Happy Maha Shivratri!

Maha Shivratri or ‘the Great Night of Shiva’ is a popular Hindu festival celebrated every year in honour of Lord Shiva. Unlike other Hindu festivals, Maha Shivratri is also celebrated at night. The celebrations comes with a message of ‘overcoming darkness and ignorance’. Often the darkness persists because of mulling over the past and failing to see what lies ahead of us. In reality, living in the past robs us of the present moments of happiness.

Why do we end up living in the past?

• It serves as an escape from our present situation
• We are not confident and feel unprepared to face the what is to come and the past seems familiar
• There is no uncertainty there
• Fear of repeating the same mistakes all over again

But what most people don’t realize is that, living in the past won’t make their present any better!

Imagine you are asked to walk on a mile–long narrow bridge over the deep sea. Of course, you would be completely focussed. This means that you have the power of focused awareness to live in the present. You just need to apply it!

Does it mean that we have to forget about the past and the future?

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “No, you do not have to forget, you just have to remain in the present. Forgetting is a burden. You cannot forget even if you want to, and besides, the more you try to forget something, the more you will remember it.”

Is there a tool to live in the present?

Yes! There is. In the Self Realization ceremony, Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan gives us a powerful tool of knowing our Real Self and seeing the circumstances as the doer. This helps us to see beyond what is visible to our eyes and understand how things run, why they are the way they are and who is the real doer? Wouldn’t it be easy to accept any situation in our life if we knew all the circumstances that had to come together to make it happen, regardless of whether the situation turns out good or bad?

Sounds impossible?

Well, the good news is that, it is possible for us to live in the present if we attain the real knowledge of the Self and the doer.

So on this Maha Shivratri, let us turn our darkness into light by learning to live in the present by knowing our Real Self!