Day 45 – 26 February 2025
Nearly 1500 gathered devotees chanted sacred mantras in unison to mark the auspicious beginning of the Maha Shivaratri celebrations at Yogadham. Sri M arrived to perform the aarti at Sri Guru Babaji’s shrine amidst the blowing of conches and the ringing of bells. As he ascended the stage to lead the meditation, the absolute silence was a dramatic contrast deepened by quiet contemplation.
The congregation broke up for breakfast after which they came together again for the first session of Sri M’s Shivaratri discourse where he urged them to be prepared for Shiva’s tandava nritya – dance of destruction – where all images and notions that crowded their minds needed to be demolished to make space for the new and the fresh. Only then could one say “Chidanand Rupah Shivoham Shivoham he iterated. For when the mind was gone, there was absolute freedom and only Shivam or auspiciousness remained.
The evening discourse included the teaching of important Shiva Mantras, including the Mahamrityunjaya jaap that he stressed was not for avoiding death, but for attaining immortality. He taught how to practice it and attain the highest truth which would help transform the human into the divine. Dhuni Puja and pranams followed uniting all those gathered in deep reverence and contemplation.
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