Maha Shivaratri: Sitting with the Stillness

Maha Shivaratri is a significant date in the yogic and Hindu calendar, observed once a year, usually in late winter. The name translates as the Great Night of Shiva. Unlike many festivals, it is not marked by outward celebration or festivity, but by quietness, reflection, and simplicity. Traditionally, it is a night dedicated to stillness, meditation, and conscious awareness rather than activity or achievement.

For those unfamiliar with yoga philosophy, Shiva can also be understood not only as a deity, but as a symbolic figure representing deep stillness, inner awareness, and the part of us that can observe life rather than constantly react to it. Maha Shivaratri is an invitation to pause and turn inward, to notice what lies beneath the noise of daily life, and to reconnect with a steadier, quieter presence within ourselves. Within Hindu devotional traditions, Maha Shivaratri is a deeply sacred night of worship, prayer, and offering to Lord Shiva, held with reverence by millions of people around the world.

Shiva, in yogic mythology, is the archetype of stillness. He is not the god of doing, but of being. He sits in meditation while the world turns. He is the pause between breaths, the silence beneath sound, the awareness that watches thought rather than getting caught inside it. Maha Shivaratri asks us to meet that quality within ourselves.

In many traditions, this night is associated with the darkest moon of the lunar month. Darkness here is not something to overcome or escape. It is the fertile, quiet darkness that allows transformation to happen. Seeds germinate underground. Insights arrive when the noise subsides. Healing often begins when we stop striving.

This is why Shivaratri is linked with tapas, the steady, patient heat of practice. Not dramatic effort, but devotion. Remaining present when the mind wants distraction. Choosing awareness over habit.

In yoga philosophy, Shiva and Shakti are often spoken of together. Shakti is movement, creativity, life force. Shiva is the ground that holds it all. Without Shiva, Shakti scatters. Without Shakti, Shiva remains unexpressed. Maha Shivaratri honours the balance point, where energy meets stillness, where action is rooted in awareness.

On a personal level, this night can be a mirror. Where in your life are you constantly moving, producing, fixing? Where might stillness feel uncomfortable, or even threatening? And what might become possible if you allowed yourself to sit, just for a while, without trying to change anything?

Traditional observances

Maha Shivaratri is traditionally observed as a night of simplicity and conscious awareness. Rather than celebration, the focus is on practices that reduce distraction and support stillness.

Fasting is often part of the observance, though it varies widely. Some people fast completely, while others eat very lightly or choose simple foods. The intention is not deprivation, but simplification, easing the body’s demands so the mind can settle more easily.

Staying awake through the night is another key practice, symbolising awareness over habit. Time may be spent in meditation, silence, or chanting, particularly around midnight, which is traditionally seen as the most potent time.

Chanting is also traditionally part of Maha Shivaratri, most commonly the mantra Om Namah Shivaya. This mantra is often described as a way of bowing to the deeper, steady awareness within and beyond us. Repeated softly or silently, chanting becomes less about sound and more about rhythm, helping the mind to settle and attention to anchor in the present moment.

You do not need rituals, chants, or long vigils to honour Maha Shivaratri. You can mark it by choosing simplicity. In modern life, these observances are often adapted. For many, honouring Maha Shivaratri may simply mean eating more simply, choosing a quieter evening. A candle lit with intention. A few moments of seated stillness. A gentle practice that favours awareness over shape. Even the act of going to bed earlier, consciously, can be an offering.

Shivaratri reminds us that rest is not passive. Stillness is not empty. Silence is not absence. These are places of deep intelligence.

The invitation of this night is simple, but not easy. To pause. To stay. To trust that beneath the surface movement of life, something steady is always holding you.

And that you can return to it, again and again.

A note of respect

I want to be clear that my intention in sharing reflections on Maha Shivaratri is not to teach, reinterpret, or dilute any tradition, but to honour the wisdom of yoga philosophy in a way that feels accessible and respectful.

These words are offered as personal reflection and learning, shared from my own practice as a yoga teacher. They are not intended to replace, correct, or speak over the voices of those for whom these traditions are lived, sacred, and cultural. I hold deep respect for the roots of yoga and the cultures from which it arises, and I continue to learn with humility.

Vicki x