power to remove the curse of Krishna Chaturdashi lies with Lord Shiva, and the native must appease the deity to get rid of it. They must do the remedy for a minimum of one year.
NOTE: The precise remedies are based on the individual’s chart.
The best time to start is on Maha Shivratri, which falls on the night of Krishna Chaturdashi. Venus rules this Tithi and is a part of the story, so the curse impacts relationships. Open your mind to Shiva energies and heal your Shukra/Venus karmas.
The native must perform the remedy from one Maha Shivratri to the next (one year).
The native must chant the Panchakshari (Five-syllable) mantra ॐ नमः शिवाय: (Om Namaḥ Shivay) at least three malas daily (11 rounds recommended). One mala is 108 counts.
On Pratipadā Tithi, the day after Krishna Chaturdashi, Moon asked for forgiveness for its despicable actions. Hence this Tithi is an excellent day to chant Agni or Gayatri Mantra and seek forgiveness for your wrongdoings.
Do you have any further question? Happy to answer them!
Om Namah Shivay.
