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KAUAI, HAWAII, February 18, 2012 (HPI): Maha Sivaratri will be celebrated throughout the Hindu world on the 19th or 20th (depending on location). On “Siva’s Great Night,” Maha Sivaratri, the fourteenth day of the dark half of Kumbha, or Aquarius (Phalguna February/March), devotees fast all day in preparation to worship Lord Siva from evening until early dawn bathing the sacred Siva Linga with water, milk, honey and saffron water, then offering bilva leaves while chanting Sri Rudram, the pre-eminent Vedic hymn to Siva, or reciting His 1,008 names are the high points of the all-night vigil. Only when the last puja is finished in early morning do devotees break their fast by eating the sacred prasadam offered earlier to the Lord. The following day is one of feasting and gaiety, especially at grand fairs held in many parts of India. On Siva’s night we contemplate Siva as the Unmanifest Reality.

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