Millions of devotees gathered at the Art of Living International Center in Bengaluru to mark Maha Shivaratri in the presence of spiritual leader Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, as the organisation celebrated its 45th year of Shivaratri observances.
The event drew attendees from across India and more than 50 countries, turning the ashram into a global spiritual hub for the night. The celebrations featured guided meditations, devotional music performances, and Vedic ceremonies, with Gurudev leading the congregation through what organisers described as one of the largest collective meditation sessions held at the venue.
"Mahashivratri is when the spirit lifts above the material world to something ethereal," Gurudev shared, "Shiva is present in every particle. The very nature of our consciousness is Shiva. To be immersed in Shiva is devotion, and to see Shiva in everyone is service. That which is imperishable is within us. If we even have this much faith, we become joyful. There will be no lack in life. It is believed that if you participate in Shivratri with devotion and love, then all your desires anyway get fulfilled." "How does Mahakaal manifest? "He shines as the light within the hearts of yogis," Gurudev said.
A central highlight of the evening was the Rudra Puja, a traditional Vedic ritual dedicated to Lord Shiva. Rooted in chants from the Sri Rudram, the ceremony is believed to symbolise the dissolution of negativity and the awakening of higher consciousness. Alongside the Bengaluru event, similar Rudra Puja ceremonies were conducted across more than 150 locations in India and internationally, including in Canada, Dubai and Germany.
This year's celebration also stood out for the public display of relics believed to be associated with the original Somnath Jyotirlinga, which was historically destroyed in the 11th century. Devotees were offered darshan of these artefacts during the event, adding a historical dimension to the spiritual gathering.
Eighty-year-old Ankei, an Art of Living teacher from the Netherlands who was visiting the ashram for the first time, shared, "The atmosphere was very joyful here, the people are so nice, so beautiful, and helpful. My eyes filled up with tears when I saw Gurudev arrive for the Puja. That was a very happy and fulfilling moment for me."
Olga from Russia, who has been associated with The Art of Living for 20 years, said, "It's like coming home. I feel energized and relaxed here and will take the same energy and joy back to my country and share with people there." Isabelle, a Dutch citizen who was also in Ashram for the first time, shared, "I absolutely love it here. The atmosphere is charged with devotion and energy, and look at all the plants and animals, the music, and Gurudev's presence adds magic to all of this!"
According to the organisers, over three lakh Mahaprasadam meals were prepared and served throughout the day by volunteers, using more than 15 tonnes of vegetables. The ashram also hosted multiple Vedic weddings and traditional Shashti Purti ceremonies, reflecting the auspicious significance of the festival in Hindu tradition.
The scale of participation extended beyond physical attendance. More than one lakh viewers joined the celebrations through a live webcast streamed across 120 countries, underscoring the growing global reach of the Art of Living's Maha Shivaratri observances.
Compared to last year's Maha Shivaratri celebrations at the Art of Living International Center, the 2026 edition witnessed a visibly larger turnout and broader global participation, with organisers estimating attendance crossing the one-million mark both onsite and online. While the 2025 event had already drawn a significant congregation of devotees and international visitors, this year's celebrations stood out for the scale of participation, the rare darshan of Somnath Jyotirlinga relics, and simultaneous Rudra Puja ceremonies across multiple countries, indicating the growing global footprint and appeal of the Bengaluru-based spiritual gathering.
The annual gathering at the Bengaluru ashram has increasingly evolved into a large-scale international spiritual event, bringing together meditation, ritual practices, and cultural performances in a single platform centred around the festival dedicated to Lord Shiva.
