[Advaita-l] True Meaning of Shiva Ratri.

[kuntimaddi sadananda]

PraNAms
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On Shivaratri Day devotees continuously chant the name of the Lord and hold the mind in single pointed concentration until midnight when it is said that Lord Shiva manifests Himself as the light of Consciousness within. At the present moment we know only two states - the mind when it is extrovert and the mind in deep sleep. The extrovert mind is conscious of and indulges in the world outside through the five sense organs. The mind in deep sleep is in a state of total ignorance, completely unaware of the world. We do not yet know the state in which the mind is withdrawn from the world yet fully awake to Reality. That is why on Shivaratri one is supposed to stay wake all night – in order to practice the simultaneous withdrawal of the mind from the senses, and yet keep the mind in a state of alert awareness. In this state of objectless Awareness comes the moment of spiritual awakening – the true Shivaratri! - By Swami Tejomayanandaji of Chinmaya
 Mission. on the eve of Shiva Ratri. 

Hari Om!
Sadananda