Sri Swami Sivananda Lord Siva and His Worship

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The burning grounds are the abodes of Siva. Rudra is the destructive aspect of the Lord.
Lord Siva dances in the crematorium with Kali, in His ten-armed form. The Siva Ganas also join
with Him in the dance.
Nataraja of Chidambaram is the expert dancer. He has four hands. He wears the Ganga and
the crescent moon on His matted locks. He holds Damaru in His right hand. He shows Abhaya
Mudra to His devotees with His raised left hand. The significance is: O devotees! Do not be afraid.
I shall protect you all. One left hand holds the fire. The other right hand points down on the Asura
Muyalaka who is holding a cobra. He has raised the left foot in a beautiful manner.
The sound of the drum invites the individual souls to His feet. It represents Omkara. All the
Sanskrit alphabets have come out of the play of the Damaru. Creation arises from Damaru. The
hand which shows Abhaya Mudra gives protection. Destruction proceeds from fire. The raised foot
indicates Maya or illusion. The hand which points down shows that His feet are the sole refuge of
the individual souls. Tiruakshi represents Omkara or Pranava.
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PHILOSOPHY OF SIVA TANDAVA
Chidambaram is a sacred place of pilgrimage in South India. All the Tamil saints have sung
hymns in praise of Nataraja. There is Akasa Linga here which indicates that Lord Siva is formless
and attributeless. The popular saying goes: He who dies in Banares with Ramanam in his lips and
heart, attains salvation. He who remembers Arunachalam or Tiruvannamalai attains Mukti. He who
gets Darsana of Nataraja attains final emancipation. Real Chidambaram is within the heart.
Nataraja dances in the hearts of devotees who have burnt egoism, lust, hatred, pride and jealousy.
He dances quite gently. If He dances vehemently the whole earth will sink down at once. He
dances with His eyes closed, because the sparks from His eyes will consume the entire universe.
The five activities of the Lord, Panchakriyas, viz., Srishti (creation), Sthiti (preservation), Samhara
(destruction), Tirobhava (illusion) and Anugraha (grace), are the dances of Siva.
May you all comprehend the true significance of the dance of Siva. May you all dance in
ecstasy in tune with Lord Siva and merge in Him and enjoy the Sivananda, the final beatitude of
life!
II
Lord Siva is an embodiment of wisdom. He is the Light of lights. He is Paramjyoti or
supreme Light. He is self-luminous or Svayam-Jyoti. The dance of Siva represents the rhythm and
movement of the world-spirit. At His dance the evil forces and darkness quiver and vanish.
In the night of Brahma or during Pralaya, Prakriti is inert, motionless. There is Guna-Samya
Avastha. The three Gunas are in a state of equilibrium or poise. She cannot dance till Lord Siva
wills it. Lord Siva rises from His profound silence and begins to dance. The undifferentiated sound
becomes differentiated through the vibration set up by the movements of His Damaru or drum.
Sabda Brahman comes into being. The undifferentiated energy also becomes differentiated. The
equipoise in the Gunas becomes disturbed. The three Gunas Sattva, Rajas and Tamas manifest. All
the spheres, the atoms and the electrons also dance rhythmically and in an orderly manner. Atoms
dance in the molecule and molecules dance in all bodies. Stars dance in time and space. Prakriti also
begins to dance about Him as His glory or Vibhuti. The Prana begins to operate on Akasa or subtle
matter. Various forms manifest. Hiranyagarbha or the golden egg or the cosmic mind also
manifests.
When the time comes, Lord Siva destroys all names and forms by fire while dancing. There
is stillness again.
This is the symbolism involved in the form of Nataraja. The deer in the hand of Siva
represents Asuddha Maya. The axe represents knowledge which destroys ignorance. The drum, the
outstretched arm that carries fire, the water (Ganga), the hand with the axe, the foot standing on the
Asura Muyalaka, are the formless or Sukshma Panchaksharas.
Srishti (creation) is in the drum; Sthiti (preservation) is in the Abhaya hand; Samhara
(destruction) is in the hand that holds the axe; Tirobhava (veiling) is in the pressing foot; and
Anugraha (blessing) is in the uplifted foot.
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LORD SIVA AND HIS WORSHIP
There are various kinds of dances of Siva. There are the Samhara dance, the five dances, the
six dances, the eight dances, the Kodu Kotti dance, the Pandam dance, the Kodu dance. The Kodu
Kotti is the dance after the destruction of everything. Pandam is the dance after the destruction of
the three cities, wearing the ashes of those cities. Kodu or Kapalam is the dance holding Brahma s [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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