GLORY OF SIVARATRI

(Taken from Lord Siva and His Worship by Sri Swami Sivananda)

'Sivaratri' means 'night of Lord Siva'. The important features of this religiousfunction are rigid fasting for twenty-four hours and sleepless vigil during the night. Every true devotee of Lord Siva spends the night of Sivaratri in deep meditation, keepsvigil and observes fast. The worship of Lord Siva consists in offering flowers, Bilva leaves and other gifts on the Linga which is a symbol of Lord Siva, and bathing it withmilk, honey, butter, ghee, rose- water, etc.

When creation had been completed, Siva and Parvati had been living on the top of Kailas. Parvati asked; "O venerable Lord, which of the many rituals observed in "Thy honour doth please Thee most?" Lord Siva replied: "The thirteenth night of the new moon, Krishna Paksha, in the month of Phalguna (February-March) is known as Sivaratri, is My most favourable Tithi. My devotee gives Me greater happiness by mere fasting than by ceremonial baths, and offerings of flowers, sweets, incense, etc.

The dates 01 June 2024 and 10 July 2025 mark the centenary of two important events in the calendar of Divine Life Society of South Africa: the Sannyas Anniversary of our Gurudev, Sri Swami Sivananda, and the Birth Anniversary of our Spiritual Head Sri Swami Sahajananda, respectively. The society will be releasing a number of publications as part of our centenary celebrations. 

It is an honour to offer at the feet of Sri Gurudev and Pujya Swamiji , our fourth picture, in a series of 10 pictures of Sri Gurudev. This picture will be for the year 2020. Each subsequent year we will have a different picture released. 

New Year Message

Sri Swami Sivananda

By the command of the Indestructible Being, minutes, hours, days and nights, stand apart. By the command of the Immortal Brahman, months, years, seasons and solstices stand apart. He who knows this Indestructible Being is a liberated sage or Jivanmukta.

Time rolls on. New becomes old and old becomes new again. Today is the most auspicious New Year’s day. God has given you another chance this year to enable you to strive for your salvation. Today man is. Tomorrow he is not. Therefore avail yourself of this golden opportunity, struggle hard and reach the goal of life. Make the best use of every moment of this New Year. Unfold all latent faculties. Here is a chance to begin life anew, to grow and evolve and become a superhuman or a great dynamic Yogi.