COSMIC DANCE OF NATARAJA ON ARUDRA DAY The cosmic dance of Shiva symbolises the interplay of dynamic and static divine energy flow, containing the five principles of eternal energy — creation, preservation, destruction, illusion and emancipation. In the twenty-first century, the image of Shiva Nataraja has become popularised and repurposed across the globe. There is a natural tension when such a powerful deity in Hindu belief is brought into new secular contexts. People worldwide are seeing Nataraja through a multitude of lenses — commercial, personal, scientific, and artistic — and finding deep but differing meanings. The Cosmic Dance In flat, empty space-time, small test particles follow straight lines. However, just as there are no straight lines on the surface of a sphere, the closest we can come to the notion of a straight line in a curved space-time is what mathematicians call a geodesic (a space-time line that is as straight as possible). Small particles in the vicinity of a massive sphere follow space-time geodesics, which send them plunging toward the mass, or into an orbit around it. Gravity doesnt deflect these particles from their straight lines. It redefines what it means to move in the straightest possible way. As a consequence, Einsteins universe performs an ongoing cosmic dance in which matter and space-time interact. A given configuration of matter distorts space-time geometry (not only because of mass, but also with its energy, inner tensions or pressure) and this distorted geometry makes matter move in certain ways. This movement, in turn, changes the matter configuration, and space-time geometry changes correspondingly. Now that space-time geometry is a bit different, it also acts on matter in a different way, matter moves, geometry changes, and so on in an endless dance. Research in Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, underlining the link between cosmic forces and subatomic matter. In this context, Nataraja is also a political symbol for Indias contribution to the sciences. The European Centre for Research in Particle Physics in Geneva-CERN had unveiled in 2004 the two metre-tall statue of Nataraja, the form of Shiva depictd in dance pose. The dancing Indian deity, representing the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction also depicts the dynamics of subatomic particles, the basis of creation of the universe that is being researched by physicists around the world. Along with appearing as a popular image on merchandise, Nataraja has been reinterpreted by artists to address issues in todays global society. Israeli artist Izhar Patkin, for example, created a glass sculpture fusing the deity with Brazilian entertainer Carmen Miranda and African-American performer Josephine Baker. The work, titled Where Each is Both, explores the confluences of these three figures as dancers and as boundary-crossers, creating and destroying on cosmic and human scales. Indian- American graphic designer Sanjay Patel has depicted Nataraja in his unique illustration style, which is partly inspired by Japanese cartoons and comics. His brightly colored, two-dimensional deities sport large heads, big eyes, and stubby limbs. In his collection of illustrations and information on the Hindu pantheon, The Little Book of Hindu Deities, Patel uses this style to bring a deliberate playfulness to the exploration of Hindu gods and epics. Shiva dances in Rudra Tandava or the dance of destruction in an aureole of fire, creating wild thunder storms all around the universe, even shattering the Sun, the Moon and stellar bodies with his matted hair, marks of ash on the forehead, trident, drum, lifting his left leg and balancing over a demon of ignorance, with snakes crawling over his arms, legs, and braided hair that depict egotism. His upper right hand holds an hourglass drum or dumroo standing for the male-female vital principle, while the lower gestures us to Be fearless. A skull on his head depicts conquest over death. Goddess Ganga, epitomising the holy river, sits on his hairdo. His third eye represents omniscience, insight, and enlightenment. The Lasya or the gentle form of his dance, known as Aananda Tandavam or dance of bliss is associated with the creation of the world, after its total destruction. Shivas two different cosmic dances take place in ones Chidambaram or in the sky of the mind, portrayed as the centre of consciousness situated at the altar of ones heart. The sacred text, the Bhagavad Gita, interprets that the three basic gunas - satvic, tamasic and rajasic - that combine with each other to create life forms in the universe. The divine entity is divided into nine; but only eight of them are perceived by human intellect - earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and pride. The ninth part of the divine entity is eternally shrouded in the mystery of creation.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 03:50:42 +0000
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