Shivaratri

Thursday night I celebrated Maha Shivaratri for the first time. An auspicious day that falls on the 13th night/14th day of the waning moon during the month of Maagha in the Hindu calendar, it's believed to be the night Lord Shiva married Goddess Parvati. Devotees also believe that on this night Shiva performed Tandava Nritya, the dance of creation and destruction that I described a bit here. All over the world people fast and visit temples on this day, chanting throughout the day and night.

In our observance we chanted the panchakshari in the Siddha yoga tradition, which you can listen to by clicking here and playing the audio sample. Also known as the five syllable mantra, the panchakshari is Om Namah Shivaya, "I bow to Shiva" the supreme reality, the inner Self or Consciousness that dwells within all of us. There are other meanings contained within the 5 syllables that perhaps I'll attempt to explain in a future post. While I knew what we'd be chanting, I didn't anticipate it being done so slowly and deliberately, each syllable drawn out. Beautiful, a little challenging to sing, and quite different from the kirtan I've been doing daily.

About 15 of us silently settled on folding chairs or sat cross-legged on the floor, facing the Shiva Nataraj statue decorated with flowers. The lights were turned off, candles were lit, a harmonium began it's breathy drone, and soon the sound of Om Namah Shivaya materialized like a calm lake stretching to an edgeless horizon. 3 hours later I emerged from the studio as if from a dream. The chanting continued inside and probably met sunrise, but as the heavy oak door closed and clicked behind me the sound of all the voices but my own fell silent. Unseen wind chimes rang in the trees like tiny church bells. Along the curving, wooded path a string of white lights lit my feet, and through the branches overhead winter's bright stars lit the sky.

What's special about chanting a mantra? It's said that "Mantra is that which protects the one who repeats it." In his book Where Are You Going? Swami Muktananda explains that that the influence of mantra can completely transform our inner being.

Our inner state is created by the thoughts and feelings that continually arise in us. Outwardly we may appear to have fixed identities — one person may appear to be a lawyer, another an engineer, another a doctor, another a professor — but inside, we are a continually changing mass of Consciousness. When we project the beam of mantra into this fluctuating mass, it stabilizes it and focuses it in one direction, the direction of the Self. The sages have said that only the mantra can help us transcend our confusion, our fantasies, and the constant changes of the mind.

As for the power of chanting, the poet Tukaram Maharaj wrote, "Not only the heart, but the entire being is rejuvenated by chanting." Swami Muktananda promises that chanting purifies us inwardly as well as purifying the atmosphere around us.

I'm only 3 months into my quest and these particular practices are new to me. But I will admit to noticing changes already, a steadying of my mind, better control of my actions, much better control of my thoughts and emotions, including grief. I'm sure there's a long way to go, but right now I feel as if I went from being stuck in choppy water in a rowboat without oars, to having a paddle with which to row myself to a calmer place. Having this bit of stillness makes it easier to appreciate the view.