Lots of Public Parks have been chosen to stage Cultural dances, music and drama. Different types of food are served with very minimum prices. This has attracted huge crowds. The ‘Sangamam’ festivals organized by the TN (Tamilnadu) Tourism is to make the people of Tamilnadu happy and enjoy the Pongal holidays.
ARUDRA DARSHAN, is the day of the `Sight of Siva’, when He danced as Nataraja, the cosmic dance of creation and dissolution of the universe.
The cosmic dance of Lord Shiva (Nataraja) represents five activities – Creation, Protection, Destruction, Embodiment and Release. In essence, it represents the continuous cycle of creation and apocalypse. This cosmic dance takes place in every particle and this is the source of all energy.
The Lord danced in ecstasy in the Chitsabha. From the Damaru or Udukkai in his hands, the drum sounds and alphabets were born. The swift-footed deer that He holds in his hand represents the human mind. The skin of tiger that the Lord is attired with represents Ahankara - or ego - that He killed. The river Ganges flowing out of his matted hair represents Chit Sakthi - wisdom - and the Crescent Moon that He wears is representative of the blissfulness of the Soul.
The dance of Shiva has been discussed by many scholars.
1. It is a symbol of his rhythmic play as the source of all movements within the cosmos
2. The dance is to release the countless souls of men from the snare of illusion
3. The place of the dance - Chidambaram, the centre of the Universe - is within the heart. Chit means Heart or Soul, Sabha the Place or the Body.
The dancers in India first pay respect to Nataraja, the Cosmic Dancer and start their performance. The very form of the dance posture is under research which is a perfect answer to gravity, balance, motion of the Cosmos and the same dance is taking inside us. We pray to Lord Shiva to restore the balance in me who keeps the Cosmos in balance.
The cosmic dance is of many varieties.
Siva Thandavam is a form of cosmic dance by Lord Siva in Chidambaram which consists of 108 Karanams. Siva Thaandavam is a cosmic dance of creation, protection and destruction. Other forms of Cosmic Dance of Lord Siva are Ananda Thaandavam, Sandya Thaandavam, Kalika Thaandavam, Vijaya Thaandavam, Oorthva Thaandavam, Uma Thaandavam and Samhara Thaandavam.
Miracles or ‘Thiru Vilayadal’ are countless, performed by Lord Shiva for his devotees. There was a devotee who burnt all the lamps in a Temple with water. If the Lord wishes he can burn a lamp with water!
The King and citizen are equal before the God. Kings in India shared the food and God’s bliss. Today on Thiruvadirai all of us eat the simple food made from cereals and Jaggery called Kali and Kootu made from vegetables. On this day all the people worship Lord Shiva, the destroyer of Tamasic or evil forces within us and the World to enjoy peace and bliss.
The destruction is a part of evolution. Every day we sleep or die to wake up fresh. The ‘shivam’ or the intelligence of God inside us takes care of the need to destroy cells so that new ones are born.
Thiruvadirai is to Tamil which means Arudra. Today is Arudra Darshan. Rudra means the destroyer of evil forces. Arudra is one of the 27 stars that are assigned to Hindus as a birth star and it has a red flame. A symbolic worship of the Lord Shiva in the form of Arudra star is marked as a festival today.
Some references point out that Arudra is two-and-a-half crore times bigger than the sun. It has a diameter of 200 crore miles.
Today is a full moon day and the star today is Arudra or Tiruvadirai. In the month of Marghazhi, on the day when Thiruvadirai star and new moon coincide, we celebrate the cosmic dance of Nataraja or Shiva.
Reading the stories in mythology in Hindu has great significance and relation to Astrology, Astronomy, Mathematics, Philosophy, Science, Truth and God.
Who else but Vivekananda can inspire us?
Talk not about impurity, but say that we are pure.
Fill the brain, therefore, with high thoughts, highest ideals, place them day and night before you, and out of that will come great work.
There is a great tendency in modern times to talk too much of work and decry thought. Doing is very good, but that comes from thinking. Little manifestations of energy through the muscles are called work. But where there is no thought, there will be no work.
Civilization is the manifestation of that divinity in Man.
About a century ago women were not allowed to look into the mirror and beautify themselves. In the South Indian villages women were taught Music, Dance and other fine arts and of course cooking. Many widows became expert cooks and their methods are what today adopted and published into books. The best part is their formulation, recipes, choice of ingredients and the method, which suits the pressure cooker, tawa or micro oven.
The mother would be strict and watchful when the women enter teens and advice them not to stand in front of the mirror for long, laugh without a cause, go to the streets except for drawing large Kolams on festivals, not to talk to men who ever they are, not to touch and talk to close relatives including brothers and father, to stay inside after dark and take care to dress properly but cover themselves properly.
The grandmas and thathas would support the women to beautify and look into the mirror and give enough freedom to play and would take them outside to temples and social festivals. They would love their grand-daughters to laugh and be natural. This balancing act would give enough maturity to women to handle men who love the physic than the divine beauty, intellect or the finer things in the women.
Today in most of the South Indian marriages the beautician team arrives and make the women to be married like film celebrities and pose for the still and video cameras. In the Life journey, Man and Woman do need physical attraction. But there are finer things to be enjoyed.
Ask any South Indian married Man and he will tell you how much clever and beautiful their wives are and enjoy freedom. Gold and Saree prices go up but there is much crowd in Panagal Park. Do not believe the Women magazines and TV channels.
Women enjoy life more here. They prepare the best coffee, watch TV serials and go shopping. That is why there is Love and forgiveness towards the terrorists. Women have come into the open but there is culture and tradition here which can be seen during this beautiful month of Marghazhi.
Design by Beccary and Weblogs.us
