The festival of Mahashivarathri is one of the most important festivals in India. It falls on the 14th day of the (Krishna Paksha) dark fortnight of the Magha month of the Hindu calendar. The very word ‘Shivarathri’ means auspicious night. All over the country, people throng Shiva temples and spend the night in worship and contemplation of the Divine. Lord Shiva is worshipped as Yogiswara and is regarded as an ideal Yogi and renunciant. Hence, on this day, His devotees join Him, as it were, in His austerities and forego food and sleep as homage to this prince among Yogis.

The Mahashivrathri celebrations at Prasanthi Nilayam commenced on the morning of 8th March. Bhagawan filled the hearts of the thousands who had gathered in Sai Kulwant hall with the joy of beholding His divine form on this auspicious day. After ascending the dais, Bhagawan blessed Prof. Anil Kumar, lecturer at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, to address the gathering.

Prof. Anil Kumar began by narrating an incident that took place when he was with Bhagawan in Kodaikanal. On this occasion, he was seated close to Bhagawan when, to his surprise, He noticed what seemed to be the imprint left by an anklet around Swami’s left foot. He was even more puzzled to see that His right foot did not have a similar mark. Mystified, he prayed to Bhagawan to reveal the significance of this. Bhagawan explained that what he was witnessing was the vision of Bhagawan as Lord Ardhanareeswara, the divine principle in which both Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati are present, Lord Shiva forming the right half of the body and Mother Parvati or Shakti being the left part. Bhagawan had revealed many years ago that He is the manifestation of Shiva-Shakti, and Prof. Anil Kumar was privileged to experience the truth of that declaration for himself. Prof. Anil Kumar’s talk was followed by speeches by Dr. Narendranath Reddy and Sri G.K.Raman, who shared their experiences with the assembly of devotees.

Bhagawan, in His divine discourse, explained the meaning of Shivarathri, saying that the word Shiva signifies auspiciousness. Thus, the night of Shivarathri is one that is spiritually beneficial to devotees. He also stated that the principle of Shiva is present in everyone and pervades the entire universe. After Bhagawan concluded His discourse, He sat down and then with a wave of His hand he materialized a gold chain. He asked the students, “What does this contain?” The students replied, “Gold”. He waved His hand again and, to everyone’s surprise and wonder, there was a gold ring in His hand in place of the chain. This time too, Bhagawan asked what the ring was made of, and the students answered in one voice, “Gold, Swami”. He called one of the students to the dais and inserted the ring into his finger. Again there was the circular motion of His hand and a gold chain appeared. It was indeed an awe-inspiring sight to see Bhagawan create and recreate matter in so casual a manner. But, there seemed to be a deeper significance to His actions; Bhagawan was demonstrating what He had just mentioned in the discourse, that the same divine principle is present in all. The ornaments may all appear different, yet they are all made from the same material, gold. Similarly, though names and forms may vary, the Atma (Self) is the same in everyone. After Bhagawan’s discourse, the students of Bhagawan’s school and university sang stotrams (hymns) like Vishwanathashtakam and Bilvashtakam and devotional songs propitiating Lord Shiva.

In the afternoon, two eminent speakers addressed the gathering at Sai Kulwant hall. The first speaker was Sri S.V.Giri, former Vice-Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. He spoke on the significance of the various names of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva is known as Ardhanareeswara i.e. both the masculine and feminine principles are equally present in Him. This truth is evident in Bhagawan’s life too, for He treats men and women equally, and exhorts that women should be given their due respect by society. The appellation Neelakanta that is given to Lord Shiva is equally applicable to Bhagawan, for just as Lord Shiva swallowed the poison Halahala to save the world from its noxious fumes, Bhagawan too is prepared to undergo any amount of physical hardship to protect His devotees and ensure their welfare. After the erudite exposition by Sri S.V.Giri, Bhagawan blessed Sri A.V. Gokak, who recently assumed the office of the Vice-Chancellor of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, to speak. Sri Gokak stated that the Lingam, the symbol of Lord Shiva, signifies that divine consciousness from which all has emerged and into which everything shall finally merge. In the very same way, he said, the various faiths and religions of the world find their consummation at the Lotus Feet of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He concluded by saying that people should abandon narrow mindedness and intolerance of other religions and progress towards that ultimate state where the one who meditates realizes that he is one with the object of his meditation.

Bhagawan, in His discourse, elaborated on various aspects of Lord Shiva. He said that the glory of God is beyond comprehension and cannot be adequately described by words. Bhagawan exhorted everyone to spend the auspicious night of Shivaratri in contemplation of God through the singing of Bhajans, instead of whiling it away in idle pastimes. After the discourse, Bhagawan permitted the bhajans to commence.

The bhajans continued uninterrupted through the night. Bhajan groups from Sai centers in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai as well as from overseas too joined in leading the bhajans. Sai Kulwant hall reverberated to this outpouring of devotion that filled the atmosphere with sacred vibrations. Ekadasha Rudra Parayana, where the Rudram, the Vedic mantra in praise of Lord Shiva is chanted eleven times interspersed by stanzas from Chamakam, was also performed.

On the morning of 9th at 6.30 a.m., Bhagawan entered Sai Kulwant hall allowing everyone to feast their eyes on the beautiful form of their Lord. At about 7.00 a.m. Bhagawan accepted arati thus bringing the bhajans to a close. Bhagawan graciously permitted the prasadam (sacramental food) of pulihora (tamarind rice) and laddus to be distributed to the gathering. It was a heart-warming sight to watch all members of the Sai family, without distinction of class, race or nation, sitting under one roof and relishing the prasadam provided by their beloved Mother Sai.

That evening, Bhagawan granted His divine discourse, in which He spoke about the devotion of Karnam Subbamma, who had recognised Bhagawan’s divinity even when He was still a young boy. She was the wife of the Karnam (landlord) of Puttaparthi village and was very fond of young Sathya. As more and more people began to recognise Bhagawan’s divinity and began flocking to Puttaparthi, she would lovingly look after their welfare and serve them. She had prayed to Bhagawan to satisfy her one desire - to receive sanctified water from His hands during her final moments, and Bhagawan gave her His word. Many years later, Subbamma was on her deathbed, but Bhagawan was in faraway Madras. By the time Bhagawan returned to Puttaparthi, she had already breathed her last and the corpse had begun to decay. But, Bhagawan’s word is Truth and has to be fulfilled. Bhagawan rushed to her bedside, and softly called out to her, “Subbamma, Subbamma”. Wonder of wonders! the eyes flew open and they beheld the form of her Lord. From His hands poured the sacred water into her lips and Subbamma joined the ranks of the released. Bhagawan narrated some more incidents from His childhood in His enchanting voice and filled the gathering with bliss.

At the conclusion of the discourse, arati was offered to Bhagawan and thus the Mahashivarathri celebrations drew to a close.

Jai Sai Ram!