Shivratri and me

Today, I want to share something about Shivratri. Art of Living celebrates Shivratri in a beautiful way, especially at the International retreat centre in Bangalore India, where people from hundreds of countries get together for an epic celebration, with hundreds of thousands more logging in remotely.

Shivratri is well explained here. Briefly, ‘Shivratri is taking refuge in one’s own spirit (Shiva). It is the day that we celebrate the soul or spirit (Shiva Tattva) within ourselves’. If you haven’t noticed, today was one of those beautiful nights, when celebration came naturally.

And, my Friday night was more special than usual. As I was driving home in the pouring rain through Toronto, on the misty foggy highways, I had a few beautiful realizations, of few things Sri Sri Ravi Shankar talks about in the Ashtavakra Gita series. That dawning and sprouting of knowledge made me ecstatic with joy, making today a day I will cherish for a long time.

Tonight, I am grateful for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar whose words have only shown me the best.  With the sense of being taken care of, I realized I don’t know what else can I hope for but be free right now; when I already am given everything before the thought/need arises. Tonight, my consciousness felt liberated from my own shackles. My small mind eclipsed with the big, letting go of my small sense of personality boundaries and realizing the whole universe is mine, is simply me. But, I also realized that I am not my events, that life is beautiful especially because of the good and bad, love and hate, peace and violence. It is the very nature of the universe, and it is perfect the way it is. Today, I woke up to the realization that the present moment is perfect. And, this ‘Aha’ moment brought this smile through me that despite 4 hours through the evening, I can’t shake off.

So, this year’s Shivaratri has been very beautiful because it has allowed me to connect with the infinite nature I am part of. I am dissolved in love for this nature, for my friends, for everything; because I know today that I am them.