Maha Shivaratri and the Peak of Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 Celebration

Denpasar (Atnews) - A global traveler, Putu Suasta, an alumni of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and Cornell University, wished a happy Maha Shivaratri celebration, especially for Hindus (Sanatana Dharma) who arrived at Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj India, Wednesday (Feb 26).

Pilgrims from various cultures chanted loudly “Har Har Mahadev” echoing across the 15 km long ghats as millions of pilgrims took a dip to purify themselves in the holy river Triveni Sangam.

The sacred chanting was followed by prayers for peace, happiness as well as the welfare of all beings inhabiting the universe.

Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated every year to honor Lord Shiva. The name Maha Shivaratri also refers to the night when Shiva performed the heavenly dance.

Shivaratri is celebrated in every luni-solar month of the Hindu calendar, on the 13th/14th night, but once a year at the end of winter (February/March, or Phalgun) and before the arrival of Summer, marking Maha Shivaratri that means “the Majestic Night of Shiva.”

Every lunar month on the 13th or 14th day of the dark half of the moon phase, there is Shivaratri, but in the month of Phalgun (February-March) of the Vedic calendar there is Maha Shivaratri.

The ceremony takes place mainly at night, which is celebrated in honor of Lord Shiva, who married Parvati (Mother Durga) on this day.

Devotees of Lord Shiva generally observe a strict fast on this day, and some of them practice nirjal fast meaning they do not drink even a little water.

They stay awake throughout the night. The Shiva lingam is worshipped throughout the night by washing it every three hours with milk, yogurt, ghee, honey et cetera, while continuously chanting the mantra “Om Namah Shivaya.”

Offering of bael or wood apple (Aegle marmelos) leaves is made to the Lingam. Bael leaves are very sacred (like Tulsi for Shri Vishnu and dhar for Devi Durga which is very pleasing to Them), and Lord Shiva becomes pleased with the offering.

It is also mentioned in the Vedic literature, “Whoever chants the names of Lord Shiva during Shivaratri with full devotion and concentration, he will be free from all the sins he has committed. He will reach the abode of Lord Shiva and live there very happily.”

For this reason, Maha Shivaratri as the culmination of Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 every 144 years is held for 45 days, in which devotees come from all over India and the world. Over 45 days, it is estimated to exceed 500 million devotees during the festival took place from January 13, 2025 to February 26, 2025.

The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj has set a new record, with more than 500 million devotees taking a holy dip in the Triveni Sangam, where the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers meet.

This figure surpasses the population of several major countries, including the United States, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan and Bangladesh, thus establishing the Mahakumbh as the largest spiritual gathering in the world.

The Prayagraj Maha Kumbh Mela has even won Guinness World Records for 1) Formation of the largest human chain; 2) Massive simultaneous yoga session; as well as 3) Record of collective hymn singing.

It is explained, first the formation of the largest human chain by joining hands along the banks of the Triveni Sangam aimed to form the longest human chain in the world, symbolizing unity and collective spirituality.

Massive Simultaneous Yoga Session, in an effort to improve health and spiritual harmony, is a large-scale yoga session planned with thousands of people performing asanas simultaneously.

This included collective hymn singing: participants gathered to sing hymns together with the aim of breaking the record for the largest group chanting, filling the atmosphere with devotional fervor.

The Maha Kumbh Mela witnessed a monumental spiritual event with non-stop (24x7) recitals of Vedic mantras (Rudri Path) by Vedpathis starting with Brahmgyan. This extraordinary event lasted for 33 days, marking an unparalleled feat of spiritual devotion and discipline.

Organized by Divya Jyoti Ved Mandir, a project of Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (DJJS) in Sector 9, this sacred relay brought together 504 BrahmGyani Vedic scholars, who chanted continuously for 792 hours, covering a total of 25,61,328 Vedic mantras, including 11,151 translations of the Shukla Yajurvediya Rudra Ashtadhyayi Paath.

This historic feat, which began at 3:00 AM on January 14, 2025 and ended at 4:00 AM on February 16, 2025, was officially registered in the Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records during the Maha Kumbh Mela.

BrahmGyani Vedpathis from over 180 cities took a vow to chant these mantras selflessly, with the noble intention of fostering world peace and the welfare of humanity.

All the Vedpathis who contributed on this record are the disciples of Divya Guru Ashutosh Maharaj Ji, who have travelled from across Bharat and abroad to participate in this grand spiritual offering at the Maha Kumbh.

Similarly, a record-breaking cleanliness drive was taking place at the ongoing Maha Kumbh, with 15,000 sanitation workers participating in an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record.

The large-scale initiative was carried out at various locations, marking a significant effort to maintain cleanliness at one of the largest religious gatherings of the world. The final results of the record attempt were announced on February 27.

The enthusiasm of devotees is immense to participate in the Maha Kumbh Mela rituals. Also present were high-ranking Indian dignitaries including President of India Droupadi Murmu, Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar as well as Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

Even Laurene Powell Jobs (Kamala), wife of late Apple founder Steve Job, also attended. Besides, there were Chris Martin of Coldplay and Hollywood actress Dakota Johnson, who arrived in Prayagraj on Monday (January 27).

Chris and Dakota arrived in India on January 16 for the tour of their band music. Mr. Chris along with members of Coldplay held concerts in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Their last show of the Music of the Spheres tour in India was held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Republic Day of India.

Similarly, the Maha Kumbh Mela was attended by various circles including state dignitaries, Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon and her daughter Rasha Thadani who celebrated the Maha Kumbh Mela festival. They took a holy bath at Triveni Sangam.

Suasta also felt special because the pilgrimage moment to India (Bharat) in the midst of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto became a special invitee from Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to improve bilateral relations between Indonesia and India.

The state visit was the first for President Prabowo Subianto to India as the Guest of Honor at the celebration of Republic Day of India, on January 24-26, 2025.

It also marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and India. The visit was held to strengthen the Strategic Comprehensive Partnership having been built by the two countries since 2018.

Indonesia and India have a cooperative relationship having been established since the administration of President Soekarno.

Previously, President Joko Widodo was the guest of honor at the 69th Republic Day commemoration in New Delhi, India, in 2018, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) in 2011 and President Sukarno at that time was a guest for the commemoration of the First Republic Day in 1950.

In addition to pilgrimage to Triveni Sangam (River Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati) Prayagraj, humanist Suasta also made his time to visit Kurukshetra, Varanasi, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Ram Temple Ayodhya, Swaminarayan Akshardham New Delhi, as well as Lotus Temple New Delhi.

Suasta carried out pilgrimage for 12 days, departing from Bali on January 23, 2025, together with Dr. Wayan Sayoga, Chairman of Prajaniti Bali, President Director of PT. Pak Oles Tockcer Dr. Gede Ngurah Wididana, Komang Dyah Setuti, Putu Laksmi Anggari Putri Duarsa, Dr. Yoga and Nyoman Ratna Widiasmini.

He also recounted the greatness of the sanctity of the Ganges River, worshiped and sanctified by Hindus (Sanatana Dharma).

Previously, his party had also visited the Ganges River Haridwar and Rishikesh, India (Bharat). So far, his party has visited India 6 times. He admitted that he learned a lot from India, the holy places of Hindus (Sanatana Dharma) in more than three decades.

He had even lived in holy places for Hindus, namely Punjab, Varanasi also called Benares, Banaras or Benaras, or Kashi or Kasi, posing holy city of Hinduism on the banks of the Ganges River located in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India.

“Today (Wednesday, February 26---ed) is the last major bathing of Mahakumbh, which started on January 13,” said Putu Suasta having just returned from Laos, Bangkok and Singapore to attend a cross-national cultural dialogue meeting.

According to him, the holy festival of Maha Shivaratri, a unique view of the ancient tradition of Sanatan culture is in Triveni Sangam.

The Maha Shivaratri event revives the spirit of Sanatana Dharma, introducing the world to spirituality, sradha, and Vedic culture in the midst of Maha Kumbh Mela as the largest celebration of people on planet earth.

What is even more unique is that Maha Kumbh 2025 coincided with a rare celestial event as all seven planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune would be in a visible line on February 28, 2025.

The rare planetary alignment began in January 2025, with Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune already visible in the night sky. The event will culminate on February 28, 2025, when Mercury joins the line, making all seven planets align on one side of the Sun.

Therefore, the conversation of Maha Kumbh Mela resonates throughout the world, especially in the digital era where everyone can watch online.

On that occasion, Suasta also explained the benefits of fasting Shivaratri aimed at controlling the two greatest vices of a person (rajas---the nature of passionate activity) and (tamas---the nature of inertia).

In many ashrams around the world, Shivaratri is celebrated in the following way. The candidates fast all day, and many of them do not drink a single drop of water.

Some ashrams perform a grand havan (fire sacrifice) to Lord Shiva for the peace and welfare of all. The whole day is spent by chanting the mantra “Om namah Shivaya” and meditating on the Lord.

In the evening, everyone gathers in the temple and chants this mantra and during the four corners of the night, the Shiva lingam is worshipped with great devotion.

In the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, Bhisma, while resting on a bed of arrows and preaching about Dharma, he refers to the celebration of Maha Shivaratri by King Chitrabhanu. The story is as follows.

One day, King Chitrabhanu was fasting with his wife, and it was Maha Shivaratri. Sage Ashtavakra came to the palace of the king.

The sage asked, “O king, why are you fasting today?” King Chitrabhanu explained the reason, as he had the gift of remembering the events of his previous birth.

The king said to the sage, “In my previous birth, I was a hunter in Varanasi (Kashi). My name was Suswara. My livelihood was killing and selling birds and animals.

One day, I was engulfed in the darkness of night. Unable to return home, I climbed a tree for shelter. It was a bael tree. I had shot a deer that day, but I did not have time to bring it home. I wrapped it up and tied it to the branch of the tree. Tormented by hunger and thirst, I remained awake the whole night.

I shed profuse tears as I thought of my poor wife and children who were starving and anxiously awaiting my return. To pass the time that night I busied myself by plucking bael leaves and dropping them on the ground. “The day dawned and I returned home and sold the deer. I bought some food for myself and my family. I was about to break my fast when a stranger came to me, asking for food. I served him first and then took my food.”

“At the time of death, I saw two messengers of Lord Shiva, who were sent to take me to his abode. It was then that I first learned of the great merit I had earned through my unconscious worship of Lord Shiva on the night of Shivaratri.”

They told me that there was a lingam under that tree and that I had dropped leaves on that lingam. My tears, which I had shed out of great sorrow for my family, fell on that lingam and moistened it. And I had fasted the whole day and the whole night. Therefore, I unconsciously worshipped Lord Shiva on that most auspicious day.” “I lived in the abode of the Lord and enjoyed transcendental bliss for centuries. And now, I am reborn as Chitrabhanu.”

“Happy Shivratri holiday, the Universe blesses all creatures and the universe,” concluded Suasta. (GAB/001)