The Cosmic Dance
Summer has set in and we can see how nature renews itself and grows in this cyclic manner. The Mahashivratri festival is celebrated at the onset of summer. This is one of the important festivals celebrated all across the country. You will find people fasting, visiting Lord Shiva’s temple, offering bel leaves and milk to the Shivaling. While many follow these rituals, very few actually understand why this festival is celebrated.
In this article, we bring you the understanding of MahaShivratri and why it should be celebrated.
Maha Shivaratri is essentially an analogy. It is a way to talk about things that are happening, but are difficult to explain through usual words. When one wants to communicate effectively but finds it difficult to explain the concept, it gives rise to a story, a poem, a prayer. Through these stories, we get to know what is happening in the cosmos, which is indicative of what is happening within everyone. If we are able to understand these analogies, then we can comprehend our true self.
Until man lives life, he will never know how to live it. Shivaratri is indicative of how one can learn and understand what is going on around us. How one can align their lives and live it to the fullest. Without the right understanding, we would not be able to lead our lives accordingly. We can keep repeating mindlessly, “Shiva-Shiva”, but would not be able to reap any substantial benefits out of it. Chanting may prove beneficial to some extent in increasing our ability to concentrate the mind, but understanding the truth and then chanting can bring far greater results.
Maha Shivaratri is here but very few really know the reason for its celebration. People only know to celebrate Mahashivaratri by waking up early in the morning, visiting the temple to offer milk, bel leaves; some even drink hemp.
Shivaratri can be celebrated in the right earnest only when you are able to experience Shiva within yourself.
Have you ever wondered why it was named Maha Shivaratri (the Grand Night of Shiva)? Why was it not named MahaShivadin (the Grand Day of Shiva)? If we use the word “Ratri”, then it refers to night but that would be an incorrect reference to the occasion. “Din” meaning daytime is equally incorrect. What happened with Shiva on this night? What was the fundamental state of God when the universe had not been created? Was it day or night?
If someone were to ask you this question, you will not be able to identify it as a day, because for that the sun will have to exist. The sun did not exist at that time. So then how can you call it day! So, that leaves us with night, because that is the only thing present in the absence of sun. When there is no light, we call it “night”. What is darkness? It is the lack of light. We need to give the lack of light a name, we call it darkness; we call it “night”. Otherwise, there is no night. But as we have to name the state that precedes both light and darkness, we call it “night”.
Till the time the universe had not been created, for Shiva it was darkness. Which means it was “night” for him. The “grand night” or “MahaRatri” came into effect when the universe was created, when Shiva came into action. He danced a breath-taking and wondrous dance.
We all know the dance of Shiva by the name ‘Tandav’. This dance of Shiva was so incredible that its vibrations gave rise to the world. Imagine someone dancing on a stage in such a beautiful manner that things start getting lit up; certain things begin to appear around the stage as a result of the dance. However, as soon as the dancer stops the breath-taking performance, the things around the dancer become invisible again. This would mean that Shiva’s Tandav is the reason behind the appearance of everything. Suddenly the darkness vanished. There was light and you could see the entire world. It is to remember this lost darkness that we celebrate Maha Shivaratri every year.
The Tandav is the Dance of Creation. Shiva has been picturized as Nataraja–the Lord of Dance. He is the source of the dance of the manifest world. Right now, this dance is going on, but it is not the kind of dance that one may imagine. Let’s understand this.
How To See Shiva
During the Tandav dance, it is impossible to spot the dancer. What can be seen is only the dance or energy (Shakti) or Parvati; the actual dancer disappears. Not only can he be not seen, but our attention towards him goes only when someone tells us that there is a dancer behind those incredible dance movements. Both the dance and the dancer have become one.
Let’s understand this with the help of an example of an incense stick. When you move a burning incense stick in a fast motion, a circle becomes visible. This circle that you see, actually does not exist. The person who is waving the incense stick vigorously in the air knows that. Everyone has tried this at least once in their lives, waving sparkling sticks on Diwali, which look like circles being created in the air. It looks magical!
Those who saw it from the beginning knew the dot or center from which the circle was made. It was just a burning point. The point of consciousness. But as soon as it began vibrating, it became a dance. The action brought about a change in it. However, if the dance were stopped then what would happen? Whatever was visible due to the action would become invisible. It means the circle would disappear once the moving action is stopped. Everything would vanish. The universe will also vanish and only Shiva will be left. Shakti or energy will collapse back into Shiva. It is due to this energy that is being created by Shiva’s incredible dance, that we are able to see this universe.If there is complete understanding, Shiva’s dance will be visible. If the dance stops even for a split second, the world will not be visible.
For example, if there is a glass of water, and there is a dance happening nearby. You will see, the vibrations of the beats would create a variety of ripple designs in the water. As soon as the beats stop, the ripples will stop. The water will be back to normal – calm and blank. What do we understand from this analogy? The dance’s beats were creating the designs. The design is the symbol of the Universe. So many bodies were created due to the vibrations. The entire universe was created!
With this you will discover that the most important thing –the “cosmic dance” is happening and it is on the beats of this dance that there are vibrations around us.
Most people are under the impression that if they are alive, they just need to study, do a job, run a business, have a family, enjoy vacations; and that is all there is to life. If you are not dead, then this is all you need to do! Unfortunately, those things that were important have disappeared, over time. But all is not lost! We should take this opportunity of Shiva’s big night to understand its importance and imbibe His values in our lives.
Our next article would be focused on the art of seeing the movie of life using the third eye.
3 comments
pratik
Can we please change the font color to dark black. It is very difficult to read with this font colour.
stormovoep57
You actually expressed this well.
Rama
Thank you for this eye-opening and beautiful article.
I’m happy that i have started to get answers to my many unanswered questions ☺