Shiva

As I wait to perform my Nishita Kaal Puja at 12:09 tonight, I can’t help but feel deeply grateful for being guided by Him. I’ve spent most of today in spiritual practice. Nothing elaborate. Nothing grand. Just simple rituals that speak to me.

I don’t know complicated mantras or detailed offerings. And honestly, I don’t think you need them to connect with Shiva (or any god). To communicate with Him, all you need is willingness - and sincerity in seeking Him.

Mahadev.

Kaal Bhairav.

Shiva.

Bholenath.

Rudra.

Hara.

I have come to know Him in many forms. And I still want to know more. The more stories I read, the closer I feel to Him. What I feel for Shiva cannot truly be expressed in words. But I will try.

I began praying to Shiva around 2010. Before that, I knew almost nothing about Him. I had just been in a terrible accident. After that, I became extremely anxious around anything that moved fast. That day marked the beginning of our story - Shiva’s and mine. Since then, it has only grown stronger.

I believe He saved me that day. Why, I still don’t know.

In 2023, I met Him again.

I was going through one of the toughest phases of my life. Mentally, I was at my weakest. I would pray constantly - asking Him to help me, to show me that He existed. And I believe He did.

It was outside our doctor’s clinic. We were hungry and decided to eat anda bhurji at the stall nearby. An old man - extremely hungry, tired, dressed in soiled clothes - asked me for food. There was something different about him. He had the kindest eyes I had ever seen.

I bought him a plate of anda bhurji and watched him eat as though he hadn’t eaten in days. So I bought him another. When he blessed me, I felt it in my heart. A warm feeling spreading through me.

I turned away for just a second to pay the bhurji vendor.

And he was gone. Just like that.

For a moment, I wondered if I was hallucinating. But Ankit had seen him too. He was there. And then he wasn’t.

I went back at the same time for the next two or three days. I never saw him again. Even the vendor didn’t remember the man I was describing.

You can choose not to believe this. And maybe you are right to question it. But I cannot shake the warmth I felt. And those kind eyes, there are etched in my soul.

Many times, we experience encounters that feel magical - almost impossible to explain. But deep down, you know what you felt. They may sound crazy and they are. But been alive enough to experience them is something else altogether.

Shiva is my Ishta Dev. I know I can always count on Him. He is always with me. And me with him.

All I desire is to be the dust beneath His feet. To be close to Him in any way possible - human or not. That is what every bhakt longs for: to dissolve in His love, yet walk in this world carrying His grace.

Your Ishta Devta can be anyone. It is that divine presence you turn to for guidance - in joy and in sorrow. Your protector. Your light. Find that connection. It is one of the most beautiful things that can happen to you.

Faith is trusting something you cannot see or fully understand - yet believing with your entire being that it exists. And there is nothing in this mortal body you will ever experience that is stronger than that belief.

Om Namah Shivaya 🔱