Opinion: Mahashivratri - The Great Night of Shiva

When we utter the word “Shiva” it brings forth many types of images in people's minds. Some see him as the Mahadeva, a few see him as an aghori, and many others see him as Sundaramurthi. He is seen as the very basis of creation, as well as the destroyer. In fact, some in the West are propagating that Shiva is a demon! Whether you call him a god or a demon, an aghori or a Sundaramurthi, Shiva does not care because he fits into all of them perfectly well. He is ready to be a great lord but he does not mind being a demon when needed. Shiva is a complex amalgamation of everything that life can be.

Such a complex amalgamation of all qualities of existence has been put into one person, because if you can accept this one being, you have crossed life itself. The whole struggle with one's life is that we are always trying to pick out what is beautiful and what is not, what is good and what is bad. You will not have a problem with anyone if only you accept this man who is a complete assimilation of life.

In the Yogic culture, there are two aspects of Shiva that are especially significant. The word "Shiva" literally means "that which is not". Today, modern science is proving to us that everything comes from nothing and goes back to nothing. The galaxies are just a sprinkling. The basis and fundamental quality of existence is vast nothingness.

On another level, when we say "Shiva", we are referring to the Adiyogi or the first Yogi, and also the Adi Guru, the first Guru, who is the basis of what we know as the Yogic science today. The Yogic culture moves seamlessly from invoking Shiva as the basis of creation to invoking Shiva as the first Yogi.

Is this contradictory? Not at all! This being who is a Yogi and that non-being, which is the basis of the existence, are the same because a Yogi is someone who has experienced the existence as himself. If you have to contain the existence within you as an experience, even for a moment, you have to be that nothingness. It is only nothingness that can hold everything. The planet can hold an ocean, but not the solar system. The solar system can hold the planets and the Sun but not the rest of the galaxy. If you continue like this, you will see that something can never hold everything; only nothingness can hold everything.

This year, Mahashivratri, the great night of Shiva, falls on March 8. Symbolically, Mahashivratri is an acknowledgement of Adiyogi. It is important to acknowledge him because over 15,000 years ago, he was the first one to bring this idea to the human mind that if you are willing to strive, you can transcend all limitations that are considered natural upon the human being. Your body, mind, emotions and energies can be taken to another level, which others think is super-human. Every human being is capable of this. Mahashivratri is a reminder to people that if they are willing, they can evolve beyond their present state of existence.

If we look at the science of Mahashivratri, the northern hemisphere of the planet is positioned in such a way that there is a natural upsurge of energy in the human system on this day. This is a day when nature is pushing you towards your spiritual peak. When that upsurge happens, it is very important you keep your spine erect. This is why, in this culture, they told you not to lie down on this night. It is in this context that the Isha Yoga Center celebrates Mahashivratri. We have fantastic music, dance, and meditation from six o'clock in the evening to six in the morning – twelve hours of non-stop celebration so that everyone sits up alive and alert, allowing this upsurge to happen.

It is my wish and blessing that you make use of this wonderful gift of nature on Mahashivratri. I hope all of you ride this upsurge and know the beauty and ecstasy of what it means when we say “Shiva”.

Ranked amongst the fifty most influential people in India, Sadhguru is a Yogi, mystic, visionary and a New York Times bestselling author. Sadhguru was conferred the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 2017, the highest annual civilian award, accorded for exceptional and distinguished service. He is also the founder of the world's largest people's movement, Conscious Planet – Save Soil, which has touched over 4 billion people.