There are many fasts and festivals in the month of Sawan in which the tradition of keeping fasts has been going on for years. Fasts are kept on Sawan Monday, Sawan Shivratri, Mangala Gauri fast in Sawan, Hariyali Teej, all these dates. Worshipping Shivling in Sawan is considered to be the best. Because Shivling is the complete form of Shiva and Shakti. The soul engrossed in meditation in the formless form of Shiva attains salvation, it attains Parabrahma. The meaning is that Shivling is the medium to unite our soul with God. Shivling is the symbol of the formless and the real God which is indicative of God-soul-penis. Shivling means the symbol of Shiva. Male gender means the symbol of man, similarly female gender means the symbol of woman and impotent gender means the symbol of impotent. Shivling means the eternal form of Shiva, the symbol of void, sky, infinite universe and formless Param Purush. According to Skanda Purana, the sky itself is the penis.  Earth is its base and because it is born from the infinite void and dissolves in it, it is called Linga. Shivling tells us that the world is only the dominance of man and nature and both are complementary to each other.

Shiva is called Nandishwar i.e. ‘God of joy’, not ‘God of bull’. Therefore, we should understand this symbol system by looking at Nandi bull. Similarly, all the symbols related to Shiva need to be understood. Trishul is our trigunatmak (sattva, rajas, tamas) nature which is concentrated on a stick. Bhutas-Ganas are nothing but the five elements of lust, anger, greed, pride and attachment which have been given a fierce form. These five elements cannot find a gentle form in the symbols. The Dhatura that we offer is an expression of offering the poisonous element within us, so that there is sweetness in life. As far as Bhaang is concerned; then it is the joy of the manifestation of the Supreme Being.  When one worships the omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipotent, infallible, undivided, blissful, embodiment of happiness, bliss, destroyer of troubles, destroyer of evils, remover of sorrows, bestower of happiness, auspicious, repository of compassion, purifier of the fallen, Lord Shiva (Ashutosh); he becomes pleased very soon (Ashu). The upper part of the Shivling represents the soul form of Lord Shiva which is present in all people and the Yoni part below the Shivling symbolizes our physical form, the natural form, it shows how the conscious soul enters our lifeless body.

The month of Sawan has the most rainfall. Our digestive system becomes weak in the month of Sawan. In such a situation, if we do not observe fast, it has a negative effect on the body and health deteriorates. Eating leafy vegetables like spinach, fenugreek, bathua, cabbage, cauliflower in the month of Sawan is harmful to health, because the number of bacteria and insects increases in them. And these green vegetables are not eaten during fasting. Therefore, by observing fast, we can avoid these bacteria.

By not observing fast, your immunity i.e. immune system also becomes weak which is necessary to fight any disease. Fasting helps in formation of new immune cells.

It has been found in many studies that fasting for some time increases metabolic rate by 3 to 14 percent. This takes less time for digestion and burning of calories. If you do not do this, then after a certain age you can become a victim of many serious diseases. Fasting does not mean starving the body completely but giving rest to the body for some time and removing toxic elements from it. Animals, birds and all other creatures keep fast from time to time and make their body healthy. By keeping a healthy body, the mind and brain also become healthy. Therefore, fasting should be done on some special days in Chaturmas which removes diseases and sorrow.

The fat burning process gets faster while observing fast.  Due to which the fat starts melting rapidly and if you do not observe fast then the fat keeps on increasing and this creates pressure on your bones. This has an adverse effect on our mental ability and peace of mind.

The main purpose of keeping a fast is to develop determination. Only a determined mind has positivity, determination and single-mindedness. Only a determined person succeeds in every sphere of life. A person who does not have determination or determination in his mind, words and deeds is considered as dead. There is no trust in the words, promises, anger, feelings and love of a person without determination. According to religion and belief, keeping a fast pleases the gods and goddesses and by removing the troubles and problems, they fulfill the wishes.

This is also because Sadhana has a very deep relation with diet. Sadhana will be fruitful only when the diet is pure and sattvik and it does not have any of the four defects of diet (swarup-dosha, sang-dosha, nimitta-dosha or artha-dosha). In this way we can say that it is not necessary to remain hungry during fasting or upvaas, it is necessary to remember the benevolent form of God.

Shivratri is the night of welfare. It is the night of awakening of one’s Shivatva. For this awakening, first of all the inner conscience is purified by means of sadhana, fasting, rules, fasting, discourses, saintly company etc. Awakening will happen only when this happens. When we talk about awakening of our Shivatva; then it is implicit that we are also a part of Shiva, we are also immortal (which cannot be destroyed). Since the soul is energy, it cannot be destroyed, hence we are immortal.