Shiva is where the mind dissolves. There is no need to go on long pilgrimages to find the Divine. Be established wherever you are. If you don’t find God where you are, then it is not possible to find him elsewhere. The moment you are established, centered, you see that there is Divinity present everywhere. This is meditation.
One of the names of Lord Shiva is Virupaksha - meaning one who is formless yet sees all. We know that there is air all around us and we can feel it as well. But what if the air also starts feeling us? Space is all around us, we identify space. But what if space also recognizes and feels our presence? This happens. Only we don’t know it. Scientists know this and they call it the theory of relativity. The one who sees and that which is seen are both affected when seen. The Divine is all around you and is seeing you. He doesn’t have a form. He is the formless core of existence and the goal. He is the seer, sight and the seen. This formless Divinity is Shiva. To simply wake-up and experience this Shiva tattva is Shivratri.
Usually when there is celebration, awareness is lost. Deep rest in celebration with awareness is Shivratri. When you face some problem, you become aware and alert. We are at rest when everything is well; on Shivratri we rest with awareness. It is said that a yogi remains awake when everybody else is sleeping. For a yogi, everyday is Shivratri.
Adyantahinam - one without a beginning or end; Sarvada - he is the Bholenath (innocent ruler of all) who is present everywhere all the time. We think Shiva is somewhere else sitting with a snake around his neck. Shiva is one in whom everything has taken birth, who encompasses everything right this moment, and in whom everything in creation dissolves. Every form you see in this creation is his form. He permeates the entire creation. He is never born and has no end. He is eternal.
He is the fourth state of consciousness, the turiya avasta, the meditative state, that is beyond the waking, deep sleep and dream states. He is the non-dual consciousness that is present everywhere. That’s why you have to dissolve yourself in Shiva to do Shiva puja. Chidananda rupa - he is the consciousness that is pure bliss. Tapo yoga gamya - one who can be known through tapa and yoga. The Shiva tattva can be experienced in the knowledge of the Vedas. The state of Shivoham (I am Shiva), Shiva kevaloham (there is only Shiva) is attained. Shivratri is the day to experience a wave of joy and contentment. Without yoga, Shiva can’t be experienced. Yoga doesn’t mean only asanas (physical postures) but the experience of the Shiva tattva through meditation and pranayam.
Worshipping Shiva is dissolving in the Shiv tattva and then wishing for something good. Wish with a liberal heart for universal good; nobody should be unhappy in the world: ‘Sarve janah sukhino bhavantu’.
