Today is Maha Shivaratri: The Night When Spirit Touches Earth

When winter transitions to spring, where Divine Consciousness and human awareness are said to meet in perfect harmony.

Two years ago, I found myself in south India during Maha Shivaratri, surrounded by the chants and flickering divos that marked this sacred night. I could hear the town celebrating Shivaratri outside of the Ayurvedic center I was staying in. Listening to the prayers that have been passed down through generations, I felt a recognition that I’ve felt so many times before. That some traditions transcend cultural boundaries to touch something universal in the human spirit. That I’ve been blessed to be born to such a tradition.

Today in the Bay Area, I stepped outside my home and felt spring dancing on the breeze. California does give me a certain weather advantage in February, but there was something fitting about nature's perfect timing – the transition from winter to spring aligning with Shivaratri's promise of renewal and awakening.

About Lord Shiva: The Divine Paradox

To understand Shivaratri is to glimpse the magnificent complexity of Lord Shiva himself. Unlike deities who embody singular virtues, Shiva contains multitudes:

He is the Destroyer and Restorer, essential to the cosmic cycle of creation, preservation, and destruction. Without his cleansing force, renewal would be impossible. This is a truth that applies as much to our inner lives as to the universe itself.

He is both ascetic and sensual, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities that remind us humans need not fragment ourselves into either/or. We can contain depths that appear paradoxical on the surface yet form a complete whole.

As Adiyogi, the first yogi, he sits in meditation on Mount Kailash, patron of yoga, meditation, and arts. His discipline invites us to journey inward rather than seek fulfillment in the external world.

His iconography tells stories within stories. The third eye representing inward vision and awakened consciousness. The crescent moon and Ganga flowing through his matted locks symbolizing his control over time and purification. The trishul (trident) reflecting the Hindu trinity and the three gunas (qualities) that make up all existence. The damaru (hand drum) whose beat signals the rhythm of creation itself.

We see him as Nataraja, the cosmic dancer whose movements sustain the universe. As Ardhanarishvara, half-male and half-female, the divine union of feminine and masculine energies. As the Lingam, the aniconic form representing the generative power from which all existence springs.

The Great Night of Shiva

Maha Shivaratri translates simply to "the great night of Shiva," but its significance runs deeper. It marks the cosmic union, the coming together of Shiva and Shakti, masculine and feminine energies that, when balanced, create harmony within and without.

It represents the tension between bhoga (satisfaction of hunger) and yoga (outgrowing hunger). This is a fundamental aspect of Hindu philosophy that speaks to the human condition. Do we seek to satisfy our desires or transcend them? On Shivaratri, we're invited to contemplate this essential question.

The seasonal transition from winter to spring is a reminder that darkness always gives way to light, that dormancy precedes growth. Nature herself teaches us the cycle of necessary endings and beginnings.

Most profoundly, it's described as a time when "spirit touches the earth". When the veil between worlds thins, and meditation becomes one hundred times more powerful. The night paradoxically signifies awakening from all forms of slumber, including spiritual ignorance. While 'ratri' means night, Shivaratri calls us toward the dawn of self-realization.

How to be with today:

From Tuesday evening until Wednesday morning, it is common to observe practices designed to clear energy centers and allow prana (life force) to flow freely.

Fasting from roughly 6:30 PM to 6:30 AM creates space for spiritual awareness to expand where physical concerns once dominated.

Offerings like bel patra (wood apple leaves) symbolize the surrender of one's nature with its three qualities – tamas (inertia), rajas (activity), and sattva (harmony).

For those who stay up all night, it is filled with meditation, chanting, and prayer. This represents the vigilance required on the spiritual path. To stay awake through the darkness is to remain conscious through life's challenges rather than falling into unconscious patterns.

Often a fast and staying up all night are practiced, but I’ll simply be fasting through the early evening to the next morning.

Tonight, Release & Make Space

What draws me to Shivaratri year after year is not just cultural heritage but its profound invitation to inner transformation. In a world that often feels fragmented, Shiva reminds me of wholeness. He reminds me that destruction and creation are not opponents but partners in an eternal dance.

The Bay Area spring breeze today carries whispers of possibility and renewal after winter's necessary retreat. Like the cosmic cycle Shiva oversees, our lives follow patterns of dissolution and rebirth. Sometimes we must release what no longer serves us to create space for new growth.

I'm reminded that spiritual traditions at their heart aren't about rigid adherence to ritual but about providing frameworks for the soul's evolution. Shivaratri offers a framework, a sacred container for contemplation, surrender, and awakening.

Tonight, as it gets dark, as the stars appear, I’ll be lighting a candle and sitting in meditation. I’ll be contemplating what I’ll be releasing for my life’s next chapter of growth. I’ll be joining millions around the world, I’ll be thinking of India and my ancestors who were likely singing bhajans, sacred songs, on this auspicious and beautiful night.

In that moment of stillness, I'll catch a glimpse of what the sages have always known, that the divine we seek outside ourselves has always dwelled within, waiting to be recognized, like Shiva himself, in the silence beyond words.

Om Namah Shivaya

Kara Charana Kritham Vaa

Kaayajam Karmajam Vaa

Shravana Nayanajam Vaa

Maanasam Vaa Aparaadhham

Vihitham Avihitham Vaa

Sarvam-Etat-Kshamasva

Jaya Jaya Karunna-Abdhe

Shri Maha Dheva Shambho