NEWS & EVENTS

Mahashivratri 2023: Shiva Shiva All Night

As participants trickled in to the 29th celebrations of Mahashivratri at the Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore, they were met with a stunning sight. The decoration team had gone all out this year – glowing giant blue lotuses bloomed all over the event venue, making it appear like Adiyogi was surrounded by a fragrant lotus pond.

It was also a befitting welcome for our chief guest, the Honorable President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu. The Madam President seemed to have been on a pilgrimage of her own, sharing in her speech how she had recently visited the abodes of Shiva in Srisailam and Kashi before making her way to the Isha Yoga Center, set at the foothills of the Velliangiri Mountains, known as the Kailash of the South.

It was touching to see her reverence and devotion as she visited the sacred spaces of the ashram – Suryakund, Chandrakund, Dhyanalinga, Linga Bhairavi, Nandi – with Sadhguru as her guide.

Addressing the gathering, she reflected on how Shiva has been at the heart of the diverse paths to realization and liberation in this land: “Sometimes I wonder if Shiva is the sum total of all our religion, feelings, and spiritual thinking. Consider the various paths to the ultimate realization and liberation, which can also be called mukti, moksha, or nirvana. Various traditions speak of the path of devotion or bhakti, the path of wisdom or gnana, the path of Yoga, and so on. And Lord Shiva is the one who is perceived to be the guiding light on any of these paths.”

With her rousing call of “Aum Namah Shivaya,” the festivities of the night began.

Project Samskriti’s dance performance followed; an embodiment of color, energy, and grace, they presented “Panchaksharam” – a celebration of the five sacred syllables of the Mahamantra: Na–Mah–Shi–Va–Ya.

Neeladri Kumar stirred up the crowd with the zitar – an electric sitar of his own invention.

Next up, the audience were treated to an ensemble of popular singers of various genres and languages, merging together melodiously: Mangli, Kutle Khan, Ananya Chakraborty, Nihar Shembekar, and Meenal Jain.

As the night progressed, Sadhguru took to the dais to speak about why Mahashivratri is so important for a seeker: It offers a natural surge of energies that one can make use of to transcend the instinct of survival, an essential step in one’s spiritual growth. Stressing the need to invest in one’s inner wellbeing in order to prevent a mental health pandemic, Sadhguru urged everyone to take the commitment to dedicate a minimum of fifteen minutes a day to at least a simple yogic practice.

Sadhguru’s session culminated with the midnight meditation and fire dance. For many of the participants, this was the highlight of the night.

Actress Juhi Chawla was most impressed, gushing, “The arati! Oh my God. Visually stunning. It was so fabulously done, and it made me so proud of our culture!”

In the Q&A session, Sadhguru addressed a question about Sanatana Dharma, which he described as an eternal framework of principles that govern the fundamentals of our existence. He said that while the Sanatana Dharma is being seen as a culture today, its basic purpose is to lead toward ultimate liberation.

In this context, he pointed to Adiyogi as a source of tools for the world today who seek solutions in a logically correct and scientific manner.

In the early hours of the morning, just as sleep was creeping up on the participants, the Georgian National Ballet Sukhishvili had everyone sitting up in their seats, mesmerized by their breathtaking performance. Vigorous and flawlessly graceful as they defied gravity, leaping into the air, they showcased their beautiful culture, witnessed by millions. One of the Georgian performing artists shared afterward, “We’re very excited to have this experience, which will stay with us till the end of our lives. Meeting Sadhguru, standing in front of him, dancing for him, was just unbelievable.”

A celebration of diversity, the night also featured performances hailing from various corners and traditions of India – Mame Khan, an icon of Rajasthani folk music, the talented Telugu vocalist Ram Miryala, Janapada folk artist Devananda Varaprasad of Karnataka, the Kerala sacred artform of Theyyam, and Tamil folk star Velumurugan.

With such a jam-packed schedule, 12 hours flew by too fast! We can only wait and wonder, what’s in store for the next Mahashivratri?