WHY IS SHRAVAN MAAS , THE HOLIEST MONTH IN THE HINDU CALENDAR ?..SHIVA-20

SHRAVAN MAAS ,THE HOLIEST MONTH;-

05 FACTS;- 1-As per Hindu religious scriptures, Lord Shiva is considered as eternal, infinite, unborn who neither has any beginning nor any end. He is one God who was never born and who never died. This is the reason why Lord Shiva is not considered to be any avatar of gods, but a God himself. 2-The ancient religious scriptures throw light on many instances where Lord Shiva pleased with their devotees, be it demons or Gods has showered his affection expressing many of his qualities and powers. 3-The month of Sawan is considered to be the auspicious time for Shiva’s devotion. The Shivapuran mentions some unheard secrets of Lord Shiva no one knows about. However, those who come to know about them and follow them are benefited unconditionally. 4-But why is this month called Shravan? It is believed that on Poornima or a full moon day or at any time during this month, the Shravan Nakshatra or star rules the skies and hence, this month derives its name from this nakshatra. 5-The Shravan maas is synonymous with auspicious festivals and events. It is the best time to conduct all-important religious ceremonies, as almost all days in this month are auspicious for shubh arambh, i.e. good start. SHRAVAN SOMVAR & RULING DEITY LORD SHIVA ;-

07 FACTS;-

1-The Importance Of Shravan Monday (Somvar) is represented by Moon, which in turn symbolises Mind. Moon is placed on Lord Shiva's head. Lord Shiva is believed to discipline the mind of the spiritual aspirant and the devotees. That is why Lord Shiva is especially worshipped on Monday.

2-Shiva is a principle (Tattva) from where everything has come, everything is sustained in it, and everything dissolves into it. Shiva is the space, it is the consciousness.

3-There is no way that you can even step out of Shiva at anytime because Shiva is the summum bonum(the principle of goodness) of the whole creation. That is why Shiva’s body is depicted in blue because blue signifies the sky; the all pervading infinity which has no limits, and no shape.

4-The consciousness which is bliss and innocence, the consciousness which is the bestower of dispassion(विराग -Unbiased) is Shiva. The whole world is moving in an auspicious rhythm of innocence and intelligence - that is

Shiva.The permanent and eternal source of energy, the eternal state of being, the one and only one - is Shiva.

5-The soul (of everything) is called Shiva ;there is no difference between the soul and Shiva.It is a miracle

how the same consciousness is present in every being in this creation.. There is no other miracle greater than this.

6-In this month, each Monday is celebrated as Shravan Somvar across all temples .Pepole worship Shivaling on Shravan Monday, to win his special grace.

7-Devotees offer Bael leaves, flowers, holy water and milk, i.e. Falam-Toyam, Pushpam-Patram to lord Shiva on every Shravan Somwar. They fast until the sun goes down and the Nandadeep, the Akhand Diya, burns throughout.

THE LEGEND BEHIND SHRAVAN MAAS;-

07 FACTS;-

1-As per the traditional story, the daughter of Daksh had sacrificed her life and was reborn as Parvati in the home of Himalaya King. Mata Parvati wanted to marry Lord Shiva. That is the reason why she performed penance during Shravan month.

2-Lord Shiva was pleased with the devotion of Mata Parvati and he fulfilled her wish. Lord Shiva likes the Shravan month very much as he got reunited with his wife during this period.

3-Another Story Behind The Shravan Maas Shiva Puja is referred to the ‘Samudra Manthan’ which was performed during the month of Shravan.The Samudra Manthan is a very important episode as per the Puranas. The churning of the milky ocean, i.e. Samudra Manthan in search of the amrit, took place during the month of Shravan.

4-During the churning, 14 different rubies emerged from the ocean. Thirteen rubies were divided among the devas and the asuras, however, Halahal, the 14th ruby remained untouched as it was the deadliest poison which could destroy the whole universe and every living being. 5-Lord Shiva drank the Halahal and stored the poison in his throat. Due to the impact of the poison, his throat turned blue and he came to be called Neelkantha.Such was the impact of the poison that Lord Shiva wore a crescent moon on his head and all the devas started offering water from the holy river of Ganges to lord Shiva to reduce the effects of the poison.

6-Both these events took place in the Shravan Maas and therefore, it is considered very auspicious to offer holy Ganga water to Lord Shiva in this month.

7-The Shiva Puja during Shravan Maas is a rendition to the Lord who always protects his followers from all dangers & diseases and bestows good health and fortune.

THE BENEFITS OF WORSHIPPING LORD SHIVA;-

11 FACTS;-

1-If we perform his Abhishek, our soul gets cleansed.

2-If we bathe him with scented water, we are blessed with a son.

3-If we offer him Naivaidya, our life's longevity increases.

4-If we light a Diya before his idol, we are graced with knowledge.

5-If we offer Pan (betel leaves) to Lord Shiva, we get ample food.

6-If we bathe his idol with milk, we get peace of mind.

7-If we perform his Abhishek with curd, we get good vehicle and cattle wealth.

8-If we perform his Abhishek with ghee, sugar cane water, we are blessed with wealth and happiness.

9-If we bathe him with Darbh water, then our problems will get solved.

10-If we bathe him with Ganga water, we attain Moksha (salvation).

11-If we offer Bhaang to him, we get blessed with victory and our desired wish is fulfilled.

INAUSPICIOUS THINGS IN WORSHIPPING LORD SHIVA;-

03 FACTS;-

There are some things which are considered inauspicious if used in the worship of Lord Shiva. Let us now know about them: -

1-SINDUR or Kumkum: -

Scriptures tell us that we should not put kumkum or roli on the Shivling. Lord Shiva is a renunciant and destroyer, so it's wrong to worship him with sindoor. Rather sandalwood paste is used to worship him.

2-TULSI:-

Normally, tulsi is considered very auspicious but putting Tulsi on Lord Shiva is prohibited. It is believed that Lord Shiva had killed the husband of Tulsi, demon Jaalandhar. So, Tulsi is not put on Lord Shiva's idol. There is another story that Lord Vishnu had accepted Tulsi as his wife. So, Tulsi leaves are not offered to Lord Shiva.

3-SHANKH (Conch shell):-

Lord Shiva had killed a demon called Shankhchood. Shankh is the symbol of this demon. That is why water is not offered to Lord Shiva in a Shankh.

THE FIVE KEY POINTS;-

1-Do not kill snake during Shravan month. Snakes are considered a beloved entity to Lord Shiva. 2-Devout devotees of Lord Shiva consider it auspicious to wear Rudraksha in the month of Shravam. 3-Wear Rudraksha and use it for japas. 4-Bhibhuti is considered very important if offered to lord Shiva. Some of it should be smeared on the forehead as well.

5-During this month if you worship Lord Shiva ; you will not only attain his divine favour in destroying ill-effects of malefic planetary transit ruining peace, prosperity and growth in your life, but you will also get an elevated spiritual awareness, known as edification(the moral improvement) of Self, equalizing a soul with divine status.

WHAT IS THE REAL WORSHIP OF SHIVA?

23 FACTS;-

1-To understand Shiva the ancient Rishis recommended FOUR steps:

1-1-Anavopaya -To Discipline the ego

1-2-Anava - Meditation

1-3-Shaktopaya - Activating the energy centres by centering one's attention in silence...

1-4-Sambavopaya - To make Free oneself from thoughts

2-According to a verse from Veda Sara Shiva Stotram by Adishankaracharya; he can be understood through the knowledge of the shrutis that you hear deep in meditation.

3-Only through meditation; through the depth of the wisdom of the shrutis you can understand what Shiva is.

4-Without yoga, Shiva can’t be experienced. Yoga doesn’t mean only asanas (physical postures) but yoga is that experience of Shiva which happens in meditation from within.

5-We have three states of consciousness – waking, dreaming and sleeping, and there is a fourth state of consciousness ;where we are neither awake, nor dreaming, nor sleeping. It is a state where the mind is awake but the body is resting, and you know you are present, but do not know where you are - this is Shiva.

6-And this state is experienced in meditation.

If you start to enter that state where you are not dreaming or sleeping, you enter the state of samadhi, where you are free from worries.

7-When you are meditating, It is neither waking nor sleeping. That glimpse of the fourth state is what is called Shiva Tattva. When you sit and meditate, you get in touch with the Shiva Tattva deep inside you. This state gives you the deepest rest possible that you can experience.

8-So where should we search for the Shiva Tattva? Search for it in-between the states of waking and dreaming, or in-between deep sleep and waking, not far away in Mount Kailash.

9-Shiva is the Cause Of All Causes.Shiva can be split as Sha+ee+va...

9-1-Sha stands for shareeram or body

9-2-Ee stands for eeshwara or life giving energy

9-3-Va stands for vayu or motion

10-Thus Shiva represents the body with life and motion.

If the 'ee' is removed from Shiva, it gets reduced to sha+va or Shava which means a lifeless body. Anything with Shiva is with life, and anything without Shiva is Shava, or without life.

11-So Shiva is auspicious, Shiva is potential, and Shiva is life. Shiva is all encompassing - the universal soul or consciousness. Realizing this Shiva Tattva leads to Ananda (bliss).

12-Everything, all forms are the manifestation of the formless Shiva. Shiva is the consciousness that present all over; it is an energy field.Shiva is never born and he has

no end. He is eternal. He is the fourth state of consciousness, known as the 'Turiya avasta' (the meditative state), that is beyond the waking, sleeping and dreaming state.

13-The word “Shiva” means literally, “that which is not.” Today, modern science is proving to us that everything comes from nothing and goes back to nothing. The basis of existence and the fundamental quality of the cosmos is vast nothingness.

14-The galaxies are just a small happening – a sprinkling. The rest is all vast empty space, which is referred to as Shiva. That is the womb from which everything is born, and that is the oblivion into which everything is sucked back. Everything comes from Shiva and goes back to Shiva.

15-So Shiva is described as a non-being, not as a being. Shiva is not described as light, but as darkness. Humanity has gone about eulogizing light only because of the nature of the visual apparatus that they carry. Otherwise, the only thing that is always, is darkness.

16-Light is a limited happening in the sense that any source of light – whether a light bulb or the sun – will eventually lose its ability to give out light. Light is not eternal. It is always a limited possibility because it happens and it ends. Darkness is a much bigger possibility than light. Nothing needs to burn, it is always – it is eternal. Darkness is everywhere. It is the only thing that is all pervading

17-So “Shiva” refers to both “that which is not,” and Adiyogi, because in many ways, they are synonymous. This being, who is a yogi, and that non-being, which is the basis of the existence, are the same, because to call someone a yogi means he has experienced the existence as himself.

18-If you have to contain the existence within you even for a moment as an experience, you have to be that nothingness. Only nothingness can hold everything. Something can never hold everything.

19-A vessel cannot hold an ocean. This planet can hold an ocean, but it cannot hold the solar system. The solar system can hold these few planets and the sun, but it cannot hold the rest of the galaxy. If you go progressively like this, ultimately you will see it is only nothingness that can hold everything.

20-The word “yoga” means “union.” A yogi is one who has experienced the union. That means, at least for one moment, he has been absolute nothingness.When we talk about Shiva as “that which is not,” and Shiva as a yogi, in a way they are synonymous, yet they are two different aspects.

21-Shiva,” we are referring to a certain yogi, 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.Yoga is the science and technology to know the essential nature of how this life is created and how it can be taken to its ultimate possibility.

22--This first transmission of yogic sciences happened on the banks of Kanti Sarovar, a glacial lake a few miles beyond Kedarnath in the Himalayas, where Adiyogi began a systematic exposition of this inner technology to his first seven disciples, celebrated today as the Sapta Rishis.

23-This explains why Lord Shiva bhakti is so important for people during Shravana, as this is the month when divinity of Lord Shiva transcends its omnipotence across the infinite celestial universe. So,this is the BEST TIME TO AWAKEN KUNDALINI ;THE FIRST STEP of SADHANA..

....SHIVOHAM...