Rajnath, Fadnavis to participate in Mahashivratri celebrations at Isha Yoga Centre in TN

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and a host of leaders will participate in the 33rd Mahashivratri celebrations at the Isha Yoga Centre here on February 15, the organisers said on Thursday. Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan is also expected to attend the night-long celebrations, which would bring together devotion, music and meditation. For the first time, spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, who is spearheading the event, would conduct the 'Yogeshwara Linga Maha Abhishekam', a sacred ritual enabling devotees an opportunity to connect with the consecrated live energy form, a release from Isha Yoga Centre said. Another significant highlight of the celebrations would be the 'Adiyogi Divya Darshanam', a light and sound show that brings the 112-foot Adiyogi statue, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017, to life. On Sunday, the programme commences with the 'Pancha Bhuta Kriya,' a ritual to honour the five elements - earth, water, fire, air and space. Then, the festivities would be led by the 'Linga Bhairavi Maha Yatra,' a grand procession. Diverse musical performances, blending the ancient with the contemporary are also planned. Some of the individual performances include playback singer Aditya Gadhvi's Gujarati folk, Prashant Sonagra and his team with a traditional and folk drum collaboration. Isha Yoga Centre's dedicated team 'Sounds of Isha' would collaborate with noted playback singers Swaroop Khan, Blaaze, to offer a programme blending traditional folk with modern music. Another highlight of the event is the 'Yaksha', a festival of Indian classical music and dance, featuring Purbayan Chatterjee on Hindustani Sitar, carnatic vocalist Bharat Sundar and Bharatnatyam artist Vaibhav Aarekar, the release said. At the stroke of midnight on February 15, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev would lead participants through the 'Mahamantra' initiation and again at 'Brahma Muhurtam' between 3 am and 4.30 am, designed to utilise the unique planetary alignment. Known as the great night of Lord Shiva, Mahashivratri is a unique planetary phenomenon when the natural energy of the human system is conducive for spiritual growth. ''We have the advantage of being at the foothills of Villiangiri Mountains, called the Kailash of the South, where Shiva himself spent over three and half months,'' Vasudev was quoted as saying in the release. ''We are located at an 11 degree altitude (at the Isha Yoga Centre), which is very important because of the tilt that the planet has. And Mahashivratri is that day when this upsurge of energy is at its peak and this will be the best place to be on that night,'' he noted.