In the spiritual culture of India this is the Great Night of Shiva, in which his wedding with Parvati is celebrated. Among the representations of the divine, Shiva (the Benevolent) is the abysmal aspect of transcendence, the original union of opposites that disturbs us so much. While Vishnu preserves creation, Shiva destroys and regenerates it: the worlds follow one another to the rhythm of his dance. However, it is also the unfathomable depth of the mind, the gaze through which the universe appears.

A condition can emerge, even in the most common daily experience, in which what we thought we knew seems to disappear, and life and death become confused, and so also good and evil. It is the night, dark and bright at the same time, in which, by losing ourselves, we have the possibility of finding ourselves. May the great transformation that is to take place in us be definitively accomplished, and its fruits benefit our entire life, and through us spread in every direction.

Bhante Dharmapala – image by Olga Bellero