Nataraj Ananda Tandava

If I can't see
The Universe inside of Me,
Still I know it's there...
I've heard that somewhere,
And there were moments when I could feel it.

When I see you
I see It shining in your eyes;
See through Its disguise -
Undressed of illusion,
The Self is awake in a fresh, new dawn.

In this moment,
The marriage of Past and Present,
We draw the Future -
Select the colour
From the palette of possibility...

Then dance with love!
The sounds are coming from above;
Coming from within.
Flute notes emerge from AUM...
Observe the Great Dancer perform!

Oh dance in love!
Witness joy united as One
Though we're not the same.
Yet it's just a game -
The dance and Dancer are inseparable.

Microcosmic dances, a variety,
Expressing unity in diversity
Within the Absolute Choreography.

By Melanie Drury

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Fritzof Capra beautifully relates Nataraj's dance with modern physics in his article The Dance of Shiva: The Hindu View of Matter in the Light of Modern Physics, and then in The Tao of Physics.

He says, "Every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance; a pulsating process of creation and destruction... without end. For the modern physicists, Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter. As in Hindu mythology, it is a continual dance of creation and destruction involving the whole cosmos; the basis of all existence and of all natural phenomena."

Exploring a deeper understanding of quantum theory, in TheBigView it is told:

"In quantum physics the observer is no longer external and neutral, but by choosing what to observe in a given experiment, will effect the results of the experiment. Through the act of measurement he becomes himself a part of observed reality. This marks the end of the neutrality of the experimenter.

"Heisenberg believes that reality is what can be observed - if there are different observations, there must be different realities, which depend on the observer. Meanwhile, Einstein clearly believes in a reality independent of what we can observe. This supports philosopher Kant's view that, 'Reality is by itself and for itself.'

"Contemplating the subatomic realm seems like a Zen exercise. We have to realise that in spite of the different parts and components, the subatomic world in actuality is an undivided whole, where even the boundary between the observer and the observed is blurred. Object and subject have become inseparable, spatial and temporal detachment is an illusion.

"All things are intertwined and interdependent to an unfathomable degree, just as the particles in an atom are. Although the electrons in an atom can be thought of as individual particles, they are not really individual particles, because of the complicated wave relations that exist between them... thus, in the multiplicity of things there is unity."

And what are we, but subatomic particles of the Greater One, moving together in a Divine Dance?

Pairs

It is a strange dynamic, that exchange of energy that fulfills.

What draws people together? What pushes them apart? Personalities are living and growing and developing, needs are always changing, and so do relationships.

While relationships may last from a few moments to a lifetime, roles may be ever-changing.

By exposing some personal nature and sharing time, the mellow with a business client changed to friendship, with the introduction of affection and attachment. As brother and sister we found solace in each other's understanding of our views about life and the world, sometimes verging on the teacher-student situation when one's experience surpassed the other's in a particular field. Sometimes I could be as his mother, sometimes as his daughter.

Then a misunderstanding brought about disappointment that could only be experienced by lovers, such intimate affection was there although that exchange had never come by... and then again, we became like strangers.

Days passed. A tall, dark stranger caught my eye, and soon we were lost in words. Much later, he was still holding my hand. So comfortably natural it was, I had barely noticed. We complemented each other, two became one... until cultural circumstance dictated that our affections could remain only on a friendly level, but one that would last.

Any two individuals, a unique relationship.

In Sanskrit, the term rasa refers to the degree of intimacy and sweetness of relationship with the Divine (shanta - peaceful, dasya - servitude, sakhya - friendship, vatsalya - parental or madhurya - conjugal).

It is clear that fragments of rasa are reflected in every relationship experienced in this world, because we are sparks of that eternal flame, the Original Source, cause of all. 'Made in the image of God,' we are similar in quality though not in magnitude.

While it is natural that we are attracted to experiencing these mellows in the here and now, bound as we are by space and time, impermanent is their nature, nobody can deny this fact.

It is said that the Eternal, Krsna (He that is irresistably attractive to all souls) is the origin and reservoir of all rasa to the infinite degree... yet how hard it is for us to realise, and feel!

Thus we continue to search the light and warmth of a candle instead of journeying to the sun.