The Shravan month is not just a Panchanik month in the Hindu Sanatan tradition, but it is the mysterious period of the Kalachakra when the entire creation is absorbed in silence. This is the time of interview with cosmic consciousness, when the soul is attracted to the infinite form of Shiva, except for its physical coverings. This is not a season, but the feeling of sages; This is a process of penance, not a festival; This is not a festival, but the touch of Param.
The specialty of Shravan month is not only in it that it is dedicated to Mahadev, the god of the Gods, but this period itself gives experience of the silence of Shiva. It seems as if the pace of time has slowed down and Kaal himself has stopped like the Ganges flowing in Shiva’s jatas. This is the moment when the universe wants to dissolve herself and merge into the creator.
Shiva, whose form is not limited in any one idol or shape, is an infinite experience. They are the silence that echoes in meditation, they are energy that appears in penance. And Shravan is the great occasion when the seeker offers all his existence at the feet of Shiva. This is the journey where the soul moves from ‘I’ to ‘Shivohum’.
Mondays of Shravan – which is called ‘Shravan Som’ – are not celebrated like a particular date, but these are the days of reaching the peak of sadhana. When the devotee offers Ganga water on the Shivling, he not only sheds water, but surrenders his life, his ego, his desires. This dedication is not just devotion, but a declaration to be united with Brahma. It is a confession that Shiva and soul are not two, there are two reflections of the same consciousness.
Shravan month is not limited to Abhishek or worship only. It is a festival of self-purification, washing inner malaise. This is the time when the disorder hidden inside gets swept like Ganga water and what remains in the end is only Shiva – pure, pure, immovable.
Shravan month is the mirror in which the soul can see the divinity in itself, which can only be awakened with reverence, penance and dedication. This month suggests that Shiva is not a separate power, they reside within us – just we have to abandon our own ‘I’ for their experience. Finally Shravan is a silent call that draws the soul towards Shiva. It reminds that even when silence continues in the uproar of the world, only Shiva’s interview is possible. And only then we can say – “Nahan deho na deho, Shivoham Shivoham.”
