Mahashivaratri, The day of consciousness and the night of awakening.

Lord Shiva! The omnipresent power and manifestation of selflessness, your importance and presence is much needed in today's world. May the world gain solidarity in combating the virus and its venom. Hail lord Shiva.

Namaskaram, to everyone. It's a privilege to write and elaborate the importance of this divine day "Mahashivaratri" through Hamro Patro, Nepal's most downloaded mobile application. This divine day is a decoration defined both scientifically and traditionally and listed among first priorities in the spiritual calendar. I would say this day is an alarm in shifting humanity from religion to responsibility, lets today have a wordy glance to Lord Shiva and his awakenings.

Shiva, Adiyogi and hundreds of other names, the source of divine power which manifested this world, even before the creation started and till the end, again from the start of a newer post-apocalyptic creation, even before humanity was socially and psychologically defined, beyond the limits of nature there lies Lord Shiva and this divine day is super dedicated for that Shiva-Shakti, the ultimate supreme power.

Every Sanatan followers have gathered together to please their supreme deity in this auspicious day, the crowd of devotees gather around Shivalinga with their purest and abundant offering to appease their Lord Shiva.

Shivaratri happens every fourteenth day of every month, considered as the darkest night of the month. But the darkest night of Magh (February/ March) month is considered and acknowledged as the main Shivaratri, this night is every important and divine for all Hindus across the globe. Shivaratri or Mahashivaratri is the celebration of darkness. See, this is very intellectually placed because without the existence and acceptance of darkness one cannot acknowledge the light, and in other words darkness is the base of every lights, isn't it? Any logical definition would definitely opt for a light yet the logic behind light is entirely based upon the existence of darkness. Light is a limited possibility because this happens and concludes, the light comes with expiry periods and after the end of the light, every light is darkness. Sun "The biggest manifest of light" is scientifically explained as a source of light delivered by the huge amount of hydrogen being converted into helium, even the sun has to expire when all of its hydrogens is converted into helium. There are several black holes which are now a massive source of darkness as they are now entirely covered into helium, Shiva is the power beneath that darkness which manifests a newer way of creation after destruction. Just an alarm to buzz, this entire universe is 95 percent of darkness and only 5 percent mass of astral bodies. "Shiva" represents that magnificent happening of nothingness, the perceptive of the vast emptiness of this giant existence. This lap of emptiness is what we refer to Lord Shiva, the power of destruction and the destruction is the only origin of assembling a newer creation. Because of the tilt and precision of the planet, at 11-degree latitude, the centrifugal force of the planet becomes nearly vertical in the night of Shivaratri. To absorb the energetic gravitational force and purify themselves, people stay awake "Jagram" in this divine day. This day Shiva became "Nischala" merged still with a mountain "Kailash Parwat". There are many ways to define this auspicious day and night, the day of consciousness and a night of awakening.

People observe fasts, take a divine bath in rivers and stay awake the whole night. Nepal is a land of "Pashupatinath" it observes this day very keenly, a river of human being are seen floating under the attraction of Lord Shiva in the holy Pashupati area. Shiva, the greatest of all givers, the most compassionate and the vastness of this emptiness, May Lord Shiva nurtures the seed of existence and intellectuality in us and adds compassion to our humanity. Shiva is not a science trapped in the drawer of human logics, Shiva is beyond the time and religion, praise the Shivashakti and praise the creator.

May all church leaders, temple priests, Monks and Maulanas now start to preach their followers in being compassionate for everyone by redefining their omnipresent divine source, all-pervading nature of the divine. The only thing that can be everywhere is darkness, nothingness, or emptiness, this is the manifestation of "Shiva". Happy Shivaratri everyone.

Nepal Army day
Here at Pashupatinath, millions of devotees gather to please their beloved Shiva and there at Nepal Army pavilion "TudhiKhel" a specific function is organized by Nepal Army to mark their Nepal Army Day.

Nepal Army day is the day of "Maha Shivaratri" festival. Nepal Army has been celebrating its Army Day coinciding with Mahashivaratri since 1935 AD, since then the head of the nation, ministers, head of constitutional bodies, high ranking government officers and general public attend this ceremony. Nepal Army organizes various parades, cultural performances, and exhibits different types of arms, ammunition, and vehicles on this day. Formerly known as Gorkhali Sena and also known as the Royal Nepal Army is now proudly addressed as Nepal Army. This is the center of trust and pride of each Nepali heart, Nepal Army has courageously fought different battles and protected the sovereignty of Nepal in history. As a UN peacekeeping force, the Nepal Army has exhibited the excellent track record of braveries and achievements. Nepal Army reaffirms its devotion to the Nepali people every year on its Army Day, this day is a reflection of its organizational unity, characterized by patriotism and military professionalism.

We are proud of Nepal Army, best wishes on Army Day.

Silachahre
Okay, the series of events for today is still to be elaborated. As we all know about the Newa civilization beside the Bagmati river of Kathmandu valley, today on the day of Mahashivaratri, Newa people observe a specific festival named Silachahre Pooja.

This day people from Guthi or local clubs go to roads and gather some money from drivers and bikers. They use this money to lighten a fire and offer prasads to everyone during the evening. Such money voluntarily received from drivers and riders is called "Chekkey", this festival "Silachahre" is very very popular among children. During the darkness of the evening, People worship Lord Shiva while they lighten the fire. Shivaratri falls on the "Shila" month from Newa calendar, this month is considered very holy in Newa calendar. People observe fast in this day and open up their fast with the prasad like haluwa, Puri and swari in the evening.

Best wishes on the Silachahre of this year.

Suyog Dhakal