Hindus gather in Mbombela to worship Lord Shiva liberating the community
Lord Shiva devotees gathered at the temple to celebrate the Shiva Rathri Festival.
The priest and devotees did a night vigil in which they prayed to Lord Shiva to cleanse them of their sins, to liberate them from the wheel of birth and death, and to grant them a heavenly place in the abode of Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva is symbolically represented as a short stone on a pedestal called a “lingam”. The stone is decorated with a costume and flowers.
Kinnash Shrinivasan Kanniah, the temple priest, told Lowvelder, “The Hindus regard the idol as a shining channel through which the heart of the devotee is attracted to God, enhancing concentration and flowing towards the omnipresent God in heaven.”
The prayer ceremonyran from 18:00 to 06:00. The prayer started with the god Ganesha, who is said to remove obstacles and hardships after a successful prayer session.
A fire prayer, a “Homam”, was performed by the priest, while participating devotees threw ghee, fruit and spicy grains into the fire. “This is done to invoke the Lord to shower his blessings upon all people,” Kanniah said.
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Following this, the idol was bathed with water, yoghurt, honey and mixed fruit by devotees.
After this the priest waved an oil lamp in front of the stone idol, while devotees stood and repeatedly chanted the mantra, “Om nama sivaya”.
The priest said according to the scriptures, the chanting of the mantra, with perfect devotion and concentration, will free a devotee from all sins.
Ashtothram was then read by the priest, to glorify the names of Lord Shiva while devotees stood and prayed. A type of food called “prasadam” was offered and the first session ended with a prayer song titled “Aarathi”.
Vijay Hargoven commented, “The way you feel after this session is difficult to explain or put into words. But, there is a special energy you feel. Your soul is at ease.”
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Savera and Sanjay Singh said, “The prayer is vibrant. One feels good and peaceful. We also get a chance to mingle with the Hindu community. This give us a feeling of home and religion, as we pray for the country and safety of the people.”
This service was repeated in intervals of every three hours till 06:00.
