Sawan: Rituals, Realization, and Returning to the Source

ANAND BHUSHAN
Jul 15, 2025
6 min read

How Shiva, Ganga, and Fasting Lead Us Back to the Universal Truth

🌧️ Introduction: Devotion in the Rain, Confusion in the Mind

When the rains arrive, and the skies turn grey, the sacred month of Sawan (Shravan) begins.

Temples fill. Devotees chant “Om Namah Shivaya.”People fast on Mondays, pour Ganga Jal over Shiva Lingas, and thousands walk barefoot as Kanwariyas — carrying water from the Ganga to offer to Lord Shiva.

To an outsider, it looks like intense faith. But pause for a moment and ask:

Why is Sawan dedicated to Shiva?
Why pour Ganga water?
Why fast on Mondays?
Why walk for days as a Kanwariya?

And more importantly… what’s the point?

Chances are — even the most devoted follower may not have a clear answer.

Like many other Hindu rituals today, the practice has remained, but the purpose has been forgotten. We perform the acts. But we miss the inner shift they were meant to bring.

🕉️ Rituals Are Not for God — They Are for Us

The ancient Rishis were not trying to impress any god. They were scientists of consciousness — deeply aware of how nature, the human mind, and cosmic energy work.

So they designed rituals not as rules, but as tools — to help ordinary people slowly tune their life back to the Universal Truth.

Let’s understand that truth before we look at the rituals.

🌌 The 3 Layers of Truth – What Are We Tuning Into?

To truly understand Sawan rituals, we must see them through the Universal Truth Visualization Model — a 3-layer framework that explains how consciousness flows from the formless into form:

🔹 Layer 1: Infinite Stillness (Shiva)

The formless, silent source of everything. No sound, no movement. Just pure being. This is Shiva in his true essence — not a figure, but absolute stillness.

🔸 Goal: Realize this stillness as your own true nature.

🔹 Layer 2: Vibrational Energy (Shakti)

From stillness arises the first movement — the vibration of OM, the dance of duality, the emergence of creation. This is the realm of energy, breath, emotion, and will.

🔸 Goal: Align thoughts, breath, and energy with this cosmic rhythm.

🔹 Layer 3: Manifested Reality (Maya)

This is the world we see — of rituals, offerings, temples, names, and forms. The outer layer — but also the starting point for spiritual growth.

🔸 Goal: Use outer action to awaken inner realization.

🎯 Why Rituals?

Rituals are like tuning knobs — helping us move from Layer 3 → Layer 2 → Layer 1.From form to energy to stillness. From doing to being.

Like tuning a radio, the divine signal is always present — but only when we tune the body, mind, and heart can we actually receive it.

🌊 Ganga Jal Offering – Returning Consciousness to Its Source

Why do we pour Ganga water on Shiva?

In Shiva Purana, it is said:

“Ganga flows from Shiva’s own locks. Offering her back to Him is an act of surrender.”

But here’s the deeper truth:

Ganga = pure consciousness flowing in the world
Shiva = formless source of that consciousness
The act of pouring is symbolic of returning energy to its source

It’s not about impressing a deity. It’s about saying:

“I release all that I carry — my ego, my desires, my karma — and I offer it to the stillness within.”

Ritual mapped to the model:

Action	Symbol	Layer
Ganga Jal	Flowing divine energy	Layer 2
Shiva Linga	Still source	Layer 1
Offering	Physical surrender	Layer 3

When done with awareness, this simple act becomes a deep internal purification.

🕉️ Rudrabhishek – Bathing the Self, Not Just the Stone

In Sawan, many devotees perform the Rudrabhishek — bathing the Shiva Linga with:

Water (cleansing karma)
Milk (purity)
Curd (cooling)
Ghee (inner light)
Honey (sweetness of speech)
Bilva leaves (surrender of the three gunas)

The Shiva Linga isn’t just a stone. It’s a symbol of the cosmos, the unformed origin of all creation.

Each substance used in the ritual represents something within us that needs cleansing or aligning.

But here's the truth:

You're not just bathing a stone — you're cleansing your inner self.

When you chant “Om Namah Shivaya” while doing it, you are tuning your inner frequency to match the cosmic vibration.

🌙 Monday (Somvar) Fasting – Mastering the Mind

Why is Monday important in Sawan?

Monday is ruled by the Moon (Chandra) — which governs the mind and emotions
Shiva is called Chandrashekhara — the one who wears the moon

Fasting on Mondays calms the mind, slows the senses, and pulls attention inward.

It’s not about skipping food — it’s about cutting attachment and controlling desire.

In a world full of distractions, fasting is like turning the volume down — so the deeper signal of Shiva can be heard.

🚶‍♂️ Kanwar Yatra – The Inner Pilgrimage in Disguise

Millions walk as Kanwariyas, carrying water from Ganga to offer to Shiva — often barefoot, chanting, and walking miles.

But why this journey?

The real journey is not across land — it's inward.

Carrying Kanwar = balancing dual forces within (left-right, ida-pingala)
Barefoot = humility, dropping ego
Walking = discipline and devotion
Offering = surrender of inner burden

Sadly, today it’s become noisy, competitive, even chaotic. But at its heart, this is a yogic ritual of realignment — a reminder that the path to Shiva begins with effort, simplicity, and surrender.

📻 Tuning, Not Just Doing – What Modern Hindus Forget

Today, most people perform these rituals without knowing why:

Fasting becomes a trend
Offering water becomes a selfie moment
Yatra becomes a physical challenge

But if we don’t know the purpose, the ritual becomes just a performance.

Rituals were never the goal. They were the tuning knobs.

And 99% of modern-day Hindus are turning those knobs without listening for the signal. They worship Shiva — but forget that Shiva is not in the idol, but in the awareness behind the action.

❌ Modern Misunderstanding – And How to Correct It

In today’s fast-moving world, rituals like those in Sawan are mostly followed out of habit, fear, social pressure, or blind tradition.

We fast but stay angry. We offer water but don’t offer our ego. We chant loudly but forget to listen in silence.

Most people, even among educated Hindus, don’t know:

Why Shiva is worshipped with water
Why Mondays matter
Why Ganga Jal is sacred
What the Linga actually represents
Or what the real goal of these rituals is

🧠 What Went Wrong?

Over time, the deeper meaning behind the rituals got lost:

Stories became literal, not symbolic
Devotion turned into display
Faith became formality
Rituals became routines

As a result, 99% of modern followers are performing the outer actions (Layer 3), but remain disconnected from Layer 1 — the inner silence, the real Shiva.

✅ How Do We Correct It?

The solution is simple — but powerful: bring back awareness.

Here’s how:

Misunderstanding	What to Remember	Correction
“It’s just tradition.”	It’s a tool for inner alignment.	Ask: What is this ritual tuning within me?
“Pour water, take a selfie.”	Ganga Jal is pure consciousness.	Offer with surrender and silence.
“Fast but stay irritated.”	Fasting is to calm the mind.	Use the day to go inward, meditate, reflect.
“Shiva is a god to please.”	Shiva is your own stillness.	Worship with the intent to connect, not bargain.
“Kanwar is a cool trend.”	It’s a walk of ego-surrender.	Walk in humility, silence, devotion.

Rituals are not obligations to follow, but opportunities to awaken.

If each person did even one ritual this Sawan with true awareness, they’d feel the difference — peace, presence, and a connection to something much larger than themselves.

It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing less — but with understanding.