The dance of Lord Shiva, Chidambaram

[N.R.Ranganathan]

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Sirs:

Some learned people have compared the dance of Shiva to the spectacle of
dancing particles as explained in Particle Physics. There is a continuous process
of destruction and creation. A foreign scientist has said that he has found
Chidambaram as the centre of the Universe. I think there must be some
scientists , well-versed in modern physics, in this forum. Can any such friend
throw further light on this subject ?

A mathematician has said that the town of Chidambaram is similar to the
human body, comparing the heart to the chidakasa. Thanks.

 

[[email protected]]

To N.R.R sir yes the Temple is designed as per Humanbody. 21600 gold sheets as our daily breaths 72000 nails used to fix this sheets are our nerve system. s.r.k.

 

[N.R.Ranganathan]

Sri SRK,
Many thanks for your response. But my first doubt is not yet answered by anyone -
that is on dancing particles, cosmic dance etc.

Thank you once again.

 

[sarma-61]

Shri Ranganathan Sir,


one frigjof capra has written a book The tao pf physics. There he says Siva's dance is fundamental particles. but imho, this is not correct. Siva dances according to taalam but the particles are vibrating. it is not "nadunkum sivan" but "aadum deivam". so i feel this capra is clever and dragged Siva's name so our people will buy his book more abd then go on saying 'look our rishis knew everything, fundamental particles also'. book sales will increase!

any place can be cnter of universe, is it not? but now - when i search in web there is the word multiverse and also brane-strings instead of fundamental particles. so by Capra's book, our rishis could not see after fundamental particles or only one universe, perhaps.

 

[N.R.Ranganathan]

Dear Sri Sarmaji,
Yes, of course I have read 'Tao of physics' and I felt that something is missing and
hence I raised this topic. Here is another commentary on Dancing Shiva :

THE PHYSICS OF MYSTICISM (Part3)
by Dennis Gaumond

- Science and the Dance of Shiva -

​

Another concept common to both perspectives is the idea that everything in the universe is in constant motion. The mystic writings of ancient Greece and the teachings of shamans make frequent reference to the liquid, ever-changing nature of reality. In the Hindu 'Rig Veda', this idea of continual motion is called 'Rita'. In Buddhism it is called 'samsara'. At the sub-atomic level, the micro-universe as witnessed by science, is in constant motion. This is also true of the macro-universe. Every cosmic body is in motion, relative to other bodies. Countless calculations and observations testify that the universe is continually expanding. The further a body is from us, the faster it is moving away. No matter how powerful some future telescope may be, it will never tell us the true size of the universe. The galaxies furthest away from us are moving away at the speed of light, so that the light that would indicate their presence never reaches us.
The entire concept of a big bang and subsequent big crunch is nothing new to the ancient Tantric writings. This concept is called 'lila' and the amount of time required for one cosmic 'breath', one complete cycle of expansion/contraction, is called a 'kalpa'. When the entire universe is compressed to the size of a pinprick, this point is called the 'mahabindu' or 'great point' in the Tantras.
One of the most fundamental laws of physics is the conservation of energy. It states that the many manifestations of energy continually change form, but that the total energy in the universe never changes. No violation of this law has ever been witnessed by science. When particles collide in the micro-world, the energy of collision forms new particles of matter, which then become energy once again. A particle can be described as both an event and a chunk of matter - 'processes' rather than 'solid objects'. Matter and the activity of matter are one and the same thing. This is also in line with mystical thought and in the ancient language of Sanskrit, the word 'samskara' means both an object and an event.
Several of the mystical traditions refer to the idea of a 'cosmic dance' as an analogy to describe one characteristic of reality. It is the idea that the universe is in a constant state of creation and destruction - endless cycles of life and death, coming and going, inhaling and exhaling. In the Hindu tradition, this is the 'Dance of Shiva'. The observations of modern physics are very reminiscent of these ideas. We are continually being bombarded with cosmic radiation, streams of particles that collide with each other and with our earthbound particles. These collisions result in endless transmutations, with particles being annihilated while others are being born. At the sub-atomic level, particles are coming and going continually in a frenzy of activity known as the 'quantum foam'. This constant motion, this 'dance' of microscopic matter, is very much like the Dance of Shiva.

Thanks once again,

 

[sarma-61]

Dear Sri Sarmaji,
Yes, of course I have read 'Tao of physics' and I felt that something is missing and
hence I raised this topic. Here is another commentary on Dancing Shiva :

THE PHYSICS OF MYSTICISM (Part3)
by Dennis Gaumond

- Science and the Dance of Shiva -

​

Another concept common to both perspectives is the idea that everything in the universe is in constant motion. The mystic writings of ancient Greece and the teachings of shamans make frequent reference to the liquid, ever-changing nature of reality. In the Hindu 'Rig Veda', this idea of continual motion is called 'Rita'. In Buddhism it is called 'samsara'. At the sub-atomic level, the micro-universe as witnessed by science, is in constant motion. This is also true of the macro-universe. Every cosmic body is in motion, relative to other bodies. Countless calculations and observations testify that the universe is continually expanding. The further a body is from us, the faster it is moving away. No matter how powerful some future telescope may be, it will never tell us the true size of the universe. The galaxies furthest away from us are moving away at the speed of light, so that the light that would indicate their presence never reaches us.
The entire concept of a big bang and subsequent big crunch is nothing new to the ancient Tantric writings. This concept is called 'lila' and the amount of time required for one cosmic 'breath', one complete cycle of expansion/contraction, is called a 'kalpa'. When the entire universe is compressed to the size of a pinprick, this point is called the 'mahabindu' or 'great point' in the Tantras.
One of the most fundamental laws of physics is the conservation of energy. It states that the many manifestations of energy continually change form, but that the total energy in the universe never changes. No violation of this law has ever been witnessed by science. When particles collide in the micro-world, the energy of collision forms new particles of matter, which then become energy once again. A particle can be described as both an event and a chunk of matter - 'processes' rather than 'solid objects'. Matter and the activity of matter are one and the same thing. This is also in line with mystical thought and in the ancient language of Sanskrit, the word 'samskara' means both an object and an event.
Several of the mystical traditions refer to the idea of a 'cosmic dance' as an analogy to describe one characteristic of reality. It is the idea that the universe is in a constant state of creation and destruction - endless cycles of life and death, coming and going, inhaling and exhaling. In the Hindu tradition, this is the 'Dance of Shiva'. The observations of modern physics are very reminiscent of these ideas. We are continually being bombarded with cosmic radiation, streams of particles that collide with each other and with our earthbound particles. These collisions result in endless transmutations, with particles being annihilated while others are being born. At the sub-atomic level, particles are coming and going continually in a frenzy of activity known as the 'quantum foam'. This constant motion, this 'dance' of microscopic matter, is very much like the Dance of Shiva.

Thanks once again,

Shri Ranganathan ji,

Thank you for the reply. but i am only as wise as wikipedia. here (Conservation of energy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) it looks as if it is a question of mass + energy conservation. so it is not only matter, particles and all that but also energy in any form also included. So in our example it looks to me that not only siva's dance but also change from siva to sakti and back again has to be there. but i don't think our rishis imagined chidambaram Natarajar changing between sivan and parvathy also along with his dance.

i also feel we should find out opinion of front rank physicists whether one universe is closed or open system because now there is idea of multiverse in which many universes are possible.

all in all, i think the nataraja comparison is just fashion which helps some people to say great things about old rishis.

 

[T.S.Sankara Narayanan]

Experts must clarify that Swamy Nataraja's Dance of Chidambaram as well as Madurai,where legs are changed.

The Stories behind it also not Expressed about The Subject of Physics behind the Dance.

Nataraja of Chidambaram and Nataraja of Madurai needs more Clearification...

 

[siganeswarie]

The Arudra-Darisanam, a festival in which the devotee gets to see the dance of Lord Shiva falls on 22-12-2010. The dance of Lord Shiva is also referred to as the cosmic dance and has both philosophical and scientific significance.

Tradition has it that there are five Shivalingas in the Tamil realm of South India, within a certain radius, that correspond to the pancha-mahabhutas or the five elements of the universe: earth, water, fire, wind and ether. The earth or Prithvi-Linga is worshipped at Kanchi, the water or Apa-Linga at Jambukeshwara, the fire or Tejas-Linga at Tiruvannamalai, the wind or Vayu-Linga at Kalahasti and the ether or Akasha-Linga at Chidambaram.

The emotions evoked by myth and symbol in the Indian tradition cover the entire spectrum of human existence; and so too at Chidambaram, where the form of Shiva as Nataraja, the great dancer, has been the subject of veneration and interpretation through the ages.

Shiva as Nataraja stands in a halo or circle of flames. The circle issues from the mouth of a pair of dolphins or makara. The halo symbolises Pranava, the mystic syllable Om. The drum in Shiva’s right hand symbolises sound, primal creation. The primordial sounds of the alphabet emerged from Shiva’s drum, and formed the basis of grammar or Vyakarana.

Legend has it that Shiva danced at Chidambaram to please his two devotees,
Vyaghrapada and Patanjali, the latter being credited with the science of grammar. The deer on one side symbolises the mind – and just as the deer leaps all around, so too the human mind leaps from one thing to another. The tiger-skin that Shiva wears is the skin of Ahamkara, egoism, which he has killed.