The Dance of Shiva -the cosmic dance
The Dance of shiva represented in the form of Nataraja is symbolic of the dynamic aspect of the Ultimate Reality.The dance of Shiva is said to symbolize the five divine acts of creation, sustenance, dissolution, concealment and bestowment of grace. The belief is that Lord Shiva danced the Universe into existence, motivates it, and will eventually extinguish it.
The parallel between Shiva's dance and the dance of subatomic particles was first discussed by Fritjof Capra. Shiva's cosmic dance then became a central metaphor in Capra's international bestseller 'The Tao of Physics', first published in 1975. I have extracted the following article from his book 'The Tao of Physics'.
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I (Fritjof Capra) was sitting by the ocean one late summer afternoon, watching the waves rolling in and feeling the rhythm of my breathing, when I suddenly became aware of my whole environment as being engaged in a gigantic cosmic dance. Being a physicist, I knew that the sand, rocks, water and air around me were made of vibrating molecules and atoms, and that these consisted of particles which interacted with one another by creating and destroying other particles. I knew also that the Earth's atmosphere was continually bombarded by showers of 'cosmic rays', particles of high energy undergoing multiple collisions as they penetrated the air. All this was familiar to me from my research in high-energy physics, but until that moment I had only experienced it through graphs, diagrams and mathematical theories. As I sat on that beach my former experiences came to life; I 'saw' cascades of energy coming down from outer space, in which particles were created and destroyed in rhythmic pulses; I 'saw' the atoms of the elements and those of my body participating in this cosmic dance of energy; I felt its rhythm and I 'heard' its sound, and at that moment I knew that this was the Dance of shiva, the lord of Dancers, worshiped by the Hindus.
The exploration of the subatomic world in the twentieth century has revealed the intrinsically dynamic nature of matter. It has shown that the constituents of atoms, the subatomic particles, the dynamic patterns which do not exist as isolated entities, but as integral parts of an inseparable network of interactions. These interactions involve a ceaseless flow of energy manifesting itself as the exchange of particles; a dynamic interplay in which particles are created and destroyed without end in a continual variation of energy patterns. The particle interactions give rise to stable structures which build up the material world, which again do no remain static, but oscillate in rhythmic movements. The whole universe is thus engaged in endless motion and activity; in a continual cosmic dance of energy.
The ideas of rhythm and dance naturally come into mind when one tries to imagine the flow of energy going through the patterns that make up the particle world. Modern physics has shown us that movement and rhythm are essential properties of matter; that all matter, whether here in earth or in outer space, is involved in continual cosmic dance.
The eastern mystics have a dynamic view of the universe similar to that of modern physics, and consequently it is not surprising that they, too, have used the image of dance to convey their intuition of nature. The metaphor of the cosmic dance has found its most profound and beautiful expression in Hinduism in the image of the dancing god Shiva. According to Hindu belief, all life is part of a great rhythmic process of creation and destruction, of death and rebirth, and Shiva's dance symbolizes this eternal life-death rhythm which goes on in endless cycles. Various meanings are conveyed by the complex pictorial allegory. The upper right hand of the god holds a drum to symbolize the primal sound of creation, the upper left bears a tongue of flame, the element of destruction. The balance of the two hands represents the dynamic balance of creation and destruction in the world, accentuated further by the Dancer's calm and detached face in the centre of the two hands, in which the polarity of creation and destruction is dissolved and transcended. The second right hand is raised in the sign of 'do not fear', symbolizing maintenance, protection and peace, while the remaining left hand points down to the uplifted foot which symbolizes release from the spell of maya. The god is pictured as dancing on the body of demon, the symbol of human ignorance which has to be conquered before liberation can be attained.
"His gestures wild and full of grace, precipitate the cosmic illusion; his flying arms and legs and the swaying of his torso produce - indeed, they are - the continuous creation-destruction of the universe, death exactly balancing birth, annihilation the end of every coming-forth."
~Heinrich Zimmer
For the modern physicists, Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter. The metaphor of cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art, and modern physics.
-----
By Fritjof Capra
How amazing is the range of thought of our Rishis. In Hindudharma, religion, arts, philosophy etc are so closely inter-related that they are inseparable. Everything was aimed at perceiving that Ultimate Reality. Great indeed are our sages, who could convey the message of the Ultimate Reality even to the lay-man in the form of arts, mythology etc.
There is no doubt that our Indian civilization was far advanced in scientific/philosophical field. Studying them and deciphering the content would help us advance further and in the right direction. What is being done at present, may be, is just re-inventing the wheel. The world is probably going through the act of rediscovering all that had already been done during the times of Vedic Seers. We already possess a bounty of knowledge, a treasure trove of scientific excellence, unaware, and without a care. Time is running out. It is time to unveil the secrets, unravel the mystery and enjoy the fruits of scientific wonders, to benefit the entire Human race.
"In all the world, there is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of the individuals, but it is a false construction.... The only solution to the conflict insofar as any is available to us in the ancient wisdom of Upanishads. "
~Erwin Schroedinger (writes in his book 'My view of World')
He wished to see:
"Some blood transfusion from the east to the west, to save the western science from spiritual anemia."
On June 18, 2004, an unusual new landmark was unveiled at CERN, the European Center for Research in Particle Physics in Geneva — a 2m tall statue of the Indian deity Shiva Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. The statue, symbolizing Shiva's cosmic dance of creation and destruction, was given to CERN by the Indian government to celebrate the research center's long association with India.
The parallel between Shiva's dance and the dance of subatomic particles was first discussed by Fritjof Capra. Shiva's cosmic dance then became a central metaphor in Capra's international bestseller 'The Tao of Physics', first published in 1975. I have extracted the following article from his book 'The Tao of Physics'.
-----
I (Fritjof Capra) was sitting by the ocean one late summer afternoon, watching the waves rolling in and feeling the rhythm of my breathing, when I suddenly became aware of my whole environment as being engaged in a gigantic cosmic dance. Being a physicist, I knew that the sand, rocks, water and air around me were made of vibrating molecules and atoms, and that these consisted of particles which interacted with one another by creating and destroying other particles. I knew also that the Earth's atmosphere was continually bombarded by showers of 'cosmic rays', particles of high energy undergoing multiple collisions as they penetrated the air. All this was familiar to me from my research in high-energy physics, but until that moment I had only experienced it through graphs, diagrams and mathematical theories. As I sat on that beach my former experiences came to life; I 'saw' cascades of energy coming down from outer space, in which particles were created and destroyed in rhythmic pulses; I 'saw' the atoms of the elements and those of my body participating in this cosmic dance of energy; I felt its rhythm and I 'heard' its sound, and at that moment I knew that this was the Dance of shiva, the lord of Dancers, worshiped by the Hindus.
The exploration of the subatomic world in the twentieth century has revealed the intrinsically dynamic nature of matter. It has shown that the constituents of atoms, the subatomic particles, the dynamic patterns which do not exist as isolated entities, but as integral parts of an inseparable network of interactions. These interactions involve a ceaseless flow of energy manifesting itself as the exchange of particles; a dynamic interplay in which particles are created and destroyed without end in a continual variation of energy patterns. The particle interactions give rise to stable structures which build up the material world, which again do no remain static, but oscillate in rhythmic movements. The whole universe is thus engaged in endless motion and activity; in a continual cosmic dance of energy.
The ideas of rhythm and dance naturally come into mind when one tries to imagine the flow of energy going through the patterns that make up the particle world. Modern physics has shown us that movement and rhythm are essential properties of matter; that all matter, whether here in earth or in outer space, is involved in continual cosmic dance.
The eastern mystics have a dynamic view of the universe similar to that of modern physics, and consequently it is not surprising that they, too, have used the image of dance to convey their intuition of nature. The metaphor of the cosmic dance has found its most profound and beautiful expression in Hinduism in the image of the dancing god Shiva. According to Hindu belief, all life is part of a great rhythmic process of creation and destruction, of death and rebirth, and Shiva's dance symbolizes this eternal life-death rhythm which goes on in endless cycles. Various meanings are conveyed by the complex pictorial allegory. The upper right hand of the god holds a drum to symbolize the primal sound of creation, the upper left bears a tongue of flame, the element of destruction. The balance of the two hands represents the dynamic balance of creation and destruction in the world, accentuated further by the Dancer's calm and detached face in the centre of the two hands, in which the polarity of creation and destruction is dissolved and transcended. The second right hand is raised in the sign of 'do not fear', symbolizing maintenance, protection and peace, while the remaining left hand points down to the uplifted foot which symbolizes release from the spell of maya. The god is pictured as dancing on the body of demon, the symbol of human ignorance which has to be conquered before liberation can be attained.
"His gestures wild and full of grace, precipitate the cosmic illusion; his flying arms and legs and the swaying of his torso produce - indeed, they are - the continuous creation-destruction of the universe, death exactly balancing birth, annihilation the end of every coming-forth."
~Heinrich Zimmer
For the modern physicists, Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter. The metaphor of cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious art, and modern physics.
-----
By Fritjof Capra
How amazing is the range of thought of our Rishis. In Hindudharma, religion, arts, philosophy etc are so closely inter-related that they are inseparable. Everything was aimed at perceiving that Ultimate Reality. Great indeed are our sages, who could convey the message of the Ultimate Reality even to the lay-man in the form of arts, mythology etc.
There is no doubt that our Indian civilization was far advanced in scientific/philosophical field. Studying them and deciphering the content would help us advance further and in the right direction. What is being done at present, may be, is just re-inventing the wheel. The world is probably going through the act of rediscovering all that had already been done during the times of Vedic Seers. We already possess a bounty of knowledge, a treasure trove of scientific excellence, unaware, and without a care. Time is running out. It is time to unveil the secrets, unravel the mystery and enjoy the fruits of scientific wonders, to benefit the entire Human race.
"In all the world, there is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of the individuals, but it is a false construction.... The only solution to the conflict insofar as any is available to us in the ancient wisdom of Upanishads. "
~Erwin Schroedinger (writes in his book 'My view of World')
He wished to see:
"Some blood transfusion from the east to the west, to save the western science from spiritual anemia."
On June 18, 2004, an unusual new landmark was unveiled at CERN, the European Center for Research in Particle Physics in Geneva — a 2m tall statue of the Indian deity Shiva Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. The statue, symbolizing Shiva's cosmic dance of creation and destruction, was given to CERN by the Indian government to celebrate the research center's long association with India.
posted by Deepak Marla at 2:00 AM
1 Comments:
nice one!
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