This year, Shivaratri is February 26, 2025. As part of my seva with Amrita Virtual Academy, I was part of the team building the “Celebrating Shivaratri” collection, a series of practices and talks from the AVA Membership which help still the mind and connect students with Lord Shiva. While doing this, it struck me that I had some doubts about Shiva. Who is He? What sort of energy is experienced through Him? What qualities would I nurture if I was closer to Him?
I wasn’t brought up in the tradition of Sanatana Dharma, so I don’t have a natural understanding of these things. But, because Amma places importance on them, I want to understand them better. Since Shivaratri, the ancient nightlong celebration of Shiva, is coming soon, I decided to investigate.
Who is Shiva?
I started my investigation by enjoying the content collection we were selecting for February, and my mind and understanding began to expand. To be honest, I started with the “fun stuff”—the music, yoga, and Mindful Movement classes. Included in the music of the Shivaratri collection are: (1) a Shiva bhajan singalong (bhajans are spiritual/devotional songs usually sung in a call-and-response format), (2) a nostalgic movie of a newly-released, Amma-led bhajan set recorded during a U.S. tour, and (3) Br. Ramanandamrita Chaitanya’s moving session on bhajans as meditation.
Following the music, I enjoyed the priceless hatha yoga class based on the sun salutation, and the profound Mindful Movement class. Both the yoga and Mindful Movement teachers are phenomenal. I started to get an intuitive sense that Shiva is about how inner stillness, focus, and devotion connects us to something Absolute and beyond words.
Looking at the other treasures in the collection, I began to see more deeply and tangibly how a connection with Shiva would foster stillness, courage, and a relationship with the Absolute.
What Amma Says About Shiva
Amma has spoken extensively about Shiva, and it would be impossible to summarize much in this short blog, but I was reminded of her words on Shivaratri in 2020. Amma talked about life being like a river that we can only see part of. If we live on the banks of a river, we can only see whatever is in our visual field, and it is not correct to believe that we see the whole river—we cannot see its whole length, or source, or mouth. Amma said:
“Life is a beginning-less and endless river, constantly flowing and changing. The human mind and intellect cannot measure or know its depth or length. This mystery, itself, is Shiva. Our mind is finite and filled with fragmented thoughts and feelings. Shiva, or God, is one and infinite.” —Amma (Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi)
Drawing together the impressions I’d gathered already, and combining them with this incredible quote, I dove deeper. I thought, “What if I relax the idea that what I see/feel/hear is all there is? What if I relax beyond these senses and feelings into this mystery that Amma is talking about? What then? Will I touch the infinite mystery?”
Shiva and the Absolute
Inspired by my initial course exploration, and by Amma’s quote, I decided to listen to Swami
Paramatmananda Puri’s talk “Becoming the Absolute”. In this Satsang, Swamiji tells so many wonderful stories, but one that really stopped me was about a rich man. The rich man falls deeply in love with a spiritual teacher, a guru, feeling certain that if he dedicates himself fully, he will achieve knowledge of the Absolute.
This man has only ever been able to connect to the Absolute through a particular image of God. He had built an elaborate room in his home to house and focus on this image. The teacher tells him to disassemble it, and he obeys, even throwing away the bricks the room was built with. This kind of hard-to-understand request from a teacher is a theme that runs deeply through Western and Eastern mystic traditions.
After this, he loses all his riches, and ends up cutting and selling grass to support his family. Yet, he is still certain that if he obeys his guru, he will attain his goal. This paradoxical certainty is another common theme. Perhaps this kind of story is a way of showing the power of dedication to a mystery beyond logic.
After about 6 months, a messenger comes with a letter from his teacher, but the man must pay 20 rupees for the delivery (around 25 cents). The man has no such money, but his wife and daughter sell their remaining jewelry to raise the money, and the letter is finally given to him. The man is overcome with emotion that he has received a personal letter from his revered teacher. He holds the letter to his heart in such full reverence and concentration that immediately his mind stops and he is filled with awareness of the Absolute.
In the end, innocent faith and total surrender resulted in the grace of knowledge being given by the master.
The story made me feel the power of full devotion and trust. To use Amma’s analogy, what the man did, in my understanding, was to look beyond the river he could see, and fall into the mystery beyond, touching the Absolute. What led him there was love for, and full courage and trust in his teacher, made complete through grace.
Perhaps this mystery, and the willingness to let go of my logical mind is what I will aim for on Shivaratri night!
I want to end with a beautiful and somewhat startling example that illustrates how Shiva is not some distant, snake-wearing deity, but a presence that can be experienced even by animals.
Amma has such profound love for everything in creation. In her early days, during periods of intense spiritual practices, she would forget to eat or sleep, and animals and birds would bring her packets of food to eat. Amma’s deep love for all beings can be seen when she kisses tiny birds, feeds baby squirrels, cuddles her dog, or caresses plants.
While many of us have deep-seated fears of certain animals, Amma sees the oneness of all creation and only expresses love. Nature is attracted to this loving stillness and responds by reflecting it back, becoming docile and tame in Amma’s presence.
This love has been seen to extend even to snakes, who respond to it as innocently as a puppy or baby bird. For example, there have been times with Amma, when a snake has come close, crawled up her arm, and wound itself around the hair atop her head. The snake then perches there while Amma meditates, exactly like the depictions of Shiva in statues, where snakes ornament his neck and/or head. I saw a video of Amma with one of the snakes a couple of times. It’s quite remarkable.
While I don’t yet feel like I’ve fully answered my own questions, the process of wondering has brought me to feel closer to both Shiva and Amma. Hopefully anyone reading this blog may also be inspired to explore, in their own personal way. I am absolutely certain that wondering and contemplating on Shiva, Amma, or any deity, brings a deeper relationship with them that is quite fruitful. I feel like I’ve imbibed much of the content in the February Shiva collection and have definitely made progress.
In January, Amrita Virtual Academy will start the scriptural study series Knowledge of the Truth: An Introduction to Vedanta on the text Tattvabodha with classes led by Br. Sachinmayamrita Chaitanya. I’m excited for it, partly because I’ve been able to hear a few of his previous talks before on other topics, and partly because this is a text that provides a framework for all of Vedantic thought.
The first time I got to hear him talk was at the beginning of the Amrita Gita course. I had no idea how thirsty I was for information on the Indian scriptures until I heard this talk. I had wondered vaguely: “What is the relationship between the Upanishads and Vedanta? Are the Upanishads part of the Vedas, or separate? Was the Bhagavad Gita written before or later than the Upanishads? What do you study? Where do you start? How are they all related?” When I heard his talk, I hung onto every word and relistened with my notebook in hand, a few days later. It was profound, precise, and so full of devotion I wept a couple of times.
I know his series on Tattvabodha will be at least as good as his previous lectures, and needed in ways I’m not even aware of yet. Every bit of extra understanding I receive is absorbed deeply into me in ways that are hard to explain. I’ve seen more and more that I need to study the scriptures, to properly absorb the things Amma teaches us, as well as to properly absorb the things that happen to me in my life and how I respond to them. This understanding is intellectual and far beyond the intellect at the same time.
In his talk, Br. Sachinmayamritaji mentioned that the Sanskrit word Upanishad is composed of three syllables: “upa“, to come near; “ni“, to have focus, dedication, sincerity; and “shad“, to sit. Br. Sachinmayamritaji also mentioned that “shad” means to destroy, as in destruction of ignorance. It is yummy to imagine a group of dedicated students sitting by a sacred river or mountain with the teacher and this is in fact the surface meaning. Part of the deeper meaning is to let go of assumptions, leaving the cup of the mind as empty as possible, to take in and be nourished by the wisdom of the guru.
Contemplating this lecture gave rise to other dimensions beyond the concept of “upa”, or sitting down near the guru. It has begun to mean to me that I’ve prepared my mind to receive Amma’s teachings. To come close is not to be next to Amma’s body, but to be close enough in my mind and heart to receive what she is giving. Part of this preparation is to be versed at least a little bit in scriptures. Versing in them makes me alert to things Amma does and says.
For example, during a recent satsang the brahmacharini (nun) who was speaking, expressed that Amma had once teased her a little about her accent, saying that Amma had trouble understanding what she was saying. The brahmacharini said it made her afraid that Amma might even ask her to leave the ashram over it. By the way she chanted Amma’s Dhyayamo Shlokah at the beginning of the talk, it appeared to me that she was very self-conscious and self-judging about her speaking and singing voice. Of course Amma would never banish someone from the ashram because of their accent! Somehow during the interaction, Amma caused her to spontaneously sing part of a bhajan, forgetting her self-consciousness completely. It was beautiful, and seemed to me to heal the bramacharini’s lifelong fears, at least for a few moments in Amma’s divine presence.
There are too many scriptures discussing fear to even begin to describe here, but I’ll mention a couple. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16, Verses 1–3 lists fearlessness as one of the virtues of people who have realized their divinity. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1. 4. 2) talks about how realizing the nature of our true self is a vital step in transcending fear. Several Upanishads discuss fear as a consequence of the false belief in ourselves as separate from the unity, from God.
Watching that interaction, I saw Amma take the brahmacharini’s deep fear and turn it on its head. Those moments of fearlessness surely caused the brahmacharini to experience life without fear for a few precious moments, allowing her to experience the truth underlying it. For me, knowing a little about the scriptural take on fear, was part of what helped me see what it was Amma was doing, at least from my perspective. The other thing that helped me appreciate the interaction was my attitude toward Amma—of drawing close by having learned that there is a deeper meaning to everything she does and says.
Without that knowledge, it could have looked like a self-conscious brahmacharini spoke, sang a little, had a quick conversation with Amma, and then it was time for bhajans. But because I knew a little, and also have come to understand that everything Amma does and says is a living scripture, I was able to clearly grasp more depth than I would have been able to otherwise. This is a tiny bit of the power of knowing a little about the scriptures, and therefore, some of what we could gain from participating in this Tattvabodha course.
Coming back to Br. Sachinmayamritaji’s satsang from the Amrita Gita course, there was a part of his talk that made me weep. He described how the guru is like a sculptor who sees the finished art in a block of wood or metal and then removes what is NOT the art. This is something many of us have heard before, but the way Br. Sachinmayamritaji put it was so full of devotion on top of his precision in language. The guru sees us as divine, as the guru itself, and lovingly works to remove whatever in us is not a reflection of this. I have come to see that knowledge of the scriptures allows me to collaborate internally with the guru in this process. Knowledge of the scriptures allows me to see where I’m going and what is in the way.
“Knowledge of the scriptures allows me to see where I’m going and what is in the way.”
But I cannot study the scriptures haphazardly and still be effective. Hearing a great line here or there out of context isn’t as helpful or impactful as a structured study. The Tattvabodha provides an essential framework for all of Vedantic thought. It answers deep questions about who we are, those questions many of us have had since childhood.
In Tattvabodha, the author discusses the creation, composition and characteristics of our mind, intellect, memory and ego. He talks about the three different types of bodies we possess during waking, dreams and sound sleep. Along the way, he shows that these things are not what we actually are, and how our reality is beyond all bodies and definitions.
The series of talks from Br. Sachinmayamritaji will clarify the Tattvabodha and prepare the groundwork and a framework for receiving that.
Thanks to Kamala for sharing her inspiring experience with Amrita Virtual Academy. We encourage you to try out the upcoming new course Knowledge of the Truth with Brahmachari Sachinmayamritya Chaitanya, starting on January 5, here. It is a self-paced course with weekly commentaries on the scripture as well as regular live sessions (with replay access) for doubt clearing.
Amrita Virtual Academy offers a range of scriptural classes, from Bhagavad Gita to Narada Bhakti Sutras. See more here.
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Discover more about the AVA Membership here. Or sign-up here.
I started my investigation by enjoying the content collection we were selecting for February, and my mind and understanding began to expand. To be honest, I started with the “fun stuff”—the music, yoga, and Mindful Movement classes. Included in the music of the Shivaratri collection are: (1) a Shiva bhajan singalong (bhajans are spiritual/devotional songs usually sung in a call-and-response format), (2) a nostalgic movie of a newly-released, Amma-led bhajan set recorded during a U.S. tour, and (3) Br. Ramanandamrita Chaitanya’s moving session on bhajans as meditation. 
Following the music, I enjoyed the priceless hatha yoga class based on the sun salutation, and the profound Mindful Movement class. Both the yoga and Mindful Movement teachers are phenomenal. I started to get an intuitive sense that Shiva is about how inner stillness, focus, and devotion connects us to something Absolute and beyond words.
Amma has spoken extensively about Shiva, and it would be impossible to summarize much in this short blog, but I was reminded of her words on Shivaratri in 2020. Amma talked about life being like a river that we can only see part of. If we live on the banks of a river, we can only see whatever is in our visual field, and it is not correct to believe that we see the whole river—we cannot see its whole length, or source, or mouth. Amma said:
Inspired by my initial course exploration, and by Amma’s quote, I decided to listen to Swami
