Night of Consciousness_Indu Arora

For your soul

Night of Consciousness - Maha Shiva Ratri

3 minutes

Maha Shiva-Ratri —The great night of awakening, dissolution, and insight. It is a night dedicated to Shiva. A night to rise from the corpse-like shava state to a Shiva-like state of consciousness.

Meaning: Shiva is the consciousness principle. It is what is left when everything else is taken away. It is what is present as a subtle undercurrent in everything be it living or not, animated or not, human or animal, object or subject.

Maha: greater than greatest, grand

Shiva: Consciousness, nothingness, fullness of emptiness, Shunya

Ratri: Ra means "to give" and tra "to protect," the night that nourishes, the grand night of dissolution


On Maha Shiva-Ratri

The night of light

The light of the night

With the fullness of the moon, may you be emptied

As the night sets in, may you be awakened

In a moment

Take a dip in the space of the body

The surrounding space

Only a moment is enough

If we are present with all that we are

Neither the mantra, nor the mudra

Neither the asana or the prana

Simply dive in the void

Let the dark of the night

Transform into the light of the night!



Do one or a combination of five practices listed below for the sake of awakening your own insight, to bring forth what lies dormant in us as consciousness. May we rise from Shava to Shiva.

1) Listen: Simply listen to the Maha Mritunjaya Mantra 108 times (here)

2) Chanting with Nyasa: Mental chanting of the mantra Om Namaha Shivaya with divination of the various chakra regions by touch.

OM focusing upon/gently touching the center of the eyebrows

NA focusing upon/gently touching the lower abdomen

MAHA focusing upon/gently touching the middle abdomen

SHI focusing upon/gently touching the navel

VA focusing upon/gently touching the heart space

YA focusing upon/gently touching the throat center

Continue by repeating as many rounds as you enjoy!

3) Practice: Yoga Nidra or Third Eye Meditation

4) Observe: Mauna—conscious silencing of the mind by practicing silence of speech and all forms of nonverbal communication for a couple hours in the evening. Avoid reading, writing, watching, listening to anything in this time period. Simply mentally recite your personal mantra, Om Namaha Shivaya or Mahamritunjay Mantra.

5) Hold: Shiva-Linga Natraja Mudra after meditation—hold it comfortably for few minutes. Check it out in the book Mudra: The Sacred Secret.


Happy Maha Shiva-Ratri! May the Shava rise from Shiva and may the Shiva attain Sada Shiva state.


PREPARE FOR YOGA NIDRA WITH THESE THREE PRACTICES

Relax your Senses

Deep Tissue Relaxation

Guided Relaxation



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