Abhaya - Fear not! The Lone Message of Shiva Nataraja

Fear not!
The hand stays still promising peace and tranquility in ones life when the Bhakta submits to the great Lord.

Fear not!
For this is when the Bhakta surrenders.

Fear not!
It is the single thought that echoes in the mind when one stares up to the Lord in humility.

Fear not!
Rings the thunderous sounds of creation as the damaru vibrates in the static air

Fear not!
Burns the fire of destruction as it eats into my being and destroys my ego, my past, my karma

Fear not!
Stands the beautiful snake upright with a jewelled forehead graceful and alert

Fear not!
Is the feeling of freedom and bliss when I hear the sound of mantras echo within the temple walls

Fear not!
Is the feeling of awakening mysticism as I watch the great Lord raise his feet in Tandava

Fear not!
Are the words heard as my heart melts in his being and I look on to savor the beauty of his being

Fear not!
Is the joy in my heart as I stand back and wonder about this magical world of grace that is so subtle, so alive, so secretive, so true

Fear not!
Is the feeling of tranquility that descends on me even during the times when I am very troubled

Fear not!
The grace in that mudra is the source of courage to want to face life no matter how tough it gets

Fear not!
Is the detachment I feel from all my myseries, no matter how deep and intense they are

Fear not!
Is the only solution to my earthly problems

Fear not!
Is pure love that I feel towards the Lord hoping that he will release me from this bondage

Fear not!
Triggers the feeling of envy as I stare up and look at that form of Apasmara that is blessed to have the Lord dance on his back

Fear not!
Is the aura of divinity I see on the Lord's face as he blesses me in silence

The form of Nataraja, the vigor in his body, the grace in his being and the bliss that he grants us to observe him dance can be an unforgetable experience when we realize the value of this performance. He has danced to the pleasure of his devotees in 4 sabhas across south india. He danced for them to see with rapture, the life that erupts from within. He has danced to bring home a point, that which we in mundane terms call the dance of bliss and destruciton but we have no idea of its intensity.

What is this dance, what is this vigor, what is this grace and what is this energy that defines in silent language the very power of opening the 3rd eye, the charm of the Ganges, the stance of gajasura shiva? This leaves me dancing within my heart to have just felt his presence around me as he stands there in bronze within the shrine chamber decked in flowers!

I look up to him and wonder, even apasmara purusha felt his dance, felt the force and has the blessing of the Lord forever standing on his back. Yet my heart aches and I struggle to get this divine glimpse of the Lord.

Arti at Chidambaram Nataraja Temple

When you walk into the Chidambaram Nataraja temple as a non entity, the feeling of divinity doesn't cover you half as strongly, as much as when you are guided into the temple by someone who knows the life in every stone in the wall.

Chidambaram temple might be a different world to the average devotee who comes there, but when you are guided into the temple, by one of the most passionate human beings, who sings nothing but the praise of the Lord, this temple has a different tune to play.

I am really blessed to have finally had the opportinity to meet this very passionate soul, a very learned man to whome Lord Shiva Nataraja is sublime poetry, music to the ears and rhythm to the feet. In his words one can hear the music of the ancients, the potency of the divine and the superiority of Hindiusm as a science. Every sanskrit verse he sang out were like a new pearl of wisdom, one that you connect with or want to keep listening to.

He walked us though the temple, circling at every shrine with adoration, through each prakara that we could access explaining each sculptural panel, defining each mural and giving me the freedom to click away. It was close to a dream come true. We sailed through the temple, breathed its calm fresh air, free from present day turmoil and corruption.

We entered the zone of the main sanctum, where the temple stood so grand, even in all the hussling crowd, one could hear the ghunguru sounds of the Lord as he danced in the central chamber. I was guided to ascend the steps to view the Lord up close, decked in flower and jewellery with the twinkling moon on his brow. The Lord danced gracefully at His seat in the Universe, the land of ether, within a ring of fire that glowed and brought His dance to life. This is where the Ananda Tandava can be felt, as the flames rise with the 6.00p.m. puja arti.

The drums resound, the bells ring and the sound of OM can be heard in every hit of the gong, the Universe awakens and the churn starts, the air reverberates and the flames of Arti rise in adoration. Fire, an element of purity, that burns out our egos, and merges us to this divine form, as the Lord swirls in Anandam.

As Raja Deekshithar describes it, when one reaches the sublime state of poetry, of beauty and bliss, of devotion... when nothing in the world matters anymore, you can feel the Lord dance, you can hear His divine feet in rhythm, you can see the grace in the ring of flames that cover Him, and then, history doesn't matter, living doesn't matter, its just beauty from within. Waves of grace, a veil of sound and music brings the Lord alive, its an experience to witness this through Chidambaram Nataraja.

Video courtesy: Raja Deekshithar