Opinion: Why I love Shiv and celebrate Shivratri

Apparently, there is a contradiction in me. I see myself as a modern girl but continue to believe in ancient and time-worn rituals that do not exactly fall within the bounds of logic.

I love the ganja-smoking, shabbily-dressed, tempestuous Lord Shiva.

I celebrate Shiva-ratri religiously with my mother. Yet, I understand some of the not so progressive facets of the ritual.

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Then, why do I celebrate it every year? Not out of compulsion but from a greater urger. Let me explain.

I grew up in a small city where customs and traditions are taken very seriously and even my family have faith in such beliefs.

I strongly believe that people follow these traditions either if they are extremely blessed or they have faced multiple ordeals in life, in most of the Indian families the latter case persists.

Not knowing how to cope with travails of life, we chase sadhu baba, pandits and Maulvi to resolve our issues and end up falling into the trap of a lucrative manipulative business. A business that consistently makes use of ancient beliefs and people's faith.

But the case is not same with Shiv, worshipping Shiv is not expensive. It is said that Lord Shiva is a deity who gets easily impressed. One does not need to have elaborate functions or follow meticulous rituals to please him; all you need to offer is Vibhuti Or Holy Ash, Akanda flowers, Bhaang, Dhatura Fruit, turmeric, Bilva leaf or Belpatra.

Bhaang, Akanda Flowers, Bilva leaf or Belpatra. (Others)

Customarily, unmarried girls pray to Shiv to get a 'good' husband, I mean quite an idea. Even matrimonial sites don't have such advance filter that can categorise the prospective grooms as a good or bad husband. But Shiv, being at the centre of the universe, can definitely do it.

Not only unmarried girls, married women worship him to have a son. I surmise which God blesses a couple with a girl? A girl is always unwanted in this country.

Lord Shiva is the only deity who resides on Earth, in Mount Kailash which is situated in the Himalayas. Kailash is supposed to be the greatest mystical library on the planet. It is believed that Shiv himself conserved everything he knew in Kailash.

Shiv is fond of milk and milk products, thus, during the Rudraabhishekha that happens during the Shivratri, devotees pour milk, curd, honey, sugarcane juice and Ganga jal over the Shivlingam.

From the naive Bholenath to the fearsome Kalabhairava, from the beautiful Somasundara to the terrible Aghora, from dancing God Natraj to mysterious Adiyogi, Lord Shiv is worshipped in many forms.

As Indians celebrate Shivratri today, I remember my first fasting for Shivratri when I accidentally ate some namkeen mixture but still continued the 'vrat.' My mother told me to wear a yellow colour dress and get up early as we were supposed to go to the temple to worship Shiv.

To be very honest I was keeping the fast only to eat whatever my mother is cooking for herself. Sago tehri, potato chips, roasted peanuts, banana chips, lauki barfi, pumpkin kheer, sweet potato kheer, and lot more. Wow, I am drooling now.

Sago tehri and sweet potato kheer. (Others)

I was too young to understand the importance of these days beyond food, be it Navratri or Janmashtami or any other festival, my focus used to be only on food, but now things have changed a bit.

Unlike many of us, I was not an accidental child, my father, a huge Shiv believer, wanted the third child and when I was born he named me after Shiva, Shiva is one of the thousands of names of Parvati.

Shiv is Lord Shiv and Shiva is Parvati, I have seen people using these words interchangeably but it is entirely different.

My father's eternal rest educated me with the fact that death is the ultimate truth of life, we are all flowing towards death. Now, it depends on us how we will attain it.

Shiv, the first Yogi, has the gravitational power that attracts the living. To him goes the life, he is the one who creates the life. He is the centre of life and death.

When I realised that, I somehow became a Shiv follower. I have a strong belief that I will, one day, connect to Shiv and my departed loved ones.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)