19th/20th February 2012
MahāShivaRātri Meditation

Blessed Self and Adorable Devotee,

The fourteenth night of the waning cycle of the moon before the new moon in the soli-lunar calendar month of Phalguna is celebrated for all-night meditation as per the ancient Sanskrit and Vedic tradition. This occasion is dedicated to the Yogishwara, the lord of meditators or lord among the yogic adepts, and is known as the MahāShivaRātri.

The great night of meditation or MahāShivaRātri on Phalguna-Krishna-Chaturdashi is determined when the duration of the fourteenth waning lunar day includes midnight local time. Thus MahāShivaRātri is to be celebrated on the night of 19th February 2012 in USA, whereas the same condition makes it fall on the night of 20th February in India and the Far East.

Extant Sanskrit literature on spiritual philosophy mentions nighttime to be precious for meditators’ alertness when the world sleeps (for example Bhagavad Gita, Ch2/69). Meditation on this special night is a practice of alertness meant to supersede the awake-state during the day. The night long meditation is based on a gathered stamina from a profound path. A genuine and time-honoured system of meditation is usually received from ordained lineages of meditation adepts through a realized master or a Sat-Guru.

The seeker builds upon a regular meditation practice following an initiation into a profound personal and daily meditation technique. The initiation conferred by a Sat-Guru is said to confer the power of the unbroken lineage of spiritual masters. This initiation is considered to contain the potential to move the seeker from a God-centred faithful life toward full realization, removing ignorance through loving teachings in steps and stages.

Initiation into such meditation is traditionally given by the spiritual master through three stages or methods denoted here by Sanskrit adjectives. The first method of initiation is Aanavi. This term is derived from a well used Sanskrit word Anu. Herein Anu refers to the root of delusive power projecting ignorance and impurity. Aanavi heralds the removal of these hindrances by the ordained teacher through the initiation process so that the techniques of meditation can be invoked by the seeker. The Aanavi method of initiation follows well known scriptural and ceremonial dictums and is effected through ten distinct types of empowerment by the Sat-Guru (gist in Sanskrit text ShanmayaMahaaRatnam).

The second method ushers in a higher stage where the spiritual teacher uses greater shakti or infusion into the meditator and this is known as Shaakteyi. As the name implies infusion by the adept, this method is based on a recognition of the seeker’s potential to blossom and anchor in the higher path. Shaakteyi is often conferred on spiritual prodigies early in their lives. This stage is conferred when the aspirants cultivate clear understanding of the path to liberation (mumuxutva). Rarely does a meditator derail from the path after this initiation.

The third method, Shaambhavi, brings about the last and final stage of initiation. This stage is conferred on an advanced practitioner of meditation and induces a state of relentless deep absorption in the meditator. The meditator becomes self-sufficient and can now progress to the highest meditation (Aham-Graha) on the blissful Self and consciousness. This stage is conferred upon those aspirants who have the discriminative understanding of Shiva and Shakti or the alliance of consciousness and matter respectively. Upon clearly understanding the role of willpower behind creation, the meditator treads on the highest steps of discriminative enlightenment (moxa).

These three methods of initiation into profound meditation practice can only be conferred by a realized master who not only has insight into the seeker’s path but is able to deftly match the different meditation techniques to suit the aspirant’s temperament. The practice of meditation techniques is known to yield mathematical results only when supported by the continuous blessings of the initiator or the Sat-Guru (compare first verse of Tejabindupanishat).

On this occasion of MahāShivaRātri, we pray to the lord of adepts for the continued nurturing of original meditation practices and to bless us to keep alive the initiation methods of the ancient lineages of masters for aspiring devotees.

Om Shiva Shiva Sharanam Shivaanandam Shiva Shiva Shivaaya Shivaaya Namah

With my abounding holy blessings,

Swami Vidyadhishananda