Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad, the center of spiritual leadership in the twin cities, has been marking all special occasions on the festival calendar with holy and sacred programmes.  The devotees and other participants who come to make the best of these occasions spend a few hours of meaningful and blissful experience, thanks to the meticulously planned and executed programmes organized by the Ramakrisha Math swamis and brahmacharis under the able guidance of the President Maharaj, Rev. Jnanadanandaji.

Such an occasion came on 12^th February 2010, the auspicious day of Shivaratri.  On that day the special puja programme encompassed the whole night.  Lord Shiva, known as ashutosh-easily pleased, grants untold boons and showers undeserved grace on his devotees.  One has to remember that in his childhood Sri Ramakrishna had occasion to don the robes of Shiva in a drama and he merged in the consciousness of Lord Shiva during the performance in such a way that people forget it was a play and began to worship him as living Shiva.  Therefore, Shivaratri is indeed a significant event for the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna.

At Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad, the puja began at the puja mandapam at 8 pm after the daily arati in the main temple.  This continued upto 4 am.  But there was no monotony in the proceedings.  Swami Jnanadanandaji knew that the devotees have to keep awake throughout the night-no mean feat.  Therefore the programme was organized in a manner which achieved this effortlessly. 

The puja was divided into 4 parts to mark the four units or praharas.  After each unit of puja there was a temple parikrama around the main temple; and then the devotees would go to the Vivekananda auditorium to see a small part of the colorful Shiva tandava dance.  Back again to the puja mandapam, they would enjoy the serenity of the next prahara puja which would again be interspersed with temple pradakshina and Shiva tandava.  In this way, the entire gathering of about 1000 devotees spent a spiritually charged night.

At 4 pm there was a homa and after this the main temple was opened for the day.  In the main temple there was mangalarati at 5 pm and after this the devotees were given Prasad.

Om Namah Shivaya