Dear Seeker,
We approach the festival of Maha Shivaratri that occurs this year (2021) on the 11th of March.
Shivaratri literally translates as the ‘night of Shiva’. It is considered to be one of the most powerful times of the year for meditation and sadhana that invokes the field of Cosmic Silence, the realm of ‘nothing-ness’ upon which everything rests.
The night of Shivaratri is observed by long hours of chanting and musical invocation, or by meditating in silence. The special energy of the night is most conducive to the experience of Shiva Tattva – the truth of Shiva.
From the Upanishad texts is a powerful quote about the state of the ‘peaceful and blissful’, experiencing which we become aware of this vast realm of Shiva:
Chaturtham Manyante
Sa Aatma Sa Vigyeyaha
Meaning:
“The peaceful (shivam), the blissful (shaantam), the undivided (advaitam) is thought to be the fourth (state of transcendental consciousness). That is the Self, That is to be known.”
I’d like to share with you my rendition of the much revered ‘Atma Shatakam’, also known as the six verses of enlightenment. These Sanskrit verses were composed by Sri Adi Shankara in the 8th Century CE.
Each verse ends with the line ‘Chidaananda Roopaha, Shivoham Shivoham’.
‘Shivoham’ means ‘I am Shiva’. The entire line translates as “I am the embodiment of bliss consciousness, I am Shiva, I am Shiva.”
These verses unravel the knowing that Cosmic Silence is the nature of the Self; that I and this realm of Shiva are one and the same.
As you listen, allow the sounds of the Shatakam to lead you to a place of peace and inner silence. Click the link below to open the track in YouTube:
Atma Shatakam: —> https://youtu.be/8R_21HCIhus
To look at Shiva is to look in to the void of darkness, where everything dissolves in to nothingness. How can we accurately describe in words that which is beyond all attributes, that which just IS?
From amidst the drum beats of Shiva bhajans; in the silence between the recitation of the names of Mahadeva; in the vastness of the ocean and the expanse of infinite sky; in the roar of the storm of Rudra, and the placidness of the calm waters of a lake; in the eternity of this earthly stage upon which dances the fleeting play of life, I look for that which perhaps likens to a glimpse of Shiva Tattva.
I search. I seek. I attempt to quench this thirst for but a glimpse.
With Love and Peace,
Sai Ganesh Nagpal
For astrological consultations with Sai, please click here Astro-Counselling with Sai
