Destroy evils of mind to recreate yourself as Shiva Tatva or pure consciousness this Shivratri

Destroy evils of mind to recreate yourself as Shiva Tatva or pure consciousness this Shivratri

Maha Shivratri is the festival dedicated to Lord Shiva to remind us that Moksha as aim of life through minimalism and penance of self-purification. The festival is an annual auspicious Hindu festival, is being celebrated on the fourteenth day during Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) of Magha month of lunisolar Hindu calendar. Accordingly, in 2026, the festival falls on 14-15 February as the night of the union of Shiva and Shakti or Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (creative energy). On this day, fasting and meditation on the night Shiva help devotees to follow the path of righteousness and purity or purification of mind from evils.

The pious night is meant to revisit the precept of Shiv-Tatv and worship Lord Shiva as wells as to reflect the ultimate aim of life as attainment of ‘moksha’ or emancipation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

According to Shaivism, that subscribes for asceticism and minimalism, the mental evils or sins that cause worldly delusions and lead us to Karmic bondage and retribution that block the Moksha from the birth-death –rebirth cycles, are as follows.

1. KAMA: Lust, cravings or desires

2. KRODHA: Anger, revenge feeling

3. LOBHA: Greed, acquisitiveness

4. MOHA: Attachment, temptations

5. MADA: Arrogance, vanity or ego

6. MATSATYA: Jealousy, envy, gossip, deceit, lies or slander

In short, Shaivism believes in asceticism, selfless service and purification of mind through strict penance and ridding the five evils of the mind to awaken mind