 What do you do when a group of scraggly men in disheveled clothes, matted hair, and pitchforks come to your town? Why, say "Happy Shivaratri," of course! For Shivaratri is the Hindu festival known as The Night of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and rebirth, and those men with matted hair and alms bowls are devotees of Lord Shiva, and have come from their meditation retreats to pray at the village temples.
Our friend David Bloomer in Nepal has a new posting on his blog giving you an eyewitness view of the events of Shivaratri, the sights the sounds, and how Westerners and Nepalis alike deal with the sudden influx of devotees into their town and city life.
But the night is also observed by those ordinary men and women of Nepal and India, and they have their own ways of celebrating, just as colorful and spiritually significant as the practices of the devotees.Please learn more by reading about The Meaning of Shivaratri and How it is Celebrated.
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