The Divine Heart Center organized a special 12-hour long meditation session on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri on 11th March 2021. The meditation started at 7 p.m. and continued till 7 a.m., the next morning. Grand Masters Shailesh and Parul conducted the meditations within this session. Masters Rajat, Sunita and Gaurav also accompanied them in leading the meditations.
The session was well attended by many people including several advanced level initiates of Divine Heart Center. People joined in as per their convenience at any time during the session and for as long as they wished.
Maha Shivratri literally means Grand (Maha) Shiva’s Night (Shiv-Ratri). It is a very important night for Yogis around the world as they meditate on Lord Shiva for the entire night of Maha Shivratri. The Celestial alignment of the planets with the Earth make this night very significant as cosmic rays from the Universe traverse to Earth and this energy is absorbed by the Yogis.
There are several legends around why Maha Shivratri is celebrated. One version states that on this day Shiva drank the Halahal (the poison) that originated from the churning of the Ksheer Sagar (the Celestial Ocean) by Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons). Shiva’s throat turned blue after consuming this poison hence he is also known as Neel-Kantha or the one with Neel (blue) Kantha (throat). Another version states that Lord Shiva got married to Goddess Parvati (or Shakti) on Maha Shivratri. The union between Shiva (embodying Stillness) and Shakti (representing Movement) is a divine combination that is existent in every Yogi’s life. True Consciousness is achieved with the help of Shakti.
Shakti is present in everyone as Kundalini, the fire element that resides in a Kunda or pit at the base of the spine. The spine plays a vital role in an individual’s life, as this is the channel that aids the Kundalini to rise from the base of the spine to the mind, located at the top of the spine, where all energy centers are located.
Several theories abound regarding the functioning of the spine. One theory propounds that ‘seeds’ are present at the base of the spine and when the Kundalini rises through the spine to the mind, these ‘seeds’ flourish into ‘branches’, ‘leaves’, ‘fruits’ etc. signifying growth of thoughts and ideas. Another theory looks at the human body in an upside-down fashion where the brain functions as ‘roots’ absorbing all the energies and dissipating them to rest of the body. Regardless of the direction of the energies, the spinal chord holds importance as the medium for the energy to pass through.
During Maha Shivratri, Yogis meditate on the higher self i.e. Shiva and they use pranayama to achieve this purpose. With pranayama, a Yogi makes the energies to rise from the bottom of the spine to its highest point and offer it to the Divine thinking about Shiva. Whilst making this offering with the help of pranayama, an individual experiences pure form of energy getting downloaded or descending throughout this auspicious night. This is why lots of Yogis stay up all night to absorb these energies coming down to the earth due to the propitious cosmic event of Maha Shivratri. When one stays up to meditate on Maha Shivratri in order to receive these energies, it has a special effect on that individual’s life.
It is noteworthy that this great cosmic energy event is not restricted to one night only; Shiva does it all the time. Nevertheless, it is helpful to have some dedicated time to focus our minds and efforts thinking about Shiva and energize ourselves by dedicating our practices to him.
People who couldn’t join us this time can join us for Guru Purnima, which is the brightest night in the northern hemisphere in contrast to Maha Shivratri which is the darkest. ‘Guru Purnima’ is also a very significant night for Yogis as the Guru is the light in an initiate’s life leading his/her journey of self-realization.
The Divine Heart Center thanks everyone who were able to join us and would like to extend a warm invitation to everyone who could not meditate with us this time, for future events.
We have multiple sessions every day. We also have events like the Summer Retreat coming up in the 1st week of May 2021. We would also like to invite you for the special International Retreat starting on the 17th of October 2021.
Please visit our website (www.divineheartcenter.com) for more details.
Aum Prem