ShivaRatri is an auspicious night to chant to Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction. As the Destroyer, Shiva is also the Creator, because any time something gets destroyed, it creates space for something new to emerge. Lord Shiva helps us to dissolve the attachments and expectations of our egos, so that we can rest in the Bliss of our True Nature. As the Lord of yogis, Shiva is the Original Guru. One of his many names is Shankara, which means Giver of Peace and Happiness.

As a bride of Shiva, I recently took Shankara as my legal last name. For the past several years I have honored ShivaRatri in small ways, but this year I received guidance to organize an all-night chanting event. As one of the founding members of the Goddess Temple of Ashland (that will open on March 19^th, 2011), I decided to plan the ShivaRatri event as a fundraiser for the Goddess Temple of Ashland… And organizing this event has been an amazing experience: I feel as though I have hardly done anything – it is as though Shiva and Shakti did it all through me. For example, it felt effortless the way all the chant artists lined up for the night… It seems as though Ashland was calling out for ShivaRatri to be celebrated this year!

It is said that chanting to Lord Shiva on ShivaRatri is thousands of times more powerful than chanting to Shiva on any other night of the year. Even chanting Om Namah Shivaya for one hour that night will bring much auspiciousness to life.

Om Namah Shivaya ~ I bow to Lord Shiva, who is Pure Consciousness and Bliss. I bow to my innermost Self, which is Pure Consciousness and Bliss. I bow to your innermost self, which is Pure Consciousness and Bliss.

May all beings everywhere know the Bliss of Self-Love.

Om Shanti (Peace),

Yogini Tejaswini

ShivaRatri flyer designed by Gaelyn Miriam Larrick. Shiva art on flyer by Mia O’Dougherty.