In the history of mankind, the most beautiful Tattva (a fundamental principle) known is the ‘Shiva Tattva’, in particular, the form of Lord Shiva as ‘Nataraja’—the Lord of Dance.
Nataraja's dance is eternal and continues to be in motion. It isn’t that the Divine performed this cosmic dance some thousands of years ago. It cannot be dated back in time. It is erroneous to think like that. The Purush Tattva, or God, is that which pervades and permeates every particle of this Creation—and that is Nataraja.
In the idol representation of Lord Nataraja, you will see Lord Shiva standing with one foot on top of a demon called Apasmara. Apasmara refers to the disease; it also represents ignorance and inertia. When one overcomes the inertia and negativity, one dances in pure bliss—and that is called ‘Ananda Tandava’.
Inertia comes up when the mind relies on the world outside for happiness and strays outwards through the five senses. When the mind overcomes this inertia and turns to repose in the Self, when it returns to the real source of joy, then it begins to settle in the Shiva Tattva.
Dance can only happen when your feet lightly touch the ground. If your feet are buried in the ground, dance cannot happen. You can only dance in a green pasture. So remember, the world is not a muddy place but a beautiful green pasture.
Life itself is a dance. Your one foot is on the ground, and one is up in the air. To dance, you have to be flexible. Let go of your stiffness. The more egotistic you are, the stiffer you become. The more natural and free you are, the closer you are to the Divinity and to Mother Nature. Then your existence becomes an act of dance.
The dancer and the dance cannot be separated. So also the creator and his creation. The whole creation is the dance of Nataraja, the dance of one consciousness. From inertness to humaneness and from humaneness to Divinity is the flow of life.
