to the deep silence

to the deep silence

offerings to Shiva Lingam,

more devotion than rice

Mahashivaratri, the night of Lord Shiva, considered the most auspicious day of the year for invoking the quality of pure, unbounded silence -- whether the ceremony takes place in Trivandrum, Kerala, India, or half a globe away in Fairfield, Iowa, USA, it goes on all night.

          The evening begins with Rudrabishek, offerings to the Shiva Lingam, an elliptical stone that is a sacred sign of the formless nature of God. The ballroom at Morningstar Studio is filled with a dozen Shiva Lingams, ranging in size from kumquat to watermelon, each sitting on a stand called a peetham, which is placed in a receptacle for catching the offerings. 

          I am sitting on a navy wool blanket facing a beautiful black Lingam with a natural red "eye" perched on a simple white peetham inside a stainless steel bowl. The reflection of light from the bowl on the polished black stone looks like a celestial dragonfly. 

          The man to my right, L.B., has just returned from two and half years in China, where he taught English and "hit the jackpot" with a Tai Chi master. While we wait for the ceremony to begin he tells me about some of his experiences. He liked his students but says he's glad to be back home. L.B. takes out his rudraksha mālā and drapes it around the Lingam for a blessing. The dried brown berries represent the eyes of Rudra, one of the names of Shiva. Strung together in a garland of 108 beads, the mālā is used for prayer. 

          The woman to my left, an American who goes by the name Shiva Ma, is dressed in a saffron shirt covered with the Sanskrit symbol for Aum in red. She is draping herself with dozens of mālās of all kinds, rudraksha, rock crystal, pearl. While she sets up a tiny gray Shiva Lingam in a white marble peetham, she tells me she's visited all twelve Jyotir Linga shrines in India. Each of these sites is dedicated to the "pillar of light" in which Lord Shiva is said to have first manifested.

          Pandit Sharma has just returned from India to his home in Chicago, and has come to this small Midwestern town to conduct the ceremonies. Before he begins he says, "In India, people have the opportunity to participate in these ceremonies, but they say they are too busy. In America, people are interested in participating but they don't have the opportunity. Here in Fairfield, we have both. The most important thing in making the offerings is your devotion. Less rice, more devotion!" 

          We light the ghee lamp and incense. Pandit Sharma chants the appropriate slokas and leads us in making the Rudrabishek offerings, which are poured over the Shiva Lingam. Each offering is symbolic: milk for piety, yogurt for prosperity, honey for sweet speech, ghee for victory, sugar for happiness and water for purity. Flowers, fruit, sweets, rice, camphor, red thread, vermilion and sandal paste are also offered, a veritable feast for the senses and the heart.