A statue of Shiva. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
‘We must discard each mask, one after another, until finally nothing remains.’
For Hindus, Shiva’s dance creates the universe. There’s something here for all of us, says Tony D’Souza
In the figurative sacred arts of the western world nothing comes close. Aldous Huxley said of it: ‘We have nothing in the west that approaches the symbolism of this work of art, which is both cosmic and psychological.’ Perhaps the crucifix comes closest, depicting the intersection of the divine and mundane in a way that is at once beautiful, pure and simple. But the dance of Shiva (or Nataraja) is more complex and beautifully depicts the most profound mystical truths. These are the truths which came to the ancient Rishis (solitary ascetics) in the forests of India over five thousand years ago and remain as true and as relevant today.
The dance of Shiva is a symbol of the five manifestations of the eternal: creation, destruction, preservation, salvation and illusion. The figure appears dancing in a circle of fire. The circle of fire is the continuous creation and destruction of the cosmos, it is time and space, mass, matter and anti-matter all swirling together as one. In the midst of this wild cosmic maelstrom Shiva’s face appears serene, even blissful. He is untouched by the seeming chaos of the fiery cycle of simultaneous destruction and renewal because he is the life beneath appearances. His face depicts beautifully what many see in depictions of the meditating Buddha and what experts in the field of South Asian art sometimes describe as ‘the beatific mask of God’s eternal essence’.
The God Shiva dances in divine ecstasy. In his head dress is a human skull, symbol of his triumph over death. The source of the holy river Ganges flows from the locks of his hair which stream out behind him. The cosmic dance of life and death is a dance of unsurpassed joy.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he.
In his upper right hand, he holds the drum signifying the sound of creation. It is a dual drum (representing duality). Twirled in the hand from side to side it provides the pulsating, syncopated beat of the cosmic dance itself. All created things have an opposite: male and female, right and wrong, good and bad. There is no escaping duality in the created world – only the uncreated, the eternal, is beyond it.
In his upper left hand, he holds a fireball that symbolises destruction. Everything that has ever been born, that has ever been created, will eventually pass away. But this is not a negative thing, in the eyes of the eternal it is unavoidable. Destruction is merely the opposite of creation. When something dies, it provides a chance for something new to spring up in its place. When a tree falls in the forest, it becomes the home for fungi and countless invertebrates and insects. Eventually, it rots away to nothing, giving nutrition to the earth. Every gardener knows that the best plants are grown from the rotting remains of dead ones.
Death and renewal are a natural cycle. They are not to be dreaded or feared. The fire in Shiva’s upper left hand is the cleansing fire of death. The old is cleansed away to give room for the new.
However, the eternal is beyond both life and death, and is touched by neither. Thus, the dancing God holds creation in one hand, and destruction in the other. Like Christ, he is the beginning and the end. He is the same yesterday and today and forever. He is the Alpha and the Omega.
The palm of Shiva’s lower right hand is raised and faces the viewer. This gesture means: ‘Be not be afraid. For those who follow the path of righteousness will have my blessing.’ As Jesus said: ‘In the world you shall have tribulation, but take courage, for I have overcome the world.’ This is the image of God the preserver, the eternal behind all appearances. It is known to mystics the world over, and Julian of Norwich (1342-1416) recognised it when she wrote ‘all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.’
Shiva’s lower left arm is stretched downward, its palm looks almost as if it is drawing up his raised left leg. This indicates that it is possible to lift oneself up by one’s own efforts (the duty of the Yogi). Indeed, there is no other way to realise God. The beautiful final words of the Buddha make this clear: ‘All component things in the world are changeable. They are not lasting. Work hard to gain your own salvation.’
Shiva’s right foot stands upon a dwarf, representing the demon Apasmara, the personification of which is ignorance or the egoic sense of self. For liberation to occur, all illusions must go.
The great Sufi mystic Rumi wrote: ‘Be melting snow – wash yourself of yourself.’ God is within us, but to reveal him, we have to transcend the illusory self. We must overcome all the illusions that veil the presence of God in us and in all things – our selfish desires, our fear and our pride. All illusions must be seen for what they are, and then abandoned. Nothing can remain to obscure the light within us. We have to do this for ourselves because nobody can do it for us. We must discard each mask, one after another, until finally nothing remains. Then we see our true face in the mirror. The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and know the place for the first time.
Shiva appears shining and complete in every moment. He is right here, right now. We need only pay attention to the present moment to see him, for he is always waiting for us there. When we wash ourselves clean of self we die and are raised up again. As Jesus said: ‘Whoever wants to save their life will lose it – but whoever loses their life for me will find it.’
They cut me down and I leapt up high;
I am the life that’ll never, never die.
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me:
I am the Lord of the dance, said he.
The lord of the dance is always waiting. Beyond desire and fear, love and hate, good and bad, is the peace that passeth all understanding. It is always there. It ‘passeth all understanding’ because it cannot be understood or grasped by the mind. Look for it with the mind and you will never find it. The peace that ‘passeth all understanding’ is a grace from beyond the mind.
Where can we find this grace? It is found in the silence of the heart. It is found in the heart of the gathered Meeting. It is found in every one of us who welcomes its birth in our hearts and is willing to give up the illusion of self to find it.
Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he.
