Pundit Navin Omadath Maharaj has likened the observance of Maha Shiv Raatri, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva, and the three-week fast which precedes it, to the Christian celebration of Lent and the Muslims' Ramadan.
The observance began from sunset on February 28 to sunrise on March 1 on the 14th day of Chaturdashi (chatur means four and dashi means ten) in the lunar month of the dark half of the lunar Falgun. The day is calculated according to the movement of the moon, not the sun.
The 14th day of every lunar month, or the day before the new moon, is known as shiv raatri. Among the 12, Maha Shiv Raatri, which occurs in February/March, is of most spiritual importance, as there is a surge of energy pushing one to their spiritual peak.
Shiv means Lord Shiva and Raatri means night. Together the words mean night of Lord Shiva, a time when devotees observe a strict fast and hold poojas, prayers and chants four times during the night, which is divided into three-hour sessions known as prahars.
Devotees take a second bath before doing Shiv pooja at home or visiting a mandir. They take another bath before breaking their fast the next morning.
[caption id="attachment_942347" align="alignnone" width="686"] The Shiva lingam is showered with abhishek, a ritualistic bath consisting of milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugarcane juice, at the Manny Ramjohn 'Norris' Ramjattan Hindu Temple, Norris residence, New Grant, Princes Town. - ROGER JACOB[/caption]
Pundit Maharaj, who is also the PRO of the Inter Religious Organisation and teaches at the Vishnu Boys' College, said meals would have been prepared for worshippers at the Monroe Road Shiv Temple, where he is based.
Shiv Raatri falls under the category of religious observances called vrat.
According to Maharaj, vrat means a fast, unlike Divali, which is a festival celebrated in grandeur and splendour and is more celebratory in nature.
“Shiv Raatri is observed at a personal level. It is said to be the consumer of sins. It is said to assist us in our own realisation of God, which has to come on an individual basis. To do that we have to really burn away some of the sins that are here, because the sins leads us along the path to a place of materiality.
“When those sins are annihilated it leads to a realisation of God, which is what we really want.”
He said some devotees who have marked the observation over the night of Shiv Raatri, also known as Gyaan Raatr, have attained immortality – oneness with God.
This is why more restraint is practised during this period, he explained.
“Persons stay away from meat, alcohol, sexual intimacy, all of these things we call the baser elements of life. We stay away from those and tend to focus our energies specifically on being meditative, spending a lot of time reflecting upon God, trying to engage in activities that would cleanse us of sins.”
During this period, jaap, which is a constant muttering of the name of the Lord, using a mala, similar to what Catholics do using the rosary, is performed.
“The constant repetition
