AshZero

INTRODUCTION ___________________ Mahāśivarātrī (महाशिवरात्री) is a festival celebrated every year through an all-day fast, through an all-night long vigil, and by making offerings of Bael (Bilva, Aegle marmelos) leaves to Lord Śiva. Additionally, cannabis is traditionally used as an offering to Lord Śiva and his followers in certain ritualistic sections. Per scriptural and discipleship traditions, the penances are performed in order to gain boons in the practice of bīja meditation in Yoga and Tantra, to reach spiritual goals more swiftly, and to avoid rebirth. It is observed on Phālguna Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa कृष्ण पक्ष (waning moon) Trayodaśī / Caturdaśī (13/14th night) as per North Indian calendars, and on Māgha Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa कृष्ण पक्ष (waning moon) Trayodaśī / Caturdaśī as per Gujarat, Mahārāṣṭra, Karṇāṭaka and Andhra Pradesh calendars. SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE _____________________________ Mahā is the Omnipotent. Śiva represents the combined Nirguṇa-Saguṇa, the limitless, all-pervasive energy, t...

An ancient Indian poet named Kokkoka (known as Koka, or as Koka Pundit), wrote the Sanskrit text Rati Rahasya, also known as the Koka Śāstra, which is a handbook on practical erotica. The text was most likely written in the eleventh or in the twelfth century, although its precise date of composition is unknown. According to the legend, Ratirahasya may have been composed to appease Venudutta, a monarch. Siddha patiya pandita , or "an ingenious man among learned men," is how Kokkoka identifies himself in the book. Before the Indian subcontinent was subjected to geographic and religious invasions, it was home to extensive exploration of manifold kinds of sensory indulgence. These explorations were of a precise, unbiased technical nature that lied beyond social structures, and highlighted the dangers and pleasures of such explorations. The works emergent from these explorations hold extensive algorithms that elaborate on the development of physical and psychological discord i...